Owners and operators looking for additional revenue streams can find extra profits by incorporating mat cleaners into their businesses regardless of the wash formats they use. According to Bud Abraham, president of DETAIL PLUS Car Appearance Systems, “they are also used by auto dealers and car rental agencies to automatically clean mats.”
Mat cleaners can be used with any format, but the way in which they are used and marketed may vary according to differing customer needs.
For full-service washes Abraham notes two options exist: “to include the mat cleaning as part of the wash, or to charge for a wash and dry or a shampoo and dry done by an attendant.” The attendant should turn on the machine, choose the cleaning option, run the mat through the machine and pick up the mat on the other side.
In-bay automatic and “exterior conveyor washes also have two options,” states Abraham. “[They can] charge $1 or $2 for a certain number of minutes, or give it away free with the wash.”
As for self-serves, they can charge according to the time used. “Self-service carwashes would normally charge $1 or $2 for so many minutes.” Self-serve customers can be encouraged to use the machines by giving away free mat cleaning tokens.
A self-serve wash can put up signs in the bays to encourage the use of the equipment, shares Abraham. Self-serve businesses should include step-by-step signs instructing the customer on how to use the mat cleaning machine.
As mentioned, auto dealers may use the machines in their detail and/or service departments, while rental agencies can use them for their in-house mat cleaning needs, Abraham concludes.
