Greg Pack
Wash Weenie
Zep makes an aerosol product called write away that is great at removing permennant markers. Rubbing alcohol works really well too.
What was your worst customer?
- Thread starter MEP001
- Start date
Anything that’s left at the car wash goes into the dumpster, we aren’t a lost and found. The last one a couple of weeks ago was a guy who bought in a bunch of greasy car parts from a Chevy C-10 pickup, motor, transmission, transmission cross member. I get there in the morning and there’s grease all over the bay and there’s the cross member laying in the bay that he forgot. My dumpster was hungry that morning so I fed his cross member to the dumpster, cleaned up the greasy mess. 2 days later this A Hole shows up looking for his cross member, sorry I don’t have it, the guy goes wild. It was pretty funny to listen to this jerk go off about forgetting his cross member. I finally told him to leave, he said he was never coming back. I never did tell him the dumpster ate it. Another happy self-serve car wash customer.
Kimberly Berg
Well-known member
You're right Randy, we're NOT a Lost & Found! Reminds me of the customer I met a few years ago while I was emptying my vacuums. He was SO grateful to finally meet the person who took care of the vacuums. He proceeded to tell me this L O N G story about his father being a long-time Mason, getting sick, then passing away. He told me he inherited his fathers Masonic ring & how special it was to him. He thought he accidentally vacuumed it up and asked if I might have found it. I asked him when he lost it and he told me "about 6 months ago"!! 
I told him I empty and toss the contents of the vacuums EVERY WEEK and he should have called me immediately when he thought he lost it. I have my phone # posted at the Cash Machine and in each Bay. Ridiculous!!
I told him I empty and toss the contents of the vacuums EVERY WEEK and he should have called me immediately when he thought he lost it. I have my phone # posted at the Cash Machine and in each Bay. Ridiculous!!We use rubbing alcohol, it's always on hand since we use that to clean surfaces before applying new decals. Works well for us as long as it is cleaned ASAP after it's found
Kimberly Berg
Well-known member
Be careful with Rubbing Alcohol on decals. We use it a lot and love it to clean metal. But depending on the ink they use on decals, it can remove the finish. It ruined my Little Trees decal.
Had this happen just a few weeks ago. Customer spilled paint in her car and tried vacuuming it up. What made it even worse is she got it all over the concrete and walked through it between the vac and the bay. There was paint all over the vac, on the concrete by the vac and leading into the bay, and all over the bay! I cut into the vac hose and the paint stopped lining the hose about a foot from the vac. The only positive thing about this! It took my 4400psi pressure washer and about 4 hours to clean it up plus a new hose and nozzle. Luckily it was a latex paint and not oil based!
The even more shocking part was I recieved a phone call about noon from a guy that owned up to the damages!!! I bout had the "Big One"!! He said his girlfriend called him at 3am frantic/histarical about making a mess at the cw...He said by the time he got there, the damage was done....He offered to help clean up the mess and pay for damages but was a little late for the cleanup!!!!! This is one for the books!
The even more shocking part was I recieved a phone call about noon from a guy that owned up to the damages!!! I bout had the "Big One"!! He said his girlfriend called him at 3am frantic/histarical about making a mess at the cw...He said by the time he got there, the damage was done....He offered to help clean up the mess and pay for damages but was a little late for the cleanup!!!!! This is one for the books!
MEP001
Well-known member
I've had that happen at least a dozen times over the years, and not just paint. Used motor oil several times, some sort of thick grease, something that looked like spray foam or at least acted like it, enough nails to build a couple houses, a whole 80 pound bag of concrete. One guy would put a half cup of dish soap in a bucket with water and scrub out the carpets, then vacuum it up, and the foam would get up in the bags and turn the dirt to a solid mass. After the third time I stripped the vacuum down and cleaned everything, I finally caught him on video and told him he's not allowed to use the vacuums anymore, and he lied saying "I only vacuumed the dash!" No, dude, you were the only one who used the vac since I cleaned it yesterday and the bags are full of soap again.
Kimberly Berg
Well-known member
OMG! The photos say it all!!Twice in one month and the only time we've had paint like this since we've bought the wash 12+ years ago....Common sense has gone out the window!
What a f#@$ing MESS! I hope it was water-based & they cleaned it ALL up!
traveler17
Well-known member
You’re a patient man. If I caught them I wouldn’t have let them leave without all of it up!! People are sorry
Bill her for your time, labor, and use of machine.