New Manager Revives Palisades Gas-N-Wash

Business is going well these days at Palisades Gas-NWash, located on the edge of the Ralphs/Norris Hardware parking lot.

Since December 2011, the number of employees has increased from 18 to 38 and the number of cars washed, or detailed, daily has gone from 150 and declining, to 250 and increasing.

The owner, Moller Investors, has remained the same, but the difference has been new manager Ray Danieli, a former Israeli Army captain who made numerous changes in his first year on the job.

“There used to be a ‘no’ policy in place,” Danieli told the Palisadian-Post. “Whatever a customer asked for, it was an automatic no, which defeats the purpose of a service-based business.

“Now we’re always ‘yes.’ At the end of the day, we’re here for the community and we have to be attentive to what they want because they’re supporting us.”

One perk for people who have children, Danieli said, is “we sometimes will let them ride in the car during the wash, if there is adult supervision.”

Another change Danieli made was to hire more employees. “This used to be known as the hour-and-a-half car wash,” he said. “Now the average time to wash a car is 25 to 35 minutes.”

Next, the waiting area was enclosed with a fence, wrought-iron furniture was added, and awning and drop-down curtains installed. A public bathroom is now available, along with wi-fi facilities.

“It’s become a place to hang out,” said Danieli, noting that employees received new uniforms and the establishment was painted.

The manager also dealt with the previous lack of oversight of employee scheduling by making sure that everyone had rest and lunch breaks, but not all at the same time. “If you take good care of employees, they are 100 percent more productive,” he said. “Employees are happier, everyone is smiling and they make more money.”

Danieli, who was born and raised in Israel, where he served in the army for five years, came to the United States in 2005. He stayed with relatives and found a job vacuuming cars at a car wash in Lynwood. “I made $6.75 an hour,” he said, adding that anyone starting at a car wash begins by vacuuming. “But, if you’re working in front, you’re not making money. In the Palisades, I rotate workers, so everyone gets a chance at drying cars and making tips.”

Not only did Danieli become fluent in English and then Spanish, he also impressed his boss, who put him in charge of the detail department, then promoted him to assistant manager at a car wash in South Gate a year later. The owner also had Danieli oversee several rental properties, which was fortuitous for him because his future wife, Sivoney, worked at one of them. They were married in 2008.

In early 2009, Danieli was hired by a different company as general manager to oversee four car washes in Los Angeles and Long Beach. Two years later, while looking for a car on craigslist, he saw a job advertisement for Palisades Gas-N-Wash.

Generally, Danieli arrives in the Palisades at 6:30 a.m. six days a week to take care of bookkeeping, taking Tuesday or Wednesday off because they are the slowest days.

“I have a three-month-old daughter, Ellianne,” he said. “She’s definitely my hobby in my spare time.”

In addition to car washes, the Palisades business also does custom detailing, window tinting, rim repair and fleet drop-off, which means that if a customer qualifies, an employee will go to the person’s house, pick up the car, bring it to the station, detail it and return it.

Palisades Gas-N-Wash is open seven days a week 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and until 6 p.m. after daylight-savings time kicks in on March 10.

“The most important thing is that customers are happy when they leave,” Danieli said. Contact (310) 459-9181.