The business has been keeping Launceston’s cars gleaming ever since.

Geoff Hann admits he did not love selling computers, but that job was how he met his wife Tanya, so he considers it a good exchange.

“I wasn’t successful at that, but I met Tanya there – I was trying to sell her a computer,” Mr Hann said.

“I wanted a change from computers. I preferred to wash cars.

“I used to help my grandfather mow the lawns and wash the car and if I wanted to use mum’s car I had to wash it. All my life I’d been washing cars,” he said.

After speaking with his friend and mentor Craig Bartlett, Mr Hann decided to start a car cleaning business.

“Craig helped me with a business plan and Tanya typed it up and it’s still pretty much the same plan now,” he said.

He set up the business by selling agreements for 20 car cleans, which were paid up front, and then fitted out a Suzuki van with a generator, pressure cleaner and car phone.

“People laughed at the bright van, but they remembered Crystal Cleaning,” he said.

Crystal Cleaning started in a small workshop in Charles Street and then moved to York Street, before taking up a its position in Cimitiere Street 22 years ago.

Mrs Hann joined the business after the couple’s first child, Lucy, was born and she detailed customer cars with one eye on her baby.

Now the business employs 11 staff, with three of those clocking up 25 years’ service each.

Even now, 30 years after starting in business, the couple are still looking for ways to improve, such as adding a coffee machine for customers waiting and keeping up with the best equipment.

“I’m always improving my concept, and I have a specific order of doing things because our customers want perfection,” Mr Hann said.

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