(no subject)

[chelseagirl]

stressiness lies beneath: When things get busy and stressed, I treat myself to sending out the laundry, even though we've got machines in the basement. Two washers and two dryers for 36 units, at least one-third of which are occupied by two people, so not *enough* washers and dryers, but . . . So, last week I sent out the laundry. And was busy so didn't unwrap it for a few days, as M. and I each had enough socks and underwear still clean. (If we were to run out, I could not actually *carry* the laundry.)

The bath towels did not come back. Worst, the ones that are left are mismatched, one from each set. And yes, we have other towels, but they are smaller and older and I want *these* ones, dammit.

So the lady at the laundry place took my name and number and then was curtly dismissive. When I said I had expected a bit more from her, she actually said "what, do you want a hug?" "No, a promise of recompense if they don't turn up, since you lost my property." I cannot express how rude and satirical she was when she said what she did. Nor how very much she will never get another cent of business from me. But . . . she lost my stuff and then she *mocked* me? It's not like I went in all indignant; I was calm and collected, just incredulous that I got no offer of compensation. When the dry cleaner lost a couple of M.'s shirts we got an apology and credit. Not nearly enough to cover replacement value, but a gesture nonetheless.

This happened days ago and clearly, I'm still stunned when I think about it.

Comments

[ajinamoto.livejournal.com]

How rude! I'd be totally pissed off, totally. You're right to be angry at the woman. Is she the owner or can you report her and inform them they'll never get your business again, nor that of anyone you know.

My dry cleaner's truck was robbed and I lost some stuff that I really needed. I went out and bought replacements, gave the bill to the lady and got reimbursed. I was quite impressed. Now, this dry cleaner is in my building and they have a half-door thing in the back of the store that the residents use, so it could be I was a potential troublemaker, but still.

[chelseagirl.livejournal.com]

She's the owner; her English is clearly not that good, but her "the customer is always wrong" attitude is bizarre.

[silme.livejournal.com]

Ah, I'd missed that. Well, in that case, you're still a lawyer, right? :)

anti-Customer Service

[studiesinlight.livejournal.com]

That's amazing. Does she have some sort of monopoly in the area?

Sending out laundry is not something I've ever done; actually, it's not even something that I knew real people could do. (This gives a new dimension to certain jokes about Nick Knight, actually.) How is it supposed to work, when they do not lose your things and provide anti-Customer Service? What do you mean by "unwrap," and how is it that you could not carry it?

Re: anti-Customer Service

[chelseagirl.livejournal.com]

No, I've been looking for other places and there are several so how she can get away with the rudeness is beyond me. Another *customer* apologized for her rudeness and told me they'd always made good to him when his things were lost -- either finding them or repaying him. But she couldn't be bothered to tell me that -- she actually thrust out her arms in a mock hug gesture while she was saying what she said.

You take your laundry to them in a bag and they do it for you; usually you pay by the pound. When I lived in a building with no laundry and worked 'til at least 7:30 every night this was a necessity as I could not spend my precious free time at a laundromat. (Plus I rarely made it home in time to get a whole wash and dry in before they closed.) Normally everything comes back clean and freshly folded. By unwrapping I simply meant I never opened up the bag to see what was in it -- though as they close them with fancy knotwork, it is very much an unwrapping type process. As for being unable to carry it, that was about if *all* of our socks and underwear had been dirty and I had been under more necessity to put the stuff away right away -- that'd just be too much stuff to carry!

Re: anti-Customer Service

[studiesinlight.livejournal.com]

Thank you for the explanation! I wonder if my not encountering this service before has to do with my never having lived in a very, very dense urban area or whether it has a west-coast/east-coast component. I hadn't thought of modern residential buildings with no laundry facilities. (My building's machines charge too much, so most people with families go out to the laundromat; I don't mind a few extra quarters for the convenience, since I don't have as much to wash.)

Based on the extremely limited evidence of your encounter . . . If this were a fiction, I would next speculate that there might be a component of sexism or ageism in the owner's bitterly uncalled-for, condescending sarcasm toward you. After all, you're a pretty young woman, and the other customer who spoke to you was a man . . . But that would be fiction, where all the details count. I'm less competent with real life.

What I hate most about these sorts of encounters is that even though you did nothing wrong, they haunt you. It's not fair!

Re: anti-Customer Service

[chelseagirl.livejournal.com]

That's exactly it -- dense urban areas. And remember, a lot of the nicest buildings in NYC, for example, are 19th c. brownstones or at least pre-WWII deco buildings. Converted brownstones very often don't have laundry available to tenants. More modern buildings do tend to have better laundry facilities and sometimes sufficient plumbing that tenants can have their own washer/dryers if the place is big enough. But they're so often characterless. I always go for the plaster walls and the interesting layouts, at the price of sometimes ancient plumbing and etc.

[silme.livejournal.com]

What a bitch! I think it's time to give the Better Business Bureau a call. If there's a local rag for the neighbourhood, I might write a letter to it also -- after you receive recompense.

Want a hug? Sheesh. She knows she's at fault and just can't admit it.

Is she the owner, btw?

[chelseagirl.livejournal.com]

I don't feel like there's a whole lot I can really do except take my business elsewhere. She's using her poor language skills as a shield and it's hard to get around that.

[silme.livejournal.com]

Well, she knows English well enough to be sarcastic and ask if you want a hug. I just hope she follows through as that other costumer said.

But I'd take my business elsewhere. Having poor language skills doesn't mean she has to be rude.