With smart innovations this Austrian car wash is thriving
Queuing in front of self-service car washes is a particularly annoying moment for many customers. Another nuisance is the moment a customer finds out the machines only accept coins, no cards. At the NO NAME self-service car wash in Gleisdorf, Austria, the 21st century has finally arrived.
“We have revolutionized self-service washing!” raves Christian Schlager of NO NAME , who is probably well aware he is exaggerating a bit.
While huge parts of Western and Northern Europe have digitized their payment systems and run express tunnels with a skeleton staff, some German-speaking countries are falling behind. But Austria is catching up.
Fairness plays a major role at the entrance to the NO NAME self-service car wash park in Gleisdorf, Austria. Customers wait in a central entry queue and as soon as a wash bay is free, the next customer can drive in.
By using this method, every customer has the same waiting times and does not have to worry about people pushing in front of them or washers dawdling. Electronic displays indicate which wash bay is available, after which the entry barrier of the innovative guidance system goes up.
No countdown
A particularly innovative part of the wash park lies in the payment of the car wash. Customers can use a variety of common digital payment options. The company behind the payment technology is TSG Car Wash Austria, which also offers digital solutions for paying in car washes in Germany.
One of the things they do differently is the countdown clock. You won’t find it in NO NAME. Many customers feel under stress when they see the clock ticking away. At NO NAME, it’s the other way around. The wash time starts at zero and continues until the customer manually ends the wash.
Experienced car wash operators quickly realize that in such a concept, each phase of the wash is priced equally and the so-called “dead times” between the individual wash steps are also included in the price. “This is something many customers have to get used to the first time, but enthusiasm increases with every visit.”
Color guidance system
The washing technology comes from Kärcher. Customers can choose from four different wash lances and program sections. “To ensure that our customers always have the right wash lance to hand for each wash program, we have chosen a uniform color guide system.” Here, the color of the wash lance matches the labeling wash programs.
In addition, the customer receives a visual color cue in the wash box lighting, which causes the box to light up for several seconds in the color of the correct lance. “In our experience, this visual support helps the customers a lot. After the opening of the facility last winter, we experienced a brisk influx and a lot of positive feedback,” explains Christian Schlager.
Corporate customers
Self-service car washes tend to be unpopular with corporate customers because they rarely receive digital proof of the car wash. Often, drivers of company vehicles have to pay for the wash themselves if they can’t provide proof. Or they simply resort to another type of car wash.
At NO NAME, the above problem is solved by per-second and digital billing. The customer stops the wash time manually after he is done. Shortly after, he or she receives an email with the payment receipt in his email inbox. This is possible thanks to TSG’s digital payment technology. Customer feedback shows that this car wash is frequently used by drivers of company cars precisely for this reason.
Special offer for e-cars
Another target group is the focus of the NO NAME car wash park. E-car drivers get a particularly attractive environment to charge their vehicle at this wash park. A hyper-charger with up to 300 kW charging power is available at each of the six charging stations.
In addition, each charging station has a powerful vacuum system so that charging customers can use the charging time for interior cleaning. This optimizes customer satisfaction and thus increases sales at the facility. The consistent focus on the target group of e-car drivers is also reflected in the numerous Google reviews, in which e-car drivers in particular praise the car wash for its offering.
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