Do Yourself A Favor And Try Taking 1/8th The Amount Of Pride In Your Work That Germans Do In Their Car Washes
"It's not polite to talk about yourself, but I haven't seen anything like it," says Mr. Wash Chief Executive Richard Enning. A few of his 32 other outlets are almost as big. Germans love cars. They also tend to like things tidy. Now they're building temples to clean cars. The Stuttgart Mr. Wash is probably the world's busiest and most expensive carwash. It cost roughly $40 million to build five years ago and employs about 40 people on a busy day for cleaning. Drivers can also tank up or get an oil change. Mr. Enning wants Mr. Wash to be the spot for a spotless car in Stuttgart, the hometown of Mercedes-Benz and Porsche. From afar, the orange structure with curved silver protrusions resembles a glitzy shopping mall or some sort of spaceship...Inside, classy touches include a man in white gloves who directs drivers to conveyor belts for robotic sudsing. After that, patrons can sip complimentary coffee amid potted plants and the strains of classical music while teams polish and vacuum. Staff are even instructed on how to fold and refold wiping cloths so dirt doesn't move from one surface to another...Few things make serious German drivers smile like inching through a foam bath and undulating scrubbers, said [branch manager Robert] Kerbler [WSJ]
