Advice on damage claim

[LibertyCarWash]

I have a WW2.0 and have never had any damage complaints. Had a customer call me yesterday saying the automatic took off 40% of the pinstriping on his 97 Ford Expedition. Asked if it was aftermarket paint or pinstriping and he maintains that it is not. I find it hard to believe that after 70,000 washes and no complaints this would be due to my equipment.

Any advice on how to handle this? I already told him if anything is aftermarke I will not be paying for it. But if it's all factory I do feel I should do something for him. Thoughts?

 

[Washmee]

I have a WW2.0 and have never had any damage complaints. Had a customer call me yesterday saying the automatic took off 40% of the pinstriping on his 97 Ford Expedition. Asked if it was aftermarket paint or pinstriping and he maintains that it is not. I find it hard to believe that after 70,000 washes and no complaints this would be due to my equipment.

Any advice on how to handle this? I already told him if anything is aftermarke I will not be paying for it. But if it's all factory I do feel I should do something for him. Thoughts?

That is 14 year old vehicle you're talking about here. I would be very hard pressed to pay for anything that you aren't 100% positive you caused. Do you have video?

 

[kentadel]

Tell your customer what you told the forum, 70,000 washes with no damage until his. I would not pay a cent. If he persists, let the insurance companies deal with it. With a vehicle of that age it would be hard to imagine a claim.

 

[bigleo48]

My warning says "not responsible if my equipment did not malfunction" and also the after market stuff.

14 yr old pin striping...I'd tell him to take a hike!

 

[MEP001]

My assumption would be one of two things:

The pinstriping was dealer-applied 14 years ago, and he assumes it was factory done. The pinstriping was disintegrated and blew right off from the high-pressure. Or:

The pinstriping was recently applied to a waxed vehicle and simply couldn't stick, and the high-pressure lifted it off as easily as a breast cancer magnet.

Good vinyl pinstriping that lasted 14 years isn't going to come off suddenly from high-pressure spray unless it was the first time it's been washed in a decade.

I'm all for keeping good customers happy if there was really a problem, but there's no reason why we as an industry should pay for a customer's ignorance (or just be ripped off altogether).

 

[Reds]

I have two 2.0's also one with 70,000 and the other with 45,000 washes. Luckily the only complaint I have had regarding paint was knocking paint off of body parts that had been rusted and blistered. Also bug deflectors, etc. So I put up signs that say " High Pressure Air & Water" "We are not responsible for damage to factory or aftermarket accessories or parts" "Use at your own risk" Signs are bold, in color, posted on entry arch. Since putting up the signs I have not had any complaints. Do you have any signage of this nature? I think that everyone on the planet knows that a car wash uses high pressure water to clean the car. It was the customers choice to use a carwash on his vehicle. Doesn't he have a personal responsibility to make sure that his vehicle is able to withstand the cleaning method that he chose to use?

 

[pitzerwm]

When I put my IBA in I had 1000# pressure, one of the first cars was the X owner, brand new pickup, took the pin striping right off. He was cool about it, just said that he didn't like it anyway. I lowered the pressure to 800#.