Diclaimer

[Earl Weiss]

I am tired of issues with known defects like the old Taurus / Sable bumpers and the 1999-2002 Pontiac mirrors. I am thinking of adding to my current disclaimer:


CUSTOMER IS RESPONSIBLE FOR:
. NON-LOWERED ANTENNAS,
. LOOSE CHROME, MOLDINGS,
. NON-FACTORY INSTALLED PARTS,
. RUSTED, DAMAGED, & DEFECTIVE ITEMS.

To Add:
KNOWN VEHICLE DEFECTS OR AUTOMATIC CARWASH INCOMPATABILITY.

What do you think?

 

[my2cents]

I think you open yourself up to a situation where you need to discuss questionable vehicles as they approach the attendant. Can you attendant determine what has a known defect and can they relate that to the customer? I think it best to educate or inform the customer that certain vehicles have known issues and that you may not be responsible for some issues. Automatic wash incompatibility could be anything and just enough to cause bad will.

 

[Earl Weiss]

I think you open yourself up to a situation where you need to discuss questionable vehicles as they approach the attendant. Can you attendant determine what has a known defect and can they relate that to the customer? I think it best to educate or inform the customer that certain vehicles have known issues and that you may not be responsible for some issues. Automatic wash incompatibility could be anything and just enough to cause bad will.

Not my intent at all. Attendant would not be in the picture. You can't try and wash 100CPH and analyze each vehicle.

Instead scenario would be thus:

Problem occurs. Report of incident provided to me.

I check the internet and find Numerous reports about existence of the problem / cause. Or in cases like Pontiac Mirrors I am well aware of the issue.

Customer is provided with a copy of the report of the issue and the sign is pointed to about the fact that the customer assumes responsibility for this issue.

(I point at the signs which references antennas in 2 places when they try to tell me it's not their fault their electric antenna would not go down all the way.)

I have done something similar when a stress crack in a windshield the customer has not noticed grows during the wash process. The customer is not happy, but having an independant report on the issue helps.

 

[wood]

pontiac grand am mirrors.

you have sucked it up this long, maybe just don't make any disclaimer sign. the percentage on the road is extremely low and going lower. plus, 99-02 grand am's on the street might have already had their mirror snapped and replaced properly. my guys, even at 100 cph see a older style grand am, tug on mirror, notify customer if loose while sending.

i have never had the taurus/sable issue. perhaps it's because i have the foam cell as opposed to cloth. choosing foam cell over cloth next time you replace is a no brainer to me.

finally, through carwash.org there used to be a vehicle alert notification page. a few years ago i printed out the 5 pages or so. then, if i have an issue and want to challenge the claim i show them the sheet that lists there particular design and the noted problems.

good luck,
wood

 

[pitzerwm]

Earl, I like your idea, it will short cut many BS claims. As long as your people are trained to react the same way each case, you are just protecting yourself

 

[Waxman]

I like it fine but would add: " call 555-carwash to find out if your vehicle has a history of recurring damage from automated carwashes. "Your car's safety is out priority!"

 

[Earl Weiss]

pontiac grand am mirrors.

you have sucked it up this long, maybe just don't make any disclaimer sign. the percentage on the road is extremely low and going lower. plus, 99-02 grand am's on the street might have already had their mirror snapped and replaced properly. my guys, even at 100 cph see a older style grand am, tug on mirror, notify customer if loose while sending.

i have never had the taurus/sable issue. perhaps it's because i have the foam cell as opposed to cloth. choosing foam cell over cloth next time you replace is a no brainer to me.

finally, through carwash.org there used to be a vehicle alert notification page. a few years ago i printed out the 5 pages or so. then, if i have an issue and want to challenge the claim i show them the sheet that lists there particular design and the noted problems.

good luck,
wood

with the pontiacs, mirror looseness is not the issue. It was the POS double arm design / mfgr. I still see a lot. Some have already been replaced with a larger single arm model.

I have a notebook of alerts. probably over 50 pages. Stll lost a taurus bumper caseeven after showing the judge the report that the bumber ony came off in the wash if loose from prior impact.

 

[Earl Weiss]

Earl, I like your idea, it will short cut many BS claims. As long as your people are trained to react the same way each case, you are just protecting yourself

I guess the point is I feel for the customer. But it is not our industry's responsibility to insure against bad vehicle design be it SUA or anything else.

 

[packerscw]

A buddy of mine would love to put a sign up like that in his wash for grand am mirrors..more and more cars are being made cheaper and cheaper everyday. Pretty soon everything will be plastic clips..no screws or bolts just plastic clips. GREAT!!!

 

[Earl Weiss]

Got a call the other day thata customer said we "pushed his grill in.

It was on a new Toyota. I said I needed to see it since it was so unusual.

Before I saw it my guy had opened the customer's hood and found some little clips were loose. He tightened them up and the customer was happy.

 

[Chiefs]

You can wash 100 CPH and still inspect vehicles. We do it all the time. There are a slew of conditions or cars that we look out for. For example, vehicle's with substantial damage that can cause damage to the cloth we deny; Open Bed Pick-ups we deny service; Any vehicle that comes in with damage to mirrors, bumpers, cracks, etc. we have the attendants point to them so our five entry cameras pick them up; Power antennas that won't retract we notify them of the damage potential; And, people with full size conversion vans that exceed height restrictions.

We also we a few disclaimer signs at the before the ramp absolving us from claims for non-factory accessories, pre-existing vehicle damage and damage that may result from them. We also inform customers of Jeep Liberty's, Hummers, and Chevy equinox that if they do not remove their antennas we will not be responsible.

Yesterday is a prime example why if you operate a conveyor wash without attentdants, you are crazy. I cought a guy in line yesterday with a snow plow on his truck. Without an attendant, he certainly would have tried to go through and promptly ruined a 900+ car day and possibly knocked us out of business today which should be about a 600-700 car day.

People don't care about the condition of their vehicle or the damage or problems that going through your car wash might cause to your business, their vehicle or the vehicles of customers behind them - especially this time of year when you get that cutsomer who washes his 15 year old bomb twice a year whether it needs it or not.

Tunnels without attendants are accidents waiting to happen. Hell, just getting people to put their vehicle into neutral and taking their foot off the brake and keep their hands off the wheel is challenging enough. the other pitfalls can cause you costly down time, damage claims, and equipment repairs. unattended may be great for 12-15 car an hour in-bay automatics, but in tunnel settings, you've got to have a screw loose.

 

[Earl Weiss]

You can wash 100 CPH and still inspect vehicles. We do it all the time. .

And you have how many people working at the entrance area?

 

[Greg Pack]

I know one company that has a sign denying responsibility for any vehicle over ten years old.

 

[Earl Weiss]

I know one company that has a sign denying responsibility for any vehicle over ten years old.

I saw one guy whose sign basicaly said they are not responsible for anything.

 

[Chiefs]

Earl,

We operate as follows

Minimum of two attendants all the time - good for up to 400-500 cars.

For every additional 250 cars we add an attendant.

As you may already know, we use hogs hair brushes and prep the fronts, windshields and rears of every car we wash. We also prep for bugs, mud, ice and snow. We also average over $8.00 per car.

I will gladly trade $500 in payroll for $8,000 in revenue every day of the week and twice on Sunday. This ensures everything operates smoothly and customers leave 100% satisfied.

You guys who try to do 100+ cars an hour without attendants must all have customers with PhDs. My customers are simply not capable of following verbal directions let alone reading, understanding and comprehending signs and invaraibly put their car into park, can't find neutral, or keep their foot on the brake. Oh and as for pulling onto the conveyor 2-3' behind the car in front of them without attendants, to wash 100 CPH I'd have to run a 200 car per hour line speed!

Oh and wiithout attendants, what happens when a customer turns their wheel and jumps the track, or puts their foot on the brake, jumps the rollers and causes a collision in the tunnel?

Attendants on conveyors are simply a necessary evil if you are going to deliver the highest possible quality and do it safely.

 

[Earl Weiss]

Earl,

We operate as follows

Minimum of two attendants all the time - good for up to 400-500 cars.

For every additional 250 cars we add an attendant.

As you may already know, we use hogs hair brushes and prep the fronts, windshields and rears of every car we wash. We also prep for bugs, mud, ice and snow. We also average over $8.00 per car.

I will gladly trade $500 in payroll for $8,000 in revenue every day of the week and twice on Sunday. .

First and foremost I agree that an unattended Tunnel is not optimal.

Second, we do up to 100cph when demand warrants it with a single person loader / cashier. It is not realistic to inspect each vehicle, all 4 sides for issues. With 3 people it would be much easier.

I would also use your cost revenue model if I could. demographics and the competitive environment will not permit it.

 

[Chiefs]

We've seen some huge days recently. About 7,000 cars in the last 9-10 days. Being out on the line and talking with the attendants, we've concluded that about 30%+ of the customers we've never seen before or at least not for a long, long time. In addition, we've truned away many customers who have come in with substantial vehicle damage to the car - damage so severe, that we have no desire to risk damaging our equipment or the vehicles of other customers to make a quick $10. We even had to turn away a guy with a plow on his truck and a couple of full size conversion vans Without an attendant I am sure they would have tried to go through and ruined a very big day.

In addition, we've seen hundreds of vehicle come in with taped on or glued mirrors, glued spoilers, cracked bumpers, power antennas that won't retract, damaged/missing large areas of paint, missing parts altogether. By the attendants pointing to these parts/areas we have easily avoided a couple of dozen false damage claims some of which were picked up easily by the cameras and other not picked up at all.

These kinds of "customers" don't give a damn about the size or condition of their vehicle or how the damage might affect the performance of your equipment on their car or on the vehicles that come after them. Besides getting the areas clean that the cloth can't reach and even the high pressure cannot penetrate/remove, these attandants have saved me from many a headache during not just this stretch but throughout the year.

If I wanted to be able to operate totally unattended, I'd take out the tunnel and put in 4In bays. Oh wait to do 100 cars per hour, I'd have to have 10 in-bays to handle that volume. I think I'll stick with the tunnel and the attendants. Yes people want value, but to operate without quality means that you're always ****ing off customers and having to make new ones all the time to make up for it. Thanks, but I'll keep washing 85-90,000 a year at $8 with attendants and prepping instead of washing 150,000 a year at $5 without attendants and without prepping. This way, I not only can provide value but quality and safety too. Oh and all my soap and utility costs will be about 40% lower too boot. Every car wash is capable of producing a vehicle that's 80% clean. Hey, if can can thrive doing it that way more power to you. For me, it about washing volume and giving top quality. McDonald's is great, but if you're higher quality meal, then you're going to Applebees, Chile's, or Outback. And at the way fast food prices have skyrocketed lately, you can get a quality meal elsewhere for not a whole lot more.