The construction was like a pot in need of washing and waxing. Beat-up and anguished by years of oblivion and painted a soft bright pink and aquamarine, it stood out for all the reasons.
When Brian Krusz mentioned this old car wash on Pearl Road in Strongsville as the best place to launch his own car cleaner in 2013, the mayor gave him a grateful hug on behalf of his wife, who couldn’t bear the sight of the horror that existed. . . . True to its calling and purpose, the company known as Sgt. Clean Car Wash cleaned up this suboptimal spot and made it shine.
It’s the first of 16 locations in Northeast Ohio for a veteran-owned business that is identified by its visitor service and corporate culture.
“Our motto was to change the face of the car wash,” says Krusz. “We wanted to replace a lot of those stigmas and stereotypes about car washing. And I think we’ve accomplished our mission.
Krusz is the first to admit that he knew nothing about the car wash when he imagined the cleaning sergeant. After serving 8 years in the U. S. Marine Corps, he joined the U. S. Marine Corps. Originally from the U. S. , the Elyria local worked in U. S. corporations as a recruiter for bank executives before exploring their entrepreneurial spirit. He helped a friend turn a beverage shop into a local chain, which led him to meet the owner of a car wash. who told him all about the industry. Krusz ended up attending a car wash conference and became addicted to the idea of dipping his toe in that soapy water.
Like any intelligent Marine, Krusz understood the price of preparation. He visited as many car washes as he could imagine throughout the Midwest, taking the owners out for coffee, a beer, or lunch or dinner to recharge. He also attended a car wash education “school” in Florida to receive information on maintenance and management.
Those reports prepared Krusz for what was to come when he took over and renamed that dilapidated car to Strongsville. As if the car’s condition and its 176 notable liens weren’t enough, Krusz soon also faced the challenge of a task to widen Pearl Road. Cars and structure sites, he learned, don’t mix.
“You leave your car blank and then drive straight down a dirty road,” Krusz says. “We faced adversity from day one, but it has given me so much confidence that whatever demanding situations we face, we can triumph over them.
All the preparation paid off. Krusz opened a second location within a year and a half. Two locations soon became six, all at existing car wash sites. Then Sgt. Clean began branching out into putting car washes where they had not previously been. Krusz’s business partner, Ken Brott, became CEO in early 2019.
According to Krusz, the key to expansion is speed, smiles, and luminosity.
“Speed: We need to get you out as temporarily as possible,” he says. Smiles: We will hire other smart people who will show you love and car. And the glitter is the reason you came there, a great quality car wash.
More than 50 percent of Sgt. Clean’s revenue derives from its unlimited wash program. Sgt. Clean was one of the first car washes in the region to offer such a program, in which customers pay a fixed monthly rate for unlimited washes at any location.
“It’s the cheapest form of maintenance you can do to your vehicle,” Krusz says. “As a homeowner, I get an extra 10 minutes of sleep each night, knowing that I’m generating a source of income in a normal way. And then, for our teams, they get advantages of the consistent schedule and social advantages.
Sgt. Clean does not pay minimum wage like many conventional car washes but, rather, pays a premium to attract customer-savvy employees, including some salaried positions and benefits like health insurance and a 401(k) match. This leads to a slower hire rate than the industry standard but a higher retention rate.
And the sergeant. Clean extra fosters quality service among its approximately 170 workers with monthly bonuses based on the functionality of a team or site.
“We just need them to focus on consumers and do the most productive work they can and not worry about how they’re going to supply their family,” Krusz says. “One of the stigmas of car washing in the past was that you could work 60 hours one week when the weather was good and 10 hours the next. We simply made the decision to grit our teeth and be as consistent as possible to help them grow.
Krusz also had the network influence a project by Sergeant Clean up. The company makes generous donations to local educational foundations, and its staff volunteers for a variety of network outreach projects, including canned food drives, park cleanups, and Meals on Wheels programs.
“We really want to be community-centric,” Krusz says. “We even promoted one of our general managers to Community Impact Coordinator, to coordinate volunteer projects among all 16 of our locations. I lived a life of service in the Marine Corps, and I firmly believe in creating a business that thrives in the community.” ●
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