TLDR: They said they could get out stains. Didn't get out the stains. Called me a liar when I reminded them that they told me they could get out the stains before I let them take my rug. Repeatedly yelled at me and cut me off during the entirety of a 15-minute call.
I had an Oriental vintage wool rug, 8x10, that needed cleaning. I called the company, provided the exact details, and received a quote over the phone.
The following day, the company arrived to take my rug. It was already in my car. When the pickup person arrived, he did a bait-and-switch and said it would cost twice as much as what I was quoted on the phone. I told him we needed to open the rug on the sidewalk because I needed to be sure he could get the stains out, given the new price is now twice what I was told. I told him if he didn't think he could get the stains out, don't worry about it, and I could just clean it myself.
He didn't want to open the rug but eventually agreed. I pointed out several stains, and he said he could remove them all. For example, one stain in particular was t-shaped and in the middle of the rug. I asked him about it, and he said it was just an imprint from the furniture and that it would come out during his cleaning. Another example I pointed out, he said it wasn't a stain and was just dirt, and he could get it out.
He took the rug. A few days later, I got a text saying he couldn't get two rust stains out. He sent me a video with a voiceover showing the two stains. I said it was fine, the furniture would cover those spots.
Fast forward to the rug being delivered, and not a single stain was taken out. None. Not even the t-mark in the middle of the rug. It wasn't just the two rust spots in the rug -- but every spot I pointed out to him remained.
I told the deliverymen this was not acceptable, since I had been assured these spots would come out. They told me to call the company. The person I then spoke with said to send the rug back and that the manager would call me.
The next morning, I got the nastiest phone call I'd ever received. The person said he was the owner.
As soon as I started explaining the problem, he cut me off and began yelling and berating me. If Yelp allowed me to post the audio, I could share the call's recording. The "owner" said he was the person who picked up the rug. He called me a liar and claimed he never said he could remove the stains.
Why would I have him open a rug in the middle of a dirty NYC sidewalk if not to confirm he could take out the stains?
Throughout the call, every time I tried to speak, he would yell and cut me off, eventually trying to gaslight me into thinking I "misunderstood" him.
At one point, the call got so absurd that he tried to tell me what I'm not "allowed" to say. I told him flat out that I don't know if it's sexism, if he thinks I'm his child, or if he treats all customers like this, but after not being able to get a word in edgewise, I was done with the conversation.
He offered to do a color restoration over the stains, but in what world would I continue to do business with someone so threatening and nasty?
Needless to say, he then told me to just pick up the rug and not worry about payment, which we agreed to. A few minutes later, he texted me and said that, since I said the rug was fine in the video he sent me earlier in the week, he should be compensated.
Apparently, he doesn't understand that a cell phone video shot at a distance isn't going to show that each stain is still in there.
I told him I can't continue engaging with him and am now taking him to small claims court for a rug that didn't receive the agreed-upon service.
There are tons of rug cleaning companies in NYC. Use another one. read more
