IMO used to use over a 100,000 paper vouchers each year. Modern QR codes will now replace these. In cooperation with Gigaset, a technical solution was found to reliably read QR codes even in the demanding day-to-day work of a car wash. 

Car wash coupons are an integral part of sales and marketing in most of the car wash industry. IMO is active in various European countries, such as Germany, Belgium, Hungary and Portugal. In the past, IMO sent its customers these washing coupons as paper receipts. This resulted in several hundreds of thousand paper wash receipts every year, which also meant a lot of administrative work.

Many problems have been solved with the digitization of the car wash vouchers. About four years ago, IMO began to use QR codes instead of the paper version in initial tests. In 2017, the roll-out to around 300 IMO partners took place, and the new QR codes are now being used on all IMO car washes. Unlike conventional QR codes, the QR code does not lead the user to a website, but the code contains all the relevant data for billing a vehicle wash for a customer.

Make it simple

In the B2B area in particular, IMO can significantly simplify vehicle washing and billing for its business partners. Depending on the wishes of the B2B customers, different data can be stored in the QR code: data on the type of billing, vehicle-related data that enable a clear allocation of the vehicle, but also the preselection of certain washing programs for each individual vehicle. In the end customer segment or in the wash club, customers can use the QR code to pay for their selected wash cashless and contactless.

Wash Club

IIMO is currently expanding the use of its wash club. New functions and advantages for customers should expand the existing offer. With the help of the wash club, end customers can load a budget onto their customer card and then flexibly choose the right program. They receive a discount depending on the amount of the top-up. With the help of the QR code on the Wash Club card, the IMO partner can quickly check on site whether the card is active and how much credit is still available.

The Wash Club card can replace cash payment. “With the current situation considering Corona, even completely contactless payment is possible, as the IMO partner can also use the QR code through the closed vehicle window and the washing program can be selected, for example, by gesture,” summarizes Christian Weiss from IMO as one additional advantage that has only shown itself in the last few weeks and months. The Wash Club is already available at 143 IMO car washes.

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Technical challenges

In order to be able to read out the new QR code, it became necessary to find a technical solution. The market offers numerous smartphones for this, but very few are suitable for the conditions that prevail in a car wash. The smartphone had to be protected against water and needs to be fall-proof, and it had to have a correspondingly stable feel so that it could be used safely even with wet hands. With these and other criteria, the decision was made in favor of the Gigaset GX290 smartphone after a few tests.

Practice and experience from working in car washes quickly resulted in an exact catalog of the properties for the new smartphone. It was important that the device can read the QR code very quickly and reliably, even in changeable conditions. As is well known, the subject of speed is the prerequisite for high washing volumes and high sales in the car wash industry. Since use in car washes always means moisture, high stress and constant continuous use for a smartphone, it was also important to IMO that the choice fell on a water and dust-tested device according to the industrial standard IP68, that it had a long battery life and that it came with the current Android version is equipped.