The island of Seychelles is home to an upcoming green car wash business which is indeed one of a kind. The safe and Eco-friendly method blossoms out of the Bel Frau are in the outskirts of Victoria and it came into existence thanks to one man by the name of Jaquelin Hertel. In an interview with SNA, Mr. Hertel admitted that the busy schedules of most customers provided the much-needed demand hence innovation was the only way ahead. He further expressed his optimism in expanding his business while maintaining the traditional approach to doing things.
Hertel was not much of an academician in his schools days, he dropped out of school when he was a teenager but he was still determined to achieve his life goals. His first stop after school was a waste management company, THE STAR, whose work was spread all over the 115 islands making up Seychelles. Hertel accredits his experience from this job as one of the things that helped him set up the business. He is now an employer of many people in the streets of his motherland, from drug addicts to normal people.
A look at his establishment reveals simplicity at its very best. The place is functional without heavy equipment like ceiling booms, vacuum cleaners and such like appliances. It is located along a riverbank on a concrete lawn but cars come in dirty and leave clean! They use water fetched from the river using buckets, amounts of paint liquid and biodegradable detergents, lastly they use pieces of clothes in drying the cars. A process Mr. Hertel sites as very eco-friendly.
Time and money are very key factors in any business. Mr. Hertel car wash takes about 15-20 minutes of the customers’ time and another $10 or so from their pockets. Hertel’s client base stretches from the personal car owners to car hire companies and even taxi operators. All of whom he is keen to impress fully. With an average of 30 cars per day, it is safe to say that Mr. Hertel’s business doing well.
The clients had their fair share of positive views on the business as revealed by SNA. One Elijah Nancy rated Mr. Hertel’s car wash services as the best in the island and explained that he prefers the place anytime his cab needed cleaning. Mr. Elijah pointed at the burnish applied on his car gives his car a new feeling that he holds so dear. Another customer by the name of Steven Anacoura explained that the hand wash approach was the most convenient way of dealing with the dust in the island’s atmosphere. Hertel is however not relaxed, he has plans for improving his services. He is at the moment aiming at building a shed for his clients to sit as they wait for their cars, a move that he is optimistic that the planning authority will approve.
