tipping at the car wash

[Blake]

hey bros...you guys tip at the car wash? i'm on the fence about it. i usually don't, especially since they charge me an additional $10 because i drive a tahoe most of the time, but the only time i feel compelled to is if i get a detail. what's the general consensus?

[CollinsE90]

If it is one of those car washes you pull your car up, they send it down the tunnel, bring it out and vacuum and dress it up nice, I would tip a few dollars.

I worked at one of those and the average tip was 2-3, for a $25 wash. If I detailed it would be about $10-20.

Most of the people work for mostly tips like a waiter, but it isn't understood to tip like a waiter. Some people didn't tip, but if you tipped me well and came back I would spend extra time on your car.

[skinnycow]

i'll wash your car for you and in return you should let me borrow your gtr i'll even cook you dinner!

[Freakazoid]

for a normal drive through car wash where the only thing an actual person does is dries off your car...why would you tip?

I'm not even totally sure I would tip for a hand wash either...there's a reason why they're more expensive?

[BTM]

I'm the opposite, couple bucks for a wash, for something like a detail, when you're spending a few hundred bucks, the tip is worked in. Any detail I've gotten though has been done by the person I set it up with, and he was the only one to touch my car, and I pay him cash.

[Blake]

Originally Posted by CollinsE90

If it is one of those car washes you pull your car up, they send it down the tunnel, bring it out and vacuum and dress it up nice, I would tip a few dollars.

I worked at one of those and the average tip was 2-3, for a $25 wash. If I detailed it would be about $10-20.

Most of the people work for mostly tips like a waiter, but it isn't understood to tip like a waiter. Some people didn't tip, but if you tipped me well and came back I would spend extra time on your car.

yea i'm talking about full service car washes. i just think that something like that, where people are paid a full wage, it should almost be included. i tip wait staff really well because i know they're working for that almost exclusively. unless the service is really bad, i always give 20% min.

i just feel like i'm always paying too much for something like a car wash anyway, but then again, i don't want to do it myself. the 10 or so minutes it takes to get a full service wash, $20 should be more than enough to pay the laborer's wage.

Originally Posted by skinnycow

i'll wash your car for you and in return you should let me borrow your gtr i'll even cook you dinner!

i'll have chateaubriand with bearnaise and lobster mac and cheese.

Originally Posted by Freakazoid

for a normal drive through car wash where the only thing an actual person does is dries off your car...why would you tip?

I'm not even totally sure I would tip for a hand wash either...there's a reason why they're more expensive?

yea i never tip at the drive thru tunnel washes. i just think the car wash business is inherently scammy. they're already charging you pretty heftily for not much.

[Quick6EF]

My carwash is in my driveway, but if I took my girls car then yes, 3$. Its a hand car wash with 10 mexican bros inside a car wash. Pretty interesting sight

[Freakazoid]

Originally Posted by Blake

yea i never tip at the drive thru tunnel washes. i just think the car wash business is inherently scammy. they're already charging you pretty heftily for not much.

exactly why tipping never even entered my head. $5 for another 5 seconds of hot air? $5 for another random liquid that you claim does something?

[BTM]

I don't use the drive thru washes, but the idea is to tip the person who is drying your car off, dressing your tires, etc...if they do a good job on your car, and take the time to do it properly, use clean towels, etc, a tip is in order, as they're doing much more than just "driving your car through" the wash. Any extra effort they put in, they don't see a dime from whoever owns a wash beyond what they're making. It's like tipping a waiter/waitress, they make a base salary, which isn't much, and how they do their job is very visible to the customer, who will often feel compelled to extend a tip. If a guy is rushing through your car, leaving water spots, etc, their tip will suffer or not exist, just like when you receive rude, rushed service from your waiter or waitress.

[DevJ]

depends. if they do a good job, i'll give them a few bucks..they're usually pretty nice and careful with my car.
for a professional detail.. no way. already spending too much lol.

[Freakazoid]

damn, I guess pittsburgh doesn't have that. seems like you guys are all very familiar with it, and I can only think of one place like this that I've ever seen before

[CollinsE90]

Originally Posted by BTM

I don't use the drive thru washes, but the idea is to tip the person who is drying your car off, dressing your tires, etc...if they do a good job on your car, and take the time to do it properly, use clean towels, etc, a tip is in order, as they're doing much more than just "driving your car through" the wash. Any extra effort they put in, they don't see a dime from whoever owns a wash beyond what they're making. It's like tipping a waiter/waitress, they make a base salary, which isn't much, and how they do their job is very visible to the customer, who will often feel compelled to extend a tip. If a guy is rushing through your car, leaving water spots, etc, their tip will suffer or not exist, just like when you receive rude, rushed service from your waiter or waitress.

+1

Originally Posted by Freakazoid

damn, I guess pittsburgh doesn't have that. seems like you guys are all very familiar with it, and I can only think of one place like this that I've ever seen before

We had them but when the economy turned they shut down, people started going to the 3 minute car wash with the computer screen at the front. $25 for virtually the same thing but with a guy who dried your car off, vacuumed, and put tire dressing wasn't worth it anymore when you could get it for $7 and vacuum it yourself. It was a good summer job for a college kid like myself, I made pretty good for just doing easy stuff.

[number335]

With hand dry car washes, I was always under the impression that tipping was the norm. I usually use the 20% rule. I would also just pay for the basic wash and skip all their gimmick packages. So typically its about 12 for the wash and 2$-3$ for the tip. Those guys are usually in the sun all day and they take about 15-20 minutes cleaning the windows, vacuuming the interior, wiping down the dash, and drying the exterior. Small price to pay for the work they do. That being said, I do all my own car washes.

[bluespeed117]

Car wash.......?

[iBoost]

Originally Posted by CollinsE90

If it is one of those car washes you pull your car up, they send it down the tunnel, bring it out and vacuum and dress it up nice, I would tip a few dollars.

I worked at one of those and the average tip was 2-3, for a $25 wash. If I detailed it would be about $10-20.

Most of the people work for mostly tips like a waiter, but it isn't understood to tip like a waiter. Some people didn't tip, but if you tipped me well and came back I would spend extra time on your car.

i had a membership here in town where i would pay $40/month and i can come in everyday of the week if i wanted... i didnt end up liking it since i was tipping $3-4 a each time, i was paying close to $80/month.. i just do it myself again..

but yeah youll look like a cheap-ass if you dont tip, it is pretty obvious thats where most of their income come from...

[infinitekidM2C]

i tip since those peeps dont make much money..$2-3

[Inspired]

This one place I go to charges $10 for hand car wash.

There is like 50 Mexican workers working at once. It is practically impossible to tip all of them since there is 20 workers that dry and wash my car..

[number335]

Yeah, I went to a car wash where they had 5 workers cleaning and drying my car at once. It was to shorten the wait time I guess. I believe they all share the tips anyway, so it's okay to just tip one of them. I found that they don't do as good of a job as the places where just one person works on your car. They seem to rush the job.

[stylinexpat]

Originally Posted by number335

Yeah, I went to a car wash where they had 5 workers cleaning and drying my car at once. It was to shorten the wait time I guess. I believe they all share the tips anyway, so it's okay to just tip one of them. I found that they don't do as good of a job as the places where just one person works on your car. They seem to rush the job.

So if they put 5 guys on 1 car one needs to tip everyone of them The guys at the carwash are employed by the owner of the car wash and not by us. They are supposed to get paid by the owner and anything else they get from the customer is extra. If they are not happy then they should take it up with the employer and not the customer. When we take our cars in for a wash and pay for the car wash we should not have to worry about their salaries and calculate what the owner might not be paying them. We have no idea as to what they are getting paid by the owner of that car wash and it is none of our business.

This is not only the same at the car wash but the same for services rendered at restaurants as well. The waiters at the restaurant work for the restaurant owner and are employed by the restaurant owner. It is their job to deliver the food to our table and service us as that is what they applied to do when they applied for a job just like it is what they guys at the car wash applied for when they applied for a job.

When someone comes in to my shop and pays for a piercing I never expect them to tip me for the piercing. I never ask for or accept tips for piercings as I charge a fee for my services and the fee that I charge includes all services. What next, tip the doctors, dentists, lawyers, gardeners, and teachers for their services too

[number335]

^ I said tip one of them, not all of them. And it's up to you if you want to tip for services. I don't think anyone is saying it's mandatory.