Self Serve Customers are driving me to drink
- Thread starter DiamondWash
- Start date
Hello Steve. This wash business is slightly different from most any other businesses. You will deal with people who should not be allowed to drive, much less procreate and vote. If they are driving you to drink, I say let them drive you to the top shelf of same. Go for the single malt scotches or some of the sublime Irish whiskeys. The wash business will be happier, your wife/significant other will be happier, and you will have discovered the world of whiskys that predate our country's founding.
I can relate to what you’re saying. There’s no getting around it and I don’t say this lightly, self serve car washes are nothing more than a magnet for the scum of society. Now that we have cameras I can’t believe things that go on at the car washes when it’s dark or there’s no one around, it’s disgusting the things that go on. This is what has going this last week, Drug deals, people in digging in the garbage cans or dumping out can looking for that special treasure, household garbage dumpers, carpet cleaners dumping their waste water, guy’s urinating on the back door, a guy puking on the door at 2:45am, a guy on a bicycle breaking into trash doors on the vacuums for loose change at 1:50am. So far this year I’ve had the police at the car wash more often than the Super Walmart down the street has. I’ve got better video than they do. Basically all we are, is a place for society to come and wipe there a$$. The car wash business wouldn't be bad business if it wasn't for the customers. I think I'll have 3 fingers of the good stuff now.
pgrzes
Active member
I try to think back to before the cameras were on. We would get ****ed in the morning when we come in and saw a warm loaf on a bay floor, we just washed it up. It has always been this way and when you dont see it, it didnt bother you as much!! I raised my prices and its eliminated a lot of the people that really ****ed me off on the day to day stuff, and business hasnt really dropped off. I am going to be making a few more changes and raising prices again to really weed out more creeps. I was so hesitant on doing it(10 years) now like everyone on here says just do it. Less hassle and more $$$$$$$. Last year was best year in 10 years and I am about 15% ahead of last year to date allready. And thats in washes in Auto and $$$$$.
AZcarwashman
Active member
Randy. You could not have hit the nail more perfectly on the head. It's like you were writing for me. Lol. I too have full HD cameras recording 24/7 at all my washes and I am amazed at the low life's that come out at night. the last guy I had arrested would get into the top doors of my vacs and rip out the bags to get to the dirt below in the locked door. I had tons of video and layed awake many a night watching live feeds to catch him. Finally got him and had him arrested. Have not seem him since, but many more have taken his place. All my friends want me to start a YouTube channel with the plethora of videos I have. I'm amazed at the people who take a s**t right in camera view or have a quicky with their boyfriend in the automatic. And why can't the trash pickers put back down the stainless trash can covers after they go through the trash? Don't people realize that your on camera everywhere today? We self serv owners definitely get the bottom of the barrel. Some days I need half a bottle of a good 18 year single malt.
Car_Wash_Guy
Well-known member
Try owning a bar.
mmurra
Member
Our market is not as bad as Randys but we have similar issues, as do all SS washes. We moved up to food chain a couple notches when we gated the wash (WAUW), and posted "no trespassing" signs. It is private property and it is illegal to enter unless you pay. We attend full time and enforce the trespass rule, with police cooperation. We charge $8 to enter and as a result has lost many of the dirt bags who used to frequent our establishment in the off hours. Much better owning a SS under this model, after running a typical SS for over 25 years. Mark
My hunch is that the washes aren't magnets for societies low life, but rather there are just more of them out there now. Our education system is flat broken. Some parts of society have a 70% rate of single parent households. Most youth get their news from MTV. And our beloved government is bringing in thousands of immigrants with no money job skills, or talents.
Car_Wash_Guy
Well-known member
Luckily I have favorable demographics in the region and AO of the wash I'm buying, so I assume many of these nuances won't be a factor.
I agree with you mac - I'm 38 and often wonder where the hell this country is going?
I agree with you mac - I'm 38 and often wonder where the hell this country is going?
The demographics for all of our car washes are good. The problem is they come in at night, “Night Lizards” as we call them. Most of the time they are riding a bicycle or driving a crap car. When my wife and I are at the car wash they see us, turn around and leave, gee I wonder what they are up to. If you don’t have a few years of being in the car wash business you wouldn’t understand the BS that goes on there.
Greg Pack
Wash Weenie
Funny, my cleanup guy calls them "night crawlers"
Whale of a Wash
5 Washes 36Bays 2Vectors
Every business has them from retail shoplifters, to customers who won't pay.
My oldest 87 yr old attendant chill axes with a little vodka in the coke , not much bothers him, thins his
Blood and leading a long happy productive life. Just enough to take the edge off at the wash.
My oldest 87 yr old attendant chill axes with a little vodka in the coke , not much bothers him, thins his
Blood and leading a long happy productive life. Just enough to take the edge off at the wash.
Same here, we thought of closing the car wash at night to eliminate some of these issues. Will you lose regular customer if you close after dark? I know for a fact that it's cheaper than to keep lights and water boiler on!
robert roman
Bob Roman
Yes, Mark, I believe you made a wise choice adopting POP model.
More self-serve operators should redesign their business models. There is a lot of money to be made today by being a service-focused business rather product-oriented.
At least you get paid $8.00 if someone poops on the floor instead of zero.
More self-serve operators should redesign their business models. There is a lot of money to be made today by being a service-focused business rather product-oriented.
At least you get paid $8.00 if someone poops on the floor instead of zero.
DiamondWash
Well-known member
Well my day just got better a customer with a habit of running into things with vehicles decided to pay a visit to my wash this morning and caused roughly $9,000 in damage to my touchfree and dryer not including loss of revenue after he torn down the 90" clearance bar while driving in with his sprinter van which in 97" tall.
Earl Weiss
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Steve, hope you have goodluck with their insurance recovering property damage and lost income. Have had some pull all sorts of BS including reducing claims for "depreciation" of equipment, when all I did was replace parts to repair and only asked them to pay for parts.
pgrzes
Active member
Steve good luck with this, Just went through this. My estimates with very little loss of income came to $64,000. I ended up only getting $49k. I had clear video proof of company vehicle, clearly disregarding height bar being hit 3 times. They wil depreciate everything, and want you to provide clear receipts for any loss of income to be paid. And they will NOT pay you any time for you doing any work. You can pay someone else $200 per hour, but your time is worthless. It was a very frustrating 4 months of arguing back and forth. A lawyer was very little help.
MEP001
Well-known member
Someone tore through the Vector auto about two years ago, left the clearance bar dangling by one cable, ripped the arms almost off and shredded the brand-new gearbox. After that happened I glued two 2 x 10's together and bolted them across the entrance so nothing overheight can even get in the bay.
pgrzes
Active member
MEP, Be careful with that fix if you have them bolted to the block walls!!! One of the washes near me did that and the next guy that was to big just hit it harder and knocked out the block on the walls!!! I want to put a heavy 4" tube on a set of struts that stick out on a slight angle and have it rest against a switch that is tied into the emergency shutoff, if anything hits it hard it will drop out of place and shut down wash, and hopefully land on their windshield!!!! Id rather buy a windshield then go thru that aggravation again.
