Strictly By Hand

So I am standing at this business waiting for my Mini Cooper Countryman to be cleaned. Another place that does not understand that the Mini Countryman is a sub-​compact vehicle. When I mentiined it to ISHA, his reply «it’s a four door, automobile». Did not get the compact price. Not that it is that much of a big deal but come on folks, look it up. My Mini is not a full sized automobile. Just means I leave less in tips.
Now I am irritated, I got home to discover that the bottom ¼ of the passenger side of my car is still dirty. Not worth the time or energy to return today. It’s a shame as I have been to this place many times. Time to find another place to have my cars cleaned.

I’ve been going to this car wash for awhile, because it’s very close, and they always do an average job — not amazing but not terrible. It’s a car wash.
I came today and was the second car in line. I have been here ONE HOUR and my car just now got soap sprayed on. This is insanity. I arrived at 3 pm on a Wednesday. I complained and the guy was like, «Yeah sorry we’re short-​handed.»
That’s it? They should warn people if that’s the case, before your car is stuck in here and you’re here for going on 70 minutes now and no end in sight …

I’m writing this while getting a car wash here. This is my third visit, as I do like a hand wash on my car. This place is close to home and I want to like it. The problem is that this place is way over priced for a wash, $ 18 for my Lexus car plus a tip puts me at $ 20+.
I learned that they offer a pre-​paid book, which is one free wash after 5 full price ones. This is pretty good, but still a bit pricy for me, sorry!

They always do a great job and I love that they scrape all the sap of my windows. Decent prices too.

I just left there and it was the worst car wash I’ve ever gotten for an expensive $ 20. I had to tell them what to clean. They didn’t take my mats and wipe them down. My first and last time there. Terrible!
In response: I never said the windshield or back window. I said the inside of the lift gate. Check it again and your cashier went out to tell them to wipe it down. I was surprised there was no wait for a wash now I know why.

If I could leave 0 stars I would. The gang-​banger (on-​site manager) with neck tattoos was rude to me from the moment I pulled in. I suggested that he check his attitude and the guy postured as though she was looking for a physical altercation. I took my business elsewhere.
Look I get it, he’s not making a fortune working at this place. However, he is the manager and the voice and face of Strictly By Hand Carwash. I understand that it’s hard work detailing cars but I work for a living too. Ford or Ferrari, it just a crap business practice to be rude to any customer. The owner was not available for feedback and it’s a shame that people are leaving negative feedback here on Unilocal because the actual detailers seemed to be a good group of workers.

Consistently a good wash as I have been going here for 2+ years.

In response to comment from owner: AT THE END OF THE DAY. YOU ARE WRONG, CUSTOMER LEFT UN-​HAPPY & THE CAR WASNT CLEANED. You took more time to comment then they took to wash my car. Please don’t half apologize for anything. Just say you’re sorry. Saying less is saying more!
It was on my way towards the city, so I thought I would give this place a try. IM NOT PICKY AT ALL… But this is NOT my usual place. On a beautiful sunny day in Chicago I was surprised to see NO LINE. I love no lines, but NOW I know what that means. I got in I was greeted VERY nicely, told him I wanted an interior and exterior clean and my tires to be shinny using that cool stuff (Extra charge– WHICH IS NORMAL)…walked into the waiting room to pay I was greeted by a man (not sure if he is the MIC) but told me the wash was $ 21– Instantly I thought HMMM, thats kinda pricey. But oh well, I needed my car clean. RIVERVIEW HAND WASH on Clybourn or WE WASH on Lawrence charges $ 10 for small cars plus $ 2 for the tires. SOOOOOO REASONABLE. Lines out the door there, WORTH THE WAIT!
SO, as I paid, I did said wow a little pricy but with a laugh and being very polite. He replied «well, you’ll be surprised, the guys clean it very good and its like a mini detail» I WAS SOLD.
So I waited 10 min-​got to my car and my rubber matts weren’t hosed down, dust all over my dash, sides of my car not vacuumed, and pretty much NOTHING wiped down. I asked if they can at least hose the rubber matts, they were so dusty!
The man who had said its a «mini detail» quickly said its $ 4 for each matt up front and $ 2 for the back. WHAT!!! So you want me to pay Over $ 10 bucks to splash the damn matt with FREE water while you are washing my car???
I was stunned to be honest. I am a business owner, and I would NEVER send off a customer with out showing how well we do work.
I ask the other guys to at least wipe the dust and clean the surfaces of the interior. They were so nice and actually did it without any attitude.
SO I WILL NOT BE GOING BACK… TRY IT OUT YOURSELF… MAYBE YOUR EXPERIENCE WILL BE BETTER. I HOPE IT IS… BUT THIS WAS MINE AND I WISH IT WASNT.
XOXO, C

Had my car washed here just earlier today, the business was slow at the time, only my car and one other. I had asked for the full service wash and also asked that they wash my floor mats. Upon completion of my wash I got into the car and saw that my floor mats had not been touched and they did not even vacuum them, I wish I could upload a picture to this review. Also bird droppings were still on one of my windows and my cup holders looked as if they were not cleaned at all. Only went here because of the location convenience but will definitely go out of the way to go somewhere else going forward.

Your email to me:
Washing your mats are an extra service, we do vacuum them with the service that you bought with Groupon. All services are posted on a giant menu as you pull into the car wash and also in our brochure. We do not spray your windshield with any solvent we do spray A glass cleaner into the towel and then clean your windshield apologies that they missed a spot on your windshield & dash, i’m not quite sure what your last sentence means?
My response to you via email:
I don’t understand why they were wet if cleaning them isn’t part of the deal. that certainly is an inconvenience to get into a clean car with wet mats that are wet for (according to you) no reason.
your groupon advertises :
Supreme Service Wash and Poly-​Sealant Wax includes the following services: wash with a foaming soap and dry with slightly damp towels (dry towels create hazing on exterior), clean wheels and rims, apply poly-​sealant to the exterior of vehicle, all interior glass cleaned, vacuum interior and trunk, wipe down interior, wipe down all door & trunk jambs, tire dressing and air freshener, blow out water from the exterior crevices & mirrors.
all interior glass cleaned– not the windshield
wipe down interior– there were fingerprints all over the inside of my car that were not there when i took it in; and even if they were, why weren’t they cleaned off? The fingerprints are on the inside door frame!
The foot boards (when you get in the car-​along the door) were also still moist and muddy. as if they had been wet then not cleaned.
We had to pull over and use gas station windshield towels to clean them.
blow out water from the exterior crevices & mirrors.-My car dried with water spots everywhere, windows, door handles, trunk door, trunk handle, side mirrors and liscence plate area were just dripping.
The dash didn’t have a spot missed. it just wasn’t cleaned.
I use my car to make a living. I keep it as clean as possible and frequently have it washed and cleaned. after my viist here, it wasn’t in the condition I would be happy to use for work.
I took photos immediately after leaving your facility and I am happy to provide them if you’d like. I’m not arguing with the services you offer or claim,
Im just saying your workers didn’t do what was advertised/​purchased/​or offered.
In response to this response:
I was able to use a baby wipe to clean the finger prints, door and a paper towel for the floor boards.
So, youre saying that dirty shoes and water don’t make mud like or a wet dirty substance?! either way, wipe, it I did. not hard.
Clearly you are delusional.
I frequent washes all the time and my car is a million times cleaner for much cheaper.
A detail was not required to make this car acceptably clean, just attention to detail.
Which is obviously lacking at this facility. It wasn’t very busy.
Your employees should take pride in your work, instead this is the stigma you’ve created.
Read your other reviews.
Your customers aren’t crazy.
We aren’t excpecting much; just what we’ve paid for and what you have advertised to do, regardless of how they made it to your establishement.
Even with a groupon it was over priced.
I only went here becuse it was 1 o clock in the afternoon, you were nearby and a groupon was available.
I am not asking for excuses, how YOU take critiques is YOUR Prerogative.
However, You, your business and response lack customer service.
Good luck in your future endevors, may they no longer be at the expense of customer service, seeking patrons.

$ 18 for a standard wash and $ 6 additional to clean the floor mats! That is insane. Most places charge $ 11 to $ 14 for the same (mats included). I won’t be back

So my wife and I were looking to get a nice and firm «once over» on our car and not go to one of those automated car washes that you drive thru and never quite get those few stubborn spots, so we opted to go «strictly by hand» and while there is a comfortable waiting room with friendly staff and a tv, there was also the attempted up-​selling of a staff member which assured me that some of the debris on the car wouldn’t come off with their usual by hand scrub and that we would need a «buffing» on the car after ok… We said no thank you I think that if you are scrubbing by hand as i have the same car in the past it should be fine… and it was. We also asked for the dash and the gear shifting area to be «armor-​alled» and he said no problem, well when we were handed the keys and I tipped $ 4 cause the car looked good on the outside my wife notices there is no armor all on the dash or the gear shifting area, then asks the guy and he says oh well i did what was on the ticket, and my wife says well I asked you guys specifically from the beginning and you said no problem and the staff member just kinda shrugged his shoulders looking annoyed like oh well, so we just left and figured maybe the $ 24 wasn’t enough for them to do what we asked and look around for another place that can do what they say. The three stars are for the outer scrub which was good, the vacuum job which was also good and the waiting room with friendly staff and tv. Thanks guys but please pay attention to detail for this is what your name «strictly by hand» probably implies to most customers.

Very sad to hear your response to the review I gave you. One thing that’s a business owner or operator should always take is criticism whether good or bad. First let’s get one thing cleared. You mentioned threatened? Explain how? Was it me saying «lost my business»?? That’s not a threat, it’s a fact. Especially after your response to the review. As far as my character. It’s simple to to figure me out: I say it as I think, I don’t sugarcoat things, look at my positive reviews and you will see that I am fair and honest, I give credit where credit is due and your business has not earned my credit. You do not even offer a veterans discount! Now let’s talk about business, your place is in a customer service industry, right? I’m not saying that the customer is always right but you should listen to them especially since places like yours are dime a dozen. Now it makes perfect sense why there was little wait at your place and line a block long on others (especially my regular place). By the way, another little business 101 lesson: word of mouth can hurt a business reputation, especially with social media. Good luck to you.

First time customer. Greeted with a friendly «Hello» and explanation of washes. Appeared to have a tidy shop as well as the waiting area. Clean cut staff, and overall great finished product!
Thanks guys!

I love this place! There’s really ever a wait and even when there is, they’re so fast and efficient that I don’t mind waiting. The manager «Ziggy» is awesome and always so helpful. I would definitely recommend this for a reasonably priced and great full service car wash!

Part of the joy of living in chicago is when im in dire need of coming here twice in a week. The wait just to get through the garage door at other carwashes that ive been too can be horrifically long and it never seems to be an issue here which i love. Theyre professional, efficient and get the job done thoroughly. Thats all i can ask for!

I like this place. I might even like it a lot. I’ve brought my car here 3 times and I never drive out with regret. I always ask them to double on the vacuuming and so far so good. From price to quality service, I definitely recommend.

They wouldn’t redeem the $ 4 off by checking in on Unilocal.They said that « Unilocal» had to take that down and that even if it’s up there they would not honor it. The manager didn’t even offer anything else. He just said «pay full price» ridiculous how they don’t even go out of their way for their customers

Took the supreme wash, car was not clean inside or outside. Will not go back again. Other places are cheaper, faster and better…
Edit:
Ziggy, this is not my first car wash… Do your security cameras also tape the inside of the vehicles? As you mentioned all garbage was removed! I was not complaining about the time it took so not sure why your adding basically how great you are to take away from the real problem here. The bird droppings where not old and my expectation wasn’t to get my car buffed but the bird poop removed.
End of story is you have an excuse for everything and thats alright if you want to run your business like that. Take criticism and move on

I bought a groupon for this car wash thinking I got a great deal. It would have been a great deal if they actually cleaned the car well. The deal was for 3 car washes. I didn’t use this til a few weeks until the groupon was going to expire so I went one week, then we took my boyfriends car the next week then I went back the following week.
When I got back in the car the dashboard was barely clean, there was a smudge on my rear view mirror (the first wash) and i left it there because I knew I was going to go back for my last wash, when I went back for my last wash the SAME smudge was there, I was so disappointed! They do not do a very good job of taking their time to really clean the interior well. The staff is also not very friendly. They don’t really speak to you or say hello or even smile. I was there 3 times and never felt like my business was appreciated. I definitely will not be coming back here again.