I had an amazing experience today. It started with spilling half a batch of crepe batter in the front passenger seat of my new minivan (less than 3000 miles on it!). Think egg + milk + flour + cloth seats. I managed to mop up most of the batter with the roll of paper towels I keep in the glove box, but there was still the layer of batter coating all those little plush-cloth-seat hairs. Normally, I’d get out the carpet cleaner and clean up the mess myself, but I’m 7 months pregnanat and it was cold outside. I could have pulled the van into our little garage, but if I parked with enough room to get out of the driver’s door, I wouldn’t be able to open the passenger door to clean the seat. (That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it.)

So, I decide to splurge and take the car somewhere to get it cleaned. I googled “car detailing” with my city and state and got a short list of nearby detailers. The first site has pictures of Ferrari’s and other high-end cars on it, but I called anyway. A voice recording gives me the option to get directions, but no shop hours. Annoying.

The next listing, Cross Enterprise, doesnt’ have a site, doesn’t even have “car” or “auto” in the company name, but I call the number anyway. Whoa! A real person answers the phone. I explain the situation and that I only want the one seat cleaned. I don’t want to spend the money or the time getting the whole car cleaned since it’s still new and doesn’t need it (in my opinion anyway). She says that one of the guys from the shop would need to see it to give me a price. I figure this is the “get the customer into the shop and then hit them with the bad news after they are commited to your company” ploy, but they are close so I give them a try anyway.

When I get there, I am met by the most pleasant people who genuinely seem to care about me as an individual. They listen to my story and get someone to come out and look. The service technician looks and says, I can try to get it out with what I’ve got here in the shop. If we can’t get it out, we can send it over to our other shop which has more powerful tools and they will be able to get it out. I ask the price, and he says, “don’t worry about it. I won’t charge unless we have to send it to the other shop.”

I’m hesitant, but I let him take the car and try anyway. I go in to wait, still expecting to pay around $50 for the cleaning. Less than 10 minutes later, he brings the car back up with a clean, but slightly damp seat. I ask again how much it will be, and the office manager essentialy says “no-charge, just come back when you need the whole car done.” In addition, the service technician explains that when the seat dries completely, I might see some residue of the batter because they can’t tell if they’ve gotten it all out when the seat is still wet. If I do see residue, just bring it back, and they will clean it again, no charge.

I left feeling like I had been treated like a queen, despite my oversized fleece jacket, black pajama pants, and cheap but new minivan. I guarantee that if I ever need auto detailing, maid service, carpet or upolstery cleaning, or any of the other services offered by Cross Enterprises, I will definitely be back. And if you need any of their services, you’d be crazy to go anywhere else.

While I was there, I checked prices on their auto detailing services. Their prices are competitive too, but they don’t tout it. They don’t need to. Their service followed by the pricing is a one-two punch that can get anyone to come back.

Cross Enterprises Inc
19 Tech Cir, Natick, MA
(508) 652-0097

Update: Turns out they do have a website, but Google Local’s search doesn’t link to it. http://crossservicesgroup.com