| This Week In this issue: Fall of the machines (get it?), No Plate, No Problem, & 1,000 members before opening dayFast food took people out of the experience. Now, the biggest chains are bringing them back. Car washes face the same question: what should run itself, and where do people still matter? We obviously have an opinion on that. Plus retract safety, easier membership sign-ups, and building demand before opening day. September 17, 2026 | Worth Reading Automate the Friction, Keep the HospitalityWe thought this article was interesting as QSR/fast food has some parallels to car washing. For car washes, it comes down to this: automate the friction, not the hospitality. Use tech for speed, and keep people around for trust and fixing problems.  Read the Wall Street Journal article → | Watch · Memorized Retracts What happens when your loader forgets a retract?A missed retract can turn a routine wash into a costly problem. This video shows you how easily they can be applied BEFORE the tunnel. Now your loaders can be a double check, focus on safety and, on busy days, bring those cars in closer.  Here's a 60-second walkthrough on Facebook. | Now Live · Member Sign-Up Sell memberships without asking for a license plateCustomers signing up away from the wash often don’t know their license plate number. Requiring it can force them to stop, guess or enter a fake number just to complete the registration. Now FlexWash now allows customers to complete their membership sign-up without providing a plate. When they visit the wash for the first time, they receive a QR code to scan so their license plate can be associated with the membership. 1Sign up anywhereThe customer completes the membership registration without entering a license plate. | 2Receive a QR codeFlexWash provides a code for the customer's first visit. | 3Connect the vehicleThe customer scans the code at the wash and the plate is associated with the membership. |
| Coming in the next pay-tablet release Capture loyalty opt-in to the end of the transactionThe next pay-tablet release removes the contact-information prompt that currently appears immediately after a license plate search. Instead, customers can provide their information from the order-complete screen, keeping the earlier part of the transaction focused on completing the wash. Operators can configure the experience from Organizations > FlexEngage. The order-complete screen can show a custom graphic and/or details about the promotion customers receive when they provide their contact information. Customers who opt in to text messages receive the configured promotion after confirming by replying YES.  Customer view  Operator setup in FlexEngage Collect customer information at a point in the transaction that matches your workflow. | Growth Playbook · Founders Clubs Build your membership base before opening dayWe've recently seen a wash open with over 1k members. With FlexWash you capture the customer's card information you don't bill them until opening day. The idea is to never open a location flat footed. Watch this one-minute Growth Playbook to learn why Founders Clubs work, how to structure one and when to launch it.  One-Minute Growth Playbook #3: Founders Clubs, Why, How and When | Put These Ideas to Work at Your WashOur team can help you build a targeted campaign, explore your data with FlexWash AI, set up auto retracts, or add QR membership enrollment. 937-FLEXPOS |
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