I stopped in on Saturday, 11/17/18 and dropped off a few items for cleaning. I asked the 2 young attendants how much it would cost me because I'd never been there before, and their menu board was a little confusing for me. The young man sorted through my clothes, all the while referring back to his menu board behind him, and gave me an estimate of $20 to $25. I was told that my credit card would be charged when my order was ready, which would be on Monday after 5 p.m. I got a notice from my credit card company on my phone on Monday afternoon which informed me that I was charged $44.24 by the Tide Dry Cleaners.
I went to pick up my clothes that evening (11/19/18), and when the 2 young clerks (not the same 2 as the ones who helped me on Saturday) gave me my garments, I asked them if they could tell me why it was so much more expensive than what I was quoted. They referred me to the manager, and a gentleman came to the counter and asked me what was wrong. I replied that my bill was nearly double what I was told it would be when I left my apparel with them two days earlier. He acted surprised that I was given an estimate, and he explained that it wasn't company policy to tell people how much their bill would be in advance. He went on to say that that was the reason for his menu board, and it would be wrong for me to hold up a line of customers who would be angry over having to wait while I figured out how much I would be charged. He concluded by saying that he would talk to his employees about their faux pas.
I responded that it is perfectly reasonable for a customer to find out how much a service would cost before accepting an offer to have the service rendered. At this, the manager began to argue, repeating that this was the reason for the menu board. I have a question for Tide: If one of their own employees can't give me an accurate estimate of charges using the menu, what makes them think that a first-time customer could make sense of it?
Since the manager started repeating and rephrasing his argument, I repeated mine. I again stated that it is reasonable for a customer to know how much he'd have to pay before agreeing to the service. I also pointed out to him that there was no one in the store on Saturday other than the 2 clerks, so I wasn't holding up a line or upsetting any other customers.
The manager just continued to argue. When I saw that I was getting nowhere with him, I said, "You know what? I want to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving. Please lose my information, because this is the last time you'll see me here." As I turned to leave, the manager said that he had the right to refuse service to anyone, and he ordered me to leave (even though I was already halfway out the door).
I told him I was leaving and would not be back, and I continued walking toward my car. The manager followed me into the parking lot, got out his phone, took a picture of my license plate, and told me he was going to report me for harassment. He was on his phone (I assume with the police) as I was driving away.
The manager is correct. As an American businessman, he has the right to refuse service to anyone, including me, and he doesn't even have to have a reason. But in a free market system such as ours, I also have the ability to spend my money at his competitor and even give his establishment the worst kind of review I possibly can, which is precisely what I'm doing here. The Tide company may not have to serve the likes of me, but they would do well to learn that every individual who walks through their doors deserves to know how much it will cost for a service and, if they're overcharged in the end, they further have the right to respond to a breach of contract, be it verbal or written.
I have never been treated with such contempt as I was by Tide Dry Cleaners. My recommendation to all is that you take your business anywhere but there, unless, of course, you don't mind being "taken to the cleaners."
11/30/18: Update to the review posted on 11/20/18. I haven't heard back from the general manager yet (see his comments at the bottom of my review). I understand that my case doesn't have to be anyone's top priority. However, I thought it would be appropriate to let everyone know that I called 3 dry cleaners near Tide (the furthest was a little over 3 miles away). I gave them the same list of garments that I had cleaned at Tide, and I asked them for an estimate of charges. One was $6.00 more than what Tide charged me, another was $6.00 less, and the third was $16.00 less than Tide. So Tide was the second most expensive of the four cleaners. Be that as it may, that is not the point I want to make. My objective here is to show Tide that it is indeed possible for a dry cleaning service to give prospective customers a price for their services prior to the service being rendered, and it can be done cheerfully without threats being made to the customer. read more
