Car Wash

I was trying to be efficient last Friday seeing I had a sneaking suspicion that I was being taken out for my birthday dinner and it was supposed to be a surprise. I knew that I needed to clean my truck and the van. I did have a few teens that were willing to help but didn’t know whether it was a wise idea to chance getting them really clean. So I decide on a happy compromise I’ll get a couple of helpers and go through the real car wash. So I pull up in the van and get the more expensive wash and wait for Terrance who eventually pulls through and then is shocked that the car wash guy actually marks the window. Terrance actually rolls down the window and screams at the guy.

I know that the van is a mess so I start to empty out the trash that is scattered all over the place. The car wash seems to be undermanned and the individual who is doing the van wouldn’t win any awards for being speedy and ambitious. As I am helping him and notice an older lady who is also wearing a red T-Shirt and it becomes clear that she is obviously in charge. I step back to throw away the trash and then am just watching the guy doing the work that seems in slo motion. As I am standing there the old lady comes up and explains to me that cleaning out the van isn’t going to happen because I didn’t pay any extra. I try to tactfully tell her that I would pay more or give the worker a large tip. She has this rather defiant look on her face and I could tell that she didn’t want the guy to do anything at all.

I typically try not to tell off an older woman but this situation was so odd. I explained to her that I believed that customer service was important in any business. I was taken back by what she had said to me and the manner in which she had spoken. I was totally shocked that after saying that that she continued with this odd look on her face and seemed to be totally unwilling to acknowledge me or want to clean out my van. I was so thankful that another worker, who I had seen before, figured out what was happening and decided to kick it into high gear and took on the van. I was thrilled now and knew that it would get cleaned well and that he would receive the big tip.

As I sat back and watched I could tell that the lady was very upset with me and wouldn't give me any eye contact but was pushing her guy to be done like yesterday. I tried to maintain my sense of humor but was slowly losing it. My challenge was that they still had the truck to finish doing also. Now there were multiple cars needing to be finished and only a couple of workers to do it. The boss lady didn’t actually do any work but just walked around in a tiff that got my 'goat'.

I pulled the van out of the car wash and parked it in the bank lot. I walked back over and did the same thing with my truck with taking out the some of the junk. Fortunately the speedy guy was on my truck and slowly made it look almost like it had never been abused by 48 painting projects over 4 years. I was truly hoping that the older lady would give me eye contact and I could reconnect and apologize for making her life miserable. I got my truck cleaned to where it was shinny and looked cool but no chance to talk to the lady. I am still deciding as to whether I should go back to the car wash or choose another one? My little yellow car does need a bath!