Has anyone done these car wash shops which require an audio recording? Have you just put your phone on the arm rest or something. It says to hold it near the window, I would find that extremely awkward.

Does this have to with the sound a duck makes? I've done a couple of those a long, long time ago. I haven't done any recently.

Set it on top of the sun visor with the microphone pointing toward the window? If you have any sort of external microphone, that also works.

Oh, and test before you go! You should feel confident that what you are doing is going to be enough.

It's been a couple of two or three years since the last time, and I mean the last time I did one of those. I find them a pain in the butt..... I always had problems downloading the the audio to the report.... And the report had a couple of narratives if I remember correctly. I got in trouble once because I could not tell if the person directing me in the car wash was a male or female. I was describing the person in real time, and I switched from male to female to female to male, back to female to I really don't know. The name badge was backwards or something too, so that did not help.

I am not sure which one you are referring to, but there is one in my area that requires a video and audio. I have found it too difficult to do alone. Now when I do one, I am the passenger and film and my husband drives. I always get a 10/10. Sometimes I feel like its obvious, but with the requirements, I do not see any other option. The company wants the interaction as the purchase is made and also the director as the shopper enters the wash bay. This requires the phone to move with the director to capture the director waving into the drivers side window. How do you caputre all that is required with the phone propped up in one spot?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/29/2025 10:22AM by gigishopper.

I did my first one this month. I just held the phone in my hand with the screen facing away from the guy.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/29/2025 01:13PM by MsJudi.

I did two of these locations earlier this month. In both of the locations near me, you get out of the car and eventually walk parallel to the wash tunnel to the cashier. I held the phone in my hand and recorded the greeter. For the second shop, I paused the recording after the greeter and restarted it when I reached the cashier. The greeter at both of these locations is close to thd tunnel so it is very noisy and the recording quality is not great.

The problem with holding the phone, is driving with one hand, holding the phone in the other and placing your car in neutral (all while filming the director). Im not that coordinated and if I prop my phone, it doesn't move with the employee.

The two locations near ne require putting the car in park and exiting the car before the greeter walks over and starts talking. That makes holding the phone while recording much easier. Otherwise I would put it in my shirt pocket.

@gigishopper wrote:

The problem with holding the phone, is driving with one hand, holding the phone in the other and placing your car in neutral (all while filming the director). Im not that coordinated and if I prop my phone, it doesn't move with the employee.

And this is why getting a pair of smart glasses may seems like a good idea in situation like this

@kisekinecro wrote:

@gigishopper wrote:

The problem with holding the phone, is driving with one hand, holding the phone in the other and placing your car in neutral (all while filming the director). Im not that coordinated and if I prop my phone, it doesn't move with the employee.

And this is why getting a pair of smart glasses may seems like a good idea in situation like this

Low budget activities don't pay for high priced toys, though. Even the sporting arena compliance shops only provide you a basic button camera.

I got a pair of glasses off amazon for less than $50 and they take good video. You just wear these and where ever you are looking is what it captures. You just have to remember to not keep turning your head. Just keep looking straight. $50 for a pair if you are going to do enough shops is worth the investment.

@Deedeezthoughts wrote:

@kisekinecro wrote:

@gigishopper wrote:

The problem with holding the phone, is driving with one hand, holding the phone in the other and placing your car in neutral (all while filming the director). Im not that coordinated and if I prop my phone, it doesn't move with the employee.

And this is why getting a pair of smart glasses may seems like a good idea in situation like this

Low budget activities don't pay for high priced toys, though. Even the sporting arena compliance shops only provide you a basic button camera.

First of all. It can be consider business investment/expenses that can be written off while filing income tax by the end of the year. And a pair of smart eyeglasses isn't just one time use tool. It can be used on multiple occasions during your business adventures.

Secondly, if you pair smart glasses with prescription lenses and you have HSA account, chances are HSA would cover the cost of the smart glasses frame, as long as you pair it up with prescription lenses, at the very least those meta ray ban would qualify.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/29/2025 03:25PM by kisekinecro.

I will check into this. The car wash shops that I am referring to often bonus up to $40 plus reimbursement. One shop would almost pay for a pair and I would have a cool new toy.

@hbbigdaddy wrote:

I got a pair of glasses off amazon for less than $50 and they take good video. You just wear these and where ever you are looking is what it captures. You just have to remember to not keep turning your head. Just keep looking straight. $50 for a pair if you are going to do enough shops is worth the investment.

Make sure to check out the video quality and stabilizer before using them for video shop. Some of those cheap one have very had stabilizer and our head tend to wabble pretty badly and would result in super dizzy video output.

@gigishopper wrote:

I will check into this. The car wash shops that I am referring to often bonus up to $40 plus reimbursement. One shop would almost pay for a pair and I would have a cool new toy.

@hbbigdaddy wrote:

I got a pair of glasses off amazon for less than $50 and they take good video. You just wear these and where ever you are looking is what it captures. You just have to remember to not keep turning your head. Just keep looking straight. $50 for a pair if you are going to do enough shops is worth the investment.

Another thing I am thinking about the audio output,,,do they require file upload for the audio? If not How about investing into a dash cam? There's plenty of dash cam that would be recording audio as well and since it is always sticking to the window, you would be recording the voice and no one would feel weird about it.

You are also potentially be recording the process too(it would be the front only of course unless you point the camera towards you, which is possible btw). Just pull the SD card out and export the video to your computer and work on that portion, or export the video from the app(for the fancy ones)

And on top of that you can use it for your daily and if you ever get into car accident (touch wood), it could be your evidence to proof that it is other side's fault

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/29/2025 05:05PM by kisekinecro.

The problem with a dash cam is that for the shops I am referring to, you have to video (with sound) the entire interaction with the service advisor and the director. The service advisor stands beside the drivers side window. A dash cam would not pick that up. The company suggests to sit your cell phone in the cup holder. That is all fine and dandy until you have to then pick up the phone and hold it while driving towards the bay. Once the director says, "neutral, please," then what? where does the third hand come from? I tried this several times solo and only failed once. I accidentally dropped my phone and lost 8 seconds of content since my phone was on the floor under my feet. The company rejected the shop. I explained that for safety reasons, I did not see how it was possible to drive, film the interactions that they wanted AND hold the phone AND put my car in neutral. I will also add that they want the director waving into the drivers side window as you enter the bay. Think about it..if the camera is facing straight ahead, how does one pivot the camera to capture this without holding the phone? A dash cam is useless.

For anyone wondering, this is the Ohio based car wash company who has the same name as the Jersey sandwich shops.

I now only pick these up if someone else can drive. Its too stressful otherwise.

@kisekinecro wrote:

Another thing I am thinking about the audio output,,,do they require file upload for the audio? If not How about investing into a dash cam? There's plenty of dash cam that would be recording audio as well and since it is always sticking to the window, you would be recording the voice and no one would feel weird about it.

You are also potentially be recording the process too(it would be the front only of course unless you point the camera towards you, which is possible btw). Just pull the SD card out and export the video to your computer and work on that portion, or export the video from the app(for the fancy ones)

And on top of that you can use it for your daily and if you ever get into car accident (touch wood), it could be your evidence to proof that it is other side's fault

I just did my first car wash audio. I put it in the armrest in the door so it wasn't visible to the employee. Worked great and shop was approved.

Who knew there were so many different recorded car wash shops?!

OP, I'm sure you will figure something out. If holding the phone is your best option because you will need to take it along when you get out of the vehicle, get a crossbody phone lanyard and just wear it with the phone attached. Those hold the phone upside down which is the best position for audio recording and they are inexpensive.

I just can't emphasize enough that you should test before you go. Make sure you don't have to overcome obstacles in front of the targeted employees.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/29/2025 06:29PM by Deedeezthoughts.

I have an app that I need to turn off my car when I try to use my phone. So I get the front of the tline, turn off my motor and place the phone on the armrest near the open window. It seems to sork fine. My problem is finding the audio when I get home.

A bit off topic, but I was a bit confused about this shop. I presume they are different in different areas, but around here, a guy greets you and finds out what type of wash you want. Then you get out of your car and walk through a walkway next to the tunnel to a cashier. I wasn't sure if they wanted the name and audio of the greeter person or the cashier. I did what another poster did above and got both but only the greeter's name, which I awkwardly had to ask him for. The form and guidelines made it seem like the greeter is also the cashier and you stay in the vehicle during the wash. However, my shop was approved with a "10." But, I was stressed during it and I don't enjoy stressful shops. I might do it again when my car needs it.

Put the phone in your top shirt or jacket pocket when recording. Works fine for me. Or test how it works left on the seat between your legs. Any problem with downloading the audio, save it to your computer as an email attachment to later download.

@MsJudi.... Yes, who knew there were so many different car wash shops. Since no one has mentioned an MSC, the one I am referring to is Quick Quack. Unless the rules have changed, it required audio recording only, and you do not get out of your car. Don't forget to use the vacuum to clean the inside and keep that audio rolling. It has been a few years for me, but I did about 4 or 5 of em until I decided enough. I don't like them.