A Washout Season for Carwashes
For carwash owners, 1998 has proved to be a tough year to cash in on Southern Californians’ love affair with their cars.
Across the region, the many months of rain have wreaked havoc on the sunshine-dependent industry, with analysts reporting drops in business from 35% to 50%. Some owners say they have been hit even harder.
“It’s the worst carwash season I can remember, and I started washing cars in 1963,” said Gary Wimmer, president of the Downey-based Western Car Wash Assn.
In an area so dependent on cars--and so in love with clean ones--the seemingly endless series of El Nino-driven storms has affected everyone from the owners of multimillion-dollar carwashes to their employees, most of whom rely on a minimum wage and tips to pay their bills.
A clear and sunny day like Tuesday can bring customers out in droves, but more often than not, carwash owners say, they’ve been starved for business.
“It’s killing us,” said Ben Forat, owner of Studio City Car Wash on Ventura Boulevard.
“It’s been brutal,” added Rick Tesdechi, owner of Warner Center Auto Detail. “We’re looking at a 60% decline in business.”
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Carwash owners such as Tesdechi are blaming the frequency of rain, the prevalence of overcast skies and the media’s fascination with El Nino for scaring customers away. To lure customers back, many owners are offering discounted rates, special package deals and rain checks.
Although everyone associated with the soaping and buffing of cars is feeling the pinch, the lowest-paid workers, the so-called finishers, are perhaps suffering the most.
With few exceptions, the finishers make the minimum wage, plus tips. Because many Southern California carwashes shut down at the hint of a drizzle, El Nino has brought a lot of days without pay--97, to be exact, at Cruisers Car Wash in Northridge since November.
For 32-year-old Fidencio Manriquez it has been especially difficult because three of the four brothers with whom he shares a Reseda house also work at Cruisers.
Last year, the brothers sent about $300 every two weeks to relatives in Mexico. This year, they’ve been able to send only about half that amount every two weeks.
The fourth brother works at a Woodland Hills deli.
Said Manriquez: “He pays the bills this year.”
So far this season, the Los Angeles Civic Center has been drenched by 30.96 inches of rain, more than twice the normal season’s total, according to Bruce Rockwell, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service. There have been 43 rainy days this year, roughly double the average.
“The bad weather has been spread out over such a wide period of time,” said Harry Lumer Jr., controller for Joe’s Car Wash in Los Angeles, which caters to the downtown financial district. “That’s what I’ve never experienced before.”
Steve Fishman, owner of Speedway Car Wash at Westwood and Santa Monica boulevards in West Los Angeles, said customers have been shellshocked by the weather.
“Even if there’s no rain on a particular day, it may be sandwiched between a rainy day and the forecast of a rainy day, so they don’t come in,” Fishman said.
When did the rainy season begin exactly?
“November 9th,” Cruisers owner Mike Harn said without hesitation.
During the first quarter of 1997, Cruisers employees toweled off more than 60,000 cars. This year, that figure plummeted to 22,000--which meant business was also down at the adjacent oil-change shop and diner.
The ripple effect is being felt throughout the carwash industry, said Harvey Miller, an industry consultant based in Laguna Beach.
It’s not unusual, according to Miller, for carwashes in Southern California to be purchased for $2.5 million to $3 million, with monthly mortgages easily reaching $20,000. Some business owners also must pay property rents.
“These mortgages and rents have to be paid monthly, rain or shine,” Miller said. “There are several carwashes I know who are in serious trouble because their mortgages are big and they’ve gone seven months without business, and they’re tapped out.”
The tight cash flow is also affecting carwash suppliers, who, according to Miller, are not only reporting a drop in sales, but also are having trouble collecting on their accounts.
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In their desperation, many owners have become amateur meteorologists. They read the weather stories in their morning papers, listen to the radio on the way to and from work, and catch the weather reports on all the local news channels when they get home. The Weather Channel might get a quick peek before bedtime.
They learn which professional meteorologists to trust, and which to loathe. Predictions of rain, after all, can be almost as devastating to a day’s business as actual rain.
“He’s the worst!” Harn declared of one Los Angeles weather forecaster. Another, who broadcasts such advice as “Today might be a good day to get your car washed,” is beloved.
