Dry Cleaning America, Bradenton FL

I've been a customer for probably at least 10 years or more. The quality of service has been pretty good, with the occasional "send back" or "re-do, " but generally pleased with the results.

It's my recent experience with the owner and the refusal to replace a damaged item that has me looking for a new dry cleaner.

After wearing it one time, I took my mother-of-the-bride dress there to be cleaned. Upon pick-up, I saw that the fabric on the front of the dress was clearly damaged.

I requested reimbursement for the damaged dress and repurchased an identical replacement online for around $200. (Not to mention that I would also have to pay a seamstress to alter the dress.)

After 5-6 weeks of multiple in-person conversations with the store staff, being told to contact the drycleaner himself to get his professional opinion, a couple phone conversations with the owner (during which she barely let me speak but talked fast and loud over me), dropping off the invoice (reimbursement) for the purchase of the new dress, waiting for a call back, attempting to reach the owner again twice without another call back, I finally stopped at the store to get my original dress. To be fair, the dress looked much better than it did the first time I went to pick it up, but the damage is still visible.

Initially, the owner offered me store credit to cover the cost of the damaged dress, but I told her that I didn't want store credit, I wanted the funds to replace the damaged dress with a new dress.

I reminded her of my decade of loyalty and told her that treating this situation fairly would result in many more years of my giving her my business. It's the principle, I told her.

She said it's their policy to give store credit, and I asked her, where is that policy in writing? And policy doesn't matter when you have a damaged dress, a longtime customer, and you're trying to keep a client from walking away.

Everybody makes mistakes, and that's fine. I make mistakes, too, and at the end of the day, it's a dress-no big deal. I want to be gracious. And I'd even be willing to continue to give her my business if she had handled this situation fairly and made it right.

But now, she's lost my trust because she is not taking responsibility for her business's mistake, so how can I have confidence and continue to patronize that establishment?

Dry Cleaning AMERICA?

I expect American values and customer service.

They lost a pair of jeans all I was told next time count when I pick up. Sorry.

Everything stays there. Nothing ever lost. Clothes are perfect. Staff is wonderful. They even do same day and next day service!