5 Ways Some Mediocre Car Cleaning Companies Are Cutting Corners
Just like anything else in life, car cleaning companies come in all kinds of shapes and sizes. On the surface, they all do the same thing – clean cars.
How can you separate the wheat from the chaff, and pick the right car cleaning company for you?
Below are some ways mediocre car cleaning companies are cutting corners. Look out for these telltale signs:
#1: No Accountability (Declined Responsibility)
You may have seen this disclaimer, displayed prominently by some car cleaning outfits: “Cars and contents left at owner’s risk.”
Let’s see... You are a “guest” at their place, you are about to trust them with one of your most valuable possessions (your car)... and the responsibility is yours? That sounds a little backwards, doesn’t it?
Let’s put it in a different perspective for a moment.
Imagine inviting a guest to your house, and that his coat, which upon arrival he hung up by the door, went missing.
Wouldn’t you do everything in your power to find it? Would you even consider for a moment to decline responsibility, and help you guest retrieve his possession? I didn’t think so.
Good car cleaning companies treat their customers as guests, and assume responsibility for their belongings.
#2: Inadequate (Or Complete Lack Of) Insurance
Liability insurance is expensive. Some car cleaning companies view it as an unnecessary cost that can be diminished, or even completely eliminated.
But insurance protects the customers against unexpected events. Like a harried employee rushing to finish a job, and accidentally damaging the customer’s car. Or the said employee somehow getting injured while cleaning a car.
While the first situation is kind of obvious, the second is less known – but as dangerous. When an employee gets injured on the job, without proper insurance, he or she may lose income for a while. And, to compensate for the lost income, they may in turn sue the vehicle’s owner – you.
To protect yourself from this kind of situation, simply ask the car cleaning company about the specifics of their insurance, before you hand them over the keys to your car.
#3: Cheap and Harsh Cleaning Chemicals
Most conventional cleaning chemicals used in the car cleaning industry are harsh, even toxic. Car cleaning companies use them because they are usually cheap to buy.
When you have your car cleaned by a car cleaning company using this kind of chemicals, traces of the chemicals will linger around in your car, creating a toxic “chemical bath”. The more time you spend in your car, the more you are exposed to this toxic environment, potentially making you ill.
The second downside of traditional harsh and toxic car cleaning chemicals is that they get washed away in your local rivers and lakes, polluting and destroying the environment.
Plant-based, environmentally-friendly car cleaning chemicals are largely available on the market today, but they are more expensive than their traditional alternative. They are safe for you and the environment, and in many cases more effective at cleaning than the conventional options.
#4: Overscheduling
Some car cleaning companies, in an attempt to make more money, and compensate for unprofitable low prices, fill up their schedules with more customers that they can reasonably and efficiently handle.
This typically results in rushed jobs, low quality results, and inferior customer service.
These companies will not commit to a start and end time for your car cleaning appointment, expecting you to change your schedule in order to accommodate their inefficiency.
Once you hand over the keys to them, you are told to wait around for them to finish their job, unable to plan for anything else, with complete disregard to your time and comfort.
#5: No Guarantee
Mediocre car cleaning companies usually do not guarantee their job.
Which means they are placing all the risk on you – and you are forced to accept the results, whether you like them or not.
This is commonly a symptom of the car cleaning company using minimum wage employees, with minimal (and sometimes without any) training.
Every professional company should be fully accountable for their job. And, if you don’t like it, you shouldn’t have to pay. Period.