Carwash robbed me!

[mektorious]

So last week, I went to my church service on Good Friday and then headed over to get my car washed at the Crown Valley Auto Spa & Detail Center in Laguna Niguel, CA. Unbelievable. These guys stole my leather jacket ($100), my Escort Passport 9500 radar detector ($500) and my Oakley Sunglasses ($100), plus a few charging cables. What a bunch of crooks!! Don't trust your car here. When I tipped the guy he has a sheepish little smile on his face! I didn't notice anything because the leather jacket blends in with the back seat and my radar detector was tucked in the deep sierra glove compartment. Any feedback on what I should do? I judge its a lost cause. I left a yelp review as follows:

___________

Unbelievable. These guys stole my leather jacket ($100), my radar detector ($500) and my Oakley Sunglasses ($100), plus a few charging cables. What a bunch of crooks!! Don't trust your car here. When I tipped the guy he has a sheepish little smile on his face! Whatever you do, don't trust these crooks! I will be filing a police report and a complaint to the Better Business Bureau about these guys.

Lastly, there washes are pretty pathetic. I always have to tell them they missed spots etc. To bad I was busy looking at the outside when they were robbing the inside!!

DON'T GO HERE AT ALL!!!!

___________

and the manager responded:

___________

Comment from Mustafa S. of Crown Valley Auto Spa & Detail Center

Business Manager

4/20/2017 We have a camera system and can watch your car being dried. Please stop by to review with our manager or call me to arrange.

Mike

949-290-0708

___________

I am guessing these guys know how the cameras work and sneak out with stuff all the time? Any thoughts? I will be going over there at 6:00pm to watch the tapes.

[dasimmon]

what is wrong with people these days. stand ur ground and get this fixed or raise hell. thats what i would do. good luck. keep us updated

[dirtfan21]

Not saying that you have the wrong perpetrators, but are you sure your vehicle was locked and all these things were in the vehicle when you left church? Only reason I ask is because a person I work will was robbed while they were inside church a few weeks ago.

[arkenzo]

I don't think the Local PD will do a stolen property report, no suspect(s) information, your car probably had a bunch of different people inside of it before it hit he final drying stages, unless they label everyone there a possible suspect, which is doubtful. Best would be a lost property report which wouldn't get you much other than a report number, maybe you can use that with your car insurance for some reimbursement?

[mektorious]

Yeah it was locked up tight at church. I went through all the yelp reviews and there are various accounts of theft from this car wash.. I wish I had paid more attention to those reviews. I am hoping the cameras catch something!

[Nick The Great]

I wouldn't have high hopes for their cameras catching their guys doing anything wrong.

 

But hopefully I'm wrong

[j-ten-ner]

When I drop off my truck at the dealership for service, I spin the rear dash cam 180 degrees to get recorded what's going on inside the cab.

Not that I have reasons to believe that they would steal something.

Just a precaution.

 

so long

j-ten-ner

[Ibmikey]

I take my vehicle back to the dealer for service, this is a business where both me and my Westie dog are greeted by first names. I once asked if i should take my " truck gun" out of the vehicle and was told "almost every oone has a gun in the car when they come through here". The zippered case has never been fooled with in all these years but none the less i return the pistol to it when service is done ( I drop it in a pocket before arrival). If I were in So Cal I would drive a very dirty vehicle before taking it to a type of business that is notorious for hiring less than affluent employees who just may have lifestyles so very different than my own.

True story: In 1967 my wife and I were on a Disneyland trip in LA, took our Firebird 400 Convertible to a car wash where you exit the auto and several unsavory looking folks jumped in to do the inside. As the Firebird disappeared into the soap suds my wife told me she left her Browning .25 auto in it's case and in the console.

We sped to where the auto emerged from the suds and two fellows bailed out ---one went directly to a door marked " employees only". Of course the pistol was missing, Sheriff responded and he and I searched the room the employee had entered where i found the zippered rug and pistol in one rubbber boot in a line of boots.

Happy ending-- never another car wash in So Calif for us ( PS: we were both authorized to carry a pistol in Calif) and two people learned to be more cautious with their property while traveling.

[KARNUT]

Several carwashes around me have a sit in your car option. One blue wave you can pay by the month for unlimited washes and have free vacuum. I also carry a soft lunch box with my valuables in it and take with me. And last I have a go pro type camera that has a inside recorder too, not that I don't trust people just prepared.

[LongrangeLauber]

If I get my truck cleaned, I only do exterior. I don't want anyone else in my truck. Dad had his phone stolen out of his truck about a year or so ago. They get paid minimum wage, and I'm sure they don't do background checks on their employees. I sit tight in my truck and let them wipe down the outside after the wash, that's it

 

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

[dirtfan21]

I worked at a full service car wash my fresh/soph years of college until I got my paid internship and left. I will agree there was a lot of shady people I worked with and there was a lot of turnover. Rdnckhntr94 is correct, we only got paid minimum wage plus tips. There were days in the winter months that I walked out of there with $200-$300 cash from tips though. It wasn't all bad.

 

Typically at that place you started at the vacuums, progressed to prepping cars, then after your 90 days you got to finish cars. Well one day I had to go back and vacuum a nice new Mustang, it was a manual and nobody there that day could drive one but me. I found a $100 bill under the passenger rear floor mat, picked it up and took it into the owner of the car. The older gentleman told me it was mine to keep. He said he would do that every now and then, with all different bills, to see if the kids back there were trustworthy. He told me the week before someone kept a $20 and went big this time because if it was taken he was going to make sure someone got fired. Needless to say I couldn't wait to get out of that place after that.

[diyer2]

If you use any type of vehicle service you are rolling the dice for theft unless you empty it out.

 

To the OP, they did shoddy work before and you went back.

[Mike Hamm]

 

Lastly, there washes are pretty pathetic. I always have to tell them they missed spots etc...

___________

and the manager responded:

___________

Comment from Mustafa S. of Crown Valley Auto Spa & Detail Center

Business Manager

4/20/2017 We have a camera system and can watch your car being dried. Please stop by to review with our manager or call me to arrange.

Mike

949-290-0708

___________

I am guessing these guys know how the cameras work and sneak out with stuff all the time? Any thoughts? I will be going over there at 6:00pm to watch the tapes.

 

And yet, you went back? Also, what did you find out from viewing the recordings?

One thing I've found about car wash places is they will move things around as needed to clean the inside and the things could end up in some odd place that you wouldn't think about right away. Not saying this is what they did or that they didn't steal these things, just my experience. However, always best to remove anything of value just in case. (20-20 hindsight, I know.)