Autobell Car Wash

I likely go to Auto Bell more than the average driver. I have a monthly unlimited pass and there are times I am there twice in a day for at least an exterior wash when pollen is high, puddles are deep or some yahoo threw a drink out his window (don’t even get me started) and I had some caffeinated splash on my beloved car.
The staff used to be F A N T A S T I C and I am not entirely sure what has happened, but that is no longer a description I would use. Functionally able is as good as it gets right now.
You might ask why I don’t go to the one just two miles down the road on River Hwy. Clearly you’ve never been to that one if you think it is better. It’s the low point of the Auto Bell franchise, IMO.
So…back to Plantation Ridge Drive.
The management has all changed (or undergone amazing reconstructive surgery) in the past 9 months or so. The new managers are likely still on someone else’s tax return as a dependent. The other day I was there and so was one other customer. Rather than have multiple people drying our vehicles, the waiting staff decided it was better to be in their cars, cranking what they call music and I call a glaring of tortured cats, revving engines and talking about various females and their attributes. The manager on duty said nothing to them in the 9 minutes I waited for my car to be done.
And it used to be the ‘anything I can do for you’ was just a nice way of asking for a tip… now it equates to my having to walk around the car and point out half a dozen opportunities for wiping or removing chemical spray. My favorite moment was when the new guy used the tire towel to wipe my very pale leather seats. The trainer and I both jumped up with a NOOOOOOOO and he looked at us like we had lost our minds. Who doesn’t know you don’t wipe down tires and then seats!?!
So I am giving it another month and then evaluating if I’ll continue with my monthly service or go elsewhere. Mostly I’m hoping my two favorite manager will reappear and things will go back to the HIGH FIVE rating I’d have given it for the prior 14 months or so before they left.