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Damaged wash

B

bobcat9095

Member
Well this is my 8th year owning a wash and had my first major catastrophe that was caused by a customer this morning. A real genius tried to wash his employer's HVAC company ladder truck. It did quite a bit of damage to my Razor arch and trolley. I have it all on video and a witness. I have spoken to the HVAC company owner and he has contacted his insurance company. Any advice from anyone that has had this happen would be appreciated.
 
I've had the same thing happen and their insurance paid for all the damages. Go ahead and get a quote ready. I also had it just happen again 3 weeks ago, but I wasn't able to get the plate with my camera since he had a bike rack on the back. I have the video and the guys name, I'm waiting to hear back from the hit and run unit.
 
I would contact your insurance and explain the situation and then let them handle all the dealings with the other insurance company. Your insurance will deal with them and reimburse you then they will seek restitution from his insurance. I would call the police and get a report started.
 
Loss of business sometimes is a rider that you may need to have had added to your commercial policy or umbrella policy.

I agree with Soapy. A lot of times, your insurance company will get you back up and running and then battle with the other persons insurance company. Sometimes even cover any legal cost.
 
Last week we had a F250 with his plow attached go through the WW Razor bay. I heard my heart skip a beat as I watched on the camera since I only realized the situation when the second presoak was happening. Worked without an issue but not something I plan to advertise. Had two large EconoLine vans go through the Razor wash two weeks ago however these guys knew their vans and figured out that we intentionally lowered the clearance number on the wall by 4" (to 6'8" listed even though we can handle 7') - I learned about the vans after the fact when they came back for their third wash in 10 days and I was manning the entrance terminal.
 
I had some Mexicans lift two clearance bars and wedge a tall work van under my M5. Bent the spray arch but I was able to straighten it.
 
I watched someone lift the clearance bar to get his headache rack through, and when I said something he said he'd done it many timed before so I didn't worry about it. The machine was mounted 2" too high anyway. About a year later someone just about destroyed the machine with something tall (Video failed the day before so I don't know what it was), and after I got it running again I bought some 2x12's, glued/screwed them together into a 4x12 and bolted them across the entrance. It actually looked pretty good once it was painted and lettered.
 
a customer did a lot of damage to my Ryko OHD touchles 3 mos ago. I didn't get it on video, so turned it in to my insurance. They paid to have everything fixed, & even paid me for loss of revenue. They balked on the loss of revenue that i had claimed, & it was quite a lengthy battle, as they used a 3rd party accounting firm. But in the end, I said I'd just have my lawyer work it out & voi'la...they paid in full THAT DAY! It was gonna be $1600 instead of $2500.
 
I got a brand new wash out of my damage. I did forgo the lost revenue portion since I had a second automatic that kept revenue about the same.
 
I do have video, but don't want to defame the HVAC company since their name is on the vehicle AND employee's shirt. Yes he got out of his truck and looked at my height bar (that was on top of his ladder rack) several times and studied the situation for a few minutes before he decided it would work any way. Still waiting to hear from insurance. Parts are on their way from WW so i can get back to washing vehicles!
 
I'm back up and running after a day and of half of labor with 2 techs from my distributor . No we'll see how insurance works out! What a week.
 
Glad you only had a minor mishap. It took me a little over 2 months for a full replacement and that was quicker than most.
 
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