Note: This review references pick up and delivery service only and does not in any way reflect the possible in-store experience.
When I searched online and saw that they charged the same price for pick up and delivery as they did for in-store drop off and pick up and I have up to 30 days to pay the bill, I thought I had struck gold.
Figured I had nothing to lose, so I completed the online sign up form and within 24hrs someone replied back to get a few more details and I was off and running on my first pick up and delivery dry cleaning experience. I was provided the pick up and delivery schedule by the company, and was told to leave my clothes outside on Tuesday morning and they would be dropped off at my home on Friday.
Sounds easy enough I thought. And the timing was perfect as I had some family portraits scheduled for Saturday afternoon, so the Friday drop off would have all my clothes back clean and pressed in plenty of time for the photo shoot.
Since this was my first time using this kind of service, I asked them what I should put my clothes in on Tuesday morning, and they said any bag is fine, so I piled all my work shirts, dress shirts, and a tux into a garbage bag and left it on my front porch before I headed to work that morning. I have to admit I felt kinda weird leaving my clothes on the porch like that, as the cynic in me conjured up all these thoughts of roaming bandits stealing dry cleaning off porches, but once I came back to reality, I drove off with my clothes sitting there waiting to be picked up.
When I got home that evening, the clothes were gone and a dry cleaning bag was left in their place, so all was well and the process was underway with no issues. Unfortunately for me, that is where the smooth sailing ended and the rough waters began...
While I was at work on Friday, I received a phone call from a number I didn't recognize and they did not leave a message. I called the number back and it was the delivery contact at the cleaners. I left him a message so he could call me back as I thought maybe they were just giving me a heads up that they were about to drop off my clothes or that they would be there later that day.
Anyway, I get home from work around 4pm and my clothes are not there. Hmmm, I thought, that's kinda weird. I contacted the delivery contact and still no reply to my messages. Later that evening, I sent him an email and still no reply. Another email later that evening, another non-response. I left him a voicemail to let him know that I needed the clothes and that he needed to call me back...no response... So much for Tuesday pickup and Friday delivery =(
Saturday morning comes, another call at 8:30am, another non-response. I called the brick and mortar store and they said I had to call him. I contacted another brick and mortar location in the chain, and again they told me to call him. I explained how exasperated I was, and they did a good job as they put me in contact with another resource who they said would be able to reach him even though he was off on Saturdays.
I called the other resource and she was very apologetic and did end up getting in touch with him. She originally said the clothes had been delivered, but then came back and said that wasn't true and that they were still at the store. She said a driver would be over right away. About an hour or so later, a driver finally arrived with my clothes which apparently had been sitting there on Friday and just never got delivered..
Needless to say this was a frustrating and disappointing experience to say the least. I haven't received a follow up call or email yet, but my hope is that the company will rectify this situation, since they clearly dropped the ball and did not deliver as promised (deliver haha...that was pretty weak I know LOL).
At the end of the day, things happen, but in situations like this, it is imperative for companies to over-communicate vs keep silent. If they would have just left me a voice mail on Friday explaining what was going on, I would definitely have a different view, but there is nothing worse than being left in the dark wondering what is going on vs having a company step up and communicate every step of the way.
May try a different company in the future as this hasn't completely soured me on the pick up and delivery concept for dry cleaning as I still think it is a great idea and a cool convenience, but these guys just weren't a good fit for me, as customer service plays a HUGE role in my decision making process and these guys unfortunately just didn't deliver.
***UPDATE*** In the interest of fairness, I do want to point out that two days after posting this review, I received an email from the manager apologizing for their error and extending me full credit on my entire order. This was a fantastic gesture on the part of the business, and I commend them for their ownership of the error and their follow up to make things right.