My closest competitor went back to friction several years ago after doing everything in his power to convince customers that touchless was the way to go. When he first went touchless he was sure that customers would flock to his wash because touchless was "safer" for their car. After 10 years of pulling his hair out trying to get consistent wash quality, he put back the friction components in his wash. He found that only a small percentage of his customers came there because the wash was touchless. A much larger percentage just wanted a clean car and good service. When he put back the friction equipment he figures he lost a few customers, but he barely heard a word from 99% of the rest. He told me finally realized that he went touchless for his own biases, thinking that he would never have to deal with damage claims. It turned out that getting a consistent clean car was more important than having to deal with a few misguided customers who think the scratch they got at the parking lot was his fault.