Pet Peeve: Crime --

[Debra Gorgos]

Pet Peeve: Crime.
Is this a regular problem for you?
How often do you call the police?

 

[2Biz]

Not for me! When we bought the wash over 8 years ago, it came with an old Hamilton bill acceptor and party hopper! We thought we had bought a goldmine when the next day the hopper was empty! But only had $9 in the acceptor! LOL...Luckily the wash came with hidden cameras and saw what the guy was doing to cheat our changer. At the time, I didn't even know what stringing was! The cops ended up catching the guy and he did a year in prison. I immediately bought a new 16 camera system and put all the cameras out in the open. We posted signs about having security and have never had an issue like this since....

 

[MEP001]

The worst crime issue was when a car with three 20ish guys drove through and spotted a woman's purse on the passenger seat of her car with the door open, so they drove around to next door and one of them walked over and grabbed it. A 16-year old girl was with her mother right next to it and grabbed the purse to try to stop him, and he yanked it so hard she fell and sprained her wrist. I saw them driving through and pulled it up for the police on video and they had them arrested within 30 minutes. He was pleading not guilty until they saw my video, at which point they changed it to guilty, and he got summarily sentenced to a minimum of 26 years in prison for injury to a minor in the commission of a felony.

Also someone stole a vac claw once.

 

[Ghetto Wash]

Crime as absolutely a regular problem. I could legitimately call the police every visit to the washes, but limit it to the big stuff and probably only call them once a week.


The local patrol officers even had a key to the pump room at one location so they could access all the criminal trespass warnings that were in there.

 

[Ghetto Wash]

Also someone stole a vac claw once.

The manager at the tunnel down the street did that to me. I was there and saw him drive up to one vac, then another, then another. All the vac claws were now missing. I approached his car, reached in his open car window and grabbed his gear shift and held it in park while I called the police with the other hand. He got cited for theft. He told the police he was out of stock and had some missing on his vacs so he just came over to get mine. I left his wash a bad Yelp review complete with police report number. Checked with a local supplier later in the week and sure enough, they had just placed an order with vac claws on it.

 

[soapy]

Early in my car wash career I came across a guy who had lived off ripping off car washes for over 25 years. He started in FLorida and was finally caught after about 20 years there so he migrated to the Northwest. He had several methods of stealing but did not leave evidence of his thefts. My cameras finally identified him and the cops picked him up. He spilled the beans on methods to the cops but also gave the police information of various drug dealers. They did not charge him with anything and let him out so he would continue to reveal drug deals to them. The police actually asked me to let him keep stealing from me since that was how he got his money, and money from many other washes within a 100 mile radius. I added more locks to everything instead. The police eventually arrested him when he was found with a minor girl at his trailer and he pulled a gun on the police. All the stuff since then has been small in comparison.
I also caught a fellow car wash operator stealing vac hoses from me once and now I brand everything with a electric branding iron.

 

[Randy]

I have to police on speed dial. Last year I called them 26 times. Everything from burglary, theft, abandoned vehicles, dead animals, (calves, dogs, sheep) Homeless people camping in the bays. I’ve had them cut off the dumpster lids so they can at the garbage in the dumpster, there looking for mail or anything they can use for identify theft. I've seen it all, I think car washes are a magnet for the trash of society

 

[slash007]

View attachment 1299 Almost 11 years with no stringing attempts, and now twice in a month. They didn't get anything, but they still try.

 

[cap732000]

Lol! Man I don’t have the time for all the problems isssues that arise! A year or so ago my wife said your
Becoming bitter and a a@&hole and I needed to sell washes. I had to totally redirect myself as the goals and what to worry about and not. Hate to see it happening to anyone but at least I’m not alone in dealing with unsavory types.

 

[Randy]

Geez!! I thought it was just me that is a “A” Hole and snarly! It’s gotten so bad that I can’t stand the general public, we go do our car wash duties at 4:30am so we don’t have to interact with any of the loser customers who come to self serve car washes. Over the years I’ve been in fist fights with customers, I’ve ripped into customers like a Marine Gunny at boot camp https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZYlXEUo-Lo kicked customers off the property. This last Sunday night in a blowing snow storm some jerk spent 2 hours working on breaking into the back door of the car wash to gain entry into the equipment room, he was too stupid to look at the signs on the door that he’s on video and the building is alarmed. After he got the door open the alarm goes off and he hauls a$$. So at 5am I’m down at the car wash replacing the door in 18 deg. weather, freezing my a$$ off thinking to myself why, why in the hell do I do this $hit. I closed the car wash down, took the guns off, foam brush handles, pumped windshield washer fluid into the systems and came home, screw it I’m about done. It’s not supposed to get above freezing for the next 7 days, I might reopen then.

 

[OurTown]

I’ve ripped into customers like a Marine Gunny at boot camp https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZYlXEUo-Lo

That's pretty intense. Gunny croaked in April and he will be missed.

 

[soapy]

In the last year i have had 3 different people drive into my buildings do major damage and then try to drive away and sneak off. Good thing I have cameras and caught all of them. One claim was 150K. This is a type of crime since they were all charged with felony hit and runs.

 

[cap732000]

Randy I totally understand it gets old dealing with people! I have found myself changing hours or having my son clean more because I hate dealing with public as well. I’ve gotten better over the last several months but still am contemplating on either selling my washes or but more and have full time help and get out of the customer service side.

 

[slash007]

View attachment 1302 Look what I found today.... 3rd time in a month. I don't think they are getting anything, but confused about the repeated attempts. Tape seems to match the 1st two attempts, but much longer this time. Maybe they were trying longer tape to see if it would work? Should I worry about it ever working?

 

[soapy]

I had a door destroyed by a customer not paying attention last week. Video showed it was 100% customers fault and get they drive off without calling us. Almost $2000 worth of damage. What bothered me is the cop asks if we want him to do anything like get her insurance and other info. If I drive through his garage door and ran off what would he do? Why do they even ask that question?

 

[JMMUSTANG]

View attachment 1302 Look what I found today.... 3rd time in a month. I don't think they are getting anything, but confused about the repeated attempts. Tape seems to match the 1st two attempts, but much longer this time. Maybe they were trying longer tape to see if it would work? Should I worry about it ever working?

Did he call you for a refund,lol.

 

[Randy]

[QUOTE Look what I found today.... 3rd time in a month. I don't think they are getting anything, but confused about the repeated attempts. Tape seems to match the 1st two attempts, but much longer this time. Maybe they were trying longer tape to see if it would work? Should I worry about it ever working?[/QUOTE]

Amateurs, I don’t think they know what they’re doing. I hope you keep track of how much you put into your changer hopper and how much you pull out of the validator bill box. Do you have video on your bill changer?

 

[slash007]

I do have video, but it's within the past 7 days so too much to watch. It's been super slow and rained 3 days straight, so I didn't mess with it for a few days. Changer doesn't shut down either, so no indication of the bill till I find it when sorting. I have not been keeping track of how much change, looks like I need to. Ballparking it, seems about normal.