MINDS (Movement for the Intellectually Disabled of Singapore) has a car wash outlet in SPC Telok Blangah (before Vivocity / Harbourfront if you’re coming from the west). I found out about this great initiative from one of the car forums, and since it was near school, I decided to go down one day to show my support.
Car owners will know that it is a really back-breaking job to wash a car – I do wash my car on occasion but in order to save time and effort (I usually take around 2 hours to wash and wax), I usually bring my baby to a petrol station with a manual car wash service for $6. These are typically manned by foreign workers where basically, you drive your car in where they spray water and foam onto your car, use a sponge to wipe it all over, use a powerful waterjet to clean off the foam, then use a towel to dry your car. This doesn’t necessarily guarantee your car is clean though, sometimes the cleaners do a pretty bad job and the car’s cleanliness leaves a lot to be desired. Furthermore, since they use a common sponge for all cars and a very powerful water jet, scratches are definitely inevitable. Its especially painful when its a new car (Okay I know I’m a slave to my car, it should be the other way round right yah yah). Of course, it would be best if i do it myself, which would guarantee a squeeky clean car and minimal scratches, but the weather and time doesn’t always permit. Laziness does play a part too. I simply cannot put up with a dirty car, so usually I take it to the petrol station car wash once a week, and I do try to go to the stations with better service. The turnover rate is pretty high, its common that the station that does a relatively good job suddenly changes the car wash personnel who now do a poorer job. If my car looked the same after the wash as when it first went in, I’d probably never go back again. Bottom line is though, standards vary widely and don’t expect too much. And after all, it is only $6.
Wow that was a long introduction to petrol car washes, haha. Anyway, my take on the MINDS car wash (which i think is the only one of its kind) was that it is a good way to let the less fortunate earn some money while having an opportunity for them to feel valued. Although it is definitely physically exerting, washing cars – especially with a bunch of friends, can be pretty fun as you get to play with foam and water (thats one positive way of looking at it). Although I expected the standard to be roughly the same as those of the average car wash, I was definitely more than willing to accept a relatively less well done job. In a way, I didn’t want them to physically exert themselves as much as an able bodied foreign worker. So even if my car wasn’t washed properly, I’d go back to them again as a show of support.
But to my pleasant surprise, the MINDS people did an absolutely fantastic job. They took so much pride and professionalism in their work, more so than most other service personnel I’ve encountered (not just car washers), and more so than even some NUS students take in their projects. There were about 5 people washing one car, which was more than the usual 1 or 2 elsewhere, and each person was responsible for the cleanliness of their respective area. They took their job very seriously, cleaning and re-cleaning if they thought the area was still dirty. And they evidently took care not to scratch the car in any way (which is my pet peeve of other car washes). Granted, there were supervisors (older uncles, presumably volunteers) doing QC checks and if they found evidences of shoddy work, they would not hesistate to playfully scold the car washers and tell them to do a better job. Almost all of them appeared to be having fun while on the job, laughing and giggling. There was a lump of bird shit of my windscreen, and the guy in charge of initially hosing the car down didn’t spot it so pieces of it were still stuck there, the people using the sponge then hollered at him, gd naturedly chiding him for missing it and telling him to direct the jet on that spot again. They then flashed a questioning thumbs up to me to ask if I was happy that the bird shit was gone so they could start using the sponge. I smiled and gave 2 thumbs up in return. They seemed happy to have this opportunity to work and it definitely showed in their professionalism.
I was somewhat brought down to earth by the experience. There I was, a relatively more privileged kid, sitting in the comfort of an air conditioned car while other kids toiled hard to clean it for a rather meagre sum of money. Was it fair? To be honest, I never felt comfortable sitting in the car even while it was being washed by able bodied foreign workers as I felt spoilt, but I reasoned that I, in a way, am contributing to their income and they were also glad to have business. I felt more uncomfortable (guilt maybe?) in the MINDS wash, but seeing them enjoy themselves was a big mitigating factor. In all honesty, they might never experience the simple pleasure of driving a car, or even working in a normal comfortable office job which most take for granted. This made all the race for results, top internships, job offers with high salaries, luxury goods etc seem more than a little silly. I think people are innately sympathetic to the needs of the less fortunate, but sometimes are too caught up in their own stuff and doing something about it is relegated towards the rear of their priorities. Sometimes, people allay that guilt by donating money, which I’m sure helps but probably not as much as more tangible things like being given the chance to do some decent work, like being in a car wash. Actually, most locals wouldn’t want to work in a car wash cos of the physical exertion and probably, the stigma of being in one. Which makes their attitude even more commendable.
The process took longer than usual (due to their meticulousness), and my car came out of the car wash cleaner than it ever was at any petrol station car wash. And this is from an objective point of view, I didn’t give any concessions. And so I’d like to help spread the word about this great little car wash, if you’re in the vincinity (and in a car, obviously), do drop by and show a little support to these professional people who deserve praise for having such a positive attitude and making the best of what they have. If only more of us could be like that.
Operating Hours
Weekdays : 10am – 6pm
Weekends : 10am – 3pm
