Originally posted – Jan 21, 2013
Capturing three revenue streams – a car wash, pet wash and a self-service laundry – Crystal Clear Wash in Montrose, Colo., is not only distinctive and profitable, but it also makes easy even easier.
This three-in-one facility is dedicated to making life simple for its customers, according to Omar Bou-Matar, who co-owns the business with his father, Walid, and his wife, Hannah. And, not only are all three convenient services based in one location – making washing the car, cleaning the family dog and doing the week’s laundry that much simpler – customers also appreciate the fact that at Crystal Clear they can choose whether to use coins, a debit card, a credit card or the store’s own loyalty card for all of these services.
The pet wash, which is unique to the Montrose area, is already paying for itself in revenue, according to Bou-Matar. It makes washing Fido quick and easy. Once a pet is placed into the tub and its collar clipped onto a chain attached to the tub, the customer simply selects the desired products to use and finishes the job with a blow dryer.
The car wash segment of the business – complete with a water reclamation system – features a touch-free, automatic car wash and four self-service bays, including one for trucks and RVs. The self-service bays boast nine wash options, from triple foam and bug remover, to tire cleaner. The automatic wash offers a “Quick Wash,” a “Super Wash,” a “Deluxe Wash”and “The Works.”
The third piece of the puzzle is, of course, a fully attended self-service laundry, complete with high-speed equipment that allows customers the convenience of a 60-minute wash-and-dry process. The store’s high-efficiency equipment helps the owners maintain low utility bills.
Other services offered at Crystal Clear include wash-dry-fold and “load-and-leave.” Thus far, the car wash business represents 37 percent of Crystal Clear Wash’s revenue, while the pet wash accounts for about 12 percent.
This unique business was developed on a property that once featured a convenience store, a gas station and a car wash.
Walid, who has more than a decade of experience owning and running another car wash, purchased the property with the idea of developing three self-service businesses in one. Just around the time he purchased the Montrose property, Bou-Matar and his wife entered the picture.
“I had quit my job managing an oil field service company to help get the laundry going,” Bou-Matar explained. “The laundry business offers a unique business model.”
New to the coin laundry business, the Bou-Matars researched the industry extensively, eventually partnering with Tom Millman of Washtime Industries, headquartered in Greeley, Colo. And it was Millman who guided them as they planned, designed and equipped their new laundry operation.
Executed in a phased approach, the laundry was completed and opened for business about a month prior to the pet wash and car wash. And that was a good thing, according to Bou-Matar.
“We learned a lot about our equipment during that month,” he noted.
Overall, the 2,300-square-foot store is equipped with 28 high-speed frontloading washers. These soft-mount washers generate high-extract speeds, and yet slid into place easily, according to Bou-Matar.
“Hard-mount washers must be bolted to concrete foundations,” Millman pointed out. “And, because Crystal Clear’s washers produce such high extract speeds, they remove more water from every load and can cut drying time by up to 50 percent.”
At Crystal Clear Wash, this means customers can wash, dry and fold their laundry in about an hour. And, by shortening the drying time, the business in turn uses less electricity and natural gas – thus, making for smaller utility bills each month. In fact, utilities are currently at approximately 15 percent of Crystal Clear Wash’s total revenue, Bou-Matar revealed.
And, clearly, Bou-Matar’s customers appreciate this time-saving convenience as well.
“Some people will put five or six quarters into a dryer,” he said. “We tell them they don’t need that many quarters because loads dry in 20 to 30 minutes – max. They say our dryers work really well, but I tell them it’s because of the high-speed extract on the washers – the loads don’t take as long to dry. They like getting in and out of the laundry more quickly.”
The store’s equipment lineup includes 18 20-pound frontloading washers, six 30-pounders and four 40-pound-capacity machines. In addition, it features eight 45-pound stack dryers, 12 30-pound-capacity stacks, and two 75-pound single-pocket tumblers.
There are no topload washers at Crystal Clear Wash.
Instead of using toploaders, the store’s customers can utilize the more efficient 20-pound-capacity frontloaders, which saves Bou-Matar significantly on his water costs. In fact, the store’s 20-pound-capacity washers are Energy Star-qualified and use as little as 13.4 gallons of water per load, compared with the 31 to 40 gallons used by a typical topload washer, according to Millman.
And the washers have been simple for Bou-Matar to program for even further utility savings. He can program extract speed, mechanical action, wash temperature by degree, water levels, and wash or rinse time by minute.
“I love that I can charge different amounts for hot, cold or warm water, or for a ‘superwash,'”he explained. “After all, each of those cycles uses a different amount of water, natural gas and electricity.”
Appealing to a wide variety of customers, the laundromat also boasts two 75-pound-capacity frontload washers. Typically used for washing heavy and bulky laundry loads – such as quilts, blankets and throw rugs – they help Crystal Clear draw customers with very large families and a lot of laundry to get clean, according to Bou-Matar
“Our most popular washers are the 40-pounders, which are turning nearly three times per day, followed by the 30-pounders and 75-pounders with two turns per day, and the 20-pounders with one daily turn,” he said.
Making life easy and convenient for its customers is a huge part of the business plan – and it has become the laundry’s mantra.
“We give our customers the flexibility to choose their payment type,” Bou-Matar explained.
Currently, 65 percent of his clients prefer using coins, and 35 percent use cards. However, card users enjoy significant perks. For example, each time a customer adds money to his or her card Crystal Clear Wash adds another 10 percent to its value.
A similar program is in place for commercial accounts, offering a 10 percent discount and the option of using the Crystal Clear laundry card like a credit card; this enables a business customer and its employees to access all of the services needed using the card. The business is then sent an invoice at the end of the month.
By providing “load-and-leave”and wash-dry-fold services, Crystal Clear Wash has been capturing a number of additional business accounts. And, because the facility offers more than just laundry services, it can potentially capture an even wider breadth of both business and residential accounts, according to Bou-Matar.
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