Pennsylvania three-wash chain chooses Dencar to drive memberships, growth
MAINTAINING AN EDGE
Hometown Auto Spa has three car wash locations around Allentown, Penn. Its business is unique in that two locations have touchless in-bay automatics and one is a tunnel operation. The company is in the midst of a multi-year plan to convert all locations into IBAs, and Dencar Technology’s industry leading pay stations will play a crucial role.
“We looked at other companies’ pay stations, but they didn’t offer what Dencar did and some of the prices were exorbitant. Choosing Dencar was an easy decision,” said Hometown Auto Spa manager Andrew Ammary.
The flagship location in Whitehall has been the only car wash in the area for a number of years, but two new tunnel washes are planning to move in nearby. Ammary says that’s when they started thinking about how to stay ahead.
“We’ve enjoyed a loyal customer base, but had never tried a membership program,” said Ammary. “With competition moving in within the next year, we knew now was the time to begin capturing members.”
By the time the renovations to all locations are complete, Hometown Auto Spa will have a total of six IBA bays across the three car washes and will be out of the tunnel business entirely. Dencar Model S2 pay stations, with a 21-inch hi def screen and the ability to accept credit, digital, and cash payments, will be installed at each bay.
"Choosing Dencar was an easy decision"
- Andrew Ammary,
Hometown Auto Spa Manager
New membership program
Hometown is undertaking the conversion to a total IBA model to reduce labor and build their membership portfolio. Within six months of taking delivery of its first Dencar pay station, Hometown had signed up 150 members. “This was with zero marketing, only the prompt on the pay station screen,” said Ammary. “We have no promotional brochures, haven’t added it to our website. It’s been completely organic growth.”
Hometown has set a target of eventually signing up 350 members per lane. With their end-goal of having six total lanes across the three locations, that adds up to 2,100 members.
Clean, fast, and modern
“Our customers took to the new pay station very quickly,” said Ammary. “There was no learning curve. It’s a large, easy-to-use touch screen with an intuitive user experience. It’s easy for them to choose the wash package they want. It’s clean, fast, and modern. Many customers also enjoy the ability to pay within the app.”
Ammary notes that transactions are completed so quickly, it has also sped up throughput.
VIA Guard
A big selling point for Hometown Auto Spa was the built-in VIA Guard anti-fraud technology, which uses license plate readers (LPR) to help ensure that car wash memberships are tied to just one vehicle (unless the member upgrades to a multi-car family plan).
Dencar can grow with the regional chain, at the pace dictated by the car wash owners. As each location is renovated and upgraded, Hometown Auto Spa will add a new Dencar Model S2, one IBA lane at a time. The new pay station will seamlessly integrate into the larger operation.
Operators can control their growth at their own pace and Dencar will be ready, out of the box, to start delivering sales and memberships.