One A Minute Car Wash

Probably the small business owner I’ve ever seen. He’s rude and doesn’t care about his customers. The wash itself is equivalent to a cheap gas station wash but you’ll pay over 20 dollars for it. What a rip off, stay away!

Went to complain about the service, owner tells me get off his property and said he is going to call the police. Conclusion, Owner need a course in customer service.

10 coupons, now worthless. Like Kirk V., I was rudely refused when I got out of the car merely holding one of my coupons. I not only didn’t get the car washed — I’m now out $ 150 after being offered a whack of coupons by the previous owner that ensured them business. I bought a business, and honoured ALL COUPONS given out by the previous owner — this ensured creating a customer instead of holding onto the idea that this wasn’t revenue for me and telling them to get lost, as I was just told today. I will make sure the word gets out — and there will be more than one customer that will not be part of the new business. I called the location afterwards, was told I couldn’t speak with them and that the coupons wouldn’t be honoured no matter what. Short-​sighted and one of the worst customer service experiences ever. It speaks volumes for what customers can expect from this business, and the level of success or not the new owners can expect.

WORST CAR WASH EVER!
Upon arriving there was no indication was where to stop the car and the two workers were in no rush to provide directions. Tried to ask about services, was looking for a more thorough cleaning. The employee taking orders did not speak English. As a result I did not order what I likely should have frustrating me and losing money for the business. My usual car wash charged $ 50+ for a 40 minute job that resulted in a car that looked like new. These jack asses spent 5 minutes vacuuming, ran it through the machine, then barely wiped it down!
Of course the car was no where near clean afterwards and upon getting home I spent 30 minutes touching up their work.
Last point… These losers are so averse to return customers that the cashier didn’t say a word to me. Not to return my hello, not a thank you, not a your welcome returned to my thank you, nothing.
Never go here. Leave your car out in the rain and you’ll get a cleaner car with better service!!!

This makes for a rather long story, though amusing in spots, so for those that don’t want to read it the summary is this: the guy is incompetent, dishonest and a thug. Stay away, far away.
I needed to get my mid-​sized SUV detailed, as I do every year, and could not get to my usual place. I had known One-​a-​Minute from years ago, and figured they could do a good job. I was rather trusting when I dropped it off– the owner told me it would be $ 200, I confirmed that that included full interior shampoo and exterior wax, and left.
When I returned just before closing time the first thing that was obvious was that the vehicle had not been waxed. When I pointed this out, the guy started in about how it was because the previous detailer didn’t know what he was doing! I asked why it hadn’t been waxed and he said waxing was not included in the price.
I started walking around the vehicle, checking it inside and out, seeing more and more problems– grease spots that hadn’t been taken out of the upholstery, places where there was no rubber dressing, splotches on the hood that hadn’t been removed, and so on. The rear floor mats were jammed in badly and crumpled, and when I pointed this out he argued that they were not the original floor mats. I pulled them out and switched them– they had been put on the wrong sides of the vehicle! I was getting more and more agitated as I pointed these things out. When we got to the passenger side I saw that the pillar between the doors had not even been wiped down, and when I said that, he said «What do you mean?» I wiped my fingers over the paint and when they came up black, he started to collect some cleaning material to clean it.
I said, No, I didn’t want him working on it ay more, and that I had to leave, so I would pay him $ 100 for the work he had done so far and take the vehicle as it was. He didn’t even respond. He just jumped in the vehicle, drove it into his bay, dropped the roll-​up door and locked me out.
Then ensued a six hour comedy of errors. I called the police for advice, was told that as far as they were concerned it was theft, so I waited in the empty parking lot for them to come. After about an hour I called again, and as I was talking with them, the guy came out with his wife and two kids. He approached me, and as he did, I told the police he was there. The officer asked to talk with him, so I offered the phone to the guy, but he just started shouting and refused to take the phone. When his wife moved forward to take it, he pushed her away, then they all turned and left.
I waited another hour and a half in vain for the police to come. Part way through a guy came around with a cup of coffee and sat on the bench in front of the car wash, so I struck up a conversation with him. Turns out he was a former employee who still did occasional handy-​man jobs for it. When I told him what had happened, he snorted and said, «You and 300 other people.»
He then regaled me with story after story of the disintegration of the business. A couple of years before it had been sold by the original owner, the Italian who had run it so well, to a Russian who had sold it shortly thereafter to the present owner, a Turk. My story-​teller said he was embarrassed to admit he was Turkish as well, and recounted incident after incident of the dishonest, abusive, incompetent and generally brutish behaviour of the present owner. I had noticed that there had not seemed to be any business either time I had come, so it became clear that the owner’s behaviour towards anyone who challenged or displeased him was killing what had once been a thriving enterprise. In one incident, he had become abusive with someone who turned out to be the Chairman of the TTC– and it is the TTC that owns the land the car wash sits on!
I could not wait any longer, so called the police again and gave them my home address, and arranged for them to meet me there. Long story short, after 5 ½ hours the police finally came, took my report, went to the car wash to confirm the car was locked up, then were informed by the detective they contacted that the guy was technically within his rights to do what he did, under the «Repair and Storage Lien Act.» So I had no alternative but to go back and pay what the guy wanted to get my car.
Once I retrieved it (two days later, as I couldn’t come the following day), I found that he had worked quite a bit more on the vehicle, and done quite a good job on the interior. And he had waxed the exterior! But looking closer, I found the finish was covered in thousands of tiny scratches, the result of hand polishing with a dirty cloth. And the splotches were still on the hood. I took the vehicle to a friend in the automotive business, and he was able to very simply remove the marks by hand polishing with a professional compound. And the scratches are not too deep– I will have to have the whole vehicle waxed again to remove them, but no permanent damage.

This place is disgraceful and the owner rude and indifferent. I purchased a book of coupons for $ 100 and now they will not honour them. They claim the owner has changed and that I should ask Jane and Wilson Car Wash for reimbursement. When I called them they said they have nothing to do with One-​A-​Minute Car Wash and that when the business was sold it was sold with the understanding that $ 50K worth of coupons were in circulation. I have put a complaint in with the BBB.

I love this car wash.
They are close to home, they spend the extra time to clean the inside right, and I know it sounds funny, but they clean the inside with really cleaning products, not just a wet rag that is dirty like so many other places.
They clean the floor mats, not just vacuum but wash them…
The price is right and I had not complaints.
I’ve been here a number of times and not their fault, but the day after I get it washed it either rains or snows ! But, at least the inside stays clean !

Not impressed at all. As the driver of a newer BMW I have seen some of the fancy cars that entrust their makeover to One-​A-​minute and I thought I was in good hands. I tested them out with an exterior car wash (with an eye for them to detail my baby at a later date), specifying that my rims and tires get polished up. The car was washed and they «wet» the tires up to a shine, however they did a half a$$ed job on the rims, and I had to instruct and point out the left over brake dust on the rims as though my vision is superior or something. Furthermore, the front fender area of my car had dead bugs all over it and they did a shoddy job on removing them too. I ended up driving a block to Canadian tire and buying the rim cleaner, and bug remover and just did the labour myself. So what did I pay $ 17.00 for? A mediocre car wash. Save yourself $ 7.00 and just get an exterior Touchless wash up the street at Esso (Dupont & Davenport) and then clean your own rims, and tires, and take the bugs off your cars’ fender yourself. No one can clean your car as well as you can. Now if I can just find a detailing spot that really cares about what they do.