EXTRA! EXTRA! owash from continuing to engage in the above conduct, pecuniary penalties, consumer redress orders (to compensate those franchisees that suffered losses as a result of the above conduct), and corrective notice orders. The ACCC will also push for orders disqualifying Ali and Cameron from managing corporations for five years. Family and friends of a motorcyclist shot and killed at an Albuquerque carwash again gathered at the business to protest against the district attorney’s decision not to press charges against the man who shot and killed Earl Roybal. In our last issue, SSCWN reported when friends and family staged a memorial at Hose It carwash, which was also the scene of Earl Roybal’s death, this past March. About 50 bikers from the New Mexico Motorcyclists Rights Organization and other biker groups came together after the district attorney announced his office would not be prosecuting James Morales,. D.A. Raul Torrez called the death a tragedy, but said he didn’t have enough evidence to successfully prosecute the shooter. “This decision in no way condones the shooting that occurred,” Torrez said in a prepared statement. “This is a tragic death that should never have happened, but the State does not have a good faith belief that it could convict Mr. Morales given the available evidence.” “We, the family of Earl Roybal, refuse to believe that our society, our community, would agree with such a ‘Wild West’ mentality,” Roybal’s family said in a prepared statement.
Un-BULL-ievable!
Photo courtesy King’s Oil and Lube in Prineville. Surveillance video captured the scene as an “errant bull -- and the cowboy who followed him” strolled through the carwash bay at King’s Oil and Lube in Prineville, OR. The owner of the carwash told a local TV station there was no damage to the bay “except for a few cow pies in the parking lot.” The cowboy was successful in rounding up the bull and returning him to the cattle drive -- which was in town for the opening of the Crooked River Roundup, an annual rodeo that took place this past June. Nissan in India is patting itself on the back (and marketing their achievements with a neat infographic) after saving 6.1 million liters of water over the last three years using a “Foam Wash” technique to wash vehicles at their sales and service centers. According to a press release from the company, “the foam wash technique, introduced in 2014 at Nissan service centres, uses only 90 litres of water per car which reduces water consumption by 45 percent. The amount of water saved by the company is equivalent to the water consumption of around 25,000 households in India for one day.” SSCWN couldn’t find any specifics about the foam wash technique or how exactly it conserves water -- but the company’s infographic gives us a neat idea for marketing self serve washes here in the United States. After all, a typical scrub at the self serve car wash uses about 17 gallons of water, while an at-home wash wastes about 100 gallons. Add the savings up over 3 years -- accounting for only one wash a month -- and you’ve still saved your community about 3,000 gallons of water per customer. In a town of 10,000 vehicles, you could potentially save nearly 10 million gallons of water each year!
I guess their bucket ran dry. A year after carwash workers won $1.65 million in back wages and damages, owners Jose and Andres Vasquez have closed their carwash in Inwood, NY. Jose Vasquez filed bankruptcy in 2016, shortly after 18 employees at Soft Touch Car Wash sued him for wage theft and emotional distress. According to a news article about the case, the 18 workers were supposed to receive between $91,000-$200,000 each, depending on their length of employment. Fox News previously reported the lawsuit found the workers were scheduled for long hours and were paid as little as $20 a day. They were denied lunch breaks at times, as well. There were four other carwashes, located throughout New York City and Long Island, included in the suit.
“Workin’ at the Car Wash?” Make sure you knock off early enough to check out ABC’s new sitcom, which will hopefully becoming to your television screen soon.
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• SUMMER 2017 •
The TV network has tapped producer Will Packer to turn the 1976 feature film Car Wash Into a half hour weekly sitcom. “The ABC take is described as a workplace comedy that explores the family we build in order to survive — as seen through one kid’s determination to create his own destiny, one man’s struggle to accept who he has become and the bonds they form at an iconic Hollywood destination: Deluxe Car Wash,” according to The Hollywood Reporter. Packer had previously produced Ride Along and Straight Outta Compton, as well as ABC’s shortlived Uncle Buck and A&E’s Roots revival. Photo courtesy King’s Oil and Lube in Prineville.
Rising Tide Car Wash is not only inspiring operators in our industry -- it’s now actively inspiring other new business ventures! As SSCWN has previously reported, the full-serve carwash in Parkland, FL, has earned accolades in our industry and made national headlines by making its primary mission to employ individuals with autism.
Now, a new bakery specializing in gluten- and dairy-free goodies in Carmel, IN, has found success after only a few months in business by taking a page from Rising Tide. No Label at the Table currently employs seven staff members, all of whom are on the autism spectrum. Co-owner Shelly Henley started the business with her son, Jacob, who has autism, with no formal culinary or business experience -- but after hearing about the carwash in Florida, she realized it might work as a concept for a bakery. The business currently sells its baked goods at local farmers’ markets, with plans to sell their products online and to open a storefront in the near future. (Autism affects one in 68 Americans, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A 2017 report by the A.J. Drexel Autism Institute showed that only 14 percent of adults with autism spectrum disorder had a paid job, although approximately 25 percent list it as a goal. You can learn more about Rising Tide and their mission by visiting their website at www.risingtidecarwash.com.)