Bay Breeze Car Wash & Lube Growing Fast

Setting out on a cross-town, rush hour drive doesn’t have to be an onerous journey if your car is looking good and running right. Bay Breeze Car Wash & Lube can help by cleaning your car’s finish to a spotless shine, detailing the interior to look, feel and smell great and ensuring that all of your vehicle’s life-giving fluids are refreshed, all in one visit.

And, an automotive makeover at Bay Breeze all but guarantees that your view will be through a clean windshield.

Bay Breeze has seven locations in four counties, from Polk to Pinellas, including three that are within minutes of most Wesley Chapel residents.

The company’s flagship location is the full-service operation in the heart of New Tampa on N. Palms Village Pl., off of Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd., just north of I-75. The second New Tampa location is an express wash and lube operation on Trout Creek Dr., off of BBD, north of Paul R. Wharton High (next to Burger 21). Many Wesley Chapel residents have found the Land O’Lakes express wash and lube facility located a little west of the Tampa Premium Outlets on S.R. 54 at Foggy Ridge Pkwy.

The hands-on detailing provided at the N. Palms Village facility (referred to as the New Tampa location on Bay Breeze’s website) provides bumper-to-bumper, carpet-to-headliner, sidewall-to-sidewall cleaning. Lube services include oil and filter changes and preventive maintenance on cooling systems and transmissions.

Bay Breeze’s express wash and lube facilities offer quick, efficient, hands-free, machine-operated cleaning as well as basic upkeep. A free express wash is included with each oil change and express washes include free customer use of vacuums to clean their interiors and air to inflate their tires.

The family that owns the business has made being the Tampa Bay area’s premiere car wash and lube destination its goal. VP of operations Scott Barone says achieving that means making a strong commitment to customer service.

“We like to say ‘above and beyond,’” Barone says. “That means the place looks good and things are operating at the Bay Breeze level of quality.”

Keeping Customers Satisfied

Barone identified five areas the company emphasizes when conducting business: “Quality, service, cleanliness, friendliness (being easy to do business with) and safety.”

Abiding by these high standards has earned Bay Breeze recognition from readers of the Tampa Bay Business Journal, who voted the company “Best in the Biz” for the years 2012, 2013 and 2015 in the Favorite Car Wash & Detailer category.

There’s also praise from locals like Pam Cazes, who has been a longtime Bay Breeze customer and whose entire family of six drivers also use the New Tampa locations.

“We take our cars there for detailing and oil changes,” says Cazes, who lives in Cory Lake Isles. “The service is excellent and they treat the cars with respect.”

At the Trout Creek express location (called the Bruce B. Downs store on Bay Breeze’s website), general manager Moses Pomales is responsible for providing customers an optimal Bay Breeze experience. Pomales came up through the ranks of the company, starting out as a lube greeter and working in a succession of supervisory positions over nine years before assuming his current position.

Pomales says his approach is to always put customer needs first.

“I walk the facility and interact with customers to see what they need,” the Cross Creek resident says. “We’re here to give them the best experience they can have, from beginning to end.”

That experience starts as soon as a customer enters a Bay Breeze driveway, with a greeter providing directions to the appropriate service area. If maintenance is on the agenda, the car’s VIN is scanned on an iPad and its service history is available to the technicians.

The customer waiting area is decorated and maintained like a bank lobby in terms of cleanliness and comfort. But, Barone says, it’s not as if express lube customers have a lot of time to settle in for a long stay.

“As soon as we start working on a car, our goal is 15 minutes or less for an oil change,” Barone says.

Bay Breeze acquired the Trout Creek location about a year ago. The company closed the facility down for a few weeks to re-configure the express wash tunnels and make other improvements. Barone invites people who had been customers of the previous business to check out the changes.

“Come on back and see us,” he says.

For drivers who like to maintain their cars in spotless condition, Bay Breeze offers monthly VIP package memberships that save frequent customers money.

“We get customers who come in every morning to get a car wash,” Pomales says.

Bay Breeze also offers discounts to members of the military and the law enforcement community.

Since opening in North Palms Village in 2004, Bay Breeze has grown to its current seven locations and about 100 employees, according to Barone. The full-service New Tampa location is the largest facility, with 55 employees.

Achieving that growth means investing in people and technology, as well as real estate for locations. The company has an established training program for new employees who may be new to the car wash and lube industry, including certification for technicians through the Automotive Oil Change Association.

Computers track everything from traffic flow through the wash tunnels and chemical usage to sales of wiper blades. That information is even available via mobile devices, so Bay Breeze managers aren’t tethered to a computer to stay on top of things and can be available to maintain the company’s high level of customer service.

When it comes to the actual cleaning of their cars, customers benefit from the latest car wash technology, especially when it comes to protection from the harsh environment of Florida’s sunshine and thunderstorms. Various sealants and protectants are available, including a new Nano-polymer protective sealant. Barone credits using the premium product with keeping his car’s appearance at its best.

“I personally have not had my vehicle hand-waxed in over two years, but because I use our Nano product an average of once a week, it still looks like I just drove it off the showroom floor,” he says.

Barone adds that people need to wash their cars more often in the summer to combat the effects of both the sun’s ultraviolet radiation and the wearing effects of rain on a car’s finish.

While Bay Breeze provides car wash and lube services, Barone says what the company really is offering its customers is actually much more valuable.

“It comes down to time,” Barone says. “Time is something you can’t get back. I can take 30 minutes in my driveway or three minutes in a car wash.”

Bay Breeze Car Wash & Lube is open daily, with hours varying by location. You can learn more by visiting BayBreezeCarWash.com or contacting one of the following locations:  New Tampa – 17501 N. Palm Village Pl., 615-1333; Bruce B. Downs – 20306 Trout Creek Dr., 973-0033; Land O’Lakes – 24124 S.R. 54, 949-7297.