People here are fanatical about a clean car. Most in the office will have their cars washed every day. A car wash guy or the house maid will clean the car in the morning before they leave for work. If you don't have a car wash guy, then all of the shopping centers have guys that patrol the parking lots and will wash your car while you shop. Given the dustiness of this place - definitely a regular car wash is needed. We get ours done weekly - and sometimes by the end of the week my car can look like an abandoned vehicle at the DMV.
Just after we moved in a man came by the house and offered to wash our cars. We knew he needed the money and it was a way to help him with a little cash. At first he was coming by on Friday morning - very early before the heat of the day. He'd was our two cars and the neighbors'. He was a real sweet guy. For two years he always came. Very reliable and charged a reasonable price.
One Thursday evening in June, he was washing the cars and he disappeared. He left behind his bicycle (a precious possession) and all the car wash gear was left out. None of us saw what happened. Juliette, our neighbor, stored his bicycle in their garage and we waited for his return. Unfortunately, he's never come back. We speculate that maybe the police stopped and he was detained for not having the right visa. I'm pretty sure we'll never know. We never did know his name. He'll forever be Car Wash Guy to us.
So, the entire time that we were back in the states, the cars remained unwashed. Believe me, they accumulated a lot of dust in those 4 weeks. So, last weekend, I brought out the hose and readied myself to wash the cars. Really - you would not believe what a fuss I raised with the house men nearby. It was more than they could bear - and also an opportunity for a little extra cash. So while I was washing, the house man from across the road came over to offer to wash the car. I told him he could come once a week. But I don't think he understood.
On Wednesday, Linda told me that he had been coming by each day to wash the car - but I had forgotten to tell her that I'd made this arrangement. She had been sending him away, but finally she relented and let him was the car yesterday. This morning, the doorbell rang at 6am. When I mumbled through the intercom, "Madam - wash car" was the response. When I got downstairs, I tried to communicate that he only needed to come 1 time per week - but he wasn't really understanding. So, he called his brother to come over who spoke much better English. I tried to negotiate the same rate that we had with our previous Car Wash Guy - but no deal. He wanted 200 Dhs.
Well, I've come into the office since and consulted with the guys on my team. They tell me that 200 Dhs is too much - unless he's doing it every day. But rather than re-negotiate myself, I'm going to wait until Russell gets back and have him do it. They'll listen to him better then me. One of my team members is from Pakistan and I told him I may call him and have him speak to them in Urdu. I'm sure to get a better deal this way.
In the meantime, our cars are clean. At least for now.
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Who knew it was such a big deal to wash your car? Here in Bakersfield there is a drive thru car wash in almost every shopping center. I think that's how most people around here do it. We also have a very hot, dry and dusty climate.
My husband gets out and washes our truck at home about once/week and the girls LOVE helping out, especially in the heat.
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