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50<br />
years<br />
PAT HALL<br />
Former owner of The Car Pool | Bardstown, Kentucky<br />
Q. What were things like for your self<br />
serve when you first started out (what<br />
were your prices, etc.)<br />
Back in 1969 (when my Dad’s first wash was<br />
built), the price was 25¢ for five minutes and the<br />
lone vacuum was a dime.<br />
This wash was attached to the back of his Shell<br />
gas station and was three pull-in, back-out bays.<br />
One of them was an open bay for larger vehicles.<br />
His second wash was built in 1973 (the one<br />
that I became half owner of in 1985).<br />
Q. How have things changed since then?<br />
50 years ago, the choices in the bay were<br />
1-OFF, 2-Water with some soap, 3-Water without<br />
soap. We didn’t even have soft water. Now there<br />
are as many as 11 selections on the dial and multiple<br />
payment options.<br />
Options on vacuums were very little as well.<br />
We didn’t even have trigger guns back then.<br />
If the customer wasn’t holding the gun when the<br />
money was deposited, the wand would go flying if<br />
the selector switch wasn’t in the “off” position. Oh,<br />
how we laughed our butts off watching customers<br />
chase those things, sometimes taking a shower and a<br />
beating in the process. It’s definitely not funny now.<br />
Bucket washing was a huge issue back then,<br />
until foaming brushes arrived on the scene in the<br />
late ‘70s.<br />
Playing in the mud with lifted 4WD trucks was<br />
the craze back then, with a truck easily holding<br />
multiple wheelbarrow loads of mud. Those that<br />
whine about someone washing an ATV, I look at<br />
as big &$#@!*&^?>.<br />
We seldom see outside bays anymore. They attract<br />
more mess and less money. Just not worth it.<br />
There are a lot more options with vending.<br />
There’s not that much money in vending, but a<br />
few items are kind of necessary.<br />
Q. What are your prices now?<br />
$2-4 minutes. I was prepared to raise it to $3-5<br />
minutes but hadn’t yet. I strongly recommended<br />
the new owner do it (Car wash had just been sold<br />
at the time of interview). Maybe by print time<br />
they will.<br />
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72 • WINTER 2020<br />
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1/9/18 6:02 PM
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