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A car wash has got equal rights campaigners in a lather for only offering discounts to female customers.
USA Hand Car Wash, which has branches in Broad Oak Road in Canterbury and Wyevale Garden Centre in Chartham, offers a ‘ladies’ discount’ several days a week.
A poster at the site says women can get £2 off the price of their wash on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, while male drivers must pay the full cost.
The company also gives discounts to pensioners on Mondays and Wednesdays.
The promotion has been described as akin to gender discrimination by equal rights organisation Parity.
Chairman John Mays branded it “ridiculous” and warned it could prompt people to boycott the business.
He said: “It seems extraordinary to me. So us men have to make sure we go with the wife or girlfriend to be eligible for a discount? It’s ridiculous.
“There doesn’t seem to be any good reason for it from a business perspective. Rather than attracting customers, I think it will turn men off going there.
“I can understand discounts for pensioners, but men and women should pay the same prices. If there’s a discount on certain days, it should apply to everyone.”
"We offer a free water and oil check and 20% off the price of the car wash, because women don’t know how to go under the bonnet" - car wash manager Adion Elezi
But the manager of the car wash, Adion Elezi, was shocked that anyone would describe the offer as sexist.
He said: “We’ve been running the promotion for six years and never had any complaints.
"We offer a free water and oil check and 20% off the price of the car wash, because women don’t know how to go under the bonnet.
“We also check their tyre pressure. It’s nice to give them a little extra. We offer it on our quiet days, and we get a lot of ladies coming along. They love it.
“If anyone thinks it’s sexist, they’ve got a problem themselves – I think it’s outrageous and sick.”
But he said that if he thought people believed it was sexist, he would remove the offer straight away.
