advice on: dry cleaners

[mike@ec]

Can anyone give me advice on what to do..

My wife dropped off her Down filled Jacket (Parajumper) to get dry cleaned, cleaners inspected the jacket and looked at the cleaning label and said they can clean it no issues.

When my wife picked it up, it was wrapped in protective wrap on a hanger, upon un-wrapping the jacket at home we noticed white spots on the jacket, we brought the jacket back to the cleaners to inspect and they said they would take a closer look at it and try to remove the spots.

Well, they couldn't remove the spots after a week, and the cleaners suggested to tell my wife to contact the manufacture to tell them about this.

So any advice on what I should do..?

[wantonebad]

Originally Posted by mike@ec

Can anyone give me advice on what to do..

My wife dropped off her Down filled Jacket (Parajumper) to get dry cleaned, cleaners inspected the jacket and looked at the cleaning label and said they can clean it no issues.

When my wife picked it up, it was wrapped in protective wrap on a hanger, upon un-wrapping the jacket at home we noticed white spots on the jacket, we brought the jacket back to the cleaners to inspect and they said they would take a closer look at it and try to remove the spots.

Well, they couldn't remove the spots after a week, and the cleaners suggested to tell my wife to contact the manufacture to tell them about this.

So any advice on what I should do..?

Most dry cleaners operate autonomously and unilaterally to deny any responsibility or culpability in these situations. My advice is to work with them civilly and at an even keel to find a resolution. Once they get to the point of anger it's over as far as they are concerned and then you have to choose how far you will take it... Better Business Bureau Complaints AG's office complaints and so forth. Usually nothing gets resolved once it goes nuclear so try to get it fixed with them first.

[HL65]

As Marc stated above every dry cleaner different. I can tell you every time my dry cleaner messed up something of mine they replaced for my full cost. Not every dry cleaner is the same and many will blame you and say it was like that prior sadly.

[T. Ferguson]

Yeah, unfortunately there's not much you can do except negotiate in a civil manner, unless you are willing to demonstrate outside the establishment all day every day until they'd be willing to pay you off to get rid of the nuisance. Ultimately the dry cleaner probably rightly figures the chances are slim someone will actually sue them in small claims court.

I typically use two dry cleaners in my area. The much cheaper one for my typical shirts etc., and the better, pricy one for my more expensive items like suits or a good garment with a potentially problematical stain. Sometimes it seems you only get one shot at removing these before they set in permanently.

[azguy]

Ask for dry cleaning credit for the amount of damage and buy a new jacket, they may/will better than giving you cash.

It happens, I've been told labels in clothing are usually less reliable than the cleaners themselves...

[locutus49]

Agree with above advice. They ruined a pair of my pants, expensive wool pants, and repaired it with a patch. First they denied it, but I was polite and talked them into paying half the value. We were regular customers for years, so they did not want to lose our business.

[SPARTAN2161]

Originally Posted by HL65

As Marc stated above every dry cleaner different. I can tell you every time my dry cleaner messed up something of mine they replaced for my full cost. Not every dry cleaner is the same and many will blame you and say it was like that prior sadly.

x2. Just recieved a check in the mail for a Bespoke shirt they messed up

[mike@ec]

ok thanks for the advice.. will try the civil route first, if not then its time for me and all my cousins to start making signs and pickets

[rolio]

I had about $700 in shirts dry cleaned in August. It was suggested by the kid behind the counter to launder them instead of "dry clean"; he said "it's cheaper and they come out cleaner--the only difference." I responded with, but the tags say "Dry Clean Only." The kid said "They all write that on the tags. I do this all the time." Not knowing a thing about dry cleaning, I thought to myself, "well, the kid does work in the business; besides, his mom owns the business. He's gotta know something."

Long story short, they all shrank about 3" in the length when I got them back. Mom and I are meeting on Saturday to discuss a resolution. I don't have $700 to throw around on new shirts every time I go to the dry cleaners. And some of these are irreplaceable-gifts. Moral to the story: Never listen to a kid who has been in the business for a long time (3 years), even if his Mom owns the business.

[dddrees]

Originally Posted by wantonebad

Most dry cleaners operate autonomously and unilaterally to deny any responsibility or culpability in these situations. My advice is to work with them civilly and at an even keel to find a resolution. Once they get to the point of anger it's over as far as they are concerned and then you have to choose how far you will take it... Better Business Bureau Complaints AG's office complaints and so forth. Usually nothing gets resolved once it goes nuclear so try to get it fixed with them first.

Great advice.


Hopefully you have another cleaner locally.

[scottIN]

What was the joke on Seinfeld? "As a general rule, you don't need much of an excuse to murder a dry-cleaner and get away with it."

[rr-nyc]

My wife brought her black Burberry raincoat in for dry cleaning. It came back with some areas lighter than others. We brought it back and they said they followed the manufacturers recommended cleaning process and said it was an issue with Burberry fabric. They suggested we bring it back to Burberry but I insisted they deal with it if they followed their instructions.

They went through the dry cleaners association to deal with the issue and lo and behold, they called my wife two weeks later to say that a representative from Burberry will be in touch. Burberry made arrangements to have the exact coat in her size waiting for pick up at the flagship store.

Some dry cleaners get a bad rap with trying to push off responsibility while others do a fantastic job correcting it. I've experienced both so my suggestion is to go in with a level head. If the dry cleaners is saying its the manufacturers problem, have them broker that conversation because the store will certainly tell you to go back to the dry cleaners.

[SUBversive]

I had a dry cleaner - in my opinion - ruin a top coat once. He said it was an issue to take up with the manufacturer of the coat.

I felt like you .... Seemed like utter bs. He wrote up an opinion as to what happened and why and I took the coat back to where I bought it. I think it was Macy's or something like that. Well, they bought his argument hook line and sinker and I got a new coat on the spot with no receipt from my original purchase.

Mind you I fully agree with the others who state that dry cleaners never take responsibility for anything but in my case I was happy with the outcome.

I wish you luck.

[jmiicustomz]

I have always loved in small towns where everyone knows everyone. I have had a few pieces ruined but I have always had luck being polite and explaining my situation. In my case it may be that a bad rep with one member of a family can kill your business but i figure if they make it right and I am polite we both win and neither their business nor mine need suffer.

Good Luck and be patient,it will all come out in the wash so to speak

Sent from my C771 using Tapatalk 2

[rr-nyc]

I would suggest only taking your clothes to a dry cleaners that are members of some sort of cleaning association. If the cleaner genuinely followed manufacturers recommended cleaning process and still damaged the garment, they provide lab services to the cleaners that they can use to support their contention and help you get a replacement.

Thats the first thing I look for when finding a new cleaners.