I have never written a bad review about a bad experience before even though I have had several major opportunities (like my diamond cracking due to how the jeweler set it...). I like to think I am an easy-going customer, who likes to point out when businesses go above and beyond. My husband has commented to me on several occasions that I do it and honestly I do not even realize it. I guess I would want people telling me when I am doing a good job, so why not help make someone's job easier by giving them a compliment on a job well done?
I have grown up in Dunwoody and lived here for over 20 years. I love this community and what it stands for. I would love to raise my kids here so that they can have the same wonderful childhood, in a safe and thriving community that I did. I would say I know Dunwoody pretty well. In the last year, however, I have had a couple of unfriendly experiences with a few Dunwoody businesses and today has sent me over the edge. I feel like Dunwoody is and should be a community in which it's shops and businesses can be trusted.
Both of my "unfriendly" experiences have happened when I have decided to try a new business. I guess this will teach me to stick to what I know, no matter what conveniences I am giving up or how much money I will save. I will always remember, the extra mileage and money is worth it! I tried the EZ Steam car wash on Chamblee Dunwoody Rd and Mt Vernon Rd. The first time I went there, I was very happy with the service and my car looked great. The next time I went, my iPod was stolen out of my car. Now I know what they say "They are not responsible for lost or stolen items". It was, however, put away out of sight, in a place that was not cleaned. I did not want to leave without the manager confronting the men who had cleaned my car to find my iPod, but he was not helpful. He gave me the name and number of the owner, whom I called several times. He never called me back. Let's just say I have never gone back there and all of my friends and family know not to go there. I go to Sunshine Carwash when my car needs to be cleaned and let me give a shout out to them. I LOVE them. The staff is friendly and they do a great job. Never again have I left anything of value in my car while it is cleaned though. I learned my lesson.
My latest experience happened today. I decided to try a new dry cleaners out of convenience. The one I usually go to is on the other side of Dunwoody and this one that I wanted to try is right around the corner from my house. The first time I went was probably a month ago with a pair of my husband's pants. Our dry cleaning runs are few and far between because we just do not wear many articles that require dry cleaning only. There were some stains on this pair of pants and they did a great job of getting them out. I was sold. Then last week I took one of my winter jackets to get it's pre-winter cleaning as well as a dress. I picked them up on Saturday and when I went to put the jacket on that night, I noticed several yellow stains. I was so upset. This is a white jacket and I had NOT brought my jacket to the cleaners with those stains. It was too late to take it back that night and Sunday they were closed, so first thing Monday morning I took it back and the lady and I marked all of the spots. I explained that they had not been there prior to me dropping the jacket off and so at some point between my dropping it off and my picking it up they showed up. She said that they would clean it again to try and remove them. Today, I went back to pick it up. They knew exactly who I was when I walked in and told me that the stains did not come out and that they were actually my fault. They are called invisible stains and there was nothing they could do. They offered me no compensation and they in NO way tried to make me, as the costumer, feel cared for by their business. They also told me that they never ruin any article of clothing and proceeded to point out their shop filled with all the personal articles that others' had trusted them with. I did tell them that I did not believe for one minute that they had never ruined an article of clothing. The man there then tried to tell me that they never said that. He said that if they did ruin something they would compensate but in this situation they had not caused any damages. But none the less my beautiful white winter coat was ruined. Now, at this point if they had offered on their own to reimburse me for the cleaning that ruined my jacket, it might have started to smooth things over. I am a reasonable person. I understand things happen and I was the unfortunate one that had her jacket ruined, regardless of the fault. But instead, they looked up my information and proceeding to inform me that I had only used their services twice and was therefore an unvalued customer and did not have enough experience to judge them. I am sorry, but if a business wants my business, they need to respectfully treat everyone as if they are their ONLY customer. He then proceeded to say that he did not like dealing with rude customers like me. I was just trying to get to the bottom of why my coat was ruined and what the business I had entrusted it's care to would do for me. I explained to them, as my blood-pressure rose, that I had come to them because of the convenience and because they had done such a great job the first time. Hello, that's why you have repeat customers. It has to start somewhere. Don't get me wrong, I did add in my two cents in the heat of the moment. I told them I would be writing in to the Dunwoody Crier to make sure the people of Dunwoody would become aware of their rude customer care, of which they had little to no customer service and that I would ever write to the Better Business Bureau. I also told them that I would not pay for the cleaning, and that they needed to refund what I had already paid. And as I left I made sure that they knew they would not have to deal with this rude customer again as I would not be back. Star Cleaner on Chamblee Dunwoody Rd, next to Georgetown Shopping Center will never again have my business.
The dry cleaners that my family has used for years and was just a few more miles down the road, I will now be heading back to. And believe me, I will let them know how much I love them and how sorry I am that I ever left them!
Will justice be served? Will they feel a loss losing me as a customer? Did it make me feel better to get as heated as they were and stick it to them that I would never be back? Will that change the outcome for my jacket? No. I am supposed to live un-naturally. Should I really have been concerned with getting even or should I have shown un-natural compassion and forgiveness? Where is the line between loving as Christ desires us to and standing up for myself?
Here is my point, people need to treat people the way they want to be treated. But they don't. We only think of ourselves and what will benefit us in our hectic lives. Christ gave us two simple commands: "Love God first and love others as we love ourself". Funny, I was just reading in my quiet time this morning about fully dying to self so that Christ can work in me. How quickly I forget and am in need of constant reminder. Is a jacket really that important? No, but what is important is how people are treated. And I should not focus on how am I treated, but how am I treating those people who offend me. A customer who feels entitled to great service but does not receive it should maintain their cool and silently show compassion for the employees who do not understand good service and then in turn maybe the next time they will remember the grace given to them and pass it on. This is just a good reminder for me to keep encouraging those businesses that do do a wonderful job so that they will keep making their customers feel special as well as to encourage those that are less easily loved.
No comments:
Post a Comment