Savvy car wash owners know that one key to a successful car wash operation is changing your customer’s vision of your wash from a necessary commodity to a destination experience.

Remodeled exteriors with brightly lit entrances and bays, colorful signage, foaming wax features with LED lights, scented soaps and rinses, and sparkling clean interior walls add to the total customer experience – but only after they have entered the wash.

The competition for car wash business is also based on your facility’s exterior appearance – its curb appeal.

• Is the exterior construction updated?
• Are the bay entrances brightly lit?
• Is your signage attractive and colorful?

The curb appeal of your car wash also includes your site’s landscaping and negative spaces. Attractive landscaping and foliage soften the negative spaces of your car wash, such as pay stations, islands, and curbs. Filling these areas with too much signage adds chaos instead of appeal. Each plays a role in your customers’ overall experience and, therefore, need to be given proper consideration and evaluation.

Today’s car washes add appeal to these areas with terrace-style landscaping, bright seasonal flowering plants and shrubs, or even a water feature.

Avoiding the old-school commercial hard-scape appearance with these soft touches will make your car wash stand out from your competition.