Originally Posted by
limo
This may be asked before but a search on "belt" returned no relevant result.
I hope I am not the only one wondering about this - why does Avis click the seat belts for all the seats in the car? Is it also a criteria for "cleanliness"? I personally find it a little silly and sometimes annoying.
Is it to "prove" that seat belt is present and functional?
3 reasons.
1> To prove seat belt functionality. Giving someone a car without a functional seat belt opens the company up to liabilty.
2> QA standards requires the belts be in neat, presentable position. Belts, especially lap belts in the middle front middle back, often flap all over the place. Buckling em in gives it a clean, pressed look.
3> If ALL the seatbelts are buckled when the car comes back to the cleaning yard, they can tell no one sat in any seat except the drivers seat. It tends to lead to quicker turnarounds. Those cars that come back with all belts buckled get spun off to a "quick turnaround" cleaning island. often 4 guys will work the Quick island, one gasses, one pops hood inspects fluids and tires, one inspects left side, one inspects right side, and the team can turn around 80 cars in an hour.
A perect canditate is a car less than 50 miles, newspaper, map, contract neatly laid in the car exactly where it is supposed to be. All seatbelts buckled. When I see this, I stick my head in, check for odors, and mark it for quick turnaround, or QT.
If the seatbelts are unbuckled, the car is supposed to go through a thorough cleaning.
Examples of what I would say.
Gas and vac drivers side only.
Windows left and right, hook ok, gas ok.
I have a lead on the other end doing a final check on every car before it hits the car wash, but the decision to "quick turnaround" rested with me, not my line crew.
There are a couple of secret "spots" I put little marks on the car every time I did a QT on a car, if the last time it went QT, even if its clean, the next time it goes full clean. That was my little secret, and it was in the door jam, I would put a small red sticker a paper "red" dot. After I did that, I turned the hazzard lights on the car. The hazzard lights meant "Quick turnaround car" and the drivers would grab it and put it in the appropriate line. thats how my cars kept cleaner. some managers kept turning and turning and turning cars around and never gave em a "good bath". My employees knew.....QT cars go fast, the rest MUST past RIGID inspection. When I started the day, I would insopect 20 cars. Before I go home, I needed 10 "perfect" cars in a row.
On Quick turnaround cars, the car DOES NOT MOVE until the contract is found. If there is no contract, The car doesnt move until a lead does a full inspect.