Customer: “Do you clean coats?”
Me: “Yes, we do.”
Customer: “How much is it?”
Me: “It depends, miss. Some coats are longer, and the fabric is thicker; those will need more dry-cleaning chemical to soak in and more time to dry, and will therefore cost more.”
Customer: “Okay, so, how much for a long coat?”
Me: “You’ll have to show me the item, because I can’t estimate the cost until I’ve seen it. I’m sorry.”
Customer: “Here’s my stuff.”
Me: “These coats are wool and are as long as a person. They will be $18.95 each. That blouse is white silk, but the problem is that there are yellow stains on it and we cannot guarantee it will be cleaned fully or even at all, due to the apparent age of the stain. Would you like to clean it still?”
Customer: “Yeah, just try it.”
Me: “Okay.” *processes the ticket order for the customer*
Customer: “I also want to pay for it now.”
Me: “Okay. The total for two coats and that blouse is $39.85.”
(The customer pays and leaves. One week later:)
Customer: “Okay, I’m here to pick up my stuff.”
Me: “I remember your name. Here it is.”
(The customer picks up and leaves. Two hours later:)
Customer: *brings in blouse* “Uh, this isn’t cleaned.”
Me: “I did mention to you that we would try, but we couldn’t promise or guarantee you that it would be cleaned fully. It spread out, but it’s not noticeable to the naked eye unless people look at it carefully. You said you still want to dry-clean it despite my protests.”
Customer: “I understand, but I believe that it is in good business practice to give me back a portion of the money I paid, since it wasn’t cleaned properly.”
Me: “We could not complete the cleaning; our chemicals would’ve been too harsh if we kept trying to get the stains out and would have disintegrated the silk fabric, and then it would have been ruined for good. We will not refund you all of your money for that item, but some, okay?”
Customer: “Okay.”
Me: “Here is your money.”
(I refund $3.50 out of $6.95 for cleaning said blouse.)
Customer: *looks down in shock* “When I said, ‘portion,’ I meant this amount.” *points at $18.95*
Me: “That was for the coat, not the blouse. Since that was cleaned properly and stains from that coat were gone, we will not refund you for that.”
Customer: “I still believe it is good business practice that you refund me a portion of the payment.”
Me: “You mean half of the bill, right?”
Customer: “Well…”
Me: “We will not, and it’s up to you to choose whether accept the $3.50 or not.”
Customer: “Fine. I’ll just never come back here again, then.”
(I said nothing more, and the customer left when they realized they weren’t getting anything else.)
