Car Cleaners - Frequently Asked Questions

Will I be an employee or will I be self employed?
You will be self employed. But don’t let that put you off. It’s not as complicated as it sounds and we’re going to put processes in place to make being self-employed as easy as possible.

Will I have to do my own accounts or calculate my own tax?
No. We’re going to be working very hard to find a solution to the accounts side of things. You’ll simply need to collect your sales receipts and send them off to a bookkeeper and all will be done for you. We’re also hoping to find local accountants to support us and provide free self assessment tax returns in exchange of a good PR opportunity and a link, proudly displayed on our website.

How will I find new customers?
Pound the streets, go through the yellow pages, email as many businesses as possible, get friends and family to help and basically do whatever you can to make this work for you. We’re also going to try to find some local telesales companies to support us. In exchange for either a few free days or a bit of one-to-one training, we’re going to offer them a link on our website and as much local PR as possible. But the short answer is - with bloody hard work.

Where will I get the water from?
This service is no-frills. The water will have to come from the customers. Hopefully they’ll have outside taps, or be large businesses that can help solve the problem. It may happen occasionally where there really isn’t a good solution to the water problem and you may not be able to do the job. Hopefully where there’s a will, there’ll be a way. 

How will car washers be chosen?
It will be on a first-come first-served basis.

What happens if I can’t find enough customers?
Unfortunately this is completely out of anyone’s control. We’ll do our best to give you all the best marketing and sales advice, but we can’t physically force people to have their cars cleaned. If it really doesn’t work we’ll be very sad and sorry to have gotten your hopes up.

What if other car washers do a bad job or are rude to customers, this might affect my opportunity?
Yes it might. Poor customer service, bad attitude, rudeness or any form of unprofessionalism will affect the whole campaign. We’re hoping that the people that come on board will appreciate this, but we understand that there may well be a few bad eggs. We plan to operate a ‘three strikes and you’re out’ policy. This will have to be entirely at our discretion and we will obviously need to asses each strike properly.

What if there is a more serious incident with another car washer?
Gross misconduct of any form will result in a car washer losing the right to use the brand, they will immediately be removed from the car washer directory and have to surrender all equipment, uniforms and promotional items. This is entirely to protect the majority of the car washers and to maintain the integrity of the brand.

What if a neighbouring car washer starts working in my region?
You will be set a defined region to work in, however there may well be some overlapping areas. If a car washer is found to be working in your region, they will be informed of this and requested to put those customers in direct contact with the correct car washer. If it continues after the car washer has been informed, it will become one of their three strikes. 

If I get a big job, can I hire a helping hand?
We would initially request that you contact your neighbouring car washers to ask if they would like to help. Hopefully, they will do the same for you in return. If there is no other car washer available or it’s not possible, you may rope someone in to help. However we do ask that if you do hire some help, they must understand that it is on a temporary basis and any money made on the job must be split entirely fairly and evenly, 50/50. 

Can I get commission to introduce customers in other regions to other car washers?
No. Everyone is in this together, for the same reasons. To make this work the service has to be at rock bottom prices and there is not enough money in the jobs to be paying commission. Referrals have to be done out of respect for your fellow car washers. We will have a news section on our site and if the referral is news worthy we will be delighted to mention it and try to get some local publicity from it.

Do I need to sign up for a particular length of time?
No. If this is just a stop gap to help you get through a tough time, that’s absolutely fine. We would ask that you don’t hold onto a region if you’re not doing everything you can to make it work. There will be a queue of people ready to take over that region. 

How much will this really cost me?
We’re genuinely hoping that this will not cost you anything... that’s the whole point. There are absolutely no joining fees, no startup costs, no membership fees, no annual fees, no contractual fees... no fees whatsoever. However you may need to buy products and materials as and when you need them, but if this is the case then we’ll do our best to make sure that you get massive trade discounts to make it slightly easier to swallow.

What happens if I get offered a job?
This will be a dream scenario and will be a great day for this campaign. All we ask is that you spend some time helping the car washer that will take over your region. Show them the ropes, introduce them to the big customers and help them to make the best of their opportunity. This will be the day that a single region has helped two people rather than just one and we’ll raise a glass and wish you well. We’ll also be delighted to write a reference to your new employer.

Can I pass my region on to a friend?
We expect that we’ll have a waiting list of potential car washers in a region. As this is being set up on a first-come first-served basis we will offer the opportunity to the next person in the list. If there are no people waiting we would be delighted if you passed the responsibility on to a friend.

What happens if I scratch a customer’s car?
This is a basic no-frills car cleaning service. Customers will need to be made aware that you will be working without insurance and that you will not be responsible for anything that happens to the car. But... please don’t. This will be hugely damaging to the brand and such complaints will go towards your three strikes. You’ll be given a basic training manual on how to clean a car, if you follow the rules it’s almost impossible to do any damage.

Can I team up and work as part of a team in a region?
If there is enough work for a team and you specifically request this, then of course, absolutely. This would be a dream scenario for the campaign, to have enough work to keep more than one car washer busy.

What happens when I run out of shampoo or wax?
We’re hoping to secure ongoing sponsorship from suppliers. However this campaign is still in early days. If we can’t secure sponsorship that covers the complete costs then we’ll certainly be setting up deals to buy products and materials at a heavily discounted trade rate.

When does it all start, how quickly can I be out there earning my living?
The whole point in this campaign is that there are people out there that need this to happen now. If you sign up, we’ll do everything we can to get you up and running immediately. We’re not talking weeks of interviews, training, waiting around... we’re talking about days.

How can I get a new uniform?
Again we’ll be doing our best to secure sponsorship that will cover the costs of the uniforms. However if we can’t cover the complete cost, we’ll do our best to get a heavily discounted trade rate that will hopefully make items like this very affordable.

Will I earn more than if I were claiming job seeker’s allowance or claiming benefits?
That’s up to you and depends on how hard you are willing to work and where you take your opportunity. The possibilities of this opportunity are only limited by your motivations. There are some people that can’t claim any support from the government and then there are others that would prefer not to and would simply like to get out of the house and earn their income. We expect someone that is prepared to work hard could earn £13,000 p.a. As the concept develops this could create lots of micro businesses in which case the income could be far better.

What do I do when I run out of flyers, business cards or receipt slips?
We’re hoping to set up continued sponsorship deals, but this is yet to be confirmed. We’ll do our best for you.

Will there be continuous support or will I be left to fend for myself?
We don’t know yet. We’re hoping that the government will see what we do and want to get involved. Continued support will need to be paid for by someone. We’ll have to cross that bridge when we come to it.

Will I need a car?
If you have a car and are prepared to use it... great. If you don’t have one or can’t drive, this is not an obstacle that can’t be overcome. The kit required to do this is not very bulky. You could stuff it all into a rucksack and hop on a bike or carry it all on the bus. Where there’s a will there’s a way.