Today we’d like to introduce you to Todd Kimball.
Todd, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
In late 2001, I was working for Arthur Andersen, a Big 5 accounting firm in San Francisco, CA in mergers and acquisitions when the news of Enron’s fraud was discovered. Within a few short months, Arthur Andersen’s involvement as Enron’s auditor also became big news and the company was forced to shut down, so I was out of a job in February of 2002. With limited resources, I moved my young family to Houston and settled in Cypress to partner with a childhood friend to start a freight brokerage company amid Enron’s collapse.
Working multiple jobs to make ends meet, including fireworks stand that summer, we were able to build our freight business up to $18 million in annual sales before being acquired in late 2004. Also in 2004, my brother, Travis and a close friend from college started a small company called Splash & Dash Car Wash in Sacramento, CA. After opening a few more washes in Sacramento, we joined forces in 2006 to purchase 7 car washes in Northwest Texas and Colorado and purchased some land in Cypress near my home for our first store in Houston. We rebranded all the washes and Quick Quack Car Wash was now a national brand.
Unfortunately, after opening our first car wash in 2009, the financial markets collapsed and we were unable to expand and grow for a few years, despite the relative success that our washes were having. During this time period, I was acting as Manager, maintenance repairman, local marketing representative and even security for our single site here in Houston. I would drive by the site and respond to alarm calls in the middle of the night, usually to find a cat or other small animal had made its way into our tunnel and set off the motion sensors.
Unfortunately, one time, during a rainstorm on Thanksgiving of 2012, I did not respond and we had copper thieves steal our copper lines from the electrical pole and forcing us to shut down for a couple of days. Finally, in 2014, after starting a couple of other businesses, we were able to secure financing for several more car washes, including 3 in Houston. In 2017, we entered into a period of aggressive expansion by adding some additional funding partners and we currently have 64 car washes open in 4 states with 9 open stores in the Houston market.
We will open 5 additional stores still in 2018 and currently have new locations purchased in Richmond, Katy, Kingwood, Atascocita, Jersey Village, Cypress, Conroe, The Woodlands, Magnolia, Baytown and Corpus Christi.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has never been a smooth road for long, but there have always been phenomenal successes that we celebrate along the way. This keeps our perspective for the hard challenges or setbacks. One of the setbacks I mentioned previously was when our copper lines were stolen.
We also had a big set-back a few days after we opened our first site. A crack in our parking lot showed water bubbling up through the ground. We had to tear up the concrete to find the source of the water leak. It turned out that we had an underground joint in our main water line that had cracked. We had to close after being open less than a week. It took us 3 days to repair.
Another challenge that set us back for years as the financial bank collapse in 2009. This was unanticipated as we were expecting to expand; however, with banks struggling, we had to postpone our expansion plans for several years.
Quick Quack Car Wash – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Quick Quack Car Wash is fast, clean and loved everywhere. In addition to a big yellow duck named Quackals, Quick Quack Car Wash is best known for its free vacuums and “wash-all-you-want” unlimited car wash memberships.
Quick Quack Car Wash operates more than sixty locations in California, Arizona, Texas, Utah, and Colorado. The Quick Quack Car Wash concept grew from a desire to get cars clean using the best technology and to do it extremely fast. The high-quality and environmentally-friendly car washing system uses neoprene foam, soft cloth and filtered recycled water. The customer stays in their vehicle while being automatically guided through the car wash where the vehicle is soaked, soaped, washed, polished, rinsed with spot-free water, and dried, all in a matter of minutes.
Quick Quack Car Wash frequently sponsors local events and athletic programs, including facilitating and contributing to community groups’ fundraising efforts. Quick Quack is regularly named the favorite or best car wash in the areas where it operates and has been recognized for sustainable business practices and water conservation.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
The greatest moments of my career have always been and will continue to be the feeling that I get when I look around and see all the lives we are able to influence for the better.
Sometimes it can occur at a preview fundraiser for a new store opening, where we help a local family or charity raise funds or awareness for a worthy local cause. Other times it is seeing the hard work that our store leaders and regional leaders put into making Quick Quack a success. There is nothing more fulfilling than celebrating accomplishments together with team members, families and partners.
Pricing:
- $19.99 Protect Wash / Unlimited = $34.99/month
- $14.99 Shine Wash/ Unlimited = $29.99/month
- $10.99 Clean Wash/ Unlimited = $24.99/month
- $6.99 Basic Wash/ Unlimited = $16.99/month
Contact Info:
- Website: www.dontdrivedirty.com
- Phone: 888-QQ- CARWASH
- Email: info@dontdrivedirty.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/quickquackcarwash/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/quickquack/
Image Credit:
www.cierakphotography.com
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