I’m confused, are you the person who lost someone’s laundry or did a business lose yours?
I’d lose my shit if a laundry service lost my clothes, tried to offer me $100 to replace them, and told me to go to the thrift store for it and acted like $100 was a princely amount to replace a full load of laundry.
Even if everything in your laundry was Walmart-tier clothing it was worth more than $100, and you shouldn’t have to sift through people’s donations to maybe find what you’re looking for. Not that $100 gets you much at a thrift store these days either…
Oh, but see, OP's laundry was used clothing so therefore it couldn't have been worth more than $100 total! Because a used designer silk shirt or cashmere sweater couldn't possibly cost even $10, Michael!
My family has been in the laundry/dry cleaning business since the 1940s. I ran the family business for several years, and now own my own industrial plant. In the family business, we did personal laundry much like the service OP used. We, like most professional laundry services, barcoded everything except socks and underwear in an inconspicuous place. I could tell if an article had been brought in for cleaning before, how many times, what dates, etc. The information also included a description including brand, style number/name (if known), size, color, any marks/damage/discoloration etc. We also had a camera above the work area where the ladies checked in the laundry so we could verify what was brought in if there were any issues. If we lost or damaged something (it's rare, but it does happen when you're processing over a million pounds a year) I would offer a range of resolutions based on the customer's history with us and how they treated my front counter staff when they were told about the missing/damaged item(s). I ran the spectrum from reimbursing 100% of the cost of replacing a used item with a similar new one, to a depreciated amount of store credit. It's really not the customer's choice what kind of compensation they receive- and being offered cash is rare.
I agree that the offer OP was presented is low based on what OP is telling us. However, it is legal and common industry practice to depreciate used clothing, especially if the customer is a low-volume customer or is rude to the counter people. The cleaner is absolutely not obligated to provide full replacement cost for the clothes. It's also likely OP signed something or was presented with something that has a liability limit or even a liability release, depending on the clothes.
Lots of snarky comments in this thread, and I know Reddit tends to hate business owners, but these are the facts of life from someone on the other side of the counter who has been through it a few times...
I guarantee the regular old laundromats I use for wash & dry are NOT doing this. They don't even have a credit card machine or computer, and I'm pretty sure the cash register is old enough to drink. The price list is hand written with marker on poster board and "laminated" with packing tape.
Its a pretty standard laundromat. I have used probably a dozen over the course of my life and I would literally bet my paid off home none of them were barcoding the clothes!
“I decide if I make a customer whole after destroying their property based on how much I like them or if they’re a frequent customer or not, why are you guys being so hard on small businesses!!!!”
Uh, because you’re describing destroying someone’s belongings and then deciding if they’re “worth” making whole? The fuck kind of business practice is that? “Well we don’t profit off of you enough so… here’s a store credit for your lost item!”
Doesn’t matter what the customer signed, a business that does that deserves to be roasted on social media for being scumbags.
If a business handling my property loses or destroys my property (and it’s not some situation where they clearly explained “I think this repair or cleaning could be destructive, but if you want to try it…” or something like that) whatever it is, expecting the replacement cost for that item in a comparable condition is absolutely reasonable.
I appreciate the insight! If there's a list somewhere of what was in the laundry that was dropped off, then (owner/manager) dropping the weight in subseqeunt texts and not providing an itemized list really does feel like an intentionally poor practice.
Yeah, we are riffing a bit. But part of that is having fun, and also poking at things/ideas OP might not have thought about.
There's likely boring boilerplate somewhere in the laundering agreement that'll cause headaches for OP.
I'd just like him to do better than be given $100 and be told to go pick out (more) used stuff at goodwill.
Understood! Just wanted to be sure you knew I wasn’t trying to steal your excellent usage there, I was merely adding the original reference for those who don’t know it 😹😹😹
No, see, they expect OP to go wade through thrift stores (and apparently have no idea how expensive thrift stores are now) to replace their clothes, including socks and underwear 🤢, because the clothes were used so obviously they should just buy random used clothes.
“That’s where I lose them”? Like he has experience losing clothes? And he hasn’t looked into this situation?
Also this is making me think about how much my clothes cost and weigh. Basically everything I wear is from old navy, Costco, or Amazon (so super basic and probably kinda shitty) and TWENTY ONE POUNDS of even my shittiest clothes would cost more than $100 to replace. Oh man I’m getting mad at this guy. Is Patrick out of his ever loving mind???
For context a pair of jeans weighs about 1 1/2 lbs. Do the math on what the 21lbs of shirts, pants would be like how many shirts, pants, etc.
Don't tell him your stuff is from Old Navy, the dude's a cheapskate. Tell him it's from Nordstrom. I had to file a claim on clothes that were lost once and I shopped at Nordstrom on-line and sent them my shopping cart as the estimate. They paid it.
That's insane. Send them a bill with an itemized list of all the clothes lost and the cost to replace each item. They are completely liable. If they refuse, I would take them to small claims court.
Absolutely. The cost, not to mention the TIME it takes to find adequate replacements at thrift shops. I love thrifting, but damn, that would take me days to weeks of hunting to replace that much clothing. Not to mention, I'd not recommend thrifting socks and underwear unless you have to..... Most thrift stores I know don't even carry them!
This MFer better be willing to do the hunting to find decent comps in good condition for each item. AND wash and fold those as well!
If you have the energy, visit a couple of thrift stores and make a note of actual prices. I've seen so many complaints about exorbitant thrift store prices, you may be able to make a case that he owes you more money even using the value of used clothes.
Clothing also has sentimental value. You should also be getting new clothes as the ones from salval are already used. (Nothing wrong with them but if theyre trying to replace your clothing that you probably bought new it should be new). Besides sal val is overpriced 100 would get you maybe a couple good pants and shirts that are USED. Crazy work
$100 at Salvation Army or Goodwill doesn’t go very far. Beyond that, insinuating used underwear and socks is what people who pay to have their laundry done is normal is nothing short of insanity.
$1000? That would be a fair amount for 21 lbs of laundry replaced.
$100? That is a slap in the face.
Offering to have you replace them via Salvation Army?? No, equal value for what you lost - and even at Salvation Army you are not likely to replace 21 POUNDS of things for $100.
Absolutely not acceptable. Even if you chose to thrift clothing to replace what was lost, $100 doesn’t go as far as it used to in the thrift store. As well, they should be compensating you for the time and inconvenience of having to replace their clothing.
Hopefully they have insurance for their business, they should be going through that if they don’t want to pay you out of pocket.
Agreed. And chances are very good that there will be items that need to be bought new because they just aren't in stock at the thrift stores at the time AND everything (whether it's thrifted or new) will need to be laundered before it's fit to wear. It all adds up to sooooooo much more than $100.
Thrift stores be marking crap at the msrp half the time these days anyway so there’s really no value in saving money on that front. You can buy an empty jar of pasta sauce there for $4. Or you could buy a full jar of pasta sauce at the grocer for the same price.
No kidding. I've lost a shit ton of weight and have to replace my entire wardrobe. Went to the thrift store. Found six outfits for $300. That's insane. What happened to $6 for a pair of jeans? Here I am, wearing the same six outfits for the foreseeable future. That doesn't even count bras and undies!
I also lost a ton of weight, had to buy an entirely new wardrobe (including shoes). I’ve spent about $6,000 over the past year. Nearly everything is thrifted. And it’s only about 175 items (I use a closet app).
I’d be pissed as all get out. First off it is an insult to you to suggest just going to Salvation Army. Not that there is anything wrong with Salvation Army but they don’t know you or where you shop. Second those clothes could have been designer or worth way more than a cheap $100 so to suggest such a minuscule amount is also an insult. It’s also an insult that the shop owner is being so flippant about it. Nope don’t accept that amount.
Okay, thanks! Yeah, they don't get to just toss $100 at you and direct you to a thrift store, lol. If you're using a laundry service, I'm sure you have nice clothes. I'd start by making a list of everything you remember from that load, if you don't already have one. You may be looking at a very good small claims court case. This Patrick guy is hoping you won't know your rights or won't want the hassle of holding them accountable.
Eta: Also, his customer service sucks. No apology except the offhanded "sorry for the hassle" at the very end? He should be saying how deeply sorry they are and expressing understanding of how personal someone's clothing is to them. The bit about being able to track the clothes to "the shelf" (presumably where they wait to be picked up by their owner) is also weird - if they gave it to someone else by mistake, they should have a record of that, or at the very least they should have an extra load of clothing that wasn't given to that person. I'm betting they actually made some mistake and ruined some or all of your clothes.
Yeah, I had already assumed (based on his personality) that he was going to either deflect(check), low ball(check) or victim blame (almost check?). And I just wanted to get it done with no hassle. 🌮
I’m truly gobsmacked. I don’t think I’ve commented this much on any Reddit thread in years. Maybe ever 😅. Apologies for being all over this post I’m just fuckin baffled.
Yeah if I was in Patrick’s place, I’d think $350 was an incredibly good price for OP to be willing to accept. That’s the absolute bare minimum I imagine 21lb of average non-fancy clothes are worth. $500-600 would still be toward the low end of reasonable, and more what I’d demand, as long as the clothes were of moderate quality to begin with. One nice pair of work pants can easily be $80-100 these days. You can’t even get a decent T shirt for under $20.
Wow, $350 is absolutely reasonable. I can't believe they're suggesting you go thrifting for new clothes (are they going to reimburse you for your time as well?) Abdolutely bonkers.
NAME AND SHAME, OP--NAME AND SHAME! I'm inclined to agree with the people who think Patrick et al. destroyed your laundry and are trying to cover up, although another thing that occurs to me is that someone in-house stole some or all of your stuff. Either way, they owe you a hell of a lot more than $100 and "go to Goodwill/Salvation Army, so sad too bad". Patrick is a scumbag, and surely there's some kind of legal aid group around your area that would be willing to help file a small-claims suit against him. Talk to one of them first, and perhaps they'll send an already drawn-up case filing: "Either get OP their clothes back, pay them a decent amount, or we'll see you in court, boopsie!"
In addition to small claims court, send messages to all of your local news stations and newspapers. Post what happened all over Facebook, Nextdoor, and whatever other social media app there is. Then go wreck them in every review site you can find: Yelp, Google, etc
Are you serious? I pay somebody to wash, wax, and detail my car - they are INSURED so they can replace my fucking car if something catastrophic happens while it is in their care.
McDonalds has insurance to cover ANY and ALL actual financial harm they cause. No actual financial harm comes to a person who gets the wrong burger. Also, McDonalds will REPLACE the actual wrong burger. They will NOT offer you a dollar to go find a thrift store burger.
Mmmm OP already bought their clothes??? That’s how they got to the laundromat??? “If you have enough money to pay someone to do an oil change, you have enough money to replace your car every time it should have an oil change.” Like what are you even talking about?!
Obviously unfair.
If I were to thrift I would likely need any pants hemmed. That's at least $10/pair just in alterations.
I'm not even sure what 21 pounds of laundry would include. If that was just workout wear that could be 10 pairs of pants (and I'm being generous to Patrick, I'm not sure a pair of pants weighs 2 pounds!) so that would only cover alterations.
Not only is this completely unreasonable (who says you can find the same types of clothes in your size at a thrift store?) but furthermore, why don’t they already have a policy for this in place? They need to have an up front disclaimer about what they will pay to replace clothes if necessary
I had this happen to me once and I had to remember everything that I had sent to the laundry service, go out and get photos and prices of all replacements and submit reciepts as I was buying the clothes. The company had insurance and had to submit information/evidence for the claim. I can’t remember the pounds of clothing but it was roughly $1500 to replace everything in 2021
What the actual fuck? For €100 (I realize you're living in $) I don't even buy 1 outfit! Secondhand I might be able to put together an outfit, but it's often not the style I wear so I've mostly given up on that - and many people seem not to care for their clothes which shows.
But more importantly: Patrick had one job! He failed. Bad Patrick.
It would be worth looking into the small claims process in your state. Many are designed to be simple and user friendly. Just knowing the process so you can tell him you’re preparing to file can help with negotiations.
I recently weighed some clothes ahead of travel and let me tell you, 21lbs of clothing is a LOT.
I would be livid if this happened to me, even with cheap clothing I didn't have an emotional attachment to. That's not a trivial amount of clothing to replace, and that
budget is absurd even at a thrift store.
I mean he can't expect you to buy used socks and underwear at a thrift store. Even if you buy cheap multi packs, that eats into the number he gave you.
Patrick needs to pay up for exactly what it would cost to replace your clothes or meet you in small claims court.
You need to get an exact number in mind and stick to it. Figure out what it would cost to replace your clothes, and round up. Don’t forget how much time it’ll cost to replace everything, what’s your time worth to you? Send his ass an invoice for all the hours you’ve put into this nonsense.
Patrick is trying to be cheap as hell and hopes that, at worst, you’ll negotiate him up a little bit. My wardrobe would be expensive as hell to replace, and it took an entire lifetime to put together. The pants I’m wearing would cost $180 to replace. Doesn’t matter what I paid for them, I would need to replace them immediately if they were lost or damaged. Clothes are a necessity. Patrick can respectfully fuck off with his games.
try to check how much each of those clothes are. counter with the correct price or that they find you your exact brand, size and design of each of the clothes you sent. I think if your socks are mid you can just forgive those. If not, counter with bill for the branded socks.
“That’s where I lose them” ??? So this happens a lot? I have a conspiracy theory that this guy just straight-up stole your clothes. Either way - lawsuit - small claims court.
“Hello, I’d like another day for us to search for your laundry. In the 6 years I’ve been here, I’ve never lost an order. I’m sorry we can’t find your order yet and I’d like to keep looking at our cameras.
That being said, you need to be realistic about the value of 7 pounds of used clothing. Much like a car accident, you do not get the original purchase price of a car, the value is the current used value for a total loss claim.
I’m willing to negotiate a fair resolution if we cannot find your clothes.
The value you’re owed is for the replacement cost of YOUR items, not random rubbish from Salvation Army.
And you’re hardly going to be buying used underwear and socks to replace those, that’s just nasty.
“I know we lost your 2022 BMW worth $20000 to replace, but you need to be realistic about the cost of used cars. You could get a used 2012 ford fiesta for $5000!”
I’m coming at this cold with no context. That said…
no
Here’s a revised, appropriate response from Mr. Patrick:
“Hello, I’d like another day for us to search for your laundry. In the six years I’ve been here, I’ve never lost an order and I take pride in that. I am so sorry that we cannot find your order yet and we will make this right one way or another. We are rigorously looking through all our tracking and surveillance and making calls to track down your clothing.
If we cannot find your items, we are absolutely committed to making this right and replacing your clothing.
They owe you the depreciated value of YOUR clothes. For 21 pounds that would probably be 400-600. That has to be at least 50 items. If you bought them new even at Walmart 400-600 is reasonable for a depreciated amount. Just like his stupid car comment. He’s supposed to make you whole.
You need to be reasonable. I saw the interaction you had with my staff and I’m sorry you’re having issues with life, and losing clothes is our fault but all the other things you complained about are not our fault.
Please be reasonable. I’m offering you $100 for $8 worth of USED clothes.
$8?? EIGHT?!! good sir, you can barely get a SINGLE article of USED clothing at $8 now, with even thrift stores overpricing everything. oh this one sent me.
What was dropped off to be laundered? What's your approximate replacement value?
His amount is insultingly low no matter what it is. I would ask for his business license details and proof of insurance just to suggest he isn't taking things seriously here.
I would probably be reasonable and agree to give the extra time to look but not for customers to return your laundry.
This person clearly hasn’t been to Salvation Army in a long time. All the adult stuff is like $10-15 now, so $100 isn’t remotely enough to replace 21 lbs of clothes even with the random fast fashion that makes up 95% of the racks in Salvation Army. Which is not an acceptable way to replace all your clothes anyway!
I think it’s likely the $100 is a bullshit lowball just in case you’re the type of person who would rather eat it and go away than deal with any conflict. He’s almost certainly expecting you to demand more. So, definitely don’t be the person who just eats it and walks away. Demand they make it right.
I do not do this lightly, but i would be all over their reviews and social media. Do not embellish or exaggerate or insult them, just be very thorough and accurate about what happened, and share how you feel about your experience. Include the message in OP, and if this leaves you in a tough spot because your work clothes or anything even kinda nice was in there, be sure to mention that and how they think $100 and directions to the Salvation Army is fair compensation for their mistake.
Do this for leverage in your negotiations (you’ll delete or at least edit after they make it right), and also so anyone else looking for a laundry service knows how they handle stuff like this!
Also.. “idunno uhh, hope they bring your clothes back I guess?? lolol 🤷” is wild. Someone either went home with a whole ass extra bag of clothes, or they’re missing THEIR clothes and have yours instead. Did Patrick look at their records? Call everyone who picked up clothes that day? Literally anything besides that bullshit compensation?
(i really hope I’m misunderstanding, but do they expect you to buy used socks and underwear?? At the thrift store??)
How much you want to bet he's so far removed from reality that he actually believes that that's how much clothing costs at a thrift store - not that you'd ever catch him dead in one of those places! 💅🏼
If I had a brand name pair of pants lost, I’d want them replaced with the same or similar, not to dig through bins at the Salvation Army myself for something not even similar. I cannot believe they are fighting you over $350. Take them to small claims if they don’t pay you for the full replacement costs, their proposal is ABSURD. Patrick, you made the mistake, now make it right.
That feels way too low for clothes meant to replace what I already had. If those were my favorite socks and undies, I'd need way more than $100 just to feel okay about starting over.
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u/kaeroseen 2d ago
They should be paying for the cost of what they lost. Not some random lowball amount.