Cream franchise news

Bringing the CREAM magic to George

CREAM will be making a splash in George soon! We’re opening a brand-new branch at Paddagat Shopping Centre, situated in the heart of this Western Cape tourist mecca.

Franchisee William Hewitt is looking forward to applying more than 15 years’ experience in the ICT industry to ensure that clients leave the car wash with big smiles.

Born and raised in George, William started working in various businesses from the age of 16 to gain exposure. When he was 20, a great opportunity saw him move to Cape Town. Here he worked his way up to management positions in the ICT industry and learned a lot about business and working with clients.

After 12 years in the Mother City, William and his wife decided that it was time to escape the rat race and buzz of the city. They wanted to move back to William’s hometown to start a business and settle down with their baby boy.

“I have always had a passion for being an entrepreneur. I was always on the lookout for what can work and give it a go. You know what they say, ‘if you don’t try, you will never know and always regret not trying.’”

William had several small eCommerce online shops that helped supplement their income and enjoyed the entrepreneur side of these ventures. He was also selling items on Takealot and was running a jumping castle business.

“It was all doing pretty good, nothing major, but it was never enough to make me go into it fulltime … until I decided to go BIG with investing in my own business when I can be my own boss fulltime.”

William’s recipe for success is following your passion. “If you have a passion for something, turn it into a business, and always know you will love what you are doing with a smile.”

William started doing research on businesses opportunities in October 2019. He first looked into a waterless car wash, then met a franchisor for a coffee. He was not convinced and didn’t want to run a business he did not believe in.

On his way back home, driving past Haasendal Mall, he noticed the CREAM Car Wash there. When he got home, he immediately went to his computer to do some research on the franchise. Not long after, he got in contact with Alan and decided to grab the opportunity.

William’s vision for the car wash is happy clients. “Coming from a support role with my ICT background, for me, it is always about keeping your clients happy. I want to make sure as soon as a client visits with their vehicle, it is taken care of from the start to finish and that the client leaves with a smile on their face. As someone that takes great pride in my own vehicle, I will treat my clients’ vehicles in the same way.

Check out the CREAM Facebook page for more information on when the branch is opening and opening specials.

Learn more about CREAM and our services here.

CREAM Northmead: A perfect blend of passions

This week CREAM is celebrating the opening of our brand-new branch at Northmead Mall in Benoni, Gauteng.

For franchisee Riad Vazirna, this new business is a dream come true and we chatted to him about what led to this exciting occasion:

“Customer service, technology and cars (clean ones) have always been major passions of mine. My story goes back over 15 years ago. I spent some time in the UK, working with clients face-to-face in the retail sector and realized that I had not only a knack for it, but it gave me a sense of fulfilment.

Finding my happy place

In 2007 I made my way back to South Africa after 3 years of valuable lessons learned and wondered what to do next. I had saved some money and enquired about opening a car wash, but it didn’t pan out. I then decided to use my newfound passion and joined the corporate technology world. I would eventually spend over a decade in that industry, doing two of the three things I enjoyed: speaking to people and sorting out issues.

Everything was on track as I got married, was blessed with a beautiful daughter and a promising career. Even with all of this, I still felt like this couldn’t be it and every weekend would find myself spending time washing and polishing my car. I even finished the finer details with a toothbrush and then took a picture (yes, I’m that guy). My wife often left me in my “happy place” and my daughter insisted on always helping, especially with the high-pressure hose (with a nervous dad behind her).

Following my passion

Last year (2019), my wife was retrenched and I was on the brink of the same, which forced me to take a step back, and reassess life. One question kept popping up: “Why don’t you take control of your destiny?” I had no answer to that as I was used to making someone else’s business thrive.

My wife asked me, “Why don’t you do what makes you happy?” to which I replied sarcastically, “What? Customer service, tech and cleaning cars?” That’s the moment everything started making sense.

I immediately started searching for an experienced car wash. Because of my limited experience in the industry, I knew I had my work cut out for me. Many business agents did not want to hear me out, but then I gave Alan from CREAM Head Office a call.

The CREAM experience

Alan and I spoke as if we had known each other for months. He convinced me to come and meet him at CREAM’s Southdale branch and I took my accountant (my wife) and my cheerleader (my four-year-old daughter) along.

We decided to treat my wife’s car while Alan took me through CREAM’s ideology and what sets them apart from the competitors. When our car was done, I was immediately sold. It looked like it had been polished in addition to being washed! I then went to their Heidelberg branch, unannounced, to enjoy the CREAM experience first-hand. After experiencing the same quality service, my mind was made up and I became a franchisee.

Despite a few obstacles, including the Covid-19 pandemic and nationwide lockdown, CREAM Northmead Mall’s construction got underway. I have been in good hands with Alan and the team, who ensured that we were prepared for any eventuality. Alan took me through each step of the way, ensuring I have the necessary skills and understanding to make my very own CREAM branch work.

This made everything I am passionate about come true: servicing clients, incredible technology behind the CREAM products and, of course, squeaky clean cars!”

Visit the CREAM Northmead branch for your own CREAM experience and keep an eye on our Facebook page for opening specials!

Passion and perseverance leads Yusuf to success

CREAM Car Wash consists of people that are passionate about the car wash industry. We’d like you to get to know the people you trust with your car, so we’ll be introducing the various branches over the next few weeks.

First up is Yusuf Carr of the N1 City branch in Cape Town, who we’d like to welcome to the CREAM Team. It’s a privilege and a feather in our cap to have someone of Yusuf’s calibre and experience (18 years in the industry!) on board.

The N1 City branch will also be our new Western Cape training centre.

Here’s how Yusuf got into the car wash industry and why he is excited to be part of CREAM:

“As far as I can remember, I got an immense feeling of pride and fulfilment from cleaning cars. An onlooker might even say that I’m a little OCD. There is just a sense of accomplishment, a certain amount of joy I feel when I step back and say to myself: “I did that!”

Les Brown, an internationally-known motivational speaker said that if your job is your passion, then you will never work a day in your life.

In 2001, after much deliberation and my family and friends suggesting that I stay with the stability of my day to day job, I finally decided to resign from my 8-5 job and follow my dream. I wanted to own my own business and write my own destiny.

I wanted to have the best car wash in Cape Town.

I needed more ‘hands-on’ experience, so for the first four months after resigning I worked at a panel shop. I learnt how to flat and buff cars while learning and working with different types of paints.

I didn’t have enough capital to buy premises at the time, therefore I purchased the necessary equipment and started doing mobile valets for private persons and dealerships. After two months, I was called to do a demo at a well-known dealership. They were so impressed they requested my services immediately. I was extremely happy.

Overcoming obstacles

The happiness was short-lived though, as eight months later, I was becoming depressed, constantly tired and beginning to struggle financially. I remember my mother’s words: “You gave up a suit and tie to work in overalls.” My reply to her was: “But I’m happy. I’m building my empire”. I didn’t feel like this any more. My son was 6 years old, my daughter was 2 years old, we recently bought a house! My passion and dream couldn’t sustain us any more. I was despondent. What had I done?

After coming home one day, feeling exhausted and like I had failed. I told my wife that I give up. I said that I intended to look for work in the corporate industry again. I had tried, but I had no energy left.

My wife encouraged me to continue with my passion and my dream.

She reminded me that our children were still young and that we can hang in there a bit longer. She agreed to support me in any decision I choose but said that I shouldn’t give up so easily. She is my rock.

It wasn’t easy, but I decided to persevere with my dream. We had some tough times. We had to downscale our lifestyle, sell our assets. There were times when we barely had food in our house.

Blessed with success

My workload increased, which meant that I could afford to employ two staff members. My big break came, when a car wash within my budget became available.

God is good. We saw an increase in our workload due to good, old fashioned hard work, quality work.

Very soon our customers were our biggest advertisement.

At present, we own two car washes and have a staff compliment of 15.

Things were going well, but I still felt that my car wash could be better. Joining CREAM was a big decision, but the obvious next step to becoming a flagship car wash.

Joining the CREAM team

I believe that the professional way CREAM does business and their infrastructure will help me achieve my goal. In my 19 years of experience, I have yet to find a car wash as good as theirs is. They have the complete package: their own chemicals, marketing team and signage.

When I first met Don, I thought he was arrogant. He told me that they had a “better product” and that their “system works better”. I couldn’t believe it. What could CREAM possibly teach me about washing cars, procedures and products?

I was invited to visit another branch of theirs and I decided that I needed to check out my competition if I wanted my car wash to be the best it can be. I was truly impressed by how the car looked just after the wash. Imagine what I could do with their product and my experience!

I agreed to meet up with Alan at CREAM Head Office and was amazed. I finally met someone who is as passionate and has the same experience within this industry as me.”

Clients are encouraged to visit the newly-rebranded N1 City branch and experience the excellent service and passion of Yusuf and his staff for themselves!