Matt Fehr Knows

A simpler life. That’s what Matt Fehr was looking for when he made the decision to jump into the carwash business. “My partner, Jim Niedringhaus and I, bought our wash in 2016,” he says. “I was the owner of a Great Harvest Bread Company store and was looking for an exit strategy. We had 25 employees and I wanted to minimize staff management responsibilities.”

The Mint Condition Carwash in Aurora was the answer. Matt and Jim are neighbors, and Matt had worked for Jim at MHC Kenworth. “The carwash provides about half my income, so we’re pretty hands-on,” Matt says. “I do all the maintenance and Jim handles the financial side and manages our employees.”

The carwash has three self-serve bays and two automatic machines. Though neither had previous carwash experience, they’ve learned quickly.

“We inherited 10-year-old equipment,” Matt recalls. “Our payment systems were such that roughly every third customer would pay for a wash and not get it. That was a nightmare. We’d take credit cards by hand, then run in and start the wash. But, that’s how we got introduced to Keith Gronau (Mark VII Colorado sales representative), which was the beginning of our lives becoming a whole lot easier.”

Offering customers a choice

After working with Keith on the new payment systems, the partners began looking for a new automatic wash. They selected a ChoiceWash XT.

“We had always been a touch-free wash, so we wanted to give our customers the option,” Matt says. “We offer $12 and $10 washes, which are touch-free, but 70% of our customers choose the $14 wash, which is friction. Our business volume and our revenue have gone up, and I think the fact that they have a choice and the quality of the top wash has helped drive that.

“We’re very happy with the quality of the wash and the fact that we’re also using considerably less water than the old Water Wizard,” he adds, “We don’t want to disappoint our customers, so reliability is huge. The bottom line is, revenue is up, maintenance is down, and wash quality is excellent.”

Sounds like a simpler life.

Enjoy learning about Matt's experience with Mark VII? Read more stories here.