Customer sprayed HP soap into meter box

[Overachiever]

I was getting calls that one of my Ginsan 12 button Lumitouch stopped working and when I reviewed the cameras the last customer to use it successfully, was spraying high pressure soap directly into the coin slot for quite a while.

What would you do? Call the cops and insurance? Ginsan says some of my buttons have probably shorted out but I haven't figured out which one(s) yet.

If the only issue is the buttons - a pack of 5 buttons is $150.

 

[Eric H]

Call the police. They vandalized your equipment and should be held responsible for the repairs. there is NO WAY that anyone can consider it to be reasonable behavior to spray water directly into the box!
I had a video of a guy hitting my meter box with the spring wand on the gun. He damaged the Credit card reader, rotary dial knob and decal. Told the cop it was about $300 in damages which is over the $250 for a felony charge. The cop asked if I wanted the money or if I wanted him arrested. I only wanted the guy to pay for what he damaged. The cop went to the guys house and told him to contact me and pay for the damages OR he would come back and arrest him. Guy called me that day and paid me a couple of days later. Cop made a follow up visit when he saw me at the wash to make sure I got paid.

 

[Greg Pack]

If you've got a tag number it's worth following up with. Laws are going to vary from State to State.

 

[Overachiever]

For whatever reason I thought the police might not see it as vandalism. I had his plates and reported him... we'll see what happens. They didn't give me the option to just try and collect the money from him, they really wanted to arrest him.

 

[JMMUSTANG]

I have my hose lengths cut so that the gun is just short enough that the customers cannot spray into the boxes but can reach the dial selector for that exact reason.

 

[MEP001]

I have my hose lengths cut so that the gun is just short enough that the customers cannot spray into the boxes but can reach the dial selector for that exact reason.

That reminds me of a guy with a 2-bay wash, he had a problem with people spraying high pressure into his bill changer and shorting it out. I wondered how they were reaching the changer until I went to his wash, his bay hoses were something like 22 feet long. I suggested he replace them with 16 feet, and later he said his customers were thanking him because they weren't tripping over the extra length anymore.

 

[Greg Pack]

For whatever reason I thought the police might not see it as vandalism. I had his plates and reported him... we'll see what happens. They didn't give me the option to just try and collect the money from him, they really wanted to arrest him.

you might need to follow up with the officer and see if there is any action you need to take. In my State it has to be over 2500 for a felony. Anyting less than that and its a misdemeanor. Around here you have to go to the magistrate and swear out misdemeanors yourself, police do not pursue them.

 

[mac]

Most likely the reason he was doing this is that with many meter boxes, when you spray into the box, the 24 vac on the terminal strip would short out to the coin impulse also located on the strip. It used to be on you tube showing how to do it. Most used tire cleaner because it conducted better. The solution is to remove the coin impulse from the strip.

 

[JMMUSTANG]

Mac I agree that will illuminate the pulse issue but what will illimate the idiot issue?

 

[mac]

The gene pool needs a little more chlorine.

 

[Overachiever]

Last night I got "served" a subpoena in regards to this, asking for my maintenance and service records for the machine that was damaged, lol... I bought the boxes / doors late 2016 and didn't install them until like spring of 2017. Then it worked flawlessly until the guy did what he did.

Wonder why they just didn't call me up and ask me nicely instead of issuing a subpoena.

 

[Earl Weiss]

Wonder why they just didn't call me up and ask me nicely instead of issuing a subpoena.

a. Because that is not how law enforcement operates.
b. Because now they have written proof you were notified and if they don't get what they need to prosecute successfully they can show they tried their best.