They used to call it the "streakin' beacon" in the old days, for good reason. Lately though I've had much better luck and gotten great jobs from the Blue Beacon. OK, maybe not luck. Here's the secrets. First, go late at night if you can help it. When there is no line and they are bored they will spend a little more time on the job than during the day when they've got 10 impatient truckers lined up outside. Second and most important, TIP! Truckers are notoriously cheap and those guys rarely get a tip. Here's my MO: When you go in the office to pay before they start washing, they will have to figure out what to charge you, they know semi truck prices inside and out and they are set in stone, but when doing an unusual rig they usually have to pore over the price chart to try to figure out what to charge you. There's about 50 different things on that list, and none of them are a TC. So the first thing I do is lay a $20 bill on the counter and tell the guy "that's for the crew, because I know you do a good job". Now here's a guy that hasn't seen a tip all day, with a $20 bill in front of him. The first thing he does is charge you for a cheaper rate, because he has that discretion on an unusual rig, and second thing is you get a bang up job. Their habit it to walk right out and tell the crew they just got a tip and they always hop right to it. My experience has almost always been that even including the tip I end up paying less or the same for the wash than the price list rate, and I get a better job. Works every time. If you just want to be a nice guy, tip when they are done, if you want a great job, tip up front.
