Carwashes are like Umpires

Someone once told me that a carwash is only as good as its last wash. This certainly makes sense from some customers’ perspectives, but carwashes that have established themselves as consistently excellent in quality, service and accountability tend to have greater leeway and acceptance from loyal customers when errors inevitably occur.

I have often made the analogy that carwashes share an existence similar to baseball umpires. Customers or fans tend not to appreciate or take notice of performance until something goes wrong. That’s because when expectations are met, we tend to simply go about our business — unless the end result exceeds expectations. In those cases, we tend to stop, admire, remember and recommend.

But when something goes awry, the spotlight is on and a situation can quickly escalate from innocent to confrontational. Just as umpires have to diffuse volatile situations with players, carwash operators and their managers sometimes have to calm customers who genuinely believe damage has been afflicted upon their vehicles or services have not been properly administered.

Of course a couple of major differences are an umpire’s ruling is the law, and they rarely admit fault or change their minds. Carwashes, meanwhile, typically have to acquiesce and make some sort of accommodations with complaining customers unless there is clear evidence to the contrary.

I watched with great interest in June when Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga had a perfect game taken away on the last play of the game because of an obvious blown call by first base umpire Jim Joyce. The umpire held his ground until he saw the replay after the game. Joyce tearfully admitted his wrong, apologized to Galarraga and hugged him.

The next morning, Joyce tearfully exchanged lineup cards with Galarraga, while many Detroit fans cheered. The two men shook hands, and Joyce put his hand on Galarraga’s shoulder. To Galarraga’s credit, he took the bad call in stride and never lashed out at Joyce.

It was a tremendous display of sportsmanship under the circumstances, and wouldn’t operators love it if customers adopted a similar attitude? That’s not likely to happen, of course, but there also is a lesson to be learned from Joyce’s actions.

I’m not suggesting carwash operators burst into tears when something goes wrong during a wash, but accountability and quickly resolving a cantankerous situation with contrition is meaningful to customers when they believe they have been wronged.

It’s interesting to note that before the perfect game incident, Joyce was the highest rated umpire in Major League Baseball. In a survey of players after the incident, Joyce was far and away the highest rated ump.

Admitting fault when warranted and demonstrating accountability is sometimes a necessary but valuable part of meaningful customer service. When sincere actions are a part of your everyday service, honestly fixing errors will often serve to strengthen loyalty, not weaken it.

Related Article:

• Put the Brakes on Carwash Damage Claims