I honestly came here thinking WCL was a LOT newer of a company that it turns out it is, if the date these reviews go back to is any indication.
I went to their website weeks ago looking to try their services, but after making numerous phone calls and leaving messages and emails and not hearing back I sent them a final email criticizing their lack of ability to respond in a timely manner.
I then heard back from the owner, Gabriel, who apologized and offered me 50% off of my first laundry service. So I decided to give it a try.
They arranged to pick up my laundry between 4-6. I got an email at around 5:10 (which I didn't see until 5:30) saying that they urgently needed my phone number to give to the pick-up guy. I got it to them and he arrived right at 6:00PM.
I REITERATED TO THE PICK UP GUY that I had been promised 50% off and asked him to remind them of this.
The next morning at around 10AM I received an email letting me know that my full laundry weight was 32 pounds.
The "BIG PLAN" charges you $28.00 for 24 pounds of laundry, and $1.25 for each additional pound.
So that means with 50% off I would be paying $14 initially, then 0.625 cents for each additional pound. That should bring my total to $19.
Because I just had a sinking feeling, I wrote back IMMEDIATELY with this figure and reminded them AGAIN that I had been promised 50% off.
About 30 minutes later I got an email confirming my card had been charged $27.00.
After calling to complain, and leaving a message for Gabriel on his voicemail, and then calling BACK 30 minutes later I reached Gabriel. He informed me that they mistakenly only took off 25%.
This makes no sense to me because if that was the case the charge should have been $28.50.
He told me that rather than reverse the charge or issue a refund he would void the charge entirely. I really don't know what that means. I assume since you can't void just part of a credit card charge that this means he is giving me all of my money back. I suppose I will update this later after A.the overcharge issue is resolved and B.the laundry comes back to me tonight.
Rather hilariously, *AS I WAS WRITING THIS*, I got an email from another employee named Crystal. Her email provided an explanation of the breakdown of charges and the same 25% error. The math in THAT email was also completely wrong.
Clearly there are some massive communication issues going on at Wash Cycle Laundry, and I am really REALLY bummed out about it. Their philosophy of a totally green process was super appealing to me, and not to 'go there' but I have a decent circle of influence and was hoping to spread the word about a great new service I had found.
*EDIT - okay. So the amount did get immediately returned, which really was a shock to me because my bank is CRAZY ADAMANT that they ALWAYS force a 10 day hold on reversed transactions... and Gabriel did (reluctantly) agree to comp the entire order. To quote him: "I guess I can...comp the order, if that's what you want me to do."
I mean. Yeah. Kinda, man. I kinda do want you to do that.
I am upgrading this review to two stars because in the end they did the right that, and in a world of jagoffs that matters a LOT... but I will still be back to review the actual job they've done on my laundry. Unsurprisingly, I am wary...
**SECOND EDIT - I am pleased to report that the quality of the job itself was superb. The laundry was clean and odorless, folded; the heavier items (jeans) were still a bit wet but that is hardly the end of the world. It just makes things all the more unfortunate that they worked out the way they did. I also got an email from Gabriel, after the fact, that made me a little uncomfortable. I would describe it as 'cloying'; he had read the YELP review and was essentially pushing for a star-upgrade without asking outright. Lots of apologies coupled with admissions of fault and justifications of why things went wrong. So...that was unique.
(Then he butt dialed me the next day.)
I will say this to conclude: they really messed up and it was unfortunate that THIS kind of mess-up happened with this PARTICULAR customer. I'm really not generally a fussy patron. There are very specific parts of the customer/business relationship that I am extremely strict about, and communication is the #1 thing. Often times more than the product/service itself. I will accept sub-par service from a business with whom I can actively, clearly and efficiently communicate because time is a huge commodity to me.
Hopefully, though, they learned and it won't happen to anyone else. The actual service provided was impeccable. And, yes, Gabriel - as you reminded me in your email - I *DID* get the service for free. Thank you for providing that consideration in light of the extremely annoyance filled transaction overall. read more