SS pricing

I'm a new operator with 2 self serve bays and was wondering if my pricing was set properly. For $1.50 a customer gets 4 minutes.

I would think in MI, you are average to low. Depends on how old your equipment and in bay services are. The more up-to-date, the more you should obviously charge. Time Display, last coin alert, triple foam, air dryers, floor heat, good lighting, bill acceptors and ccard acceptor add to the value of your time.
I was the highest in the market 3 years ago with $2 for 5 and $4 for 20 min. But I had the latest in bay services at the time.

I'm sure you'll get some more replies.

Florida here.

$2 for 5 min.

The "other forum" (sorry Jimmy) has a long thread as a survey listing prices of SS start up $/time with about 50 responces over 6 months with the lastest as of today. Seems to me the average is about $1.75/4min from reading all of them. California is the highest (from my memory), the mid West is the lowest ($1- $1.50/4 or $1/2min) and the North East and the South seem to be at about $2/4min.

But again this seems to be from my memory and from skimming (if my Evelyn Wood reading is still fresh after 30 years).

hope this helped. Also the trade mags publish this data every year.

It will depend on your market, and you facility. You can charge a slight premium for a better facility and people will pay. Best thing to do is drive around your area and see what the going rate is. Carry some quarters and use your competitors' products.

I agree with GregPack. When I got my wash, I drove around to the competitors and used everyone of their services to see how my wash compared. I am also in Michigan near Flint and I charge 1.50/4 min. I am planning on doing some upgrades this summer and will most likely do an increase, we'll see.

I bought my first self serve in 1986 and second one in 1988. The vacs were 50 cents when I took them over. I raised them to 75 cents shortly thereafter. My self serves were $1.00/4 min. Today they are $1.25/3 min. and my vacs are still .75. I've bounced around over the years $1.25/4 min, $1.50/4 min, etc. Customers have a perceived value in self serves. Self serves after 20 years are priced too low, considering the increases in utilities, chemicals, etc., but your customers will only pay so much for the opportunity to "do it themselves" - so the birth of automatics. Many times I've taken out the calculator and figured if I raise this a little and that a little, then this is how much more I should be bringing in. It doesn't work that way. Your loss in customers in a self serve is greater than the gain. Your market is what it is. Do what you can to make the experience rewarding, friendly, a clean and well kept premises, everything working, a complaint box handy and give them their money's worth. Some self serves do absolutely great and some so-so. It depends on the market, your location, your competition and your services - but at the end of the day your self serves will only produce so much revenue. An investor will have a sense of where the ceiling is 18 months after opening - after that any gain will be slow.

Joe
www.crowncarwashinc.com