Car Wash Damage

It’s a fact that the more cars you wash, the more damage claims arise. We all talk among ourselves about the unbelievable incidents that occur at our operations. Often it’s quite comical as to what erroneous claims get brought against us, yet sometimes it’s very serious business to re-create how the damage could have possibly occurred during the course of the wash. The car wash is not perfect; there are times when we need to “make it right.”

A typical damage claim usually begins with the customer directing an employee to their vehicle to express their concern. The employee will generally listen to the initial complaint and then bring that information to a manager or owner. At this point the manager or owner will be prefaced as to what the situation is and will have a general idea of what’s going on prior to having initial contact with the customer. We have found that it helps for the manager or owner to ask the employee what state of mind the customer is in. This is where the evaluation process begins.

You calmly walk toward the customer and their vehicle. You introduce yourself and let them know your position within the organization. Don’t say anything else! Trust me; the customer is ready to show and tell. It is critical that you listen, look and portray a sense of understanding as to what their concern is. You must make them feel you take their claim very seriously, regardless of how large or small it may be. Keep in mind; people love their vehicles as they love their pets.

Once the customer has come to a stopping point (if there is one) you will probably have an idea as to how upset they are. This is what we refer to as the customer's state of mind. Using a scale of 1-10 is simple and works well. Definitions are as follows:

• 1-4: Cool, calm and understanding
  These are obviously the easiest people to work with. They sometimes even feel bad about voicing their concerns with you. They are not upset and understand it’s not a perfect world, freak things sometimes happen. They may even tell you not to worry about fixing the problem, they just wanted to bring it to your attention.
• 5-7: Direct and to the point
  These people are somewhat upset and feel the car wash has wronged them. They will have a little attitude in their tone of voice. These are more challenging to deal with because there is some tension in the air. What you do or say next is critical because you don’t know what their reaction is going to be. What you say could set them off or cool them down. Remember what you say, how you say it, your eye contact, and your body language, are all critical at this point. First impressions stick….It’s like two dogs sniffing each other out…whether good or bad, something is about to happen.
• 8-10: Visibly upset and demanding
  This person is hot! They are usually loud, threatening, and demanding. They feel the need to be heard by you and anyone else around who will listen. It’s not unlikely they are already on the phone with a spouse, friend, lawyer, or police talking about what your car wash did to their vehicle. The bad thing about people in this state of mind is they were probably already upset about something else prior to their visit to your car wash and this incident just launched them over the edge. When handling these people, it is imperative to get them out of sight and hearing range of other customers in the area. If you anticipate a serious confrontation, bring a co-worker along to help buffer the situation.

After you are aware of the situation and have determined what state of mind the customer is in, it is time to move along with the process of assessing the damage and evaluating the claim.

No one knows your car wash equipment better than you. Ninety-five percent of the time you will know if your equipment was capable of doing the damage presented to you. Your mind will probably be made up shortly after viewing the damage and listening to the customer. You will either take responsibility or not, and you will either repair it on site or outsource it.

In the event the owner or manager is not present at the time of the claim, the employee must take the customer’s contact information as well as the time, type of vehicle, and description of the damage. It is generally a good idea to make sure the employee does not give the customer a false promise of repair if that particular employee is not the decision maker. Some of the more common damage claims such as antennas and rear wiper blades can be handled by most any employee. He is authorized to assure the customer the wash will be responsible for repair. Anything more serious must be brought to the owner or manager for inspection prior to a commitment of repair.

It is very important that we acknowledge the fact we do take the claim seriously. Present the customer with a business card of the owner or manager and assure them they will be contacted within twenty-four hours. This is important for several reasons:

1. It is fresh on the customer’s mind and they are talking about the incident among their peers within the community.
2. When the customer is contacted promptly, it is more professional and helps ease their anxiety concerning the incident.
3. You may be able to turn a bad situation into a good one by impressing the customer so much by the way you handled the claim that they become “a raving fan” of your business and have full faith and trust in it. You have done the right thing and have won them over.

Keep in mind that in today’s world, people are accustomed to lousy service and almost expect it. Strive to be better and handle the situation as quickly as possible. Closure with a damage claim is time sensitive and must be treated with priority.

For newer employees, dealing with customers and damage claims is awkward and uncomfortable. With experience, the employees will become more comfortable and be able to handle the claims more effectively and with more confidence.

Some owners have forms for almost everything, especially the larger companies with multiple sites. Being a small, hands-on operator, we choose to be more personable and old fashioned. By using a form, we feel this creates the impression to the customer that these incidents happen on a regular basis and the wash is accustomed to being at fault. Therefore we use a blank notepad to document the incident and pertinent information.

How much damage should one expect to be responsible for at a conveyor car wash?
We use two different methods to measure and track the amounts of damage over a one month period. For illustration purposes, we will use a monthly volume of ten thousand cars and an average ticket of seven dollars per car.

1. One percent of gross revenue. 10,000 cars x $7.00 per car = $70,000
   1% of $70,000 = $700 of damage in a month’s time.
2. Five cents per car. 10,000 cars x $.05 = $500 of damage in a month’s time.

Our experience has shown example #1 is a little on the high side and example #2 is closer to being accurate. Some months we may literally have no damage claims to speak of. Other months we may have several claims back to back and exceed our standard guidelines.

Damage is usually not predictable unless you know of something in your wash that might be out of adjustment. The best way to minimize damage is to have properly trained employees who know what to look for and well maintained equipment. You and your staff should constantly be looking, listening, touching, and smelling to help monitor the status of your equipment.

How should one handle the actual repair of damaged vehicles?
If you are not already aware, you will find that in order to plan, construct, and operate a successful conveyor wash, you must build a network of well qualified and reliable people. The list includes but is not limited to: architects, engineers, electricians, plumbers, welders, attorneys, machine shops, rental supply stores, and body shops.

We’re all for self-performing the things we have the time and experience to do but there are plenty of items left which warrant outsourcing. We seek out people who operate their businesses with the same integrity we do. We call them “the one call, that’s all” guys. They are the ones you know you can rely on to get the job done. You need to have a close relationship with a nearby body shop. They can handle the more serious damage claims as needed.

When do the police need to get involved?
There are several types of situations where your local police will need to be called upon. The most common is when the customer is near the level ten state of mind and no matter what you say or do, you can’t logically reason with them.

In this type of situation, when you realize there is no common ground and you know your car wash is not at fault, it is likely either you or the customer will telephone the police. Usually in this case, take the proactive position and be the first to call. Once the police show up on site, there is only so much they can do. If you are denying the claim, all they can really do is write up a report of the incident and send the parties on about their business. It usually ends here for the owner unless the customer wants to file a formal justice court claim against you.

What happens if the customer wants to file a claim?
If they choose to do so, the customer simply goes to the local county justice court and files the claim against you. It will cost them about fifty dollars and you and/or your business will be served papers to appear in court. Since most claims under the two-thousand five hundred dollar limit end up in small claims court, going this route is a cheap, easy, and quick way to have a judge decide whether the car wash is negligent and liable for the damages or not.

When you go before the judge, he can only guarantee one of two things. He can dismiss the claim and find the defendant not liable or he can grant the car wash a judgement against the defendant up to the amount of the claim, plus court costs. Remember, just because you get a judgment doesn’t mean you are guaranteed to receive your money. The court can’t force them to pay and someone owing you money is not a crime punishable by serving time. There are no debtors prison!

However, if they still don’t pay, even after the judgment is issued, you can begin another process to garnish their wages and/or bank accounts. The hard part about this is that the court doesn’t do any leg work for you. It’s up to you to find out where they work and where they bank. The court simply processes the required paperwork to make it legal for you to do so.

When do the insurance companies need to get involved?
There are times where incidents occur between two or more customers and your car wash equipment had nothing to do with why it happened. For instance, a customer takes control of their own vehicle and causes damage to your car wash equipment and/or another customer’s vehicle. Hopefully, with good video coverage, you can show and explain what happened and why it happened. This is the best way to alleviate liability from the car wash. Let them view the video if they choose to do so and also offer to provide them with a copy of it in case it might be needed in the future. They should still obtain a police report and turn the matter over to their respective insurance companies.

One of the worst situations where insurance will have to be involved is when your car wash equipment malfunctions and causes substantial damage to one or more vehicles. When this happens, it’s obvious and hopefully you and your staff will catch it as soon as it occurs. Every second counts when a major malfunction has occurred. Again, the video is helpful to show exactly when and how the incident happened.

In this rare situation, it is a good idea to set an out of pocket amount (such as up to five thousand dollars) aside for the repair of damaged vehicles. If the damage totals more than this, turn it in to the insurance company as a claim to be paid by them less the deductible. Ultimately, you will feel the pain because you will probably have a great deal of negative PR being spread around, and your insurance rates will more than likely spike up if they don’t drop you all together.

In closing, the best defense in minimizing damage claims is to have a great offense. The three most important things you can do as an operator to have a high quality and safe car wash are:

1. Continuously train employees as to what to look for.
2. Maintain your equipment well.
3. Hve a very good video surveillance system to cover most anything that may occur.
   

This article was written by Pettey Hardin and Everett Kendrick of Venture Car Wash in Ridgeland, MS. Venture currently has two successful exterior express locations and is in the planning and construction stages of two more. They can be reached at venturecarwash@yahoo.com.