I have had Dilley Dry Cleaning clean my dress shirts weekly for the last year. I had a custom $250 Hamilton shirt made in December 2007 along with four other shirts. The total cost of the shirts was $1200. All five of these shirts are worn once per week and cleaned once per week by Dilley's.
Monday (05/11/09) I delivered my shirts to be cleaned and returned to pick them up around 6:30pm. The clerk indicated that one of the shirts had been torn by one of their machines. She also indicated that multiple shirts had been damaged that day by the same machine and that it was highly unusual.I was told it was the owner's practice to offer store credit for issues but given the cost of the shirt she would have him call me directly. She took my number, kept the damaged shirt, and indicated he would call.
The following morning (5/12/09) G.G. called me at 8 am to discuss the shirt. He offered a $50 store credit for the shirt. I contested that it was not appropriate given that multiple shirts had been damaged by his machines in the same day and that his clerk had indicated it was an unusual occurrence. His reasoning for the $50 store credit was that the shirt indicated wear (17 month old shirt) and that he did not feel he should reimburse the full cost of the shirt.
I asked if multiple shirt tears in the same day was common and he said 'no', twice, but contested that it was irrelevent based on the wear of the shirt. I again disagreed with his proposed reimbursement due to other shirts of mine with similar wear and no issues and suggested a $150 cash payment. I concede that the shirt had wear and do not expect full reimbursement ($250)though I believe that partial reimbursement of $150 is fair.
Additionally, it should be noted that all five shirts were worn the same amount, were made the same time, and were cleaned by the same machine. Yet only one was torn. Given the clerk's comments regarding the unusual nature of multiple shirts tears in one day, G.G.s own acknowledgment that it was not common, and the fact that the other similarly worn shirts of mine did not experience tears of their own, I believe that a $150 cash reimbursement is more than reasonable when considering the replacement cost of the shirt.
I assume that "shirt wear" is a common and easy objection by those in the dry cleaning industry to reimbursement of torn clothes by their machines. I feel that this approach is being used here in an effort to reduce Dilley's liability in the matter.
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