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When Preparing Your C-Store For Warmer Weather, It's About Working Smarter, Not Harder.
The status quo for convenience retailers has evolved over the years. A dirty fuel station with unsightly fuel stains, food and beverage spills, or growing bacteria and mold is no longer acceptable to a new generation of customers. You can no longer afford to overlook cleanliness... because your customers won't. Sadly, many retailers today do understand this and are focused on being clean but have found that doing so can be extremely costly and that it's very difficult to achieve real results.
We want to help! Here are a couple of tips that can save you time and money on two of the most common challenges you face in your forecourt cleaning efforts.
What We Don’t Recommend
Pressure Washing Pressure washing is the common method retailers chose to clean their concrete pads, dispensers, and canopies but it comes with its fair share of disadvantages. Pressure washing can be costly, damaging, time consuming, and involve a significant amount of risk. It also forces you to shut down the fuel lanes being cleaned and that can be an extremely inconvenient and costly. Not only does pressure washing come with a steep price, the results are little more than a couple weeks... or less, of having a clean forecourt! The average cost for a standard pressure wash is about $250. If you are in an area that requires water reclamation to conform to strict environmental regulations, then the cost can exceed $1000 each time. Not to mention each time you pressure wash you are weakening the cement and damaging other areas leaving you with even more costs to bear.
Recommendation: Find a product solution that eliminates or significantly reduces the frequency of pressure washing, minimizes your fuel lane’s down time, and does not damage your forecourt and equipment. Also look for a product that is safe, easy to use, and that your employees can apply in-house without wasting valuable time or require a small fortune to do. Learn More!
What We Don’t Recommend
Using “Off the Shelf” Cleaners Did you know that many of the commonly used household cleaning products such as Windex®, 409®, Bleach, and Simple Green® are not meant for industrial cleaning? Did you also know that they can be damaging to your fueling equipment? A great rule of thumb is - if you would not consider using a product to clean a brand new car.... you shouldn't consider using it to clean expensive fueling equipment. Using inferior cleaning products makes the job harder and wastes valuable time. As such, employees tasked with the responsibility get discouraged and accept sub-standard results - or worse... grab cleaners that are NOT recommended for use on fueling dispensers, nozzles and other surfaces. Many ready to use “off the shelf” cleaners contain alcohol or ammonia which can discolor, haze, dry-out, and even melt many exterior surfaces like plastic, vinyl, Plexiglas, oxidized finish coats on metals and more. Put simply... they are doing more harm to your equipment than good.
Recommendation: Look for products designed specifically for the industry cleaning challenges you face and that have been tested safe for the equipment you use them on. Using the right tools for the job makes all of the difference and shouldn't cost you an arm and a leg. Most retailers are surprised to learn that using the right cleaning solutions actually saved them money both in direct costs and labor savings.
Learn More! Download your free cleaning checklist now!
