Keeping your car clean goes a long way toward extending its life and maintaining resale value. Taking this idea a step further, waxing and detailing your car add layers of protection, making it easier to keep clean in the future. Of course, you can do these tasks yourself, and some car owners get great satisfaction from taking control of their vehicle’s cleanliness. Having a professional service wash, wax and detail your car, on the other hand, is often easier and faster. Like most services, tipping is encouraged, especially if the work is labor-intensive. Here’s a guide for tipping car wash attendants.
Compact, Sub-Compact and Sedans
If you have a small or average-sized car and you want to have it washed, $2 is a great starting point (this amount includes hand drying). If you want the interior vacuumed, as well, add a dollar to that amount for a job well done.
Van, Truck, SUV
For a standard wash (with towel drying) on a larger vehicle, aim for $4 to start, and again, if you want it vacuumed, add an extra dollar.
Follow Tip Trends
Remember these workers are performing a service, and their salaries often start low to accommodate tipping (like servers in a restaurant). If you frequent the same shops, tipping well ensures you get the best service (a sad but universal truth). Detailing services will vary depending on the scope and size of the project, but tipping 15 to 18 percent of the total amount is the current industry standard.
Final Thoughts
Opinions about tipping vary but it’s a voluntary task. If you aren’t happy with the level of service, you can always tip less or not at all. A better practice might be letting a manager know so the issue can be remedied. If you feel positive about the experience, however, and plan to go back regularly, tipping well usually makes people go above and beyond the standard level of care. If having an immaculate vehicle is important to you, consider tipping generously.
Also, if your car hasn’t been washed in a while, it will take some elbow grease to get the paint like new, so tipping higher in such cases makes more sense. If you recently drove around several angry toddlers, middle-school soccer players, or hungry college students, adjust your tip accordingly.
For all your vehicle’s repair and maintenance needs, call Mike’s Auto Service & Repair in West Springfield, MA, today!
