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John's Corner
That does seem ludicrous but, at the direction the car wash industry is going this is not such a far fetched help wanted ad. HOW COULD WE CHARGE $150.00 PER HOUR ? Very easily and for many reasons, not the least of which is the demand for knowledgeable and experienced technicians who show up to work , not talk or drink coffee on your money. Consider the abilities and knowledge required in a technician as called out in help wanted ad above. How many really good service technicians do you know that can meet all of those requirements ? There are too few exceptionally well qualified in today’s car wash industry. Unfortunately, that is a fact and a darned shame because not too many years ago there were at least a half dozen super techs in each major car wash market area. This population of super techs has decreased mostly because of retirement, or older legs tiring of the heavy lifting, or better offers for their talents and knowledge from other industries. This shortage of super techs has also come about as a result of our own doing. For the past decade equipment has been offered with marketing themes of less maintenance and less complication. These are true statements because the newest generation of car wash operators did not want to hear about equipment technical information, or maintenance needs. Instead, they wanted to know how many cars can be washed in the shortest possible period of time and how many new marketing programs and products can be presented to the car washing public on an on-going basis. Certainly these are noble goals for the success of any car wash when dealing with today’s astronomical land and building costs. However, somewhere along this path we lost track of a very basic proven fact ; wash equipment will break down ! When, not if, it fails the lost business and lost time waiting for repairs can more than offset any gains from “simplicity” and “whiz-bang” marketing programs WHO’S GONNA FIX IT ? OK , you say, I can do it myself ! Can you re-weld that broken section of conveyor ? Can you troubleshoot, and fix, the electrical problem with your equipment programmer ? Can you find out why one particular hydraulic motor continues to fail ? Can you re-build that leaking air cylinder or high pressure water pump ? Can you operate a forklift so equipment, building , and people aren’t in danger of being damaged or injured ? Will you do any of these things after the car wash closes and work all through the night to be ready to open the next day ? I will bet that all of us can perform some of these repairs, but I will also bet that all of us cannot do all of them , or any number of other mind and body bending car wash installation and repair jobs. That’s why all of us need a tech service person who is knowledgeable and available, at least by phone, to get us through the toughest of problems. In recent years our regional, and international, associations have abandoned maintenance seminars at conventions. Also, we can count on one hand the number of equipment manufacturers who offer maintenance seminars on their equipment. Most of us attend at least one association convention and show each year. If we leave those conventions with one money making, or saving, idea the time is well worth the cost. This holds true for maintenance knowledge also. If you can save on-site service calls because you learned how to troubleshoot, or correctly determine the cause of an equipment problem you will save a lot of on-site service dollars. You will also prevent your car wash customers from thinking your car wash is “always” closed because of equipment failure. I would suggest that we raise our voices loudly and often to have our associations call in maintenance experts to offer seminars at all our association meetings. WHAT ABOUT TOMORROW ? As parents, all of us want our children to be more successful than we. Therefore, we have this image of our offspring being doctors, lawyers, architects, or top level business executives. Obviously, this thinking and prompting will cause our sons and daughters to grimace at the thought of getting their hands dirty, or their rear ends wet, in a car wash. We are wrong to do this ! If a young person, whether your child, or a promising car wash employee, has the desire and budding talent to want to work with their hands and their mind please encourage them. Give them the same opportunity to learn a trade. It’s not evil and it’s not beneath anyone to be respected as a knowledgeable professional tech service person. Within the geographical coverage of this magazine I can think of four tremendously talented car wash super technicians…Jeff Snow, Wayne Forristall, Bob Schaffer, and Dennis Hasak have proven their talents over the years. By the way, these guys have sent their kids to college with the earnings from their dirty hands and wet rear ends ! Our industry needs to look to the future by creating opportunities for technicians to achieve the same skills as these men. I must admit though, I do like the sound of $150.00 an hour…I guess I was born too soon , or maybe it was that my back gave out too early. Submitted To Northeast Carwasher Magazine on July 28, 2004 by John H. Hansen |
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