The Eastside’s ‘clean trend’ | Jim Hebert

The Eastside has a number of interesting lifestyles. Based on Hebert Research’s current findings, it is the way cars are maintained around here.

The Eastside has a number of interesting lifestyles. Based on Hebert Research’s current findings, one of them is the way cars are maintained around here.

Brown Bear Car Wash has 11 of its locations on the Eastside including self serve and tunnel car washes. Seattle only has six. Though Seattle still exceeds the Eastside in population and size, Eastside residents’ frequency of annual car washes is 45.6 percent higher than Seattle. Brown Bear captures 76.4 percent of the commercial car washing market on the Eastside.

There is a lot to learn from this.

Based on Hebert Research findings, car washing over the past four years has not declined with the Great Economic Recession. Priorities may change on spending, but there are exceptions — and it is within these exceptions that further insights are fostered.

The four strongest variables that explain the demand for paying to have cars washed can be explained by the increased importance of saving time, convenience, better for the environment and a better cleaning method.

Brown Bear (Car Wash Enterprises) has an interesting history. In November 1995, the company was sold to Tosco Refining and Marketing Company for a major expansion outside of Washington state. In 2001 Philips Petroleum acquired Tosco.

Much of the customer service standards that built the company were abandoned and in late 2003 the family that started the business reclaimed the company. Every detail from the white shirt dress code, culture, maintenance and service standards was meticulously restored.

The result is company with over 300 employees, and a culture that continues to raise the bar and lead in customer satisfaction. Brown Bear now meets the standard among their customers, in the same fashion as Nordstrom, Costco, Daniel’s Broiler, and Overlake Hospital.

While the services and merchandise are obviously different, there is more that they share with each other. Clean warehouses, clean stores, clean restaurants, and facilities are the details reflected by discipline. The brand stands for something within the company as well as with their customers.

The other details that are recession proof are what have always been true: staff respect of the customer, friendliness and the quality of delivery.

The cleanness variable is without question functional. But it is more. The Eastside residence spends 19 percent of their income on their vehicles — second only to their homes. It is not only what they value, it is also about their values.

Jim Hebert is the president and founder of Hebert Research, Inc., an international real estate, land use, and statistical research firm in Bellevue.