First Impressions - They Mean Everything

How many times have you driven into an area looking for a particular restaurant or, more importantly, a place to wash your car only to be frustrated by not quickly finding it? What's worse, when you do finally pull into the driveway, you realize you have driven by the place one or two times before recognizing it or knowing you were there. Now as you pull in, talking to yourself, wondering why you hadn't stopped for directions, or maybe bought that GPS, you ask "why?"

Be angry with yourself all you want, but the truth is the owner of that business is as much at fault as your lack of getting clear directions. Think about it. Why didn't you recognize your destination? Was it lack of signage, poor visibility, unappealing presentation, or just lack of overall site identification?

Put yourself in the shoes of your customers. Ask yourself, "Is my site clearly identified, user friendly, easy and welcoming to my customers?" The Disney organization, I believe, is one of the smartest, well-run companies in the world when it comes to managing their customers. As a matter of fact, Disney has been so well recognized as a leader in this area that they created Disney University. At Disney you are a guest, the term "customer service representative" doesn't exist. Associates at Disney are in the guest relations business. Disney is as much about adult entertainment as it is about children. If you haven't been to a Disney theme park, do yourself a favor and book a flight. Pay attention to everything from travel signage to the park to instructional information when you arrive. And, oh by the way, take lots of notes! Or think about taking one of the many courses.

Although Disney's budget is significantly different from yours, much of what they do in the course of their everyday business practice you can emulate. Think about street presentation, theme of and design of the building, signage, and above all ingress and egress. Make it easy and safe to transition on and off the site. Once on your property take a look at how your guest is greeted. Is it professional, welcoming, non-threatening? Are your employees uniformed, is it easy to recognize your management, is it easy to do business with you, do you really treat people who enter your domain as guests?

You might say this Disney stuff is all well and good but how does it affect me? Well let me ask you this question; are your numbers up both in units as well as unit sales dollars? Is my employee turnover getting worse? Am I seeing the same guest less often? If none of these events are occurring in your business you are probably in a situation where a) you're exceeding all expectations, b) you have no competition, or c) you are in total denial and are chocking up the downturn to everything but what you see in the mirror.

Many times I hear the complaint that someone's business is doing really poorly and they are at a total loss to come up with a rational, logical explanation. I have often received a call that says this blankity blank business is not living up to my expectations so it is obviously the fault of a) the economy, b) the equipment provider, c) my lender, d) the phase of the moon, e) take your choice.

Every time I receive one of these calls I ask the same questions and fall into the same drill. Take out a note pad and write down these simple instructions. Walk out of your driveway, down the street in both directions 200 to 300 feet, turn around and record your impressions. Can you easily identify your business? Remember, a vehicle traveling at 30 mph is traveling at 44 feet per second. Think of how little time a potential guest has to recognize your business. If your property has 100 feet of frontage that means your customer, at 30 mph, has 2.5 seconds to recognize you, acknowledge he needs you, and needs you now. Not much time to make a course correction is it?

Once you have walked to and from your site, the next question comes when you enter the property. Can you or, more importantly, your guests understand what's going on here? Are instructional signs easy to understand and placed where your guests can read them? If you are struggling with answering these questions objectively I suggest you ask your neighbor or, better yet, enlist several secret shoppers and let them critique your presentation.

The car wash business is no different from any other retail business. You have to make it interesting, fun and entertaining for your guests and, oh by the way, you have to meet or exceed your guests' expectations or you won't get them to return. For years I have told people entering the car wash business that all you have to do to be successful is " clean cars, quickly and safely in a clean, pleasant environment"; it is that simple! The challenge here is that you have to take that statement apart, word for word, and accomplish each of them very well!

Execution is critical, it starts on the street and continues from the time your guests enter your property until the time they leave. Think about the time you invite guests to your home. Your business is no different; first impressions are lasting impressions. Are you broadcasting to the motorist that you want them to be your guest?