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Damage claims

We don't budget here as well and follow the same format of submitting to insurance if it is above a certain amount. I think I read somewhere that 10% of gross is industry standard. Last year was a good year for us and damage claims accounted for less than 1%.
 
Mine typically runs about less than .5% of gross sales. If you are spending 10% it might be time to re-examine your operation.
 
FWIW Biggest issue by far is side mirrors . Still it's about 1 in 8000 washes or so. A few years ago I reviewed about 40 repairs bills (4 Tunnels) for the year and saw 9 out of 10 were for cars over 10 years old. Some 12-14-16-18 years Old. So, I put up signs saying "Customer is responsible (we are not) for anything over 10 years old (Thinking of adding 100K Miles) (Currently 2006 or Older and each October I Put a sticker on the sign with the next model year.) Any reports for cars over 10 years old get a letter repeating the notice.) It also appears on the report form.

Last year I paid for 6 repairs. I can't be sure but there also seems to be a correlation for extremely cold weather where a mirror that might fold may be frozen straight.
 
Thank God they no longer have hood ornaments. I saw some washes that used to keep them in buckets at their washes along with loose chrome trim, antennas and license plates from the front bumper. Mirrors were also a problem back then but they were cheaper to repair than the ones that retract.
 
Was there ever a problem with top brushes ripping out a hood ornament and beating the car with it?
 
I don't remember that happening. They usually just knocked them off and they didn't get tangled in the cloth. Occasionally they would scratch the hood. The worse thing I ever heard about was at a wash in the South where a guy had his dog chained in the bed. For some reason when he went through the wash the attendant either didn't notice it or let it go that way. The dog's chain got caught in the top brush and you can imagine what happened after that. It was not pretty.
 
The one thing we do is advise customer of prior damage at point of sale. Execsue me but your molding is falling off, or your front bumper has a huge gash in it. Recently I told women about a huge dent On pass of her car. She responds "there's no dent!" Ma'am please step out and take a peek. Omg good thing you said something I would of blamed you. By pointing out obvious damage our claims are very small. It's getting your attendants to be vigil. I just tell them any damage done to car will come out of their check. My wash is safe! Lol
 
rph9168 said:
I don't remember that happening. They usually just knocked them off and they didn't get tangled in the cloth. Occasionally they would scratch the hood. The worse thing I ever heard about was at a wash in the South where a guy had his dog chained in the bed. For some reason when he went through the wash the attendant either didn't notice it or let it go that way. The dog's chain got caught in the top brush and you can imagine what happened after that. It was not pretty.
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That's a lot worse than the worse thing I've heard of, someone with an El Camino who had a rope tied to an empty propane tank that got caught in the top brush.
 
rph9168 said:
.......................a guy had his dog chained in the bed. For some reason when he went through the wash the attendant either didn't notice it or let it go that way. The dog's chain got caught in the top brush and you can imagine what happened after that. It was not pretty.
Click to expand...

Dogs can be durable. Had a retriever who jumped out of my convertible while driving - No Ill effects. To stop this , I tied his leash to the headrest and he still jumped. Took me a while to slow the car as he thumped against the side while hanging from the headrest . Still no apparent ill effects,.
 
Earl Weiss said:
Dogs can be durable. Had a retriever who jumped out of my convertible while driving - No Ill effects. To stop this , I tied his leash to the headrest and he still jumped. Took me a while to slow the car as he thumped against the side while hanging from the headrest . Still no apparent ill effects,.
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This dog wasn't that durable.
 
Probably depends on the state - it's illegal in Texas unless you have a signed agreement with the employee.
 
Have you ever been taken to court despite the sign .
We have similar sign and still going to court. Judge does not believe sign is valid . Have you ever had to defend it in court. Did you win.
 
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