Representative decries carwash "rip-off"

[Kevin Reilly]

If you get "Professional Carwashing & Detailing" mag February issue page 8 regarding credit card charge at a self serve car wash in Salt Lake City, Utah! An important read for those with in-bay credit card machines!

 

[MEP001]

http://www.carwash-digital.com/201302/201302#&pageSet=5

We used to get complaints all the time for the same thing. You know the saying, for every customer that complains about something, there may be ten more that just never come back. Since I modified it to shut off when the "STOP" position is selected, we get no complaints.

 

[Kevin Reilly]

http://www.carwash-digital.com/201302/201302#&pageSet=5

We used to get complaints all the time for the same thing. You know the saying, for every customer that complains about something, there may be ten more that just never come back. Since I modified it to shut off when the "STOP" position is selected, we get no complaints.

RPH discussed in another thread regarding signage to protect the owner and this guy probably (surely) didn't read the sign and just put the gun back into the holster and expected it to shut off. But this guy isn't a Judge he's a politician and is going after the car washes because of it.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out!

 

[DiamondWash]

If I had a nickle for every time I could complain about being ripped off from the U.S Government I would be a rich man.

 

[madscientist]

He should write a bill that makes it mandatory for customers like himself to follow directions. That would be more comprehensive.

 

[dax_festival]

I sent this rep an email about my concerns with this bill. We'll see if he responds.

 

[rph9168]

For some reason most politicians feel that they are above the law and righteous and the rest of us poor slobs need their guidance while I feel they need our guidance more than we need theirs.

 

[pitzerwm]

And they are usually lawyers that can't make a living practicing law. Pathetic losers

 

[MEP001]

...this guy probably (surely) didn't read the sign and just put the gun back into the holster and expected it to shut off.

Possible...he may have selected the "STOP" position (which is what almost all our complaintants said they did) and didn't read the instructions, but either way it's technically his fault.

 

[Kevin Reilly]

I agree with everything that has been said, but who needs the aggravation of a person who is in power and would have an easier listening audience to claim how he was ripped off!

He will probably lose this battle but the damage has been done!

 

[Randy]

I kind of have to blame the car wash operator for setting his max limit at $50. With a limit that high it’s only going to bring on problems because someone is going to forget to push the stop button. We had a lady not long ago call all hot and bothered because she couldn’t get the credit card to stop charging her card, she was pushing the stop decal on the rotary switch. I saved her message on my phone so every time I need a good laugh I play it. I also get calls from people who put the rotary switch in the off position figuring that the timer will stop counting down, they don’t understand that they are stopping the equipment not the meter. With that said I don’t think Mep’s deal with stopping the credit card charge when the rotary switch is turned to Off will work.

 

[rph9168]

Unfortunately these type of things pop up from time to time. They usually blow over but it is hard to tell what damage they might do.

I remember years ago a consumer advocate on a TV station in LA did a piece on polish claiming it was an absolute rip off and did not provide any additional protection or shine. As a major manufacturer of car wash chemicals we agreed to send them the formula for our product and testing results to prove the product contained chemicals that enhanced the shine and provided short term protection if they signed a confidentially agreement. Their response was that they were not interested in any such proof and would not even consider a follow up piece. So much for objective journalism.

 

[MEP001]

With that said I don’t think Mep’s deal with stopping the credit card charge when the rotary switch is turned to Off will work.

It works. It COMPLETELY stopped complaints about being charged the maximum when they only washed for five minutes. Used to get one or two a week. Without your own experiences under the same conditions you have no basis on which to disagree with it.

 

[mjc3333]

It works. It COMPLETELY stopped complaints about being charged the maximum when they only washed for five minutes. Used to get one or two a week. Without your own experiences under the same conditions you have no basis on which to disagree with it.

I know you posted your design before, can you give me a detailed description on how you accomplished "stopping" the cc charges by turning the selection to the stop position?
PM if easier.

Thanks in advance.

Mike

 

[I.B. Washincars]

I've thought quite a bit about MEP's idea, but am not really smart enough to implement it. I think all of the add-on CC equipment should leave us somewhere to attach something to activate "STOP" if the customer forgets to do it themselves. I think a time-delay relay set to activate if the bay switch is in the "STOP" position for 30 seconds would save all of us a lot of headaches.

 

[Earl Weiss]

Mandating a lower (Than the $50.00 he got hit with) "reasoneable maximum" would probably affect few SS operators.

 

[Randy]

It works. It COMPLETELY stopped complaints about being charged the maximum when they only washed for five minutes. Used to get one or two a week. Without your own experiences under the same conditions you have no basis on which to disagree with it.

We get far more complaints about the meter not stopping when rotary switch is turned to the Stop position than we do from the credit users forgetting to push the Big Red button. We only get maybe 2 complaints a month where they forget to push the BIG Red Stop button. Where we get the most complaints is from customers who don’t have $10 in their checking account and they swipe their debit card and spend $3 on a car wash and then get hit with an overdraft charge of $35 or $40, this sends them into orbit. They don’t seem to understand that when hey swipe there debit they are going to hold $10 on the card until the transaction settles up at the end of the day.

 

[cdreed06]

Just count down. Eliminates the issue. Press the button for more time, just like going over to add another quarter.

 

[bighead]

I usually start the conversation with "You must bank with Wells Fargo, Bank of America, or USBank.."

To which they replay "yes I do"

Then I tell them that those mega banks will take "temporary authorizations" and hold them for a few days trying to generate overdraft fees on their accounts. Usually the small banks, and the small credit unions don't play those games. I tell them that their bank knew that night that I only charged them $3 on their $15 temporary authorization, but it is their system that is playing games with them.

That usually ends the conversation.

 

[MEP001]

I know you posted your design before, can you give me a detailed description on how you accomplished "stopping" the cc charges by turning the selection to the stop position?

I used a programmable relay and ran each output from the switch to the relay. The ladder program I wrote momentarily closes the circuit for the stop button five seconds after there has been no output from the switch. My original plan was to use a three-layer switch for the relay to read from the third stack, but I found uses for the other outputs of the relay.