Self-Service on the rise in the UK
More and more self-service car washes are opening for business in the UK, while hand car washing seems to be on the way out. Smart Auto Spa saw how labor shortage disrupted the business. This week, he has opened its third self-service car wash. Companies like BKF Carwash and Wilcomatic are in the front of this small revolution.
Big machines are heard beeping in the distance when we manage to get Roberto Pacella on the phone. After having opened self-service car washes in Somerset and in Dorset, he opens a third location in Shepton Mallet, Somerset this week. It’s his biggest yet.
“We will offer five self-service jet wash bays with seven programs, self-service double vacuum cleaners and will also be offering a self-service dog wash”, the proud owner says. According to him, only 6 of car washes like this currently operate in the UK. And he’s running half of them.
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Pacella has been active in car washing for almost 15 years and saw how both Covid and Brexit changed the business abruptly. “Between 2011 and 2020 I was running hand car washes. When Covid closed everything down, I decided to rethink my business. At the end of Covid I changed from hand car washes to self service.”
A wise decision, because Brexit did not exactly make things any easier. “Since then, it has become impossible to find good staff”, Pacella concludes.
The UK car wash market is really different from the rest of Europe, we learn. “We indeed still have a lot of hand car washes. Maybe as much as 20,000. Many British customers expect their cars to be fully washed.”
But which staff will wash them, now that many East-European employees have left due to Brexit and will probably never return?
Christ Skyline
Wilcomatic‘s David Nuth tells a similar story. Last summer his company installed the very first Skyline carwash park by Christ in the UK. Apart from three jet wash bays and 8 covered vacuum spots it also offers a C173 Alpha automatic and an uncovered wash bay for high vehicles.
“This customer (Quality Car Wash, red) actually was running a hand car wash, but it became increasingly difficult for him to find the right staff. Even if he finds good people, he has to pay a lot more wage, which puts his business model at risk.”
This situation made the owner decide to make a considerable investment in a self-service car wash park, while at the same time keeping his detailing studio up to par. On the company website we find pictures of shiny expensive Ferrari and Mercedes vans.
“These kinds of modern self-service parks are not very common here yet, but I predict they will be”, Nuth continues. “We have a massive labor shortage for hand car washing.”
Pacella fully agrees. “In Germany, Spain and France self-service is already the norm. But in the UK it’s only taken off just now.
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BKF Carwash
For Smart Auto Spa, Pacella decided to use the wash boxes by BKF Carwash, a Polish manufacturer of modular self-service car washes, rollovers and car vacuum cleaners.
Andrew Coltun is the BKF Carwash-sales representative in the UK and has seen a sharp rise of interest in their products. “It’s a very good time to invest in the self service market because there truly aren’t any competitors”, he confirms. “Customers’ behaviours have changed, and they now need more convenient and cost-effective car cleaning options.”
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According to BKF Carwash, it has not only to do with the labor shortage but also with different expectations from the customer, who demands more convenience. “Busy schedules and time constraints have prompted more consumers to opt for self-service car washing. It offers them the flexibility to clean their vehicles at their convenience without having to wait for service.”
Stricter environmental regulations also play a role. With more communities adopting regulations that prohibit residential car washing practices, consumers are turning to self-service car washing as a convenient alternative.
The future
According to Pacella, many people in the hand car wash business will be skeptical about the success of self-service car washing in the UK. He simply shrugs his shoulders and looks at the numbers of his other two car washes.
To convince new customers, Pacella offers a free visit whenever he opens a new car wash. “So people can try it out. They get to use all the programs, including reverse osmosis water and foam. Once they have seen and used it, many people realize ‘this is the future’.”
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