I've been coming to Alameda Launderland with my family for years, but my experience with the employee working the evening of September 18 was extremely upsetting.
Throughout the evening, my dad and I were repeatedly spoken to in a condescending and confrontational manner while the employee enforced rules she said came from the owner.
Around 9:30 PM, my dad needed additional change so we could finish our laundry. The employee told him the change machine was turned off after 9:30. She did ultimately turn it back on and help him, but the way she spoke to him while doing so was unnecessarily rude and condescending.
Then, at approximately 9:55 PM, I personally watched her assist another customer with getting change. What stood out to me was the difference in her demeanor. I did not observe the same condescending attitude toward that customer. I was also confused about why customers would be unable to get change after 9:30 if 9:30 is the cutoff for starting a wash, since people who started their laundry before the cutoff may still need quarters to finish drying. In all my years coming here, I personally had never encountered this before.
There was another uncomfortable interaction while I was trying to remove my clothes from one of the dryers. The employee was changing a trash bag directly in front of the area I needed to access. I was standing there waiting to get to my clothes, but she did not move or acknowledge me. Another customer standing behind me eventually spoke up, and only then did the employee move so I could access the dryer.
The biggest issue involved the laundry carts. The employee took a cart I was actively using away from me twice that evening - they were in front of my clothes in the dryers.
There were approximately eight or more other carts available at the time, and I did not see anyone waiting for a cart. It was also already after the 9:30 last-wash cutoff, and we had a large amount of laundry actively drying. Given those circumstances, I questioned why it was necessary to take the carts we were actively using rather than one of the numerous available carts.
She told me this was a "new rule" from the owner and said the owner watches the cameras. She also said she had never seen us there before. We have actually been customers for years, I come regularly, and I have interacted with her before and am aware of the rule. Whether she personally remembers us isn't really the point, but I didn't understand why that was relevant to how we should be treated.
When I questioned why the rules were being enforced so aggressively with us and told her I felt we were being singled out, she told us that if we were the "type of people" who thought we were above the rules, we should go somewhere else.
That was the most upsetting part of the interaction. My dad and I were not saying the rules shouldn't apply to us. We were trying to finish our laundry and go home. Being characterized as the "type of people" who think they're above the rules made the interaction feel personal, as though our character was being judged rather than an employee simply explaining a policy.
Customers can follow rules without being spoken down to, and policies can be enforced without turning an ordinary interaction into a confrontation. I also did not observe the same rigidity in her interactions with other customers who were still finishing their laundry that evening.
I want to acknowledge that the other employees I've encountered here over the years have generally been kind and respectful. This review is about this particular experience.
By the time our laundry finished drying, I was trying to fold our clothes while physically shaking from anger and holding back tears. A routine trip to do laundry should never have left me feeling that upset and unwelcome.
Since the employee specifically told us that the owner monitors the cameras, I hope management reviews the surveillance footage from approximately 9:15-10:00 PM on September 18. I would actually welcome that, because I want management to evaluate the interaction for themselves. read more