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OpenShine to open Tommy’s Express in Brampton in the summer

Location’s team looks to change how people look at dealerships and car wash operations.
Tom Venetis head shot
Tommys Car Wash Brampton Groundbreaking

When one thinks of a vehicle dealership, one almost never thinks of a car wash. 

Most dealerships have a wash facility on their premise. Only that wash service is for people who are having their vehicles serviced or to prepare new vehicles to be presented to their owners when the final paperwork is signed.

OpenRoad Auto Group, which operates 33 dealerships across Canada and represents 20 vehicle nameplates, last summer created OpenShine to bring Tommy’s Express Car Wash to Canada. 

The plan is to open several locations in Ontario, such as Brampton, St. Thomas, London and Waterloo. In the summer, ground was broken for the Brampton location that would be part of OpenRoad Brampton East Toyota and OpenRoad Honda Brampton.

The location was chosen as there was a parcel of land that made it ideal for OpenShine to locate the Tommy’s Express Car Wash, and for the location to tap into the expertise the OpenRoad dealership there has in managing customer relationships and customer outreach and marketing.

READ:  OCTANE EXCLUSIVE: How to start a car wash

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Tommys Car Wash Canada Brampton Rendering

Christian Tjia, operations manager with OpenShine says while not all the locations for the Tommy’s Express Car Wash will be near or part of its dealerships, the Brampton location “was to reinforce OpenRoad’s commitment to excellence, attention to detail and customer satisfaction.”

“Part of that is being able to have our customers get a full range of services from OpenRoad, from purchasing your vehicle, to servicing your vehicle and now the day-to-day maintenance and upkeep of your vehicle by keeping it clean. This is about adding more value for our customers. We found a really good fit with Tommy’s Express because they held the same values as us and their focus is squarely on the customer.”

Tak Takhar, general manager, OpenRoad Brampton East Toyota and OpenRoad Honda Brampton says that while the Tommy’s Express Car Wash will be located near the OpenRoad Brampton dealerships, the car wash is very much a separate business. 

Takhar says he is already working with OpenShine and the team who will be operating the car wash to develop plans for how to market the car wash to consumers outside of the dealership’s existing service base. That might be extending Tommy’s Express gift certificates to welcome potential new customers to the car wash and other programs to build the brand awareness of Tommy’s Express and services to build a growing base of repeat car wash customers.

Takhar says many of the marketing plans are still in development and will be rolled out as Tommy’s Express Car Wash gets closer to opening. However, both he and Tjia say that what will be front-and-centre in any campaign to reach car wash customers is how Tommy’s Express and OpenShine are raising the bar on the traditional car was experience.

“Tommy’s Express shares many of the values we at OpenRoad and OpenShine have, and that is a commitment to quality, to customer service and obviously to providing a great wash to customers,” Tjia adds. “We are very much looking to raise the bar on the car wash, to make the car wash a more personal experience for a customer and not just a purely transactional experience.”

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