Necessity is the mother of all inventions.
The same is true with the car wash service industry, which has evolved to meet the car owners’ changing needs because of the city’s fast-paced lifestyle.
“For me it’s like a personal battle,” Calixto Jr., chief executive officer and founder of Wash Me mobile car wash service, in an interview with the Daily Tribune’s multi-media morning show Gising Na! “As a car owner and entrepreneur, I am looking for a car wash service to go to my home and wash my car. I knew there were people like me who were faced with the same challenge. I knew then there was a market gap in this sector. The only question is, how many car owners have the same problem?”
On one of his trips to Paris, he noticed mobile car wash services washing cars along the streets. Then it hit him, and he would bring the technology back to the Philippines.
“I thought of Grab and Uber. So I contracted a program developer to develop the app. Then we launched Wash Me in the Philippines, a platform application designed to bridge the gap between car owners who want quality car washing services and professional car washers,” he said.
As a result, the Wash Me mobile car wash is attracting more customers than ever. “And it is not hard to see why. Time is precious and valuable. Why wait in line at the car wash to get your vehicle cleaned when a mobile car cleaning service is a more convenient alternative?” Calixto Jr. said.
Despite being a new player in the innovative arena of applications, Wash Me is currently making waves in the car wash industry as it transforms the business into a unique platform for cleaning cars hassle-free.
Calixto cites the convenience of going to the customers’ homes, pushing the demand for Wash Me. He considers the mobile car wash segment an unexploited or uncontested market space.
“The idea is it’s just like Grab and Food Panda apps, downloadable on your mobile phones, and from there, you can book our services. Also, we can be reached through channels such as Facebook and the Viber community, where customers can book directly, which already have thousands of members. So, we try to change the business dynamics wherein you can avail car wash services, not only on weekends but throughout the week or anytime you want,” Calixto Jr. explained.
Further, the company is envisioned to make life easier for car owners who value their time, as they want to bring car owners the easiest, most secure, affordable, and most convenient way to give their car a new, refreshing look by connecting them with professional and reliable car washers within their reach.
Wash Me’s online application allows customers who intend to wash their cars to connect with the nearest car wash by enabling them to book an appointment via phone with just a few clicks.
Franchising and availability
Another interesting anecdote in the launch of Wash Me in 2019 was the fear of Calixto that his business model could face a serious challenge when the strict mobility restrictions were imposed in March 2020 to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
Surprisingly, the pandemic helped bring in more customers as most car owners were just at home and could not go elsewhere. It also helped that most car wash services were closed during that period.
From offering its services only in Metro Manila, Calixto said Wash Me is now available in some areas outside the metro.
“As of today, we are available in the NCR, Region 4A, including Cavite, Laguna and Rizal. And we are open now for franchises in different areas. Interested applicants need to send letters of intent to have a franchise; from there, we will evaluate,” he said.
Services offered by Wash Me include basic carwash, waterless car wash, and car wash with detailing.
“We are confident that we can make our business successful because I own an advertising company that we can utilize to make Wash Me the choice of the new breed of customers,” Calixto maintained.
Wash Me is also available for franchising, he added. The basic franchise costs P620,000 for the tricycle unit and P650,000 for the mini-van unit.