We have two cars and I like to keep them clean. I used to wash the cars myself, either at home or at a self-cleaning car wash. Now I just take them to a nearby car wash where they do all the work. In 20 minutes, my dirty car becomes shiny clean. Once a year, I get my car professionally waxed and the interior carpets cleaned. The car looks practically new again and this makes me happy.
One day, I took the car to my local car wash for the usual cleaning. When I returned home, I noticed that the rear rubber floor mats were missing. I drove back to the car wash and inquired about my missing floor mats. The owner asked me to return the following day since he could not locate the two mats. He also wanted to review the video tapes of my car being washed.
I dutifully returned and the owner said that the floor mats were lost. He asked me to purchase new mats from the car dealership and he would refund me. I ordered the new floor mats and picked them up a week later. I took the receipt to the car wash and located the owner. To be honest, I was both skeptical that the owner would pay for the lost floor mats and a bit frustrated for having to run around Austin to buy replacement floor mats that I did not lose.
The owner remembered me and went into his office with my receipt. He made out a check to me for the full amount. He gave me the check and apologized for having lost my floor mats. Then, he did the unexpected. He went over to the cash register and asked his employee for car wash vouchers. He handed me 10 free car wash vouchers and said that he wanted to compensate me for my time dealing with this issue. He hoped that I would continue as his customer.
At that moment, I was both shocked and embarrassed. I thought only of getting ‘ripped off’ by the car wash. This small business owner lost five times the cost of my car wash when he paid to replace my floor mats, then gave away ten times the cost of my original car wash in additional compensation. It reminded me of Zacchaeus (Luke 19:8b): “Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much.” The car wash owner wasn’t a tax collector like Zacchaeus, nor had he defrauded me. He understood that his business caused me to spend my personal time on something that should not have happened. He desired to rectify the situation and went beyond mere balancing. He over-compensated me, just as Zacchaeus stated to Jesus.
Running a small business is very difficult. Larger businesses have economies of scale and more capital to weather economic cycles. Small businesses survive through strong bonding relationships with their customers. When this bond is broken, small businesses usually can’t survive by only offering the lowest prices. Word spreads and customers go elsewhere.
I still take my cars to this same car wash. Once I used my car wash vouchers, I happily continued to get my car washed there. I know the employees and the owner. The car wash is small and a bit tattered inside, but the memory of the owner’s ethical business practices keeps me coming back. I don’t know if he is Christian as I have not asked him. What I do know is that his actions are aligned with his words. He understands community and does a good job keeping my car clean. I see the Spirit at work at the car wash.
