Damage To My Automatic From Customer

[mfbanks223]

I Have The New D & S I5 Touchless Auto Which Is Pretty Much Just An Upgraded I500. A 18 Year Old Kid Comes Through My Wash Pulls Over The Tire Rails And Triggers The Wash Ofcourse The Side Spinners Hit Him And Destroyed The Side Of His Truck And The Lower Arm Hit Him And That Got Bent, Destroyed My Idler Pulleys And Broke Off My Trigloss Shower Head. All Together To Have The Guy Who Installed My Wash Fix It About 3k. Back To The Story Though The Cops Pull The Guy Over Down The Road After He Left And He Told Them What Happen So They Called Me I Went Down Etc.................... The Guy Told The Police That He Pulled In Incorrectly It Is On The Police Report. This Kids Dad Called Me And Said That His Buddy Installs Washes And The Wash Should Not Have Started If He Was In There Wrong. I Tell The Guy The Stop Switch Is Like 2ft. Wide And He Sais I Am Sending U The Estimate For The Damage Of His Truck. I Tell Him Great I Am Not Doing Anything About It And I Want My Wash Fixed And He Sais We Will See U In Court. Any Suggestions

 

[Randy]

I hope you got the kids insurance information. File a claim against his insurance. If he?s admitted that he pulled in incorrectly then he?s pretty much at fault, you've done nothing wrong. Let his Daddy yell all he wants, he?s PO?d because his kid is an idiot. If he won?t give you his insurance information turn it over to your insurance and let them go after the kid.

 

[Red Baron]

[edited] I like Randy's answer better.

 

[mfbanks223]

he will not give me his insurance info and the cops are not required to collect the info on private property, they verify he has it and thats it, so u guys suggest i turn it in to my insurance company and let them handle it or do i take him to small claims., civil suits suck. what if he takes me to court?

 

[Red Baron]

he will not give me his insurance info and the cops are not required to collect the info on private property, they verify he has it and thats it, so u guys suggest i turn it in to my insurance company and let them handle it or do i take him to small claims., civil suits suck. what if he takes me to court?

The idiot can't win. Eventually, hopefully, when the emotion wears off he will come to his senses. I'd make one attempt to remind him that he has a legal responsibility under his policy to notify his carrier of any pending liability.

 

[rph9168]

Since he won't share insurance information you have no choice but to turn it over to your insurance company or sue them. If you sue it will take time and out of pocket money to get the process going and you may be able to recover some loss of business money. Your insurance company should pay your claim and go after them to repay them. If you go through your insurance company it will still be considered a claim and go on your record which may affect your rate even if they are repaid.

 

[pitzerwm]

I would talk to D&S, I would like to know why it started.

 

[Red Baron]

I would talk to D&S, I would like to know why it started.

At least on the 5000 the tredle plate is about 2" wide, which means that a vehicle can get its right side wheel on the righthand/wrong side of the rails and the tire still depress the tredle switch.

I think it needs to be that wide in order to work on narrower cars.

I've given up on making mine idiotproof; as soon as I address everything an idiot has done once, a new kind of idiot comes along.

 

[mfbanks223]

pitzerwm must be this guys contact because i have seen all different types of washes that the stop switch is at least 2 ft. wide which means that a truck which it was can still reach it, red baron u are the man i see u on here all the time and always have good stuff

 

[Jim L.]

In 2006 I had a similar experience with a kid who destroyed one of my vac islands. His dad would not file on their insurance. I turned it over to my insurance co. who paid me for the damage less a $1,000 deductable. A couple of months later my insurance co. sent me $1,000 stating that they had been paid in full for the damages.

 

[lag]

I would defiantly let your insurance guy handle it. Stay out of it. at this point do not even speak with the other party. If they contact you say call my insurance rep.

I do however agree with Bill about speaking with D&S , If this is something that CAN happen ,I promise , it WILL happen again.With the technology available today ,this never should have happened.

I know nothing about D&S equipment, we run Washworlds ,and 4000s ,and they will shut down when they impact a car. Just my 2 cents worth.

 

[mfbanks223]

u guys are the best thanks for all the info

 

[soapy]

On many automatics they have a treadle or presuure plate on each side of the rails so that they both have to be activated before the wash will start.

 

[Red Baron]

This tredle/pressure plate conversation takes place way to often! The technology exists to do a much better job than what's available. Why not a pressure pad that is 5' long that has a christmas tree light like a drag strip - as your wheel gets on the pad, lights progress as you pull forward until the green (or red) "staging" light comes on. If you go too far, yellow light flash tellin you to backup.

I have always thought that's it's way too hard for customer to get staged on the switch. I get tired of trying to explain a system that seems so counter-intuitive: "Ok Ma'am, you'll need to pull up till you feel a small bump, then pull up about a foot more until you feel another bump, but don't drive over the 2nd bump or the machine won't start. It's hard the first time you do it, but not so bad after you see how it works"

If I build a better one, will everybody buy 1?