I was looking for a new car washing service and after reading some of the positive reviews for So…read moreCal I went to their website, scheduled an appointment time, prepaid and decided to just show up and see what happens!
My first visit was around a month ago. The person who "greeted" me looked very VERY unhappy to see me. Apparently he had no idea I was coming, tried to talk me out of staying, then very reluctantly "honored" my appointment by telling me to come back for my car in 2-3 hours. When I returned around 3 hours later, the crew was still working on my car and a different man told me it would be ready to go in around "10 minutes." It actually took an additional 25 minutes, but when I got my car back it looked good. Really good----they had done a nice job.
The So Cal car washing operation takes place in the lower level of a parking garage. Happy with my car's clean look, I drove towards the exit and when I reached it the greeter guy did something with my ticket so I wouldn't have to pay for parking----but he was still giving me a super icy look for some reason I didn't understand----I hardly spoke or interacted with him----I decided to give him an extra $10 tip and told him the car looks good in the hope his energy might ease up next time around. I had earlier left a generous tip for the crew online when I booked and pre-paid the appointment.
Flash forward to last week----my car was looking really dirty again and my family was leaving for a 3-day road trip on Friday, so I went online again, booked an appointment again and prepaid again. I showed up again, right on time for my appointment, and this time the "greeter" was sitting in the passenger seat of a car vacuuming it.
When I approached him and said hi and told him I was here for my appointment, the look he gave me was so hostile I almost swallowed my chewing gum. No smile, no "Hey! Good to see you again" no "Thanks for coming back! We appreciate your business!" no "How are you today?" No "Hello", literally Nothing!
I'm not kidding, I've never experienced anything like this before where I'm paying for a service! He climbed out of the car, turned off the noisy vacuum and just like the first time, said he didn't know about my appointment. He wanted to know how much time I had. I said 2 hours would be okay. His look told me that wouldn't be enough. I said I *guess* I could stretch it out to 3 hours if you can really get it back to me in 3---I have to be somewhere later. This didn't seem to be enough either.
He handed me a business card and told me to speak to the office guy, who I guess works out of a different location. I entered the # on my cell and when a man picked up, the first guy----with perfect timing, flipped his vacuum on again which sounded like a jet engine. I had to run up the parking ramp around 15 car lengths so I could hear again and the man who answered the phone was actually very polite and apologetic. He explained that the online appointment booking process is not connected with the actual car wash people. In the future rather than booking online I should call him directly at the number I just dialed for appointments and there won't be any further issues. And to show his appreciation for my "understanding" he said he would be texting my phone number with a 20% discount on my next car wash. This is my reward for being turned away from an appointment I booked through your system and paid for in advance?
Why doesn't your website warn your customers to NOT book online? Well-meaning people are using your system, paying in advance and showing up, only to be turned away by a person completely devoid of customer skills. And NEWS FLASH, is it possible a different person might do a better job for you interacting with your customers?
Just when I finished on the phone and I was ready to leave, another customer, a woman approached him----and of course he was shocked again to see a customer and couldn't honor her appointment either, but rather than helping me leave, he let me stand there for 5 minutes-----while the woman whined and complained. He wouldn't even look at me; I was holding my parking ticket out in front of me-----When he finally honored me with 3 seconds of his valuable attention time, he explained that I hadn't been in the parking garage long enough to require his assistance and that the automated parking gate would let me out automatically.
YOU MADE ME STAND HERE FOR 5 MINUTES TO TELL ME THAT??? What a sadist.
And so the next morning, 3 generations of my family hopped into my car, which was covered in bird poop, dirty all over, filthy windows, splotches all over my windshield, with their feet resting on unvacuumed floor mats. And that's how we all drove hundreds of miles. And then back again a few days later.
For the record they did refund my money to my credit card. And again, the one time they actually washed my car they did a damn good job.
But I won't be coming back.