Advertise on podcast: The Wash Exchange

🎙️ NEW EPISODE — The Wash Exchange Russ Coleman from Coleman Hanna. 65 years in car wash equipment. His dad started building self-serve bays in Texas in 1966 — they’ve since put out somewhere near 100,000 of them, thousands of Water Wizards, and bought Hanna in 2004 to crack the tunnel market. I grabbed Russ on the floor at the Australian Car Wash Show in Adelaide and he gave me 15 minutes on: ▪️ Why 3 in-bays never beat 1 tunnel on the numbers ▪️ The US boom — 950 tunnels built in one year — and where it’s at now ▪️ Coleman Hanna’s 35+ years in Australia (Carlovers, Shiners) ▪️ The biggest change he’s seen in 65 years (it’s not what you think) Plus a sponsorship announcement — our first ever. 👀 #TheWashExchange #CarWash #CarWashAustralia #ColemanHanna #SlipstreamPro

Sean Pashley ("the membership guy") is back on The Wash Exchange, the first guest to appear twice in three weeks. Sean spent most of his career in restaurants, where menu design is a certified science: operators know exactly where a customer's eye lands. He reckons car washes have been designing menu boards like it's a fashion show, and he's here to fix that. Sean walks through nine principles of menu psychology and how each applies to your board, your packages and your pricing. Then he and Blair get into what's actually selling, what operators are charging in the US, how to price membership against your top wash, and why the Halloween car wash has become a thing. In this episode - 00:00 Welcome back, Sean - 01:10 From restaurant menus to car wash menus: why there's science we're ignoring - 03:03 #1 Visual hierarchy: the eye goes to the middle, not the top - 04:20 #2 Paradox of choice: why three packages beat four or five - 04:52 #3 Compromise effect: customers pick the "safe" middle - 05:24 #4 Decoy effect: every package needs a purpose - 06:40 #5 Anchoring: why the $5 loss leader "never led" - 07:43 #6 Cognitive load: icons vs words, and why 30 icons is too many - 09:40 #7 Loss aversion: sizing the price jumps so customers trade up - 11:45 #8 Framing: Good/Better/Best vs Clean/Shine/Protect - 13:45 #9 Social proof: "Most Popular" vs "Best Value" - 15:20 If your cheapest wash is your top seller, you're doing it wrong - 16:14 Left-to-right, top-down, or middle-out? Blair's menu board confession - 16:56 Colour, contrast and making your hero package pop - 17:52 Should your menu board be an ad? Letting staff "quarterback" the sale - 19:56 What's the real split across Good / Better / Best? - 20:56 The one-package car wash: steak, not spaghetti - 22:26 What US express tunnels are charging for a top wash - 25:42 How to price membership against your top single wash - 27:18 Redemption rates: why you need a 12-month running number - 28:07 Halloween car washes: charity, community and owning your town - 32:53 How to reach Sean - 33:22 Coming up: nine rival manufacturers on one stage at the Australian Car Wash Show Key takeaways - Put your best package in the middle and make it the brightest thing on the board. - Three packages. If two of them don't differ meaningfully, one has to go. - Make each step up cheaper than the last. Customers only feel the difference, not the total. - Outcome-based names (Clean / Shine / Protect) only work if your signage explains what "protect" means. - Talk to your customers before you raise prices. Exit surveys tell you more than a competitor's board. Connect with Sean - Email: [email protected] - Membership tools and articles: carwashhelp.com The Wash Exchange is a B2B podcast for Australian and US car wash operators, by Slipstream Pro. Real stories equal real results. #carwash #carwashmarketing #carwashmembership #carwashindustry

The Wash Exchange — Jay Frank, COO, Splash Car Wash Episode description Splash Car Wash was founded in Connecticut in 1981 and is now one of the twenty largest car wash operators in the United States — 80-plus locations across seven north-eastern states, including New York, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania. Backed first by private equity in 2018 and more recently by AEA, Splash has grown from around 20 sites to over 80 through a mix of acquisitions and new builds, running everything from express exteriors and full-serve tunnels to in-bay automatics, hand wash, detailing, oil change and laundromats. What hasn’t changed is the people: senior leaders and site managers with 15, 25, even 35 years in the business, and a culture the company credits as the springboard for its growth. In this episode Blair sits down with Jay Frank, 26-year Splash veteran and newly appointed Chief Operating Officer, for a practical look inside how a top-20 operator actually runs: The 30/60/90-day acquisition playbook — why Splash does a “slow walk” after every purchase: meet the team first, fix safety, then roll in POS, staffing models and reporting, so by day 90 a site “looks like a Splash” without the customers noticing anything except better service.The mistakes other buyers make — cutting staff, raising prices and changing the menu in week one, before earning it.“Deposits before withdrawals” — the philosophy behind Splash’s near-zero management turnover, from pay and recognition to owning your mistakes fast.Converting retail sites to membership — training, belief at the pay station, clear goals and rewards, not beating customers over the head.New builds vs acquisitions in an expensive market, and why Splash keeps doing both.Running 80 sites across seven states — regional structure, daily KPI calls, open-book management and managers who run their wash like they own it.Buying a 16-site chain tomorrow: who runs it? Jay’s answer on bench strength and culture-builders.What separates the consolidators that last from the ones that stall — and how Splash responds when a well-funded competitor opens a mile away with free washes.Real stories, real results. Essential listening for any operator in acquisition mode, building a membership base, or trying to hold onto good people. Please like and subscribe to your chosen platform.

The Membership Playbook with Sean Pashley | The Wash Exchange Memberships have changed the economics of car washing, and few people know the model better than Sean Pashley. In this episode, Blair Woolcott sits down with Sean to unpack everything operators need to know about building, pricing and keeping a membership base. They cover: Why recurring revenue changes what a wash site is worthHow to price and tier plans without cannibalising single washesSign-up tactics that actually convert at the pay stationChurn: why members leave and how to keep themCapacity, wash quality and the member experience at peak timesThe numbers every operator should be trackingWhether you run one site or twenty, this is a straight-talking look at the biggest revenue lever in the industry. The Wash Exchange is the B2B podcast for car wash operators in Australia and the US, brought to you by Slipstream Pro. Subscribe for new episodes, and share this one with an operator who needs to hear it.

This week on The Wash Exchange, Blair sits down with Eric Wulf, CEO of the International Car Wash Association (ICA) and a long-time friend of the Australian Car Wash Association and its members. Eric has spent 20 years at the ICA, which gives him one of the best views of the global car wash industry. He talks about how he went from stockbroking and running a college fraternity headquarters to leading the world's largest car wash association. He also explains how the industry has changed since 2006, when it was almost entirely family-owned, to now, when private equity and big consolidators have created what he calls "two cultures" in the business. In this episode: The biggest change in 20 years: professional car washing has grown from about 6 in 10 drivers to nearly 8 in 10, and the industry is now far more professional. How wash clubs took over: why operators used to "dip their toe in and jump out," and how subscriptions grew to 70–80% of express wash revenue in the US. Is Australia 10 years behind? Eric's view of the Australian market, including land costs, labour costs, hand wash and how our cities are laid out. Today's challenges: high fuel prices, interest rates and the hangover from the 2019–2022 buying spree. Inside the ICA show: why Nashville is staying, the new product area, and how hard it is to find a big enough convention centre. Crystal ball: why Eric thinks AI tools will let operators build their own software, bring more work in-house and become more vertically integrated over the next five years. Eric is coming to the Australian Car Wash Show next week to speak on global car washing trends. Come and say g'day on the show floor. Real stories. Real results. This is The Wash Exchange.

Payment fees are changing, and Australian businesses need to be ready. In this episode, we explain what's coming and how it could hit your car wash. Then Matt Sawyer joins us to talk about wash software and shares what his time working with McDonald's taught him about running a high-volume operation.

In this episode of The Wash Exchange, Blair Woolcott sits down with Rob Sacco, the owner behind Waves Carwash — voted the No.1 car wash business nationally and the dominant wash brand in the ACT, with sites now stretching into Victoria. Waves Carwash Rob has built Waves into a genuine multi-format operation: full-service tunnel washing, 24/7 self-serve bays, touch-free automatics, and Enhanced Care detailing across five Canberra locations — plus a family-friendly flagship with a café and kids' play area that turns a car wash visit into a destination. Waves CarwashWaves Carwash We get into how Rob thinks about site format mix, why full-service still works when the industry is racing to express, building the Wash Club membership base, staffing a labour-heavy model, and what it takes to expand a regional brand interstate. If you operate a wash — or want to — this one's worth your time. 🎧 Listen on YouTube, Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Brought to you by Slipstream Pro.

Hear from Conrad Sams a 18 year veteran in car washing, hear about his experiences including being the COO of Rocket Car Wash Chain and what hes up to now with his business Wash Wise Academy. For further information https://www.washwiseacademy.com/ or email Conrad directly at e: [email protected] enjoy and happy washing. For further information on SlipStream Pro please visit our website www.slipstreampro.com.au

Mel and Mike from OHM co have built a car wash people actually talk about — and in this episode they break down exactly how they did it. Blair sits down with them to unpack the marketing that genuinely moves the needle for an Australian wash site: how they pull in first-time customers, what turns those one-off visits into regulars, the promotions that worked (and the ones that quietly didn't), and how they think about building a brand that sticks in a market where most washes look the same. Practical, honest, and full of ideas you can put to work at your own site this week. Stick around to the end — there are a few bloopers in there too. The Wash Exchange is the podcast for car wash operators who want to run better sites and build better businesses, brought to you by Slipstream Pro.

Hear from Glenn Van Den Berg who has been installing wash equipment for the past 20 years. Glenn has formed his own equipment and service company called Car Wash Supply Co and hear about how that's going for him and his team. Featuring a quick wash machine from Petite, Glenn gives some good insights worth listening to. For further information contact Glenn directly e: [email protected] or visit his website www.carwashsupplyco.com.au

Join Blair Woolcott on The Wash Exchange for an insightful conversation with Paul Fazio from Sonny’s. Paul shares his perspective on the evolving car wash industry, leadership, business growth, customer experience and what successful operators need to focus on to remain competitive. This is a valuable discussion for car wash owners, managers, suppliers and anyone looking to grow within the industry. Real Stories. Real Results. Presented by SlipStream Pro www.slipstreampro.com.au

Greg Cummins is one of the first car washing owners in Australia some 30 plus years ago. He still owns sites today and hear some good stories about the good old days, the future and the drought that nearly ended the industry.