If you're looking for a place to overcharge you for wet laundry, refuse to provide a full refund, and leave a young college student feeling taken advantage of, then this is the place for you.
My college student recently had her washing machine break, leaving her with a load of wet clothing that urgently needed to be washed and dried. She took the laundry to Tide Cleaners Seaboard Station for their wash-and-fold service, trusting that her clothes would be handled properly. She understood that the service was $3.19 per pound and was prepared to pay the appropriate amount.
When she went to pick up her laundry, she was shocked to discover a bill of nearly $175 for just one bin of clothing. We later learned that this location had charged her based on the weight of the laundry while it was still wet, rather than weighing the clothing dry. Because the laundry was saturated, the weight was significantly higher than it should have been.
This was essentially all the money she had available, and she was understandably distraught. I advised her to return to the store and ask that the laundry be weighed dry. According to the weight on their own scale, at the advertised rate of $3.19 per pound, she had been overcharged by approximately $110.
After multiple conversations and emails with the manager, Matt, and the owner, Tim, a partial refund was eventually issued. However, we were still overcharged nearly $60.
What was even more disappointing was how the situation was handled. During one of my conversations with Matt, he rudely told me that she should have gone to a laundromat. I found this response completely unprofessional and inappropriate, particularly given that she was a young college student who had experienced an unexpected problem and was simply trying to get her laundry taken care of. He nearly hung up on me and has not responded to subsequent emails, even after the owner, Tim, responded and referred me back to Matt.
The issue here is not simply the money. It is the lack of transparency, fairness, and willingness to take responsibility when an obvious problem was brought to their attention. Tide Cleaners Seaboard Station had an opportunity to make this right and chose not to fully do so.
We will never use this location again. I'm sharing this experience in the hope that other customers -- especially students who may be dealing with an unexpected situation -- understand exactly how the charges may be handled and don't find themselves in the same position read more
