In the self-service carwash industry, the managers and owners of every facility have to deal with the important decision of installing foaming brushes used by their customers to remove debris and dirt.
What sort of foam brushes should they use? Should they go with synthetic brushes that are low cost but feature coarseness and low quality that many customers suspected could scratch their finish once used too hard?
Or should they instead opt for a higher-end natural foaming brush that uses hog's hair or similar materials to guarantee gentle application and assured prolonged use when push comes to shove?
The Great Debate and Other Concerns
- Synthetic versus Hog's Hair: Synthetic foaming brushes are cheaper but potentially paint-scratching if used wrong. Bargain hunters will endure having to use such brushes that serve as the calling card of a business's quality just to get those savings and discount. They'll also be careful in applying the synthetic foaming brush over their car. If you want hog's hair brushes to put that foam over your vehicle, expect to pay extra. However, more and more self-serve carwash owners view the latter as the default competitive choice.
- You Get What You Pay For: As far as the customers are concerned, get what you pay for. If you're a carwash customer and you wish to apply your cleaning product like the KevianClean Car Wash Shampoo using the cheapest self-service carwash possible, then expect them to cut corners when it comes to these foam brushes in order to continue having competitive prices while still making a profit. However, if that's the case, you might as well invest in DIY carwash with self-bought materials and products.
- Keeping Customers Satisfied versus Savings: Hog's hair is a long-term investment that might equal a loss of money at the beginning. As mentioned above, most customers probably shouldn't view scratchy synthetic foaming brushes as worth it no matter how gentle they are at applying foam over their car at a self-service carwash. Convenience is worth paying for, and as far as the business owners or merchants are concerned, investing in hog's hair is worth its weight in gold in terms of positive word-of-mouth and return business.
- The Argument for Synthetic Brushes: Yes, you will save more money in the long-term with a hog's hair brush investment as a merchant by virtue of customer satisfaction and the fact that you won't have to frequently replace the brushes every other week or month. However, on the other side of the debate, thee are loads of quality yet affordable (Read: Cost-Effective) synthetic choices out there that can last about as long as hog's hair yet still not cost as expensively, like brushes made of polypropylene, polyester, or nylon.