The Unlimited Auto Wash Podcast

When It Rains, We Adapt: Seasonal Strategy Secrets from Unlimited Auto Wash

• Kevin Dalton • Episode 12

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How Does The Company Handle Fluctuations In Demand Due To Seasonal Or Economic Changes? 

Running a successful car wash business means mastering the art of seasonal adaptation. Kevin Dalton, owner of Unlimited Auto Wash, reveals the behind-the-scenes strategies that keep his South Florida operation thriving despite dramatic seasonal fluctuations and unpredictable weather patterns.

The business experiences its peak from January through mid-April, with a noticeable 30-40% decline during Florida's rainy summer months. However, Kevin's approach to staffing shows remarkable flexibility and foresight. Rather than simply cutting everyone's hours during slow periods, some employees temporarily transition to landscaping work, creating a win-win situation that maintains both employee income and operational efficiency. What's particularly impressive is the loyalty this arrangement fosters – some staff members have been alternating between industries for nearly a decade, returning to Unlimited Auto Wash during high season when tips and hours are abundant.

Weather monitoring forms another crucial element of daily operations. The team utilizes multiple forecasting applications to make informed decisions about operating hours during inclement weather. Unlike many competitors, they diligently update their Google Business listing in real-time when weather forces closures – a simple practice that prevents customer disappointment and builds trust. Meanwhile, member loyalty programs provide essential business stability through special perks like service discounts, free upgrades, and member-only events. Kevin emphasizes that these members represent the business's "lifeline," deserving extraordinary care that fosters mutual loyalty.

Whether you're a car wash owner looking for operational insights or simply curious about how weather-dependent businesses stay afloat during challenging times, this episode offers valuable wisdom about adaptation, planning, and maintaining customer relationships through seasonal ups and downs. Visit Unlimitedautowashclub.com to learn more about their locations throughout Palm Beach County and experience their commitment to making your vehicle shine rain or shine.

To learn more about Unlimited Auto Wash visit:
https://www.UnlimitedAutoWashClub.com
Unlimited Auto Wash
561-WASH-ME-2

Speaker 1:

Welcome to the Unlimited Auto Wash podcast. Get ready to discover the secrets to keeping your car looking spotless and new. Here's your host, Kevin Dalton, owner of the Unlimited Auto Wash, ready to make your ride shine like never before.

Speaker 2:

When business slows down, how do you keep the water flowing? In this episode, Kevin Dalton shares the strategies Unlimited Auto Wash uses to stay steady rain or shine, boom or bust. Welcome back everyone. I'm Sofia Yvette, co-host, slash producer, back in the studio with Unlimited Auto Wash owner, Kevin Dalton. Kevin, how's it going today?

Speaker 3:

Good morning, thank you. Going great, going great.

Speaker 2:

Great, that's so great to hear Kevin. So everyone wants to know how does the company handle fluctuations in demand due to seasonal or economic changes.

Speaker 3:

Sure, well, certainly we have our high season and our low season. In South Florida Our high season, busiest months are January through, maybe middle of April, kind of dependent upon when Easter hits. Right after Easter I think a lot of people go back to the Northeast. So we do slow down for the summertime. We'll adjust our staffing. We no longer are able to do overtime during the summer months. Luckily we don't typically get water restrictions down here so we don't have to cut back on that. But our seasonal traffic does die and die down quite a bit substantially, probably about 30 40. However, a lot of that drop is because of weather. The rainy season hits and we just can't pay people to come and get a car wash. So our business does suffer because of the rainy season. But if you give us two straight weeks of great weather during the summertime, our numbers will come up substantially and be close to those of January, february, march.

Speaker 3:

Third, we start preparing in October for the November December increase. We do our hiring in October. We typically bring on people that have even been with us before, that maybe moved over to landscaping during the summertime and they flip back to the car wash during the wintertime because they really like the tips and they offer great service. Those young men and women are just phenomenal employees. We've got some that have been flipping back and forth for eight, nine years now and we really appreciate them coming back to us. But we try to send out more specials via email and so forth. Unfortunately, it's really hard to spend a lot of dollars on advertising during the summertime because, as I said, even with coupons and so forth, they really don't work during the summer because of the rainy season, so people just don't want to come in and get their car washed.

Speaker 2:

Understood. Now let's get into some of those membership perks during those slow seasons. What specific perks do you offer members during the slow seasons?

Speaker 3:

Certainly Well, during the summertime we'll throw our customers, our members rather, some really good discounts. Occasionally we may send them a good. We'll tell them, let's say, from this date to this date, come in and we're going to give you a great price on a hand wax or a detail. We have an occasional member day where they'll get a free upgrade to the next wash, just to get them in so they can leave a nice tip for our employees. We do some giveaways occasionally. Unfortunately, with the tariffs that might be a different situation right now, but we'll work around that. But you know we go out of our way, above and beyond, for our members. They're our lifeline. We do a lot for them and they do a lot for us. So we really appreciate them.

Speaker 2:

So, Kevin, what kinds of weather data influence day-to-day operations?

Speaker 3:

Well, we like to hear we're in La Nina because it is drier in Florida. When that's the case, we do a lot of 10-day forecasting with a few different applications and websites. We use 10-day forecasting with a few different applications and websites. We use and we try to maintain our high techiness and being able to predict weather because it really matters. If you've got a chance of rain, say at 11 am all the way through 4 pm, that typically means we'll probably close when the first round of rain hits for the day, close when the first round of rain hits for the day, but if it's not going to rain until three or four or even five, we'll stay open until that time and make a decision then whether we're going to close.

Speaker 3:

And of course, we're probably the only car wash business in maybe even all of Florida. I'd probably say that Maybe even the Southeastern United States that actually updates Google, that Maybe even the Southeastern United States that actually updates Google. So if you aren't sure if that car wash is going to be open because of rain, you just Google the unlimited auto wash and your city unlimited auto wash, for example Jupiter, and it'll come up and let you know whether we've just closed or not, or whether we've been closed. Unfortunately it doesn't post a time that we closed. But at least they won't make that drive there and find out we're closed and then go to a competitor because it says they're open and they're closed and so they're not making the rounds. So at least they know, and we always let our customers know, always check Google, we update it continuously.

Speaker 2:

One final question for you today, Kevin how do you train staff to adapt to these demand shifts?

Speaker 3:

Okay. So they are pre-wired with the notion that during the season they're going to be able to work 40 hours plus a week. And they want to believe you me, they want to. Those young men and women really appreciate the tips as well. So not only if they can't work a full 40 hours, not only are they out there on base pay, but they're also out tips. So they understand that.

Speaker 3:

That's why some of them, as we mentioned earlier, move over to landscaping during the summertime, because that allows the other employees here to continue to work at 40 hours rather than having to cut everybody back to 30 hours or so. And so it's a. You know we've got, like I said, a great group of people. They understand our business as well as we do. When it comes to off-season inclement weather, hurricanes, they know what's expected of them. After a hurricane, they're going to come in and help us clean up the facility not only our facility, but the facilities that might be right around us, because we obviously need to look good to be able to open. But if they look good as well, it only helps our business and our business relationships with those owners as well.

Speaker 2:

Wow, Well, love it. Kevin. Thank you so much for all of that helpful info. We'll catch you in the next episode. Have a fantastic rest of your day.

Speaker 3:

Well, thank you very much, Sophia. Good talking to you.

Speaker 1:

Thanks for listening to the Unlimited Auto Wash Podcast podcast. Keep your car looking its absolute best by visiting one of our six convenient palm beach county locations or by heading to unlimited auto wash clubcom. Remember, at the unlimited auto wash we make you look good. See you next time.