[captain.torque]

It was a lazy Sunday afternoon when a couple of friends landed at my place unexpectedly. Their demand? Drive us to DLF Promenade Mall (in south Delhi's Vasant Kunj) and feed us Nando's peri-peri chicken.

I happily agreed because I had never been to Nando's and always wanted to try their chicken but not before ensuring that they would pay the bill in return of chauffeuring them to the place.

Forty minutes later we entered the underground parking and as soon as we got out of the car a man with a booklet approached me offering "waterless car cleaning and polishing."

I wasn't interested at first but after he provided the details and the price, I decided to give it a try.

The service included:

** Interior panels dusting and cleaning with a wet wipe followed by a polish.

** Seats and mats cleaned with a wet wipe but no polish applied.

** Exterior body cleaned with a soapy spray followed by polish, all small scratches removed with a special spray.

** Tyres and alloys cleaned with soap and polished.

All this for just Rs. 200/-

Now I know that not everybody has the time for this because you go to a mall to eat, shop and have fun not to get your car cleaned.

But I stayed back for just ten minutes till the guys were doing the interiors. As soon as they were done, I locked my car and left. (My friends had in the meantime managed to get a table in the restaurant which was bursting at seams as it was a Sunday afternoon)

And if you are thinking that what if I don't like the job once I return?

Well, you get a receipt of payment which carried the number of the company. If you are not satisfied, call them up and just give them the pillar number near which your car is parked and they will return with their sprays and polishes to make you happy.

I actually tried it, just to check and they did come within 5 minutes.

Overall, I was thoroughly impressed with the work they did. It was money well spent.

I have never come across a similar service at any other mall in Delhi and would appreciate if fellow members can provide some information on this.

Honestly, I would be heading to Promenade more often now as it saves my time of spending hours at a service station because first you need to visit the place, then wait for your turn and then to get the job done.

I've attached some pics below.

Dear mods, please move the thread in the suitable forum.

P.S. The peri-peri chicken was scrumptious and so was the Portugese lemonade.


The guys starting their work, first the interiors:



The bucket of sprays and polishes:



Tyres are cleaned, focus shifts on exteriors:



Front driver side tyre before:



After:



The job card with the number to call on if your aren't satisfied:



Mod Note: Post Edited. Smiley usage is restricted to two per post on Team-BHP. Please do NOT use more than 2 smileys in a post.

[a4anurag]

Nice to see such things crop up but how were they handling the car?

Any idea what cleaning and polishing agents were used by them?

Anurag.

[phamilyman]

These services have been around long. Ambi mall has had one many years. Never tried it out because we're always there on a shopping mission!

My problem is with the cloths they use to clean. As someone who gives microfiber cloths to the regular guys to clean, I feel uncomfortable seeing what they are using. But you saw things up close - were the duster/cloths clean enough?

[9thsphinx]

We've got a similar one here in Ahmedabad. AFAIK, it's owned by one of the VW dealers and they provide free inside-out cleaning services for your car while you go shop at the mall. I've tried it out once for my Vento while it was pretty new and the job done was not too bad. They try to sell you their more expensive detailing packages at the end of it.

It's all a marketing technique. But a free car wash doesn't hurt anyway!

[rajesh1868]

Almost all malls in Bangalore has a branch of Sparkle in their parking space. I have used their service in Royal Meenakshi Mall for cleaning exteriors.
http://sparklecarspa.com/branches

[supremeBaleno]

A similar service is available at the Bishop Jerome Mall, Kollam (KL), where you could get the car cleaned, while you are doing shopping. Neat way of saving time, IMO.

[Mr_Bean]

They had a similar concept in Total Mall, Sarjapur, Bangalore in an attempt to service customers who come for grocery shopping, food..

But for whatsoever reason, it did not take off. Now the shop is in absolute shambles and it is not pleasing to see the skeleton remains of that shop every-time I visit the mall.

A single session of cleaning using a bad cloth is enough to create swirl marks all around the body , quickly noticeable on darker colours.

[puchoo]

Ambiance mall in gurgaon has had it for a while , never tried them though but i have always been tempted given the price points. Even if its not professional atleast its a good clean up for the car. Ambi though i think had a bit more of an extensive setup and their prices , for certain packages , used to go up to 500

[Gannu_1]

Autozspa has a similar service at the basement parking of RahulRaj Mall, Surat. We were there last Saturday to pick up some stuff and saw a few cars lined up. A Red Merc. A180 was being cleaned in the meantime so we are assuming these guys are good and the service offered is decent. They were using Karcher’s pressure washers and vacuum cleaners.

Not a bad idea IMO.

[Mad Max]

Originally Posted by rajesh1868

Almost all malls in Bangalore has a branch of Sparkle in their parking space. I have used their service in Royal Meenakshi Mall for cleaning exteriors.
http://sparklecarspa.com/branches

Yep. I am very wary of them though. Not sure how they'd treat the car. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Originally Posted by Mr_Bean

They had a similar concept in Total Mall, Sarjapur, Bangalore in an attempt to service customers who come for grocery shopping, food..

But for whatsoever reason, it did not take off. Now the shop is in absolute shambles and it is not pleasing to see the skeleton remains of that shop every-time I visit the mall.

A single session of cleaning using a bad cloth is enough to create swirl marks all around the body , quickly noticeable on darker colours.

I too noticed that. I remember someone in Team-bhp had some issues with them (unable to trace the thread). But the general feedback was positive. Anyways, I'd give mine to 3M any day over these guys.

[rajesh1868]

Originally Posted by Mad Max

Yep. I am very wary of them though. Not sure how they'd treat the car. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

My experience was good. I did only exterior cleaning. Not sure about other works

[captain.torque]

Originally Posted by phamilyman

My problem is with the cloths they use to clean. As someone who gives microfiber cloths to the regular guys to clean, I feel uncomfortable seeing what they are using. But you saw things up close - were the duster/cloths clean enough?

The cloth they used for dusting was well a simple piece of cloth like we would use at home.

However, they used microfibre gloves like this:




for polishing and scoth-brite type scrub pad for the tyres and wheels.

[captain.torque]

Originally Posted by Mad Max

I'd give mine to 3M any day over these guys.

I agree with you that there is no substitute for the best that is 3M. But the idea here my friend is that you get you car cleaned and polished WHILE spending time with your friends and family.

I would love to spend every other Sunday bathing, cleaning and polishing my car. But you would agree with me that is hardly possible due to social commitments. And especially for a person like me who gets just one off in a week

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by captain.torque

I agree with you that there is no substitute for the best that is 3M. But the idea here my friend is that you get you car cleaned and polished WHILE spending time with your friends and family.

I would love to spend every other Sunday bathing, cleaning and polishing my car. But you would agree with me that is hardly possible due to social commitments. And especially for a person like me who gets just one off in a week.

I can correlate to your feeling as I get one off per week. In that half of the day is lost sleeping so the rest either you have 3M cleaning done or some family chores where by the car is neglected again for the next week.

Anurag.