Victor and Lance Odermat took back this Seattle-area company and revitalized a brand.

Two years ago, Victor Odermat began placing bronze statues outside his 31 Brown Bear Car Washes in Washington state. Odermat hoped the statues, life-size cubs and a mama bear displayed in a natural setting, would attract customers and help revitalize the brand. Last summer, he found out just how profound his marketing strategy was.

In August, thieves broke into the warehouse of controlling company Car Wash Enterprises and stole 44 bronze cubs waiting to be taken to Brown Bear Car Wash locations. Police surmised the sculptures, each worth more than $1,000, were stolen for their scrap value—more than $50,000 in total. The public outcry was near immediate and could be heard clear across the Puget Sound.

News teams converged on the story, and more than 50 different TV pieces were run on the bears and the theft. Print and radio outlets provided daily updates in the hunt for the missing bears, and Car Wash Enterprises received countless calls and e-mails from sympathetic residents. Seattle wanted its bears back.

Victor Odermat

On August 20, The Seattle Times ran the triumphant headline, “Thieves No Match for Steadfast Bear Cubs.” Thanks to a number of leads received from the public, police were able to recover 27 of the 44 stolen cubs, along with the remains of another 10, and make a number of arrests.

To show his appreciation, Odermat provided a day of free car washes at all 20 of his tunnel-wash facilities, and more than 15,000 people took advantage. The day was such a success, the company is planning to do it again this August. “People really love these bears,” he said. “They’ve become an icon in the Puget Sound area. They’re an important part of our brand and a symbol of our appreciation for our customers.”

And Odermat’s goal to help revitalize the brand? According to a recent study by an independent research company, more than 90% of Seattle area residents surveyed said they are familiar with Brown Bear Car Washes. Further, 80% of respondents said they planned to wash their car at a Brown Bear in the next six months.

Customer-centric culture
In 1962, Odermat opened his first Brown Bear Car Wash on 15th Avenue West in Seattle. The former Marine worked 14 to 16 hours a day, 364 days a year. “The only way to succeed was to make certain that every customer was satisfied,” Odermat said. “I would be the cashier at the exit end of the car wash, and I worked with my people to make sure every car was clean.”

Once the business was established, washing roughly 6,000 cars per month, Odermat began looking to expand. New car washes and acquisitions followed, and Brown Bear began to establish itself as one of the largest gasoline marketers in the region. As the company grew, Odermat managed his expanding workforce in a style similar to what he experienced in the military.

“The chain of command is important to me,” he said. “People are given a job, and it’s their responsibility to accomplish it. As an owner, I can’t be everywhere all the time. I have to have faith in the people I place in charge.”

Odermat shaped the Brown Bear culture to be one of respect and discipline, where expectations are clear, and good employees are recognized, rewarded, developed, and given the opportunity to have a job for life. Most importantly, Odermat said, all Brown Bear employees recognize that the customer is king.

The disciplined, customer-centric culture helped the company thrive, and in time, Brown Bear became the largest reseller of Chevron gasoline in the Puget Sound area. Chevron eventually made an offer to purchase the company; Odermat politely declined. But when Tosco, the largest independent refiner in the country, came calling in 1995, the company made an offer Odermat couldn’t refuse. Tosco pledged to maintain the company to the highest standards of the industry, expand to all states where it marketed gasoline, and keep Brown Bear a cohesive unit. Odermat remained owner of the property, but turned over the Brown Bear operations in a lease agreement.

“It was an exciting, attractive offer,” he said. “At the time, we thought it was the best thing for our family and our company.”

But after Tosco took over operations, business began to go sideways, and then abruptly south. As Tosco focused on its other business ventures, the culture Odermat had worked so hard to establish at Brown Bear deteriorated. The company’s trademark white shirt, black tie dress code was discarded. Senior-level employees that had been with Odermat for decades began leaving the company. In 2003, Tosco was taken over by the third largest integrated energy company in the US, ConocoPhillips.

ConocoPhillips had no interest in continuing the Brown Bear lease and approached Odermat with a buyout offer for an early termination of the lease. Eager to get his company back, Odermat entered into lengthy negotiations that eventually resulted in a buyout of the lease and the return of the company.

Rebuilding the brand
After ending the lease with ConocoPhillips, Odermat and his son immediately began working to rebuild the culture Victor had cultivated over 30-plus years. The pair had their work cut out for them.

“The company was a ghost of its former self,” Lance said. “It was in disrepair and disarray. Equipment had deteriorated to unacceptable levels. There was no focus on customer service, no discipline. When we drove around to the sites, it was readily apparent.”

It was a formidable challenge, but one the father and son wouldn’t have to face alone. When senior managers that had left the company in the Tosco era learned Odermat was back, many returned. Together, the experienced team, led by general manager Tom North, reinstated Odermat’s management style. The white shirts and black ties were back, and the customer was once again king. Those who didn’t agree with Odermat’s philosophy were cut loose.

The numbers indicate how quickly the culture change took effect. The first year the Odermats took Brown Bear back in 2004, the company had one month where it washed over 100,000 cars. In 2005, that number increased to five months, and nine months in 2006. This year, the company has been well over 100,000 cars washed every month, and Victor said he expects that trend to continue (thanks, in part, to a little help from some bear cubs).

“Our customers are responding to being appreciated, rather than being taken for granted,” he said. “Our efforts to take care of the customer are being rewarded.” Vic Odermat has also been rewarded. In 2004, the International Car Wash Association bestowed the Industry Leadership Award on him, and in 2007, it named him a member of the industry’s Hall of Fame.

Brown Bear Car Wash is back on track, and the Odermats said aggressive growth plans are now being formulated. If you live in the Puget Sound area, expect to see some of those steadfast bear cubs coming to a town near you.