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Dry cleaning dilemna: Valet Service Cleaners didn't deliver my shirt

tonylumpkin

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Originally Posted by TCN
So I gather you wouldn't take it on contingency? ;-)

I would, but only if my percentage included the collar and cuffs!
smile.gif
 

lawyerdad

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Originally Posted by TCN
You make an interesting point, and let me answer by way of a brief anecdote.

A friend of mine informed me today via e-mail discussion that his wife had had a particularly valuable item destroyed in transit by UPS. The item was insured, and he was writing a claim letter (or some such) to UPS to recoup the insurance. He also stated that if UPS didn't pay the value of the item (up to the insurance amount purchased - at an additional cost) that he would be turning this over to the family attorney.

I wrote back telling him to just contact the lawyer. He responded with a diatribe about being too quick to resort to bullying tactics. I informed him that UPS denies all claims based on damage, it's corporate policy, and that they were the ones bullying him at this point.

My point with this is that while I loathe litigation (I have filed one personal lawsuit in my life - dry cleaning btw), I recognize that in a competitive business atmosphere, the instance of businesses that "do the right thing" grows scarce, and sometimes you have to fight fire with fire. Afford the business the chance to make things right, if that doesn't work, take the next step.

FWIW, if a coworker ends up discovering that they took the shirt, I think Teddie should pay back his cleaners settlement with interest. ;-)


Fair enough. My take on teddie's situation results from both a prejudice against unnecessary litigation and the combination of the relatively limited amount in controversy and what I see as the iffy merits of the proposed claim. I certainly agree that there may be circumstances where taking a firm stand is warranted even if the monetary value of what's at issue is small.
 

teddieriley

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Originally Posted by TCN
FWIW, if a coworker ends up discovering that they took the shirt, I think Teddie should pay back his cleaners settlement with interest. ;-)

Hey, I'm all for that. Sorry for all my text dense replies but here was my proposal from above:

I'm thinking of telling him look, you reimburse me the cost of the shirt as it is the right thing to do from a business standpoint. And if it resurfaces by someone at the office, I will return double that. Now if he's motivated, he can offer the $185 to people here at the office as a "reward" and he can get his money back. If the shirt resurfaces because he finds it somewhere else (cleaners or other client's site), then he's the one out of luck.

That's how confident I am he didn't deliver it in the first place and that no one here took it, mistake or otherwise.
 

TCN

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You're a better man than me, I just hate dry cleaners. Kidding. ;-)

It's funny, while I doubt any of us are going broke with our clothing obsessions (at least I hope not), we're not spending insignificant sums, and having to drop our "precious" items off for cleaning is an act requiring a certain amount of faith. For most people, it's no big deal; if the cleaners lose a shirt, they lose a shirt. But to many here, it represents a significant expenditure in terms of time and money.

Another odd thing, is that I don't think dry cleaning or shirt laundering prices have risen much historically in relation to other items and services.
 

TCN

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Originally Posted by teddieriley
Hey, I'm all for that. Sorry for all my text dense replies but here was my proposal from above:

I'm thinking of telling him look, you reimburse me the cost of the shirt as it is the right thing to do from a business standpoint. And if it resurfaces by someone at the office, I will return double that. Now if he's motivated, he can offer the $185 to people here at the office as a "reward" and he can get his money back. If the shirt resurfaces because he finds it somewhere else (cleaners or other client's site), then he's the one out of luck.

That's how confident I am he didn't deliver it in the first place and that no one here took it, mistake or otherwise.


A few quick questions . . .

Are you an associate, do any partners use this service? If so, run it by them before you start playing hardball.

Would you still use the guy in the future if he came up with a settlement you could stomach?
 

teddieriley

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Originally Posted by TCN
A few quick questions . . .

Are you an associate, do any partners use this service? If so, run it by them before you start playing hardball.

Would you still use the guy in the future if he came up with a settlement you could stomach?


(1) I'm not 100% certain partners don't use the service, but most likely not. I suspect their laundry is taken care of at home. It's more staff and younger lazier associates who use this. I say this, because whenever I go through the clothes looking for my mine, I have NEVER seen a partner's name on an invoice.

(2) My firmwide e-mails exclude the partners. The last thing I need is a partner to think I care more about my shirt than my work. And again, considering (1) above, it would be a waste of their time to include them in the e-mail circulation for what really, is something petty (to most people, not to me obviously). Additionally, I will handle this to the best of my ability as a personal matter. I will not drag the firm into this a they really just give the closet space and obviously do not care what happens between cleaner and us.

(3) If cleaner reimburses me in full, and still cares to have me as a customer, I will take all my non-custom things to him and realize from this point forward that anything is a risk. I will just wash my own shirts and iron them, although I really need to evaluate if it's worth my time (that's less time spent on SF!). Otherwise, if I do leave it in the closet, I will make it clear we should, hell, even as between the other customers, come up with some policy or safeguards in place. He has to evaluate whether that might come at added cost to his business that he's willing to assume. He seems unprepared for this, because according to him, this hasn't happened before. yah right.
 

Sartorially Challenged

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If cleaner reimburses me in full, and still cares to have me as a customer, I will take all my non-custom things to him and realize from this point forward that anything is a risk.
I wonder whether, at that point, the cleaner ought to ask you to find another cleaner.

See: http://blog.washingtonpost.com/rawfi...rou_momen.html

Indeed, back in 2002, when there was a problem with one of Pearson's pants, Custom cut him a check for $150, the replacement value of the garment. The Chungs took Pearson at his word that that was what he would have to pay for new pants; he never produced a receipt for the replacement purchase, nor did the Chungs even ask him for one.

But the Chungs subsequently asked Pearson to take his business elsewhere; the encounter with the customer was difficult enough that the family decided to ask him to find another dry cleaners where he might be happier with the service. But Pearson protested, asking the family to let him return to the fold of customers at Custom, in part because it was so convenient to his house, but also because he had been a satisfied customer. The family relented, a decision they surely rue today.
 

Sartorially Challenged

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lawyerdad:

I only wish there were more barristers of your temperament.
 

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