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CUSTOMER SERVICE

ALL-AMERICAN SUPER CAR WASH

OPERATOR: LARRY AYRES

LOCATION: WICHITA FALLS, TEXAS

STAFF SIZE: 7

SHOP SIZE: 3 BAYS

AVERAGE CAR COUNT: 50

TICKET AVERAGE: $100

BY MATT HUDSON PHOTOS BY CARISSA DAVIS

ORIGINAL BUILD

Operator Larry Ayres built this location back in 1997, and the combination car wash and lube shop made a big splash as the one-stop-shop service center.

“Taj Mahal for a car wash and lube center in Wichita Falls, Texas, which is a city of 100,000,” Ayres says. “It was 90,000 at the time.”

He grew a network of car washes over time, but this shop remains the only ground-up build. The chain of five car washes includes two quick lube shops.

One great feature as part of this build is the full basement. The space for inventory and movement helps techs stay comfortable and efficient.

“The entire underneath of the building is a basement,” Ayres says. “We’ve got lots of room underneath. We keep it very clean, so it’s organized and we can have the filters available. It makes for a quick process.”

BAYS OUT BACK

Ayres says the shop is focused on speed in the quick lube bays. For longer services like flushes, brake jobs, and tire rotations, there is another structure out back with six bays. There are lifts and alignment racks as needed.

That allows the shop to expand services but keep the main lube shop available to express work.

“Being three bays and having the back shop is probably the best thing that we did,” he says. “Having that separate shop for preventative maintenance keeps the oil changes flowing through those three bays.”

ADDED AMENITIES

Ayres says that he’s worked to optimize the shop for speed and efficiency, with customers staying in their cars through an oil change and included car wash. They can be in and out in a half hour.

To help sales in those additional service bays, the express bays are outfitted with alignment check machines that can quickly diagnose a needed alignment. That work would then be handled out in the back bays.

Another nice touch: They are able to pump cool air into vehicles when the temperature rises.

“It’s hot in Texas, so we’ve got air conditioners that we pop into the vehicle,” he says.