Valeter who can't clean cars in Manchester (Denton).

The dark art of car cleaning... discuss!
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Robsey
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Valeter who can't clean cars in Manchester (Denton).

Post by Robsey »

Aaaaarghh!!

The wife booked a valeting company yesterday to do a full valet of her Vectra-C today.
The car is used only when I am off from work - so mainly at weekends.

Anyway, as a treat we thought we'd get the car professionally cleaned inside and out..
what a huge mistake.

Here is my e-mail to the valeters.

What a shambolic mess!!

My wife booked with you to have her Vauxhall Vectra treated to a full valet.

Arrangements were made for this to be carried out at her mum’s house in Hyde at 10:00 am on Wednesday 13th June 2013.

The chap eventually turned up more than 30 minutes late, blaming his boss for giving only a post code and not a door number – Really??

We had parked the car on her mother’s drive, so that it was close enough to an electrical power outlet. Your operative told us to move the vehicle out of the drive, upon the street because he could not wash the car on a slope... the whole street is a slope!
His position of choice was some 20 yards up the street – still on a slope.

He started by jet washing the car – not a problem, until I realise that he is doing this with the hatch open, the two rear windows open and the front passenger door open.
I assumed that he was cleaning the door shuts or something.
Partway through washing the car, he stopped, and started taking / making a steady stream of telephone calls – about five in all. For the next 25 minutes or so he walked up and down the street, and then sat in his van’s cab.

He resumed the cleaning of the car – this time hoovering the interior. After about 5 minutes he came back to me complaining that because it was a Vectra, the material used for the seats was not as easy to get dog hairs out of, and that he could not guarantee to get all the dog hairs out.
Okay, I thought, as long as he does a reasonable job, I won’t expect perfection.
He went on to advise that if the car had been a Mercedes, then the dog hairs would not have been as much of a problem.
Although feeling irritated at his attitude about the lesser marque of a Vauxhall, I simply said “oh okay”.
After a further five minutes, he came back to hand the car keys back to me, saying that he could not clean the car. He was quite rude and said that it “looked like a dog had lived in the car”.
It had been clear throughout, that he had not been “in the mood” to valet the car, but preferred to blame others rather than accept that he could not be bothered.

My wife had stated when booking the valet that a dog is occasionally carried in the car (usually with a protective blanket on the back seat), when attending vet appointments.
I can also advise that there was beige dust on the front seats, from where I had removed a pair of slip-over seat covers. The foam lining from these covers had disintegrated into this dust.

Then he said “at least your car has had a wash and wax”.
He then unplugged his vacuum cleaner, loaded up his van and drove away. He had been there about 1 ¼ hours, of which nearly half an hour was spent talking on his phone.

I was quite stunned at this, and went to retrieve the Vectra from the road side.

On inspecting the car, I noticed that he had only washed half of the car, completely missing the rear of the roof, and both bumpers. The driver’s door mirror was still covered with the white streaks of wax, which had not been wiped off. The door shuts had not been touched either.

On the interior, he had started to make a good job of vacuuming the rear seat and the front passenger foot well, but oh heck... he had left sopping wet floor mats in the car, without allowing them to hang out to dry at all.
On lifting the floor mats, it was obvious that he had not bothered to vacuum under these. Water immediately ran of the mats as soon as I hung them up to dry.
The back rest bolster on the passenger side of the rear seat was also soaking wet.
I then looked at the front seats, and the driver’s seat was untouched, but the front passenger seat was soaking wet.
This concerned me as there are electronic connectors and modules mounted under both front seats.
Finally I opened the tail-gate, and again the load-area carpet was soaking wet.

It was at this point that I telephoned your office to advise that the operative had driven off without completing the work agreed.
The gentleman on the other end of the phone was quite surprised when I said that the operative had stated that he was “unable to clean the car”, and that he had simply driven off ten minutes earlier. Leaving the car in an unacceptable state.

The person I spoke to said that he would ring back in a couple of minutes after speaking to the operative.

I waited for 4 ½ hours for the call to be returned, and even telephoned your office five times within that period to see what was going on.

Suffice to say, my wife who booked the valet is absolutely devastated at the way that she and I were treated today. A far cry from your alleged testimonials.

It saddens me to say that I will have no choice but to recommend to all our friends, family and motoring organisation colleagues that people should stay away from your company if that is how “non footballers” are treated.


The place in question?

F1 or Formula 1 valeting
http://www.f1valeting.co.uk/default.htm

So - if you are not a footballer, or if you own a Vauxhall - avoid these clowns!!

rant over!!
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Cavalier342
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Re: Valeter who can't clean cars in Manchester (Denton).

Post by Cavalier342 »

Sounds like a right cowboy. Maybe it's just a bad apple on a tree, but either way that's a mug's game that is. This is why I never let anyone else touch my cars, I always do the work myself by hand. Hopefully he'll get back to the office to find he's out of a job. Deserves it, the prick.
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Robsey
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Re: Valeter who can't clean cars in Manchester (Denton).

Post by Robsey »

My main gripe is with the so called operative who came out today -
whether he had other matters pressing on his mind I don't know, but he didn't even apologise for being late.

it wasn't his fault he was late - it was his boss's.

it wasn't his fault that he couldn't do the job - it was our fault for having dogs and a vectra!!

sadly the management have not seen fit to ring back and let us know "what the heck is going on"!

I would have done this myself, but I have had a few health set-backs recently, and so just not able to.
(Nothing life threatening - I'm simply not as fit as I was 20 years ago - ha ha).

I am just keen now to protect anyone else from this fiasco
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Cavalier342
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Re: Valeter who can't clean cars in Manchester (Denton).

Post by Cavalier342 »

Robsey wrote: but I have had a few health set-backs recently, and so just not able to.

Got worried there for a minute.
Previous:
China Blue 1989 Vauxhall Cavalier L 18SV
Kings Blue 1992 Vauxhall Cavalier LSi Auto C18NZ
Smoke Grey 1994 Vauxhall Cavalier V6 C25XE

Am I a light sleeper or a heavy sleeper? Well that depends on how much I've had to drink...
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btcctroy
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Re: Valeter who can't clean cars in Manchester (Denton).

Post by btcctroy »

I'm sorry to hear that, unfortunately these firms do exist. Have you asked for a full refund ?
....with a brew and my favourite biscuits.
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Robsey
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Re: Valeter who can't clean cars in Manchester (Denton).

Post by Robsey »

Cheers for the thought..

don't worry, I am not going anywhere that I cannot return from for a long time yet.
you don't get rid of me that easily.

He left without asking for payment... just left in a hurry!!
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Cavalier342
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Re: Valeter who can't clean cars in Manchester (Denton).

Post by Cavalier342 »

Probably to go score some crack I'd imagine... sounds like the type. :roll: At least he redeemed himself a tiny amount by not ripping you off.
Previous:
China Blue 1989 Vauxhall Cavalier L 18SV
Kings Blue 1992 Vauxhall Cavalier LSi Auto C18NZ
Smoke Grey 1994 Vauxhall Cavalier V6 C25XE

Am I a light sleeper or a heavy sleeper? Well that depends on how much I've had to drink...
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Envoy CDX
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Re: Valeter who can't clean cars in Manchester (Denton).

Post by Envoy CDX »

Sounds like a Muppet. Hopefully you get some form of satisfaction.. Did you manage to get the Vectra into a usable state?
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Robsey
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Re: Valeter who can't clean cars in Manchester (Denton).

Post by Robsey »

Vectra is drivable.

Mats are still drip drying over the bath.
and wife sat on a towel on the way home.
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Envoy CDX
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Re: Valeter who can't clean cars in Manchester (Denton).

Post by Envoy CDX »

What a bugger :( hope its resolved soon.
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Robsey
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Re: Valeter who can't clean cars in Manchester (Denton).

Post by Robsey »

No reply to my e-mail, nor a phone call....

Hmmm - not very good if you ask me...

Ah well, booked it in elsewhere for tomorrow.
They have looked at the car first and appear okay about it.

I looked at two cars they were valeting, and I must say that both cars were looking almost new after the valet despite allegedly being filthy when they came in an hour or so earlier.
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TurboDan
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Re: Valeter who can't clean cars in Manchester (Denton).

Post by TurboDan »

Ring this bloke up, he done my girlfriends astra and did a great job and also does dan richards cars too.

Jetstream Mobile valeting: 07984599992

He drives this:
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