Drought Issue

I

IBStoney1

Creating Parking Lot Envy
Background - I am a pro detailer - this is my lively hood - write up - Roswell, Georgia



For the last 6 weeks I have been conducting a couple of tests using my car – Betsy – as the testee



She has not been in the garage for this amount of time and has not been rinsed or washed either



Lots of dirt, dust, grime and other air borne nasties along with the dreaded oak tree sap bomblets



Dull, icky and sticky finish



Observing what had/has been happening with the water issue and guessing that it will be at least a year before we are able to wash our cars outside or inside using the hose again I had a dilemma – adapt and overcome the issue or go Out of business and back into the world of cubicles, fake wood business tables, meaningless meetings, blah, blah, blah



Plan of action was to research an alternative method to wash cars safely, economically, environmentally & most important – LEGALLY



The ONR arrived Friday and today I did the test inside the garage to see what this ONR is and how did the Meg’s #21 sealant that I use hold up to the elements and this washing product





I just finished washing Betsy using this new product for me called Optimum No Rinse Wash & Shine [ONR.]



I used 4 gallons of water purchased from Target and this product performed for me.



My expectations were medium – probably will clean the surface but I will instill micro swirls to the surface or worse



Expectations and reality were as different as night and day



I know every spec on the car and after finishing I whipped out that fancy light that shows me the surface and all paint issues – no micro swirls – no new issues - so cool



Wow, this stuff did the job and then some working on the brake dust



The best part is I do not have to worry about [going out of business or to jail] washing cars even when they stop the commercial wash’s and mobile washers



I will now use this product along with purchased water [keeping the receipt in my pocket]



Purchased water is filtered and I believe filtered water keeps water spots away – memory is fuzzy



I am guessing they will close down all washes, landscapers, cement companies and other commercial and industrial water users November 1 or December 1





So how and where do we go to get the word out that I can provide a legal and environmentally safe way to keep cars clean



All and any marketing ideas are welcome.



Have a great day



Al



Thanks to Scottwax, Anthony O and his video’s, Totoland, WolfStrong, TOGWT and others for your tips and links
 
Are you looking to mass market, or attract a certain crowd? We need to know your target market first.



Nice to know there's another happy ONR user. I love this stuff!
 
Overcome, adapt, survive!



Just be sure to keep the receipt with you.. , last year, a friend of mine who's town was under a mandatory water ban was using QEW to wash his Corvette when a neighbor reported him to the police. He used a 5 gallon bottle of Poland Spring water, which he has delivered to his home. Since there was no hose invovled, and he had a receipt for the water delivery, the cops couldn't issue him a fine ($100 for the 1st infraction, shutting off the water for any other subsequent infractions! :eek: )
 
kaval said:
Are you looking to mass market, or attract a certain crowd? We need to know your target market first.



Nice to know there's another happy ONR user. I love this stuff!
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I am hoping to capture some of the higher end and exotic markets that currently are serviced by the mobile folks at buildings and parking lots that will be closed down by the state in a couple of months unless they adapt also



I am not looking for production type work or stealing somebody’s clients



My current thought is to cruise thru the office building parking decks and parking lots checking out the cars then contacting the building management to request a meeting about offering my services on or before their current detailer has to shut down



I use word of mouth which is the best - no question about that



Also at a fixed location very low key nice neighborhood with almost no traffic



Other ideas I have:



Contacting the high end car dealers around the area as their washes will be shut down for after the sale car care



Contacting high end paint shops



As a business I want to be as ethical and honest as possible
 
You speak of businesses being shut down. Is that realistic? Are they being shut down by the state because they use water or are they just being forced to seek alternatives? I see you have a fixed location. Won't "they" shut you down too? It's early in the am and I'm confused. We've had water restrictions here in South Florida for a long time and I can't recall any stories of businesses being shut down by the state. I do however applaud your resourcefulness and wish you all the best. Marketing tip - "Environmentally friendly", eco-friendly", "Green" (it's cool to be green these days.
 
mirrorfinishman said:
According to the Georgia Dept of Natural Resources, car washes along with an entire list of other essential businesses are exempt from water restrictions.
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I would bet that refers to car washes that capture and recycle the water they use.



Not only does ONR help out with water use restrictions but also in areas that don't allow discharge into storm drains.
 
Consider applying the 'purchased' water from a garden type pump sprayer. You'll have an efficient method of application, and distilled/demineralized water will minimize or eliminate spotting.



Really works.



Jim
 
I know that this is a bleak picture I am painting – I hope to give you the ground view of what is really happening. On a map of Georgia this is the top one third, 61 counties including Atlanta that are in forced water reductions because of this drought.



Quote from our Gov. Sonny Perdue in the Atlanta Journal – Constitution [AJC] only major newspaper in the state - today’s edition ajc.com | Atlanta Journal-Constitution

“I encourage all Georgians to make their dry lawns and dirty cars a badge of honor�



Here is the pecking order of who controls our water – from the AJC

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’

Georgia Environmental Protection Division

County

City



For now we are exempt but this will not last more than a week or so, my town will probably do forced reduction cuts next week. In one of our counties they shut'em down yesterday [Tuesday] – No notice, No nothing, they have NO water.



You get one chance to plead your case in court and that is it in this county. Dry cleaners, our huge chicken industry, office building usage and many others that use water are laying people off already.



Mandatory business’s that will probably have cut backs but not shut downs will be hospitals and power plants; they must reduce by 10% starting November 1.



So far over 14,000 unemployed in just the landscaper/nursery business and this is their busy time due to forced reduction water cuts. A close friend of mine is a landscaper owner and his business has fallen to zilch, nada, zero. He is filling for unemployement tomorrow and having a subdued going out of business party with his employees today. So sad. If my business were to pick up I would hire him and yes he already has asked if I could use him.



The carpet mills, wood mills, car mfg companies, Coke & Budweiser bottlers, along with others are ramping down as I type awaiting more reductions or total shut down. There are no major storms coming and we would have to have rain like they had in Texas for a couple of weeks to come back to any type of normal levels.



These folks are not playing.



They will and have locked the water meter at the connection to many people who believed they wouldn't dare shut off their water. Well they do and then you get to go to court, first time is a scolding by the judge, a day lost in court, the $500 fine and they will unlock your meter soon. This is the Southeast and nobody moves fast. Second time caught and you are not looking at a fine...it is jail time and they will not unlock your meter.



What is happening now will just worsen in my opinion because there are no heavy, drenching, frog chokers [we need a couple of hurricane rains] in the long range forecast.

Hurricane rain season is basically over and we had zero rain. This is my main reason for trying to think ahead and why I started my research a number of weeks back.



Al
 
Al is correct. For many of us in the southeast, our water supply is down to a certain number of days, and the "water police" are out in full force. I would think that now is a good time for a car detailer to make a good bit of money through maintenance washes.



Al, one thing I would recommend to you would be to make a brochure explaining what ONR is, with some before and after shots of some cars that have been washed with it showing that if done properly, it doesn't instill any new scratches. Many people outside of the "Autopian world" aren't familiar with rinseless washes, and may be leary of them (especially on a higher end vehicle).
 
weekendwarrior said:
Al is correct. For many of us in the southeast, our water supply is down to a certain number of days, and the "water police" are out in full force. I would think that now is a good time for a car detailer to make a good bit of money through maintenance washes.



Al, one thing I would recommend to you would be to make a brochure explaining what ONR is, with some before and after shots of some cars that have been washed with it showing that if done properly, it doesn't instill any new scratches. Many people outside of the "Autopian world" aren't familiar with rinseless washes, and may be leary of them (especially on a higher end vehicle).
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Great idea

I will contact the mfg. or distributor inquiring if they have preprinted brochures they could send me explaining what ONR is, how it works and if I am real lucky they would have before and after car shots.



Thanks and keep the ideas coming :idea



Al
 
Al, I would really "talk up" ONR in the brochure - or just refer to it as rinseless wash, instead of calling it ONR. I would highlight the environmental aspects of it (less dirty water in the storm drains, etc...), as well as the fact that it doesn't cause additional scratching if used properly, like I stated before. I believe that if you highlight ALL the pros of using a product like ONR in your brochure, you could potentially reach a wide variety of clients - everybody from the Prius driver, to the BMW driver.
 
weekendwarrior said:
Many people outside of the "Autopian world" aren't familiar with rinseless washes, and may be leary of them (especially on a higher end vehicle).
Click to expand...



You'd think that, but my experience with the except of one customer who prefered I hose wash his cars (even had a deionizer set up for me to use), the reaction from my customers is "cool". They are amazed at how clean I get their cars without using a hose.
 
I contacted David at ONR and we had a great chat so for the moment I am going to use the color labels he has as my show & tell brochure [they are creating a new brochure now.] I also ordered a gallon of ONR and he is throwing is some samples of his products. Sweet!

Sometimes timing is creating luck.



Al
 
Gentlemen.

I'm not a professional detailer, so I hope that you guys don't mind my coming in here to offer a comment.

We are currently having this drought problem here in Australia. Well, really, here, it's a way of life.

I live in the South East corner of the Northern State of Queensland, the most populated area, and I'm just 50 miles south of our State Capital Brisbane.

Water here is at a premium and has been for quite a while now.

When the problem first started, the State Government introduced measures to restrict water usage, and this has gradually continued until now when we are on Level 7 Restrictions, so you can see that we have gone through many stages. Water usage has now reached the stage where each household is advised that they are only allowed a certain amount each day, say an amount enough to sustain life, around 130 litres per person per day. Sounds a lot I know, but it's only aorund 35 (US) gallons. Again that doesn't mean much. They advise you that when you run a shower, you should only use the water for three minutes, and this consumes most of that amount of water I mentioned. 3 minutes in the shower.



Inspectors regularly check meters and over users, just like with some of you, face their water pressure being reduced to an absolute trickle.



Professional detailers on an Australian Forum I visit are in the same quandary as some of you also.

Some car wash companies have closed and the only ones that survive are those who can conclusively prove that they recycle ALL their water.



Enthusiast detailers who just like their cars looking good are now frowned upon as 'patently obvious' wasters of water. I've developed strategies to keep my car looking good, and I haven't washed my car with a hose for nigh on 18 months now.

Like your situation also, people are actually encouraged to phone a 'hotline' and put in people who wash their cars at home with a hose.

Home car washing was one of the first things that was completely stopped by Government edicts.



Long post I know, but the upshot is this.

Now that we've been living with this situation for 18 months or so, some Governments are talking in terms that even if it rains constantly, regularly, and all the water storages are filled to overflowing at all times, they are now saying that they will never go back to how it was. Also, the cost of water has also risen dramatically, not the water you buy at the supermarkets, the water you use from the tap. Local Authorities have bumped up the price, not fractionally, but by factors of double triple and more. This is also something they say they will not retreat from, and that the larger costs will remain.



So, let me get this, It's not about the 'environment'. It's all about the money.

Funny, that.



Also, don't you just love the way they say, 'wear your dirty car as a badge of honour.' Man, it's not their money that paid for our cars.



Sorry to take so much space guys.



Tony.
 
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