Kim Allen has always had a taste for freedom, dating back to nights out cruising motorcycles past her bedtime as a young teen. Her parents bought her a street bike for her thirteenth birthday, so she wasn't quite old enough to ride it. "It was pretty fun," she said. "I had to sneak it out in the middle of the night to ride it."
Kim still finds the time to ride motorcycles when she's not working or with her family. "I still ride little dirt bikes," she explained. "Nothing too big." When she's not out riding dirt bikes in the mud or spending time with kids, grandkids, and pets, Kim manages a chain of car washes in Colorado — ProClean Auto Wash and National Pride Car Wash. The chain boasts 27 total locations, all of which are managed by Kim.
She has been with the company since 2002. What was once a simple day job has become a rewarding career for her. "I love the puzzles we get at the wash, like when you've got a problem you've never experienced before," she said. "How do we diagnose this? How do we troubleshoot it? How do we make this work?"
Her understanding of what her customers want also helps her to know where the industry is headed. Like her, car wash customers are looking for more freedom — the freedom to pay for a wash however they like and visit the wash whenever they choose. "People are using less cash and more credit cards these days," she said. "Everybody wants to be a member of something — From Netflix to every streaming service, to buying things from Amazon. Membership has even become huge in this industry."
Enter EverWash. A few years ago, Kim and her team were looking for ways to expand and modernize their washes. Among the things they highlighted was creating a membership program and finding an efficient way to manage it. The membership model, and the recurring revenue it brings, had been gaining popularity in the industry for quite some time at that point.
"You know, we're self-service with in-bay automatics," she said. "How do we compete with the speed of a tunnel wash and the ability for people to be members of a car wash? EverWash offered a solution that works like a charm for IBA and Self Serve, so it was ultimately an easy decision."
Kim was particularly drawn to EverWash's membership sales and subscription management services after meeting the company at The Car Wash Show, including technology, sales, marketing, and customer service support.
"What really solidified the deal for us to choose EverWash versus other companies was how EverWash handled customer service," she explained. "We are car washers. We want to wash cars, we want to make sure our equipment's running right. We wanted a membership company that would run our membership so we could focus on washing, equipment, and chemistry."
It was even easier for Kim to make a decision thanks to the relationship EverWash has with her existing equipment providers. One example is CryptoPay, which ProClean and National Pride use as their credit card processing partner. One of CryptoPay's newest products, the CryptoTap, allows car wash customers to use NFC technology in the latest credit cards to tap to pay.
"CryptoPay is the easiest credit card solution that we have found. We were able to self-install our units and add credit card swiping to our washes," Kim said. "Like EverWash, they have great customer support. They're just literally a chat or a phone call away, so I don't have to struggle with a lot of the backend administrative duties."
Through EverWash's integration with CryptoPay, washes with CryptoPay swipers can easily implement EverWash-powered membership programs. As a result, both customers and operators can enjoy the convenience of membership.
"The integration between CryptoPay and EverWash has been super easy. If you already have the CryptoPay system, or if you decide to purchase and install the CryptoPay system, it's really as easy as working with EverWash to connect everything together." Kim explained. "EverWash uses an app on your phone, so easy for customers to use. I get excited when I show customers how easy it is to use, you know? It's really that easy, flawless really."
CryptoPay and EverWash have helped change the perception in the industry that self-service and in-bay automatic car washes can't have profitable membership programs. ProClean and National Pride revenues are up. As a result, the washes were able to invest in upgraded vacuums, LED light displays, repaving parking lots, upgrading wash equipment, and — most importantly — raising wages.
"If you're a car wash operator, especially one that already has CryptoPay installed on your self-serve bays and IBAs, I would most definitely add EverWash. EverWash gives you back-end money that you really just see come in on a consistent, recurring basis every month," Kim said.
She added: "Whether we're raining all month, whether we've got snow — it's just consistent, consistent revenue. You still get your regular customers, but now you have more customers because they're members. They'll never go to the guy down the street. They're always going to come to your car wash."
