I have been to this car wash several times and, upon entering, have passed by their 8 or so…read morevacuums, each of which is clearly labeled as "FREE VACUUM", "FREE VACUUM", "FREE VACUUM", "FREE VACUUM", "FREE VACUUM", "FREE VACUUM", "FREE VACUUM", "FREE VACUUM".
What is also stated on a single medium sized sign by the road is the phrase "Free Vacs After Wash".
Now, I, as a past customer have previously seen 8 of those signs clearly while waiting in line to get my car washed (guess which 8) and -- having a free minute on my lunch -- decided to take advantage of the great FREE opportunity provided by this small business to vacuum out my car.
It wasn't until after I had vacuumed my car and was prepared to leave, however, that the manager approached me and told me that vacuum services cost $3 a visit or are included with a wash.
Reluctantly, I obliged and went through the carwash right before a rainstorm.
Now, here's where it gets tricky...
Was missing the one sign by the road my fault? Yes.
Did I reluctantly get a carwash that day to appease the manager? Yes.
Am I cheap? YES! (lol)
Will I go back to this carwash in the future? Probably, yes! Their service is good enough and what seems to be pretty affordable.
However, in this instance, I DO believe the overabundance of the phrase "FREE" on every single vacuum on the property and significant LACK of the phrase "AFTER WASH" on any signage besides the flimsy one blowing in the wind by the road is an intentional gimmick to get unknowing customers there and then force them to pay for a service they may not currently need. (At least it worked with this customer...)
So, why am I writing this?
Don't get me wrong... I'm not mad at these people. I understand they have a business to run, and it can't be run by giving everything away. I just wish that they had made any effort besides the bare minimum of a single sign on the other side of the property from the vacuums to make sure the contract of service they were providing for each visitor was clearly understood to avoid such confusion. Perhaps this can be done in the future so this type of situation can be avoided and everyone can be happy?
If they are a reputable service, it will be.
If they like the confusion because it brings in a couple extra dollars from unsuspecting visitors, I'm afraid future vacuum users will need to scan the property upon arrival far better than this one did.
We will see...
Sincerely,
- Your Local Cheapskate
(P.S. Granted the attached screenshot is of a Facebook post promoted by the company itself that is a couple years old, but does this not qualify as false advertising? And, if they are now charging when they did not used to, some new signs need to be installed including the fine print details...)