Blinkie Carwash evaluates the Gatekeeper
As one of the most innovative car washes in Belgium, Blinkie Carwash is always looking for new opportunities and technologies to further improve their services. For that reason, they decided to research the possibilities of integrating ANPR in their car wash.
Customer-friendliness and the best services
Blinkie Carwash may seem a bit hidden in the town of Maaseik in Belgium, yet this imposing car wash has no lack of clients. By offering an excellent customer-friendliness and the best services to all possible customers, Blinkie attracts vehicle owners from miles away. ?
A two-lane checkout, a washing installation for vans, a self-wash for larger vehicles such as campers and a coffee corner including room where children can play make sure customers are willing to drive the extra kilometers to receive the special Blinkie service.
The Blinkie Carwash loyalty program
By offering a loyalty program and subscriptions, Blinkie Carwash has an extra incentive to make sure satisfied customers return to their venue. These programs used to consist of a car wash card with an RFID tag and an RFID reader at the entrance of the car wash to recognize returning customers, or customers with a subscription.
Eagerness to innovate and to further improve customer satisfaction has led Blinkie Carwash to team up with AVUTEC and examine the advantages of replacing RFID with ANPR. Therefore, an evaluation Gatekeeper has been placed at the entry of the car wash.
ANPR at a car wash
The goal of Blinkie Carwash is to see whether the Gatekeeper and its capabilities to recognize number plates in challenging circumstances enhance customer experience. ?Customers don?t want to wait in line to pay, they prefer to wash their vehicle straight away,? Theo Huisman, the owner of Blinkie, explains. ?We believe ANPR can help speed up the process of recognizing a returning customer or a customer with a subscription.?
Chances are the use of the Gatekeeper will pleasantly surprise customers and that this embedded ANPR camera will be placed here indefinitely. And it is not unlikely Blinkie will also choose to incorporate the new PayByPlate technology that enables the Gatekeeper to make autonomous payments triggered by license plates. With this technology customers no longer have to reach for their wallets.
