Up until recently, I've been going to this place for years. But I'll tell everyone I know not to go there. Here's why:
Back in February, after I paid for my cleaning, I reached for my shirts and noticed that one of them was outside the plastic bag. As I asked the clerk about it, I began to inspect the shirt for myself. I found that there was a rip, approximately four inches long, down the front of my shirt.
The owner of the company, Jay Patel, happened to be walking by at the moment I was expressing my incredulity to the clerk at 1) not having been notified of the destruction of the shirt before nearly walking out and going home with it, and 2) having paid for the cleaning of a shirt that had been destroyed. The owner explained that the clerk was a new employee. Indeed, I did not remember having seen her before in my three years of patronizing Image Cleaners. I conceded that she may not yet have been trained on how to properly handle the situation.
However, rather than explaining to me how I would be compensated for the destruction of my shirt, the owner proceeded to 1) suggest that I may have brought the shirt in already damaged, 2) educate me on the concept of 'wear and tear,' and 3) give me the general run-around. When I demanded to know what his store's policy was for this sort of thing, he informed me that it was to compensate at ten times the rate of the cleaning charge. For shirts, the cleaning charge is $1.49, so the total would be $14.90. I objected that this was not a fair policy, especially since this shirt--approximately one year old and worn perhaps twice per month--was a fairly expensive shirt. I have the original receipt for the shirt; it had been purchased in February of 2009 for a sale price of $71.60.
I visited two competitors within spitting distance of Image Cleaners. Both Jack Brown Cleaners and Star Brite Cleaners indicated to me that if a shirt was destroyed while under their care, and the customer had the original receipt, they would compensate the customer for the amount paid for the shirt as shown on the receipt.
He refuses to settle for less than $14.90. Incredibly bad experience--no way to treat a long-time customer--or any customer.
Pros: location
Cons: thieves
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