Car Wash Expiration Dates

Our local Exxon has one of those automatic car washes. There are two things that really tick me off about this car wash.

1. It is very slow, about 8 minutes per car. So if there are 6-7 people in line (not unusual for a nice day), you better have something to read because you will be in that line for the better part of an hour. Note, this does not go over too well with the kids if they happen to be with you. The annoying part is that it is designed in such a way that there is a long pull-through, so by the time you realize what is happening it is already too late. I guess you can try backing all the way out of the impossibly serpentine entry-way (if there's no one behind you). If you prefer a forward egress, good news - they give you a little escape pull-out just before you get to the front of the line. However, this is just to tease you, since you've already waited 45 minutes to get there so there's no way you're pulling out at that point.

2. The bigger problem is that there is about a 7 day expiration date on the receipt. My experience is that the car wash is "out of order" about 20% of the time. (Note, they will still sell you the car wash at the pump even when it is currently out of order). So now you have 7 days to get back to that car wash or you lose your $5-$10. There is no reason for this expiration date, other than to steal your money. If they want to have it expire after 6 months, fine. But 7 days? And usually when it's broken, it takes them a few days to fix it. So you come back 2 or 3 days in a row, then you give up and throw out the receipt - figuring it will expire by the time you come back and it is fixed. Meanwhile, you're driving around with chunks of mud on your windshield; you will not clean them by hand, just on principle. One time I went in and asked for my money back. The guy says "oh don't worry about the expiration date. It should still work". Now I'm really annoyed. First of all, I'm not waiting 45 minutes in line to find out whether or not this guy is clueless. Second, this just proves that the (meaningless) expiration date is a fiendish plot to have you throw out the ticket without getting the wash.

The whole thing really bursts my bubble.