Overview

In this episode of the Vox Verba podcast, host Andrya Allen sits down with Jason Rhoads, the Marketing Director at Whiting Systems. They delve into Jason's award-winning strategies in the manufacturing sector, focusing on sales and customer growth. The conversation covers Whiting's role in the trucking and transportation industry, its mission, and the unique services that set the company apart. Jason shares the journey of Whiting Systems over its 50-year history, emphasizing the importance of service in their success. The episode also addresses common myths and misconceptions in the industry and highlights the significance of regular truck washes for fleet maintenance.

1. Introduction of Jason Rhoads and Whiting Systems - (00:00)
2. Jason's Background in the Trucking Industry - (02:31)
3. Whiting Systems' Role in the Trucking Industry - (03:34)
4. Whiting's Mission: Improving Lives - (04:47)
5. Service as Whiting's Key Differentiator - (05:03)
6. Impact of Whiting's Services - (06:47)
7. Primary Services: Autonomous Truck and Trailer Wash Systems - (08:35)
8. Secondary Products: Chemicals and Internal Washout System - (09:17)
9. Evolution of Whiting Systems Over 50 Years - (15:37)
10. Milestones and Achievements - (20:53)
11. Guiding Principles in Challenging Times: "Do the Next Right Thing" - (27:23)
12. Myths and Misconceptions in the Industry - (28:47)
13. Common Customer Questions and Concerns - (33:56)
14. Sustainability in the Truck Wash Industry - (36:17)
15. Whiting's Singular Strength: Service - (37:18)
16. Closing Thoughts - (38:08)

• Whiting Systems website: https://www.whitingsystems.com/
• Heavy Duty Trucking article: https://www.truckinginfo.com/10161502/hdt-2022-top-20-products
• International Food Distribution Association: https://www.ifdaonline.org/
• Technology Maintenance Council (TMC) – ATA's Division of Maintenance and Technology: https://www.trucking.org/technology-maintenance-council 

episode transcript

Andrya (00:00.568)
Hello, everyone. Welcome today to the Vox Verba podcast. We are really excited about today's episode. I'm your host, Andrea Allen. Uh, here we are passionate about diving into the stories behind the powerhouses, uh, of today's business world. We believe in lifting up the stories of the real humans that drive the engines of modern industry. And today is no exception. Uh, today I'm very excited to invite.

and have Jason Rhodes here with us. Welcome, Jason. I'm gonna introduce him a bit. Jason is a high impact marketing executive known in the manufacturing sector for his approach to sales and customer growth. He serves as the marketing director at Whiting Systems, and he has clients spanning across the nation in various industries.

Jason is based out of Birmingham, Alabama, and he has become synonymous with solution-oriented selling and fostering strong relationships. Jason led Whiting Systems to a prestigious industry award, like being named one of the top 10 industry products to be released in his industry. We are thrilled to discuss Jason's award-winning strategies today. Welcome, Jason.

Jason Rhoads (01:15.906)
Thank you, Andrea. I certainly do appreciate being on. It's an honor and love talking exactly about what we're unpacking here. And that's people and people in regards to the different places we work.

Andrya (01:33.32)
excited to chat too. Jason, to start, let's begin with a snapshot. Could you share a brief introduction about yourself and your role at Whiting and the role Whiting plays in the market?

Jason Rhoads (01:47.55)
Certainly, yeah. I started out after college, working with Randall Riley Publications and worked in the trucking industry, covering Commercial Carrier Journal magazine, Truck Parts and Service magazine, and Overdrive magazine. And throughout that career of almost 16 years,

was a lot of reading. All of those were monthly publications so it was ingrained in me to become a subject matter expert not only on how to deliver advertising but also what was going on within the trucking and transportation industry.

Andrya (02:31.952)
That's incredible. I happen to also have a background in a similar industry where I had a lot of exposure to overdrive. So we didn't know each other then, but we were reading the same things in the same circles. Could you share a bit with me about the role that

Jason Rhoads (02:45.486)
Right.

Jason Rhoads (02:56.334)
So we support the trucking and transportation transit market, which if not a lot of people know that, that is everything that is in your house. So if you look around, everything is brought by truck. Final delivery is by a vehicle. So that is a vast...

industry can go into food, agricultural, mining, and oil services, but everything comes by truck. And so that is our key industry that we play in is trucking and transit.

Andrya (03:34.28)
Okay, thank you. You know, every company has its own North Star. Could you share the driving mission of Whiting Systems?

Jason Rhoads (03:45.806)
So we like to say that we improve people's lives and that's our employees' lives and that's also our partners' or clients' lives that we deal with day in and day out. And in that, North Star, if you will, we're always doing the next right thing. So a lot of times you mess up and you fail.

And I'll be the first to raise my hand that something's going to come up that I don't know the question to, or they answer to the question. Um, and so we've really kind of built a, uh, a community to lean onto and lean into, and we like to say we do the next right thing. So we, um, our mission is to improve people's lives throughout what they do on a personal basis within the manufacturing of the truck.

but then as well when we sell that we like to improve our clients lives because we're taking something off of their plate that they don't have to do anymore.

Andrya (04:47.856)
That's beautiful. Thank you for sharing that with me. When we think about Whiting Systems and its offerings, what would you say sets Whiting apart from others that might have similar offerings?

Jason Rhoads (05:03.062)
service, 100% service. We work in a very hard, harsh environment with chemicals that break down all kinds of different elements within that truck wash bay or train wash bay. So you can see that in our industry, we've seen a lot of times individuals that have purchased say a lowest bid piece of equipment.

and it's three to five years we'll be replacing that. Three to five years. Our systems are out there right now. Currently I have clients that have systems that are 15 years old. So services is our key differentiating factor is we have 17 CSRs across the nation and those CSRs are constantly monitoring our equipment.

So we know beforehand what PMIs need to be done on the equipment. Not only do we know that, but we can also predict any type of maintenance that is coming up. So our service is what sets us apart. We're going to service what we sell and we, you know, we stand behind what we say we're going to do.

Andrya (06:25.22)
Your approach to service is incredible and with the dedication you have in your process with the CSRs and your predictive maintenance, it sounds really powerful. I'm curious, who would you say is most impacted by this? Who finds the most value in what Whiting is offering?

Jason Rhoads (06:47.69)
So if you're talking about our typical clientele, we start with a fleet maintenance manager. That fleet maintenance manager also probably has a tier up that's an asset manager that oversees assets within the company. And then when we're dealing with the largest retailers in North America, we're dealing with a CFO.

A CEO, because they're not putting in one system, they're putting in hundreds of systems. 4,800 tractors with one of the largest national retailers. They're washing that tractor twice a week, and they've got locations all over the globe. So that is a meeting that is typically several sets of meetings. How are we gonna wash them?

When are we going to wash them? Who's going to be in there overseeing some of the washes? So the impact is to our clientele. Internally, I would say that marketing's impact is for sales. So my impact for the internal group is typically with strategic management.

I've worked with the managers and best see how to measure and monitor what's going on day to day and then bring in those lead sources for sales.

Andrya (08:16.272)
Okay. When we think about who Whiting works with, and we think about the specific or the primary services and products that Whiting offers, could you share what people most often come to Whiting for?

Jason Rhoads (08:35.458)
Most often they're coming for an autonomous truck or trailer wash system. So that's a specifically smart system that sees the vehicle and is washing the vehicle as the vehicle is either in a still mode or we do offer drive through opportunities as well.

Andrya (08:57.904)
Okay. And, you know, along the way as companies evolve, industries change and you see what the market is asking of you, you may develop secondary products or services. Are there any secondary products or services that Whiting is known for that stand out in your mind?

Jason Rhoads (09:17.386)
Most certainly, every, if you will, subsidiary part of our company that supports the main focus. For example, chemical. Our chemical department is 100% EPA approved. We blend our own chemicals. So we like to say that we've got something for everybody. My wife uses some of our chemicals on cleaning the carpets.

We've got DIY guys that are always either detailing cars that use our different chemicals, but primarily it's the truck wash, right? And so throughout time.

as the truck washes become smarter and I'll, for example, smart brush technology, which is trademarked. That is our patented, if you will, trademarked technology. That works basically by seeing the vehicle and letting those brushes brush the vehicle, right? Create that agitation without tearing anything up on the vehicle.

So smart brush technology was developed throughout the 50 years that we've been in business as well. We, we do an internal autonomous trailer washout. And if you can just envision a go-kart, if you will, that goes through the inside of the trailer.

and completely washes from the side walls to the roof, to the back door, to the floor, everything. And then on the last pass, sanitizes, disinfects that trailer. And you may say, well, wow, I didn't even know that existed. A lot of people don't understand what all goes into keeping a fleet clean, but...

Jason Rhoads (11:07.766)
That's a primary important factor for a lot of refrigerated transport, transportation companies, Dotfood, McKee Foods, McLean Foods, Cisco. You know that the Food Modernization Safety Act requires those guys to one, wash down the inside of the trailer when it's carrying certain foods. And that's important to you and I, Andrea, because we're, we're consumers of that all the time.

Andrya (11:37.316)
So this secondary product is in addition to chemical development, this internal washout product is a response to the market's needs for food and safety, but also to this legislation.

Jason Rhoads (12:00.346)
Right. I mean, it's purely out of necessity. The old way of doing it is putting your labor inside the trailer, right, which is a hazardous area. As we all know, labor is hard to find and good labor is even harder to find. So you're putting someone inside of a trailer. It's dark typically in there and they're with a wand with a two-step process. They're spraying out

debris and then and that water has to be 160 degrees and then they're putting on a chemical that's inside there while they're inside the actual trailer. That's the old way. The new way is autonomous. One it's documented so they have all the data right there at their fingertips.

So the health and safety regulator, when they're audited for different foods that are coming in and out of trailers, they have the data showing that tractor has been sanitized and disinfected up to the Food Modernization Safety Act standards. That's important. Loss of load. I just recently was in a meeting.

And one of our clients that now is implementing this autonomous internal trailer washout system, they, last year in 2022, had a little over $275,000 worth of loss of load. Now, that's insurable. So transportation companies ensure loads. But your insurance rates go up when you claim a loss of load. So.

These are perishable food items, typically under refrigerated type of care, and they're kept at a certain climate. And that is very important to make sure that you're cleaning thoroughly all of that.

Jason Rhoads (14:02.626)
that trailer. So it is being looked at for recommended practices through the Technology Maintenance Council, TMC, that's ATA's Division of Maintenance and Technology. They not only have study groups, but they have task force that come back. These are the best brains in the world, if you will.

the best of subject matter experts in their field. So they know what works and what doesn't work. And this is purely out of necessity, like you said, a lot easier way of cleaning, faster way of cleaning, and a less expensive way of cleaning. So it's wash time, wash quality, and wash cost.

Andrya (14:56.8)
Incredible. I hear so much, so many benefits, not just, you know, consumer safety, my own safety, my family's safety, but you know, as a manager, you know, the documentation and, you know, being responsible for making sure that I'm being compliant is so helpful and valuable. It makes me curious, you know, Whiting has had a long history and this specific conversation is

automation and technology. So tell me a little bit about how did Whiting get here? What's the journey of Whiting that led it to this place today?

Jason Rhoads (15:37.394)
Right, yeah, so North Star Bud Whiting, Buddy Whiting, Donnell Whiting is the founder of Whiting Systems. And 50 years ago, he started a lot like a lot of entrepreneurs start and that's selling a service that was needed. And that service in Little Rock, Arkansas and around Arkansas was typically a wash, power wash type system for agricultural equipment.

Agriculture is huge in Arkansas and also in the Mississippi Delta region. So those pieces of equipment aren't something you're going to pull up to your hose on your house and spray off. The type of soils and muds and debris are something that really need to have power behind it. We understand cleaning.

as a acronym of C-A-T-T and that represents chemical, agitation, time, and temperature. And it's the same thing if you go wash your hands right now, you're cutting hot water on, you're putting the soap, hand soap on your hands, you're agitating it, and if you leave it for time, then you wash it, things come clean.

So those large pieces of agriculture equipment were something that needed to be washed and Buddy Whiting saw that need and he went out and sold pressure washers basically out of the back of his truck.

There's some great stories about him buying a truck with a lift gate on the back of it and the rest of the family having to drive around with a lift gate work truck. But that was a good investment for Buddy Wadding at the time to be able to take those pressure washers off and put them back on. And I'll tell you, there's another story going back to service and going back to standing on your word.

Jason Rhoads (17:41.81)
Buddy had a group of pressure washers come in. This happens. This happens with a lot of different manufacturers, but those typical, those pressure washers didn't hold up to the standard of Buddy Whiting. And they were breaking down. They were requiring more maintenance than...

most of the other pressure washers he had sold before and not getting into naming any blame game, but Buddy just took it on himself to go get the pressure washers and replace them out of his pocket, out of his funds. And that type of mentality or character still shows up today at Whiting Systems. We have things that break all the time. A truck wash,

washing, you know, a million different trucks or a million washes is going to have a significant amount of Maintenance and it's going to have a significant amount of things that fail during that time period

So that's why we've doubled up invested in CSRs that are constantly in touch with those maintenance managers at the different shops, shop supervisors.

Andrya (19:03.028)
It's a little bit off topic, but you know, it makes me think of the McDonald's ice cream machines that never work. They say that the reason why they don't work is because the company that maintains them doesn't have enough CSRs.

Jason Rhoads (19:10.526)
Yes.

Jason Rhoads (19:18.762)
Oh, well, that yeah, we. Yeah, we we're hiring. So and it's a it's a very fast flowing job. The guys that do it love it. They are the face of the company to our shop supervisors. And, you know.

Andrya (19:21.796)
Whiting doesn't have the problem.

Jason Rhoads (19:42.354)
As in milestones, that program, Greg Jenkins, has put together and has managed is a huge piece for us, because we rely on them daily. It also sells more truck washes. And I'll explain that. If a system's down and we fix that system, then our customer's happy.

And again, going back to the biggest differentiating factor between us and everybody else is that we're going to get out there and we're going to fix that piece of equipment, right? And you're going to know when it when we show up, what we're going to do to it, how much it's going to cost. You understand that at the beginning of the sales process, and you understand that when those things happen, because

you know we're the subject matter experts on truck washes. Typically our shop supervisors are more subject matter experts on fleet equipment you know keeping the belts and the hoses and the tires in balance so we kind of hold hands through that process.

Andrya (20:53.936)
That's a long journey, but at the core of the journey is service. So even when you get into technology, automation, and these forward thinking, industry pushing products, the basis of that comes from the beginnings. And so that's really beautiful to hear. Thank you for sharing that. You mentioned a milestone.

related to Greg Jenkins and building out the CSR program. I'm curious about other milestones, one for you personally at Whiting, but also just Whiting milestones that you might be proud of. What comes to mind when I say that?

Jason Rhoads (21:37.114)
Well, marketing has milestones that are every single week. I mean, it's up on my whiteboard right here. But as a company, milestone 50 years is gonna be a huge milestone. We have well over, I think it's 1,200 different machines out there that are specifically truck wash autonomous machines. Our chemical department.

There's so many different milestones for Whiting Systems. Recently this year, we're in our second generation of ownership, Russ Whiting and Jimmy Servilio owns the company now from Bud, who is still taking kind of a chairman role, but is able to do a lot of things that he loves, a lot of his hobbies. So a lot of milestones, a CSR program, huge.

We are small enough, quaint enough, and agile enough to create a, I mean, and this is really true because I've worked at larger companies, but we can create a task derivative milestone and hit that milestone within a year. So that's neat to work at a company that just says, well, how do we get it done, right?

you know, and just kind of task that out and work through it. Marketing wise, you mentioned it at the beginning, heavy duty trucking recently put us as a top product of the year. So that was the autonomous.

internal trailer washout, the smart washout system. So that is a huge milestone for us. Here recently at the International Food Distribution Association meeting, we had a 20 by 20 booth and that takes a lot. You know this, Andrea, being in marketing, but the pre and post show is what's, you know, what

Jason Rhoads (23:43.958)
what is really important. So we, we test that out and there's a lot of moving parts to get equipment into a city, get it into the exposition hall, work with dredge, work with, you know, the floor coverings to the drapery to whatever you're putting out there. So that milestone was huge. It showed us that.

There were three, four guys down there, and those four guys took ownership in the show. And as a marketing director, I've seen shows worked improperly, and I've seen shows that work properly. And this was a show that we really stood out, not only from the show standpoint, but post-show follow-up.

Post show follow up, our sales guys did an excellent job there.

Andrya (24:44.18)
You mentioned that, and I totally agree, that event, the whole kind of campaigning or planning around events can be challenging, has its own difficulties, and so therefore it's so rewarding when it goes well. When you face these challenging times at Whiting or in your role in marketing, what are some things that act as an anchor for you?

either for yourself personally or your team or for Whiting as a whole. When it goes through something difficult, what anchors Whiting?

Jason Rhoads (25:21.218)
We have a newsletter that speaks specifically to this and it's a great question for anybody in their day-to-day responsibilities. So when things don't go your way or when you don't have the answers to questions or maybe you've done something that is a mess up, right? I mean, you've put a wrong marketing message out there or you've sent a piece of equipment out, a truck wash, a piece of equipment that has a faulty pump on it.

That happens, okay? And so what we like to say is do the next right thing. So it's not, you know, we're not always gonna be able to do the right thing every time. This is kind of more on my perspective, but I love the factor of grace. You know, grace filled.

opportunities, right? So we find that even through our failures, there is learning experiences, there are stepping stones, there is an opportunity to go, okay, how did this happen? Right? Let's look back on it. And this is one really big topic with Whiting. And I love it is, we're not going to go through and go, okay, that's your fault. That's your department.

You're why did that happen? It's more like what can we do as a team to come together and really show off through this mishap? So next right thing is always said, do the next right thing because we're not always gonna do the right thing, right? And understand that, you know, raise your hand because you're gonna mess up. You're not gonna be.

perfect and even in my younger career dating back all the way when I was in college working at a radio station I remember trying to act like I knew everything and

Jason Rhoads (27:23.426)
It just doesn't work. The more questions you ask, the more learning mentality you have, it seems to flow better, right? So do the next right thing and know that grace is abound.

Andrya (27:41.52)
gonna one thing I love is when I'm working and I'm able to pick up something to take home to my children. Do the next right thing is a big one so thank you for sharing that but also there's something about the word grace that always gets me especially in a work environment and so I think the phrase you said was grace-filled opportunities and that's beautiful as a company culture and as a personal philosophy so thank you for sharing that.

Jason Rhoads (28:12.258)
You're welcome.

Andrya (28:14.52)
Let's see, I am thinking of myths and misconceptions in your industry, but in every industry, as you go through a particular role or you're in the industry for a while, you start to see some common myths and misconceptions. Is there anything regarding that in your industry or whiting that you'd like to clarify or set the record straight for?

Jason Rhoads (28:47.307)
ATA just recently had a piece on this but you know that our drivers in the transportation industry are our biggest asset and you know we protect the drivers with a clean truck right

Jason Rhoads (29:10.966)
If someone's out there listening to this podcast and they they're down the road, hopefully they'll notice now after this podcast, that truck's been washed and that truck hasn't typically the ones that aren't washed are the ones that are in federal violation and typically they're the one that is pulled over. So, um, misconception on wash, you know, we don't have to walk. Yeah. We don't have.

Andrya (29:33.808)
Wow, I just learned something.

Jason Rhoads (29:37.518)
Well, oh yeah, I mean, they call it the hot zone or line of sight and it's basically right at the wheels and tires up halfway from the trailer. And you'll notice it, I mean, especially with winter coming, you're gonna see trucks that... ..

don't just travel in Alabama, don't just travel in Arkansas or Georgia, they travel from Michigan and Minnesota and South Dakota. And those trucks are filthy. I mean, you can see the dirt debris, the snow, the buildup.

And that's, it's, so the misconceptions, let's talk about that. I don't have to wash, you know, why would I wash? Why would I spend money to wash a truck? Well, I'd, you know, dive deeper into what does your remarketing program look like? How are you selling that used truck? How much are you losing on that sale when you go to sell it and hasn't been through a wash process?

misconception, you know, kind of too, is well, it's too expensive to wash. Our average cost of a wash is between five and ten dollars. Five and ten dollars. And that's where the fleet of over a hundred trucks that is washing weekly. We 100%

You're gonna gain at least 20% of what you're spending in maintenance back With a wash program, right? So it's a 20% reduction of cost in your maintenance department You know, like well, how do you what do you mean by that? Why do you how do you do that? Well, your air and electrical hoses, they're not gonna corrode as fast. So they're not going out as fast

Jason Rhoads (31:36.118)
your wheel in products, your brakes, your brake pads, your shoes, those aren't going to be rusting as fast. Okay. So they're not, you know, corroding as fast. Overall the vehicle, you know, it is going to be a better looking vehicles when you go to resell it. So

That's kind of one of the misconceptions is I don't need to wash. I can just take a power washer out there. We've got guys that, you know, the industry doesn't know that, some of them don't understand that there is an autonomous wash process. So it's been marketing's job to tell the story, you know.

Andrya (32:22.32)
because this is so new.

Jason Rhoads (32:25.867)
It's rather new. I mean, a lot of people think, well, that's for the Walmarts, and that's for the JB Hunts, and the Snyders, and the Knights. But, you know, we produce wash systems for companies that only have 200 trucks.

Now, their life cycle on their trucks three to five years and their remarketing programs that they're involved in are capturing more dollars when they go to resell those trucks. And their maintenance departments aren't spending as much money on those trucks to maintain them. So there is a cost, if you will, to being dirty, or a cost of dirt. You know, and that can be figuratively.

looked at, I mean how many times are you being pulled over for a state highway inspection? Well, is that because your truck looks like junk? Right, when you're going through waste stations, how many times are you pulled off? Yeah, you can talk to all these highway state trooper officers and their train, a dirty truck is gonna be pulled over because it's dirty. And they're gonna find different out of service points.

right, to take that truck and send them over to the side. Well, you lose the load or you're out of service, that's time and money.

Andrya (33:48.928)
Absolutely. And that's a way to take care of your drivers, right? Because drivers got to get the miles. Stay on the road. Incredible. Learning so much today. Thank you. You might have already spoken to this. We just talked about myths and misconceptions. I'm curious, are there common questions or concerns from customers that you didn't mention?

Jason Rhoads (33:56.279)
That's right.

Jason Rhoads (34:18.038)
Um, well, myths and going back to myths and, and this just kind of goes over what I see on social media as people kind of write in, um, some of them will say, Oh, you know, it, it tore off this or tore off that with this smart brush technology, you're rarely going to see anything busted or broke. I mean, it just doesn't happen anymore. It did back in the eighties. Yes. Um, but.

our systems and the way that we're providing a brush that has the technology to feel around the edges, right? To create that agitation.

It just doesn't happen. It just doesn't happen anymore. As well as chemicals, chemicals. The old way of doing things is, let's go as abrasive as we can to get some of this grease and dirt and grime and road debris off of the truck and with the agitation, right? And with the water, right? And with the time.

you're creating a better wash with a less abrasive chemical. I mean, we've got chemicals now, and we work with companies that have the highest green standards. So they're reclaiming water, right? They're using very green, sustainable chemicals.

So they're recapturing water using less water because they're using the right chemicals. And I mean, sustainability is huge in our industry and a lot of the companies we work for have those standards and we have to meet them. And we're literally the only company out there that can prove, okay, here is your cost on water.

Jason Rhoads (36:17.57)
Here's your cost on electricity. Our new HE high efficient system for certain fleets is absolutely dialed in for a $6 wash.

Andrya (36:34.452)
you're sharing I'm thinking about so for listeners this is the third episode in a series dedicated to just manufacturers and so this is the third conversation and I've heard some trends which I found really interesting one is a lean towards technology and automation and their own unique ways and two sustainability

It's come up in every conversation. And so I just find it really interesting and compelling that Whiting is leading that.

Andrya (37:11.116)
So as we go a little deeper, I'm curious, what would you say is the singular strength of whiting?

Jason Rhoads (37:18.802)
I'm going to go back to service. Yeah, services is key. These systems are, they're expensive upfront cost. And when one fails, we put ourselves in the service shop, supervisors choose and you want that up and running, right? And so services is...

is where we hang our hat on. We're going to service our equipment.

Andrya (37:54.996)
I've seen that from you guys consistently over the years. Thank you for sharing that with me. As we close our conversation today, Jason, is there anything that we may have missed that's important to cover?

Jason Rhoads (38:08.918)
Well, let me just go back and share a story on that service. And this is, I find that stories kind of help, but last year we did a public transportation. It's a government show. It basically brings in a lot of your public transit companies. So,

We do business with Baltimore, Maryland Transit, Birmingham here has a watch system. We watch the University of Alabama Crimson Tide Ride. They have one of our systems. But I had a public transit authority.

officer come in and she was just, it kind of circled us on a trade show. You've seen the people that come to your booth and she wanted to talk to us. She was like, well, I need to talk to these people. And so she was out of Washington State and her predecessor had purchased a piece of equipment, a wash piece of equipment that operated roughly three months.

And this is three years since that point. And so she is kind of coming into a mess and her supervisors, her bosses, her overhead, her management is looking at her to fix it. And she's telling me this and...

Andrya (39:25.604)
That's hard.

Jason Rhoads (39:48.187)
we could basically see a trend. And so we've helped them. We've had to scrap the old piece of equipment and start out with a brand new one, but she's happy.

The reason I tell you that, because it is the service part. It's the service, service. That same story came to us, literally the next person that walked up to our booth at the public transit was like, I've got a system. The brushes are gone. I can't order new brushes. The company's out of business. Where do I get this? How do I get that? Can y'all service it? And so,

Jason Rhoads (40:30.062)
Anybody that purchases anything, right, wants it to hold up to its standard, right? And so these pieces of equipment should be lasting you seven, eight, nine, 10, 11. If you're doing preventive maintenance to them, you're operating them correctly and you have a service agreement with it, right? These systems...

operated correctly should last you those years. Not three years, not five years, not three months in this ladies. So that's a bad taste for the whole wash community, right? Not just that specific manufacturer that puts a bad eye on us.

Andrya (41:24.196)
Mm-hmm.

Jason Rhoads (41:24.618)
Okay, so how do we dispel that myth? How do we go out to market and tell the story of, hey, here's what we're investing in. And that is, like you said, the technology to better understand when the system is gonna need preventative maintenance. So we know that before the owners do. We see that information back at corporate. The CSR team, 17 of them all across the nation, right?

Andrya (41:43.408)
Mm-hmm.

Jason Rhoads (41:55.19)
And we've got dealers across the globe that are actually servicing a lot of our South America, our European countries and our European washes. But that's it. It's service.

Andrya (42:10.208)
It's, you know, from the whole conversation, right? From the beginning to the end and from Whiting's beginning to its current state, it's all about service.

Jason Rhoads (42:20.382)
All about service.

Andrya (42:22.072)
Thank you, Jason. You know, I really appreciate your time and your insights today talking about Whiting. Whiting's brand is unique and valuable. And in the next part of our conversation, we will talk about what your story reveals in terms of Whiting's brand and see what resonates there for us. If you're listening today and you're interested in what Whiting has to offer, you can connect with Jason or the Whiting team at whitingsystems.com.

And again, thank you so much for listening. Jason, thank you for being here with us today and being so open. I'm just really excited to see what is on the horizon for Whiting.

Jason Rhoads (43:00.974)
Thank you, Ms. Andrea. It's been an honor and I appreciate the opportunity.

Andrya (43:05.396)
All right, thank you so much. Next episode.