"People are not as interested in the full-service car wash," Lawrence Fuller of Fuller's Carwash & Detail Center told the newspaper. "Demand for the full-service has deteriorated a bit."
As a result, customers of the Fuller's site in Orland Park, Ill., soon will be able to wash and dash.
The company, with a dozen [image-nocss] locations in the Chicago area, some with a gasoline and c-store offer, is known for its full-service, but lately customers have been telling Fuller's to speed things up. In a few weeks, Fuller's will open an automatic wash tunnel at its Orland location that owner Lawrence Fuller said will do just that.
Fuller's still will offer a full-service wash and detailing alongside the new express wash. The entire car wash is closed while work on the $3.8 million addition is under way, Fuller told the paper.
"It will be fully automated," he said of the 140-foot-long tunnel. "It's state-of-the-art."
A basic exterior wash will run $3, but there are add-ons that can bring the cost up to $12. Fuller's will offer free vacuuming for express customers.
Fuller said the company has offered the quicker automatic wash at its Palos Heights and Des Plaines, Ill., outlets and is considering adding them at other locations.
With a full-service cleaning starting at $15, the economy has weakened demand, he said, but time also is a factor.
"People have so little time on their hands today," Fuller said. "The full-service wash can take 10 or 15 minutes, and with the express they can have a clean, dry car in three minutes."
Nationally, the economy hasn't caused drivers to cut back on washing their cars, according to Eric Wulf, chief executive of the Chicago-based International Carwash Association. But when they do stop at a car wash, they're sticking to the basics, he said.
"Anecdotally, we have not, generally speaking, seen car-wash purchases decrease dramatically," he told the paper, "but [customers] are certainly paying more attention to price."
Fuller's hopes to have the wash and detail center in Orland Park open by mid-December because the winter months mean brisk business for car washes.
"November, December, January and February are really important months for car-wash owners," he said.
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