Respecting Your Customer's "Space" (Inside the Vehicle):
How To Reach Car-Cooners

It’s probably been the same since some forgotten cave dweller came up with the idea for the wheel: technological innovations have always had unintended consequences for businesses. For example, few watchmakers took notice when the first cell phones appeared, but once phones started displaying the time wristwatch sales tanked. On the opposite side of the coin, the invention of the laptop computer provided an unexpected boon to briefcase makers as people looked for a way to transport their new mobile computers.

In light of this, it’s doubtful that engineers at the world’s leading automakers gave any thought to the effect their work would have on the way people bought cheeseburgers, coffee and carwashes when they were making big improvements in automobile suspension systems between 1950 and 1970 --- but the effect has been far reaching.

Prior to the appearance of modern suspension systems, a ride in a car was so rough and bumpy that no one entertained the idea of even attempting to eat or drink in a moving vehicle. This all began to change in the 1950s when, in addition to better suspension systems, vehicles were given more comfortable interiors. This led to the drive-up restaurants where carhops brought trays to your vehicle. A little over a decade later, the drive-up gave way to the drive-thru concept -- and the era of “car-cooning” was soon in high-gear. This movement was strengthened later by the arrival of car stereo systems (followed by iPods, Bluetooth and XM Radios), improved cabin temperature controls, heated leather seats and a host of other amenities that made cars as comfortable as family rooms.

An Essential Marketing Tool

McDonalds opened its first drive-thru window in 1975 in Sierra Vista, Arizona. Today about 65 cents of every dollar the company’s US operation takes in comes from its drive-thru windows. Such is the importance of drive-thrus that recently, when the city of San Luis Obispo, CA upheld its ban on them, McDonalds demolished its local restaurant rather than renovate it. “We can’t build a million dollar McDonald’s without a drive thru. We just can’t do it,” said a company spokesman.

Many carwash operators take a similar view of their own businesses, which is why they include the SiteWatch® Xpress Pay Terminal® (XPT) self-pay station in their plans to build a new site or remodel an existing location.

An analysis by DRB Systems Numbers Guy, Harold Guthrie, found that carwashes with the XPT saw credit card traffic volume increase 900% faster in 2009 than sites without the self-pay station, in part because they address the needs of car-cooners who prefer to remain undisturbed inside their vehicles.

The eagerness on the part of customers to complete as many of their everyday transactions as possible within the comfortable confines of their own vehicles is picking up speed. Consider the following:

Time Is On Your Side

Why are so many consumers opting to complete transactions of all kinds in their cars? Saving time is a critical factor. Consumers trying to balance the demands of work and family want to spend as little time as possible on errands like carwashing. According to a University of Maryland study, almost half of adults with full-time jobs are dissatisfied with their amount of free time.

By eliminating the need to get out of the car, self-pay and drive-thru lanes will save the customer valuable time. Of course this time-saving advantage is reduced when a drive-thru or self-pay lane becomes too popular and long lines form. This issue is compounded by the fact that each individual transaction at a drive-thru or self-pay lane tends to become slower as the size of the line increases.

According to the Quick Serve Magazine survey, the transaction time at a Wendy’s drive-thru is 120.25 seconds when two or fewer vehicles are present. However, if the line extends to 3-5 vehicles, the amount of time needed to complete the average transaction jumps to 166.62 seconds.

Savvy businesses realize that installing a drive-thru or self-pay option isn’t enough by itself. To be most effective, these options have to be supported by technologies that speed up transactions so the time advantage of a drive-thru or self-pay option is still substantial even during peak traffic periods.

"Customers are going to go to the shortest line," a Checkers Hamburgers executive told Quick Serve Restaurant Magazine. "We try to consistently move cars. It's a real challenge to attract lots of customers yet not have a long line, but we've found we can increase our transactions even at peak times."

Quick serve restaurants have relied on a variety of technological innovations to meet this challenge, including touch screen order terminals, voice enhancing speaker systems and call centers. In the carwash industry, the SiteWatch XPT incorporates a variety of features to increase throughput and keep lines moving even during peak periods. Click here to read how creating an Express Lane with SiteWatch® FastPass® and ARM can reduce the number of cars waiting at your carwash.

Encouraging credit card payments is another step businesses can take to keep the lines at self-pay stations and drive-thru windows moving faster. The 2009 Quick Serve Magazine study found that the average transaction time at drive-thru windows was 178.2 seconds when customers paid with credit cards and 193.2 seconds when cash was used. Click here to read about SiteWatch Card Clearing.

The Comfy Factor

As important as saving time is to customers however, there are equally significant factors driving them to the drive-thru and self-pay lanes. With their comfortable and spacious interiors, precise temperature controls, and plethora of high tech entertainment options, vehicles have become pretty inviting places to hang out in. That’s why so many people seem to choose a quick serve drive-thru even when the line is relatively long and the dine-in section of the restaurant is empty.

Couple the comfort of the modern car with the fact that Americans spend an average of 101 minutes a day driving according to a University of California study; then add the fact that modern life provides precious few opportunities for many people to be alone and free of outside pressures—and it’s easy to see why many of your customers have developed a special appreciation for the time they spend inside their vehicles.

Small wonder then that in one recent survey, 31% of the respondents said their cars have individual personalities. Customers who develop this kind of attachment to their cars have a sense of well-being when they’re in those vehicles. So it stands to reason that they would rather not leave those vehicles when running errands if there’s a self-pay alternative.

By providing this alternative with the XPT, carwash operators can make their sites more inviting to car-cooners, particularly if they take a cue from some quick serve restaurants and offer extra amenities that improve the customer’s environment inside the vehicle. For example, the In-N-Out Burger chain now provides placemats for people who eat in their cars. A carwash that handed out moist dashboard wipes at its tunnel entrance, or had them dispensed by machine next to its XPT would be scoring similar points with customers.

Drive thru restaurants have also found that having video and digital signage and touchscreen interfaces at the point of sale has a very positive impact on sales. At Subway Restaurant test sites, volume increased by 10-15% after drive thrus with video/digital signage and self-serve touchscreens were installed. Click here to learn more about the XPT’s video interface and touchscreen.

By offering customers the chance to buy a carwash without leaving the comfort of their vehicles, and employing technology to make this experience as quick and pleasant as possible, you can ensure that your business enjoys steady support from car-cooners — even if they never actually set foot in your wash.