By Jim Utter
Director of Journalism
Hello Wash, which debuted as the first AI-driven customer support tool for car wash operators last year, has already been able to showcase impressive results for its clients.
The company, based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, provides an automated answering service powered by artificial intelligence that can provide efficient resolution of customer concerns through a centralized ticketing system.
“We’re already helping operators leverage the power of the platform to reduce support team workloads through intelligent, automated call processing that translates to real savings,” said founder Meddy Ali.
According to Ali, in 2024, Hello Wash was able to automate 74 percent of all calls that came in to car wash operators utilizing the service, which accounted for about 40 percent of the total workload of customer service teams.
“With the amount of call data we’re able to leverage, we expect that to get close to 80 percent of total workload reduction by automating other channels such as email, text, web, and more,” he said.
Ali started the company because of his experience with his family’s restaurant business.
“The phones were always a pain point for the business,” he said. “I wanted to develop something that could help people spend more time building experiences with their customers in their stores instead of spending their time answering the phones.”
According to Ali, the company has already saved customers more than $2 million and boasts a 100 percent call answer rate.
“We know that answering the phones at the wash is not always possible,” he said. “But every missed call is a missed opportunity for revenue and our AI-driven support platform makes sure every call is answered.”
Each car wash utilizing the platform has its own customized AI and doesn’t have to lean on third-party tools to innovate.
“We built the code,” Ali said. “That means that we have full control over the development of the products we launch and unlike others, aren’t under the mercy of third-party providers to innovate specifically for the car wash industry.”
Hello Wash’s clients have already seen significant benefits.
“Hello Wash has reduced the workload on my team by 40 percent” said Ashlei Arnold, WOW Car Wash’s head of guest relations. “We went from being reactive to not only being proactive but also focusing a big part of our day on revenue generating tasks.”
Tom De-Paul, owner of Captain Car Wash, said Hello Wash has been “instrumental” to his sites’ operations.
“We get a lot of calls, and the majority went un-answered,” he said. ‘Now all of our calls are answered, and customers are happy.”
Ali said Hello Wash should be viewed as not replacing workers but helps them manage their workload.
“We’re not creating something to replace the humans,” he said. “We’re passionate about creating something to help enhance your teams’ ability to provide exceptional customer service every single time.”
