There’s no car washer like Irfan in Rawalpindi

Rain or sunshine, cheerful and contented Irfan Ahmed, 35, works at a service station located near Rehmanabad. If you stop there, you know Irfan Ahmad. And chances are, Irfan knows you, too.

Having a friendly attitude he enjoys good reputation among the service station customers. He welcomes everybody with a broad smile on his face. The only bread earner of a 9-member family with parents, four brothers and two sisters, he started car wash job five years ago by washing cars with a bucket and sponge. “During internship I was never paid except two meals a day; I loved it so much I did it for free till my meagre salary started. I have since cleaned hundreds of cars. I take up hours to clean each vehicle with an array of cleaning fluids and wax.”

Things have built up from there and now he is cleaning every kind of car. His premier wash includes polishing and buffing every inch of the car inside and out several times. He says: “I’ve always tried to treat people the way I’d like to be treated. “That’s probably one reason I know so many people and so many people know me.”

In fact, if you spend any amount of time with him during working hours, when he is helping someone out to their car, hardly a person can walk by without Irfan greeting them by name. Sans a microscope, he can examine the bodywork for the minutest scratch or blotch not even visible to the naked eye.

''People come and they want the best treatment going for their car. If I wash a car up to the satisfaction of the customer then even a smile in return for cleaning is worth it. ''Sometimes I'll work through the night to get a car looking absolutely pristine. Motors of pleasant people deserve a first class wash. I treat every car like an individual project; I want them to leave my workshop looking better than they have ever done. I have my processes which I go through and I am meticulous about each one.”

''The car has to be free from all contaminants like dust and dirt before you start otherwise it's going to get scratched. I just want perfection. Finishing is the best part because you know what it was like when you started. That gives me great satisfaction.''

The service station owner reluctantly agrees that he was so impressed with Irfan’s work results that he passed on its details to clients and began using Irfan on a regular basis. He says: ''The work just started flying in. Irfan’s reputation was great and word just spread.''