Updated · Rulomatik
Choose a car wash location by assessing relevant customer demand, machine visibility, convenient access and your ability to restock and service it. A busy site alone does not establish towel sales. Visit the location and record how customers actually use it.
Where does the towel fit in the customer journey?
Observe where drivers finish washing, move their vehicles and prepare to leave. A towel vending machine should be easy to notice when the product is relevant. Placement should also respect the site's vehicle movement, customer access and operating requirements.
Discuss a proposed position with the car wash owner before committing. Check that the location can meet the selected machine's installation requirements. Use the relevant technical documentation to confirm equipment needs; do not substitute a general marketing description for a site survey.
What should you record during a site visit?
A simple, repeatable site assessment lets you compare candidates. Record observations and questions, including anything you have not yet verified, rather than assigning an optimistic sales estimate to every location.
- Where customers can see and reach the machine.
- Observed wash activity at several different times.
- The site owner's existing drying-product offer.
- Payment preferences and connectivity requirements.
- Installation access and the technical requirements of the proposed model.
- Distance from storage and other planned refill locations.
How do you distinguish traffic from likely sales?
Vehicle count is a measure of site activity, not a towel sales forecast. Customers may bring their own products, visit at different frequencies or respond differently to pricing and placement. Keep these factors visible in your estimate.
When operating data becomes available, compare your original assumptions with recorded towel sales. Note changes in placement, availability or price so that you can explain changes in the result. Avoid using one site's experience as a guaranteed result for a different market.
Why should locations form a practical service area?
A location can be commercially attractive and still be expensive to refill. Travel time, access hours and stock storage affect the effort required to keep a machine available. Group nearby locations when that improves servicing, while still judging each site on its own demand.
Before adding a site, confirm who handles replenishment, customer questions and technical incidents. Location selection and the cooperation agreement should be planned together. A reliable service route is part of the operating model, not an afterthought.
How can you compare candidate sites fairly?
Use the same observation sheet for every candidate. Note the date and time of each visit, what customers were doing, how visible the proposed machine position was and which practical constraints you found. If you only visit during one quiet period, your notes may not represent the site's normal operation. Ask the owner whether access hours, seasonal demand or planned renovations could affect service.
Separate evidence from judgement. A photo or measured distance can support a placement note; a statement that a site is ‘high potential’ is an assessment that still needs evidence. Record unknowns, such as the owner's commercial preference or payment connectivity, as follow-up questions. This prevents an early impression from becoming a false forecast.
A simple internal score can help prioritise visits, but it is not a sales prediction. Choose criteria that matter to your operating plan, apply the same scale to each location and explain the evidence behind each score. Revisit the score after a trial period using actual sales, availability and service effort. Keep one location's results separate from another's until you understand why they differ.
| Assessment area | Evidence to collect |
|---|---|
| Customer fit | Observed wash process and where towel use would be relevant |
| Visibility and access | Proposed position, sight lines, safe access and owner approval |
| Operations | Opening hours, refill access, route distance and storage plan |
| Readiness | Power or connectivity needs and equipment-specific site checks |
Common questions
Does a high vehicle count guarantee high towel sales?
No. Demand, product visibility, pricing, customer habits and machine availability also affect sales.
Should I choose the nearest available site?
Distance matters for service costs, but it should be assessed together with relevant demand, access and agreed commercial terms.
How often should I visit a potential location before deciding?
Use enough observations at different operating periods to understand the customer flow and access conditions. The appropriate number depends on the site; record what each visit adds to your assessment.
Rulomatik resources
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