CLOISTER WASH & LUBE

I had never stopped by C******* for a car wash until I received some gift certificates. The GC's were for the Platinum wash which has everything, inside and out. It's about a $25 cleaning session...far more than I would normally pay, but considering how the car came out, it was pretty much worth it. They pull all the floor mats and run them through a special machine that cleans them. Not a deep wash, but it does a nice job of scrubbing them. They seem to hire all kids in late teens/early twenties and they all hustle. The interior is vacuumed and the exterior is pre-treated for spots & bugs. The automatic wash does a nice job of all-over wash, plus getting the wheels (tires and rims). As the car exits, 3 or 4 people descend on the car to hand wipe and dry it. The windows are spotless. They also wipe everything down inside the car, plus door jams and corners. The Platinum is definitely the top of the line...guaranteed for 4 days. If gets dirty in that time, I believe they'll run it through again. They also have a basic wash for something around $8. I've not had that service. Also, very nice having a no tipping policy: all included.

I know it sounds odd to say this about a car wash, but loved the entire experience! When I drove up to the car wash I was met by a very friendly employee who patiently walked me through the different options, all of which were clearly described on the large signs above the entrance. I decided to go with the #1 (their best wash) and a "New Car" scent. She took my credit card payment right there. She directed me into the vacuuming area where I parked the van and left it running as requested. I walked into the main building where they have a series of windows through which you can observe the whole cleaning process. The interior is clean, friendly and well lit. It includes restrooms, a card shop, free drinks and a place to sit in case you don't want to wait outside for your car. As a parent of a 9-year-old I know what the floor and seats of a minivan can really look like after a month of shopping, trips to the park, soccer practice and of course, fast food on the run. I thought for sure they would charge me more for the vacuuming once they saw how bad it was, but much to my surprise two employees spent almost 10 minutes vacuuming out five weeks of crud from that van without so much as a peep! They ran the floor mats through a special machine to beat the dirt out of them and even cleaned out the cup holders of crumbs and gunk. They pulled the van onto the conveyor for the main exterior wash. As it chugged forward an employee walked around, checking the windows, pre-washing the lower portion of the quarterpanels and also pulled off the three bumper magnets from the back, deftly putting them into the font seat before it entered the main wash. I've lost a few magnets in other car washes. Thanks Cloister! The main wash was what you'd expect. Water, soap, lots of suds, spinning columns of towels and water sprayers. At the end of the conveyor, the car was rinsed and then partially dried by what my son calls the "Tornado", a set of extremely high-speed, high-volume fans that essentially blow the water right off the surface of the vehicle. While this is happening, an employee jumped into the van and started cleaning the interior of the windows and wiping down the dash with cleaner. The van was driven 20 feet over to the drying area, where two employees started towel drying the exterior. They opened and wiped down the interior edges of all the doors and wiped down each individual wheel cover. One jumped into assist with the interior windows. About 10 minutes later, the window cleaners emerged from the car, reset all the seats, the exterior team closed the doors and proclaimed the van was clean by waving their towels over their heads and calling out the make and model of our van. Overall, I must say I have been seriously impressed by the consistency of the service and professionalism I get at Cloister. It's their extreme attention to detail that puts their service several notches above their competition.