‘Clean car fast’: Stroll-N-Shine has the touch
By the time Sidney Pascoe bought his car wash in Calhoun, it was already a community staple, and the localized personal touch is something he hopes to continue well into the future.
Formerly known as “Apple Shine,” the current StrollN-Shine Car Wash, 160 W. Belmont Drive, is Pascoe’s second location — his other having opening in Dalton in 2004.
Pascoe bought the business in 2010 from Faye Darby a few years after her husband Larry passed away.
“I knew Larry and Faye,” Pascoe said. “Larry had come to see me when I opened my car was in Dalton. He opened in ‘98 here, and I opened in ‘04 up there. Larry and I used to talk shop.”
Pascoe said eventually at a business convention in Texas, he approached the family about the possibility of selling Apple Shine to him. At the time, Pascoe said another area car wash owner was also interested, but in the end Faye offered the business to him, and the rest his history.
His first mission was to make the operation even faster a better for existing customers, in hopes of also attracting new ones.
“I wanted to keep the core business that was here, and build up from there,” Pascoe said, adding that he moved a few things around and made some considerable equipment upgrades over the years to speed up the customer’s experience as new technology became available.
Just as he’d hoped, with the upgrades came more business.
“We tremendously increased in volume when we made those changes,” Pascoe said.
Both of his car washes used to offer oil change lanes, but that was a side of the business Pascoe decided to move away from several years ago. He used the space to provide a full-service wash option for his customers. That also eventually went away during the COVID-19 pandemic, however as initial quarantine and personnel struggles took their toll.
During the initial shutdowns in the spring of 2020, Pascoe said he continued to pay employees even though they weren’t able to operate, but was eventually forced to end the full-service option, doubling down on the drivethrough lane that allowed customers to stay in their vehicle during their wash,
and have unlimited use of high-powered vacuums at the end.
“That’s when I went to this
model we have now that’s just do-it-yourself,” Pascoe said.
Over the years, the facility has seen many upgrades as
Pascoe does his best to keep up with the latest technology
to best service his customers and keep them coming back.
“We did total renovation, put in all new equipment, and all new electronics ... and we’re constantly replacing material as needed throughout the year,” Pascoe said.
Customers can pay with a card per wash as they pull up to the stall to make a selection, but Pascoe said the best deal has always been his wash plans.
“We put a sticker on your windshield when you join, and then when you pull up the gate opens and you wash your car,” Pascoe said. “Our packages are $20, $25, $30, and $35. Basically, whatever our menu price is, add $10, and that will get you that wash and then up to one more each day for a month.”
Pascoe said he continues to find ways to operate his car washes by a “clean car fast” motto, with the customer’s valuable time always in mind.
“You first have to figure out how to get cars clean, and then you speed up as you go,” Pascoe said. “That way you make sure people don’t have to sit around forever waiting on their car to get clean.”
As more and more car washes are getting bought up by large corporations and hedge funds, according to Pascoe, he hopes his businesses can continue to remain locally owned and offer an aspect of personalized, human service that larger out-of-town corporations can’t.
“I don’t like what they’re doing to the industry,” Pascoe said. “They’re taking away anyone who knows anything about the business to save pennies.”
That personalized human element is something that Pascoe said he’s seen fading in the industry, but one he still values.
“I still take to heart any issues that come up, and the quality of our service,” Pascoe said. “It’s common sense. All you have to do is just care, and customers appreciate it and will keep coming back.”
Pascoe said he has chosen not to raise his prices or cut services in the face of inflation and the rising cost of materials, and he plans to hold steady in hopes prices eventually coming down to give the business back some wiggle room.
“I haven’t gouged the customers on prices, even though I’m paying a lot more for chemicals,” Pascoe said. “Hopefully our costs will come down.”
For more information about both StrollN-Shine locations, hours, and plans available, visit strollnshinecarwash.com online.