The car-wash lesson

But they may forget that what I wrote was meant only for Thais or those who are living in Thai society. 

The thoughts and degree of suitability of people born and raised in different places are normally different. So for someone to decide what is right or wrong, he or she may have to spend a lot of time trying to understand all the factors involved. 

I have a story I’d like to tell you about how people in different societies think differently. And this is about washing your vehicle in Thailand. People my age are used to washing their vehicles by themselves, rather than taking them to the car wash. 

We were all taught to properly wash the car and carry out basic maintenance even before being taught how to drive. 

In those days, we would require two buckets of water, no less than three pieces of cloth and a chicken-feather duster. We first used the duster to wipe off the dust from top to down, and then poured water on the roof to wash the grime down. Next, we dipped the cloth into detergent and scrubbed from the roof down. We would quickly wash off the detergent bubbles before they dried up, and then wipe the car dry with the remaining pieces of cloth. Those days we had waxes like Carglo, and would keep wiping our vehicles to create that extra shine. 

So washing the vehicle would take at least 30 minutes, which was very different from today. Today, no one washes their car any more. They all use various carwash services. 

About 20 years ago, the first carwash machine was located at the Caltex station. The advantage of the “Mark IV”, as advertised, was that it was a touch-free system which helped prevent scrapes. Then another brand called “Wesumat” came in, and its slogan was that it washed in less than 3 minutes and could clean a car better than other machines. 

After that more brand-new and used car-wash machines have been introduced, but businesses that use people are still popular. They continue to maintain the old style of washing and do not have to adjust to the changing lifestyle of Thai people. 

From taking only just a few minutes to wash a car, today’s car-wash machines take almost as much time as manual washers, and the technology used is just slightly higher than using people. 

These days if you go to a mechanised car wash, one person first sprays high-pressure water on the car, then another wipes the dirt off before the car moves into the machine, which just carries out one round of wash and drying. All this takes about 10 minutes, not including the time spent waiting in line. 

This addition of manual labour is because Thai customers are not satisfied with the cleanliness of a machine wash. Their concern is the no-touch system that prevents scratches on the paint rather than the quick wash time. 

Once in a while they also take the car to the “spa”, which means that apart from cleaning, waxing and coating the exterior paint, the interior is fully cleaned and scented just like your bedroom. The cost for this may be high, but a lot of people are willing to pay. 

The car-wash business is another example of how the culture of people in each area may differ, and those who can tell the difference will have a head start.