A long queue for car wash at a Woqod petrol station in Doha.
DOHA: Service stations of Woqod are no more allowing customers seeking a car wash to leave their vehicles at their premises and take them back later after the service at their convenience.
Customers are now being asked to wait at the spot until the service is over. The waiting could go up to two to three hours during peak hours.
Some cars left by their owners for washing were stolen from different service stations in Doha recently forcing the company to change the system, it has been learnt.
The services centres at Woqod petrol stations work round-the- clock and witness long queues of vehicles most of the time, especially in the evening hours.
To avoid the long waiting, many customers seeking a car wash and other services leave their vehicles at the custody of the staff along with the keys so that they can take it back later, when they are free.
An expatriate who went to a Woqod services centre in the Airport area during the weekend said he had to drop his plan to wash the car because the staff insisted that he has to wait there until the service is done.
“They told me I cannot leave the car and go. They said three cars were stolen at different services centres recently that were left by their owners for washing,” he said.
“I don’t normally go for automatic wash, although it is faster. A manual wash would take two to three hours during peak hours and at least one hour at other times,” he added.
He wondered why the company did not introduce a system to properly monitor the cars, instead of forcing customers to wait longer.
“They issue bills when we give the car for service. Why can’t they cross-check the bills while releasing the cars. There was no system to monitor who was taking which car and this might have led to such incidents,” he added.
A worker at a Woqod petrol station in Doha, while confirming the change in the system said yesterday that customers who come for more than once for service — for instance oil change and car wash — can still enjoy the old privilege.
However, they have to submit a photocopy of their Qatari ID, for the purpose of identification while releasing the cars.
The Peninsula
