Customers Love the Freedom to Choose

A 20-plus year veteran of the convenience store and carwash business, Mike Carrells had plenty of experience with touchless washes. As 2018 got underway, however, he felt it was time for a change.

“We wanted to try one of the units that offered something more than a touchless,” Mike recalls. “After shopping the market in various states, I came back to Mark VII and chose their ChoiceWash XT.®"

Mike operates four C-Express stores in Aberdeen, South Dakota, two of which feature carwashes. “The ChoiceWash went into a location that was doing more than 20,000 carwashes each year,” he notes. “I felt that volume would warrant the investment in a unit that offered both touch-free and soft touch washes.”

The ChoiceWash XT was installed in January of 2018 and has been performing well, according to Mike. “We have had no problems with it in a year’s worth of operation.”

Carwash specials are used to boost fuel sales and as standalone events to bring customers into the stores. “We will have our carwash special day to tie into gallons, and we will feature the carwash in its own specials, as well,” Mike notes.

As to the soft touch experiment, Mike has the results he hoped for. “I really wanted to see if our customers would react positively to the soft touch option,” he says. “Customers are choosing the soft touch over the touch-free at about a 70-30 ratio. “We’ve had nothing but compliments on it.

“We’re ramping up to see a 30% lift in revenue,” Mike summarizes. “I’m extremely happy with the ChoiceWash.”

Enjoy reading Mike's story? Read more stories here.