I've been raving about how good it has been to get my dry cleaning done and not iron 5 shirts a week.
When I was packing I realised that one of presses/irons they use had melted the little plastic collar stiffners they sometimes sow into shirts. There is now a yellow stain on each collar. One of my favourite going out shirts has been ruined. Gutted.
At least it might be the motivation I need to give up such an expensive habit when I am back in the UK.
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As a dry cleaner...I'm sorry that happened. I have some ideas/thoughts for you, though.
ReplyDelete1. Is the shirt one of the newer "no-iron" shirts? If it is, the manufacturers really do mean no-iron...at least not commercially by a dry cleaner. Dry cleaners across the country are having problems with these shirts. If yours falls into this category, you don't have much recourse as the collar stays were not designed to withstand the high high in commercial shirt finishing.
2. If the shirt was NOT one of the no-iron shirts, and the stays could have been easily removed prior to processing...then take the shirt back to the cleaner and see if they will compensate you for the shirt. Stays normally don't cause a problem like this (usually the problem is seeing the outline of the stay), but the cleaner should have removed them anyway.
3. If the stay could not be removed without cutting into the fabric, you might have recourse with the retailer. You see, shirt presses consistently heat to the same temperature regardless of the press or the cleaners. Manufacturers know this, and they are responsible for using components that would withstand commercial finishing.
Don't give up on the luxury of having your shirts professionally done! Just know your shirts... remove stays at home from now on... and enjoy!
Thanks for the advice!
ReplyDeleteThey were the sown in type, otherwise I would have removed them before I took the shirts to the dry cleaners. I'm chalking it up to experience. I don't think I would get very far asking for a refund at Kendalls (Manchester, UK).
As a dry cleaner also I can tell you that this type of accident happens all the time. We correct it for our clients in our quality assurance stage. You can check us out at http://www.washmystuff.com
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