Cactus Car Wash

4/17/2010

2/5 stars

sigh. I suffered a moment of weakness. I fell for the upsell.

I *needed* an oil change, and I'm still to much of a wimp to do it myself. And a wash before a long drive does help mileage… And Cactus is convenient to work…

But as soon as my butt hits the chair, I'm called out back for the upsell. At least this time they didn't wait long enough for me to settle into working. The upsell always is annoying because it's often something ultimately useful, but… And this time, I was weak. I agreed to something.

I didn't ask the price right away, because it sounded inexpensive. Stupid, stupid mistake. The upsell more than doubled my bill. When I mentioned not being told the price (while agreeing to pay, realizing I was the sucker), one cashier was apologetic. The other quickly corrected her manner by brusquely describing a "small, green sign" by the little desk out back. Because everyone will look for a small, green sign while their head is under the hood and the salesman is doing everything possible to keep your attention there.

If I had known the price, I would have delayed until I take my car in to actual mechanics rather than salesmen.

The wash was perfunctory at best. When the attendant asked if everything looked ok, I reached over and pulled off a strip of tape that somehow escaped notice thus far. Um, yeah. At least the vacuuming job was sufficient.

So two stars for being exactly what you expect, a flashy yet slightly shady place to get a quick, moderately inexpensive semi-wash while you work (if you're one of us with a laptop leash). Zero stars to me for falling for the upsell.

Yelp tags: Car Wash