Dan Yarusso, president of WashCard Systems, recently announced upgrades to the company’s mobile car wash app named UWashApp. The app helps car wash owners attract new customers, produce more revenue, and operate more efficiently.
“The UWashApp can activate self-serve washes, in-bay automatic washes, pet washes, vacuums, and fragrance, and vending,” said Yarusso. “So UWashApp makes it very convenient for the car wash customer to purchase not just the wash, but all additional services.”
Yarusso explained that consumers transitioned from cash to card-based payments starting 15 years ago. “Those were the new faces you wanted/needed to see at your business. Today’s new faces all use their mobile devices for everything,” he said.
According to Yarusso, feedback from operators, and suggestions for enhancements have been incorporated into V2 of the app. Some of those enhancements include:
Business Accounts: Businesses can have one UWashApp account shared with multiple users. With the UWashApp, the business establishes an account and then can invite employees right from their cell phones. The car wash owner doesn’t have to be involved in tracking washes and fleet cards, because the business owner manages the account.
Count Up: WashCard invented the “count up” concept more than 30 years ago. Rather than having consumers guess up front how long they will need to use the service, “count up” allows them to start the wash when they are ready, then stop it when they are finished.
Location Awareness: With this new version, the app knows the specific location the user is approaching, and it lists the services available at that location, eliminating steps and making it faster and easier.
In-App Messaging: Operators can set up an in-app messaging system whereby a customer can receive a pop-up message after completing their service. It could be a cross-promotional message — for example, an oil change advertisement or a public service announcement.
The UWashApp onboarding program includes hardware devices for all services at a site. More information about UWashApp can be found at uwashmobile.com (consumers) and www.washcard.com/uwashapp (operators).