I am not usually one to write a bad review but this is one situation where I feel my story must be heard.
I have been a loyal customer to this dry cleaner for over a year now and 3 weeks ago I took two items (a dress and sweater) to be cleaned.
When I picked up my items and took them home, I went to hang my sweater up and noticed that on the front there was a lighter coloured patch. When I went to feel it, it felt as if the material was completely changed, hardened, and almost looked melted. It was very noticeable and the sweater was ruined.
But my story isn’t about how they ruined my sweater. Mistakes happen, that’s the risk of going to a dry cleaner. My story is about how they treated me through this whole process.
I went back the next day and spoke with one of the employees. She said she would send it back to them (them being this “third party” company that does all the cleaning, and apparently makes all the decisions…). I also asked what usually happened in these scenarios and she told me that their policy was 10x the cost of the cleaning service. Given the sweater was worth over $150, the $70 I would be getting back didn’t even come close to compensating so I told her that we could discuss more once she heard back. Two days went by. I was supposed to receive a phone call but when I didn’t I went in to talk to someone. She pushed me aside and asked me to wait until the 4 other customers behind me were served (I am guess she didn’t want a scene). She then told me that they told her there’s no way they could have ruined the sweater and that I was responsible. I was so offended but she just shrugged at me. I then said I was not going to accept the $70 and that I would want at least $100 for the sweater. She said she would have to call and ask. She called me Saturday and said that they would not pay more than $70 and I also found out that to be able to get this “compensation” they would need to keep my sweater. I said absolutely not, that it was my property, and that payment was not an agreement of passing ownership, it was payment for damage. As a consumer I could respect the 10x policy on the back of the receipt but nowhere was it written that they could keep my property, damaged or not. She told me that if I wanted to keep the sweater they would only give me $35 in compensation. This argument went back and forth for about a week and a half over the phone, until I finally went into the store to talk face to face. At that moment (as silly as it felt) I broke down in tears from the frustration, lack of respect, and overall situation. I tried to plead my case one more time and then 6 days later I received call saying there was no change in their response.
After all this, feeling backed into a corner with no choice, I accepted the $70 with great pain knowing that they took full advantage the situation. I was accused of lying, they offered me barely any compensation, they took my property (which was more about the principle of it), and they carried out the situation for 3 weeks instead of trying to resolve it as soon as possible. It was also incredibly frustrating that they had to keep going to this “third party” person and it took days, even a week, to get an answer.
As I stated, I know people make mistakes but knowing how I was treated I would never return to this dry cleaner again.
I don’t know if anyone has ever experienced something like this before at any dry cleaner. I would love to hear your story. Any tips on consumer rights? Better Business Bureau? The Canadian Fabricare Association?