The year is 2025 and the predictions of many futurists have come true. The cost of fossil fuels has made it prohibitively expensive to drive today’s gasoline-burning vehicles. Cash has become obsolete due to the increasing use of money tracking technology. The most valuable asset is no longer oil, gold or diamonds, but time. The market share in time has divided several times and reached a peak for many people within the world economy.
The value of the US dollar is now in close competition with the Asian yen and the rising value of the euro dollar. However, as sociopolitical trends spread across the globe, some things will always stay the same. People still need to visit the doctor, go to the dentist, buy groceries, take their kids to sports games, and wash their business and family vehicles.
The car wash of the future will be very similar to the ones of today. They will continue to be located near busy intersections and fuel stations, and will offer a variety of vehicle cleaning services at a reasonable price. The main difference between the car wash of today and the car wash of the future will be the presence of fewer individual car wash owners in the business. The competitive nature of the future market will drive out business owners who do not adequately market their laundry. Those who are successful will find what works within the future market and replicate it. In the next ten to twenty years, the main competitor will be the car wash franchise. Throughout North America there will be internationally recognized car washes because they all offer the same menu of services at almost the same price. When a consumer drives to a car wash of the future, they will expect the same quality of service as the car wash on the other side of the state.
Looking at the business trends of the last fifty years, today’s futurists are seeing trends in the way business has evolved over the last century. In 1954, Ray Kroc took his milkshake business on the road. He found out about a successful hamburger restaurant owned by brothers Dick and Mac McDonald. The brothers had cut short order business with its thousands of possible menu options. Offering two options: burgers, with or without cheese. They also offered two different shakes, chocolate or vanilla. Cars stuck waiting in line became a problem early in the McDonald’s business because making a milkshake takes time. So they cleared space in their restaurant for six of the five-spindle mixers called the Multimixer. This allowed the McDonald brothers to move six times as many cars through the drive-through. According to the McDonalds Corporation website, “Ray Kroc had never seen so many people served so quickly when he stopped to take a look. Seizing the day, he pitched the idea of opening several restaurants to the brothers…convinced he could sell eight of them.” your Multi mixers to each and every one”. “Who could we get to open them for us?” Dick McDonald said. “Well,” Kroc replied, “and me?”
Thus began an empire that has swept the world. It’s not the food or the personal service of each employee that makes this franchise so successful. McDonald’s is successful because the New York hamburger tastes just like the Chicago, Dallas or Los Angeles hamburger. And, each McDonald’s franchise trains its employees in exactly the same way at each location, providing consistent service.
Ray Kroc knew nothing about cooking great burgers and he didn’t serve the best shakes in the business. However, he identified and developed a business model that maximized the number of customers served efficiently. He also discovered that by limiting the menu, a McDonald’s received the same food offerings at each and every location. This business model was then pre-packaged and sold to people who wanted to start their own McDonalds franchise store. The training, menu, and construction and equipment guidelines are already in place and time tested. And millions of loyal customers around the world were now familiar with McDonald’s menu and services.
Entrepreneurs will still own the car washes of the future, but the business model will emphasize consistency and uniformity. A consumer may be visiting a car wash for the first time and already has a preset expectation in mind of what washes are available, the quality of the wash, and approximately how much money will be deducted from their personal wash account for that particular car. washing chain. In the future, cash will no longer be the main form of payment. Harnessing the power of the Internet and advanced communications technology, all of these franchise businesses will be linked within one large payment network. Customers will have unprecedented control over their account settings. Saving receipts and handing out tokens will be a thing of the past as fleet managers will now run their own activity reports and manage their account balance online from anywhere in the world. Buying and managing car washes will be as safe as online banking.
The successful car washes of the future will rise to the top, not just because the owners knew how to clean a car better or provided the best service. The car washes of the future will offer a standard menu of options and a consistent level of service that a customer can count on at each and every wash around the world.