Speeding up operations while enhancing the customer experience
Sonny's The CarWash Factory is the largest manufacturer of conveyorized carwash equipment. Using AutoVu SharpV cameras, the Sonny’s team created an ALPR solution to help operators streamline the car wash experience. Now, over 1,000 car wash businesses are reaping the benefits.
The company
Sonny's The CarWash Factory is the world’s largest manufacturer of conveyorized carwash equipment. The team takes a progressive approach to all aspects of conveyorized car washing to help operators streamline operations and heighten profitability. Forward-thinking car wash investors, owners, and operators partner with Sonny’s for innovative car wash education, services, software, and technology. When the Sonny’s Car Wash Controls Team first heard about automatic license plate recognition (ALPR) technology, they saw an opportunity to create an ALPR solution that could enhance car wash operations.
The challenge
At the time, RFID tags were the most common way of detecting vehicles with car wash memberships, but they came with inherent challenges. When someone purchased a membership, attendants would need to install the RFID tag on the vehicle. This took time and slowed down the experience. Even a few seconds of slowing down can affect how many cars are processed in an hour, which affects revenue. Likewise, gathering more precise data on membership customers, as well as all the other vehicles entering the car wash, wasn’t possible.
The solution
Efficient car wash operations
When someone with a membership pulls up, their license plate is read and the gate opens quickly. Customers can save time by purchasing memberships online. The experience is fast and seamless.
Innovative Smart Queue
Another unique feature is the Sonny’s Smart Queue. The ALPR camera reads the license plate and confirms the car is in the correct order in the queue, preventing cars from getting out of order.
Real-time customer insights
Car wash operators can view real-time data using a mobile app. They can analyze how often their customers visit the car wash, what types of car washes are most purchased, and set promotions.
Flexible customizations
The Sonny’s CarWash Controls team is currently working with Genetec to develop new firmware functionalities that will allow the ALPR camera to detect trailer hitches and bike mounts on vehicles.
“The Genetec AutoVu SharpV was the best camera and could easily be integrated with our system to give our customers a worry-free ALPR experience. The SharpV plate read accuracy far surpassed the others.”
Regi Flanagan, Chief Technology Officer, Sonny’s The CarWash Factory
Results
Today, over 1,000 individual car wash businesses have deployed Sonny's CarWash Controls ALPR solution, and demand keeps growing. Sonny’s customers have been able to streamline their car wash operations, reduce labor costs, and improve their customer experience. “It’s an assembly line now. We can just pump cars out. Our club membership sales are up by 5%, our ticket sales average is up, and our labor is down by 10%,” said a carwash owner in South Florida.
Speeding up operations while enhancing the customer experience is a win-win for operators and their patrons. “A lot of express car wash sites will do 1,000 to 2,000 cars in a day. So even just a few seconds of slowing down at the pay station or conveyor can affect how many cars they can process in an hour, which affects revenue. Using AutoVu ALPR, we’re able to enhance the speed of service,” explained Flanagan.