The Wash Exchange — Jay Frank, COO, Splash Car Wash

Episode description

Splash Car Wash was founded in Connecticut in 1981 and is now one of the twenty largest car wash operators in the United States — 80-plus locations across seven north-eastern states, including New York, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania. Backed first by private equity in 2018 and more recently by AEA, Splash has grown from around 20 sites to over 80 through a mix of acquisitions and new builds, running everything from express exteriors and full-serve tunnels to in-bay automatics, hand wash, detailing, oil change and laundromats. What hasn’t changed is the people: senior leaders and site managers with 15, 25, even 35 years in the business, and a culture the company credits as the springboard for its growth.

In this episode Blair sits down with Jay Frank, 26-year Splash veteran and newly appointed Chief Operating Officer, for a practical look inside how a top-20 operator actually runs:

• The 30/60/90-day acquisition playbook — why Splash does a “slow walk” after every purchase: meet the team first, fix safety, then roll in POS, staffing models and reporting, so by day 90 a site “looks like a Splash” without the customers noticing anything except better service.
• The mistakes other buyers make — cutting staff, raising prices and changing the menu in week one, before earning it.
• “Deposits before withdrawals” — the philosophy behind Splash’s near-zero management turnover, from pay and recognition to owning your mistakes fast.
• Converting retail sites to membership — training, belief at the pay station, clear goals and rewards, not beating customers over the head.
• New builds vs acquisitions in an expensive market, and why Splash keeps doing both.
• Running 80 sites across seven states — regional structure, daily KPI calls, open-book management and managers who run their wash like they own it.
• Buying a 16-site chain tomorrow: who runs it? Jay’s answer on bench strength and culture-builders.
• What separates the consolidators that last from the ones that stall — and how Splash responds when a well-funded competitor opens a mile away with free washes.

Real stories, real results. Essential listening for any operator in acquisition mode, building a membership base, or trying to hold onto good people. Please like and subscribe to your chosen platform.