Let me share my experience... So, I was looking for a reliable dry cleaner in Mobile as I just moved here. I foind Waite's online, they have a bunch of great reviews and the negative reviews seem to have been addressed by the owner so I felt confident that I would be taken care of and even if something went wrong I'd still be treated right.
So, I called ahead well in advance to ask if I brought something in by close of business when could I expect it to be done and I was informed it would be ready for pick up the following afternoon. I got out of work late but was still able to make it there by close of business. However, I still went ahead and called when I was about 10 minutes out to let them know I was on my way since I would be arriving right before they closed. They we're very amenable to that fact. I arrived right before they closed for the day and I dropped off my items. I was again told I could expect them to be ready the following afternoon.
I arrived to pick them up the next day and I was told that after I dropped off my items their system rebooted and as a result my items got put in the wrong load and they wouldn't be ready until another day later. This was mildly annoying but not a huge deal. It would have been great to receive a courteous call to make me aware of the mistake so I could have avoided leaving work early to come get my items that weren't actually ready like I had been told.
I arrive the next day to pick up my items. They we're ready this time and clean. I asked if I light get a discount since my items weren't ready when I was told they would be ready. The manager, or some guy that seemed to be in charge came out to speak with me. This is where I really take issue with the service I was provided. Up until this point everyone had been very nice and polite despite the error.
The guy in charge came out and again explained to me why my clothes weren't ready the day before. I told him I understood that. He proceeded to explain further why my clothes weren't ready as if my lack of understanding of the mistake they made was the problem. He managed to be both very nice and congenial yet very condescending at the same time. To remind you, at this point I had simply asked the front employee if I might get a discount due to the delay, not why there was a delay. He did not even broach the topic of giving me any kind of a discount at this point. I asked if it was normal for a delay in the cleaning to arise and then the customer to not be called and informed that their items had a new pick up date. Because honestly, that was the biggest inconvenience. He told me that he is just one guy and there is no way he could call everyone and tell them that. He also felt the need to tell me that when they tell someone their items will hb ready by 4:30 the next day that's not a guarantee. Which, I also found somewhat condescending because I never implied or thought that it was a guarantee. However, it does seem to me like prudent business practices to follow through with promises you make and make it up to people when you can't, or, if you find you can't keep those promises on a regular basis change the promises you're making to what you can actually follow through with. He then decided to look at my work badge and mention that he knows the CEO of the hospital and that he's sure he would agree with him on how he's running his business. Which was the 2nd most condescending thing he said and certainly the most irrelevant. However, despite how condescending he was his demeanor was very nice and congenial. While he was saying this the woman behind register ran my card for the full amount. Then came the most condescending thing he said; I must have been noticeably perturbed because as I'm grabbing my items he said, "are you alright, did you want like 3 dollars off or something," very flippantly and only after they ran my card.
I was a first time customer; this isn't the way you earn repeat customers. Dry cleaning is dry cleaning, one chooses a place based on quality of service. I'll just go somewhere else from here on. read more