4 Hours of my Life!

Spent cleaning cars on Sunday morning. Most of that on the Mazda which was washed, treated with paint restorer and then polished. That was probably 3 hours and in the remaining hour, the family car got a quick wash and polish. When I started, I was thinking about these hand wash places that have sprung up all over the country and what an easy way to make a living it must be. I soon changed my mind about that. I can't see how a one man valeting operation could ever be viable unless you were able to charge a ridiculously high fee to cover your time. I know these guys are much more efficient than me, but if they are so quick, are they really doing a thorough job?

Interesting that in a world that is giving way to automation, this is about the only area that I can think of that has gone completely in the opposite direction. Lots of closed down car washes at garages and hand wash places opening up on any spare piece of land. Interestingly, they all seem to be run by immigrants, at least those in my area. What does this say about the mindset of the British - do they lack the drive, the initiative or do they just consider washing cars to be beneath them?