Manfred Beck (left) and Daniel Werner from the newly founded company Wash @ Work. They have set up a telephone booth in an unusual color on the square in front of the train station in Ebersberg.
(Photo: Christian Endt)
At first glance, it looks like a relic from ancient times. In fact, the phone booth at the station car park in Ebersberg has only recently been there. The color, a very strong blue, is also rather untypical.
Daniel Werner knows what this is all about. The 27-year-old is co-founder of Wash @ Work, the company that is behind it all. They offer professional car cleaning. However, with a very specific concept “that saves our clients a lot of time,” says Werner. Using a customer car, he shows how this works.
The phone booth has absolutely nothing to do with telephoning. There’s also no phone behind the door. But two small, very stable-looking safes. “The customer parks his car at the parking lot and deposits his car key in one of the two safes with the help of a code sent in advance,” explains Werner and immediately puts the whole thing into practice. “The booking is made through our website.” A local Wash @ Work service provider then brings the car to his workshop for washing.
You can’t call anyone here, the cell serves a completely different purpose.
(Photo: Christian Endt)
At the Ebersberg site, Manfred Beck’s vehicle preparation department is responsible for this. “The quality of the service provider and good cooperation with him is extremely important to us,” said Werner. A few minutes later Manfred Beck is already there to pick up the car.
When Beck has finished the service, the customer receives an SMS from Wash @ Work with the new location of the car. Alternatively, if booked, the car can be driven to the desired location by delivery service. “Our offer is particularly suitable for Ebersbergers who commute to work by train to Munich,” says Daniel Werner. The enormous time savings are their great advantage over other car cleaning options.
He and three friends came up with the idea for Wash @ Work while studying. “One of us always borrowed his dad’s car” – basically super practical. “But he quickly realized that cleaning took a lot of time,” says Werner. The idea for a car wash was born. The four then founded the company in 2018.
The first location in Ingolstadt has been followed by eight more so far. Ebersberg has recently been among them. Mayor Ulrich Proske (independent) was immediately enthusiastic about their concept and after negotiations with the property owner Bahn AG everything was wrapped up.
“We get the phone booths from Telekom,” reveals Werner. The four of them had the idea of installing the key safes in them early on. “It is recognizable”. Washing your car at Wash @ Work is not entirely inexpensive. According to the 27-year-old, this is due to the high quality of the cleaning. Will the Ebersberger accept the offer? The four young entrepreneurs are in good spirits.