The word “Plush” is meant to evoke a feeling of luxury and comfort.
Who would have thought talking about car washes could be so cool?
Neil Meyerowitz, founder and CEO of the Plush Car Wash group, an entrepreneur who enjoys finding the gap, taking it, and making a success of it.
When I left school, I didn’t really have an idea of what I wanted to do, and I always liked the idea of going straight into business instead of studying further. So that’s what I did, creating niche businesses in different industries such as security, catering and media and then finally, car washes in 2009. I love cars and have done since a very young age, and I am passionate about providing really clean cars to happy customers and ensuring I have the best staff to make this a reality.
In 2010, the 2nd Plush car wash opened here at Morningside Shopping Centre and it still trades to this day. Flanagan and Gerard were very supportive from the outset, and eventually gave me access to other centres they were involved with, setting Plush on the road to growth.
The name Plush is meant to evoke a feeling of luxury and comfort and that having your car ‘Plushed’ leaves you with a with a feeling that makes you smile as you drive off. Growing the company’s footprint is motivated by wanting to build a top-end, household brand, giving a great customer experience, at reasonable prices, while offering courteous and friendly service.
I’m very thankful that we have a lot of sites now, with many more on the cards for next year. The goal is to grow the business into the leading car wash and car wash services company in the country. That said, we also don’t want to expand too quickly – If you grow too rapidly, you can end up diluting the level of involvement you have with staff and landlords.
It’s not only malls which have succumbed to Plush Car Wash’s growing reputation for excellence, says Neil. Through his persistence and openness to any opportunity if it meant growth, Plush has established a growing presence at hospitals, corporate office complexes and golf courses.
Safety and security are obviously very important – we set up WhatsApp groups with security and facilities at all our sites as well as CCTV cameras monitored remotely. Operations managers are able to access them on their phones, keeping tight control over activity at each site and checking on workflow. Tags are also used to ring-fence safety on site. Every car is tagged, with the tag handed to the car owner. No car keys are returned unless the tag is produced.
It’s been an interesting, challenging and fun 13-year journey and I have to say, it feels like it’s only the tip of the iceberg. To look at how Plush started, to see what it’s become and what future potential it has is an amazing feeling. Plush is definitely one of the things I’m most proud of in my life. My relationships – with the Plush employees, landlords, and our car wash customers, are the bedrock of the Plush ethos.
Neil Meyerowitz – Founder and CEO of Plush Car Wash
Article is an extract taken from Asset Magazine Dec / Jan Issue