At a car wash, losses often take a specific form: cars come in, get washed, and leave without the service being recorded. With cash payments, these losses are hard to spot—especially when the owner isn’t on site.
How Unrecorded Car Washes Happen
- Cash payment for a wash, but no receipt issued.
- Full service paid, but entered into the register as a cheaper service.
- ‘Friendly’ washes for acquaintances, with no payment.
- Tokens or chips given out without being sold.
Basic Check: Cars vs Receipts
Count the cars entering the bays or tunnel and compare with the number of receipts and the types of services sold. For example: if 120 cars enter in a day and you have 105 receipts, the 15-car difference is worth investigating—even if some have explanations (a repeat wash, a test run).
Other Losses Detected by the Camera
- Queues at the entrance and customers leaving without waiting.
- Bays or vacuums occupied without payment.
- Employee absent from their post when a customer arrives.
- Activity after closing hours.
Damage Claims
‘You scratched my car’ is a common complaint. Footage of the car entering the bay, showing its condition before the wash, quickly resolves many of these disputes.
See how all this works on our car wash page or calculate your losses with our loss calculator.
License plate recognition is only used on request, with customer notification, in line with GDPR.
See also: Car Washes · Gas Stations · Loss Calculator
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