Customer Complaints - Scratches

At some point while owning a car wash, operators will probably find themselves being accused of their equipment damaging the customer’s vehicle.  Most of the time, a security system will prove what happened in the car wash bay, but there are occasions that it isn’t clear.  Be sure to have adequate posted signage stating to “check brush before using” or something similar.  Most courts will throw the case out.  Experience has shown that you seldom if ever convince the customer that the brush didn't do it. Simply explain why the brush couldn't cause that type of damage and leave it at that. It's not likely they will return and there is not much you can do about them telling others. Spend time on the things you can do something about. This is not one of them.

If at all possible, don’t go to the insurance company every time there is a complaint unless the insurance company insists upon it because of wording in the policy. It takes is about 2 claims in a few years span to trigger insurance rate increases (depending on the company of course).