WHAT WENT WRONG
How to handle a complaint and still keep the customer
“Why do drycleaners and wetcleaners have so many complaints?” What a question! But the answer goes to the root of poor profit margins and high customer turnover in the UK and worldwide. This month Roger Cawood and Richard Neale look at the problem and what can be done about it
D
ryleaners have such a high number of complaints not because they have unusually awkward customers but because there are two outstanding problems which beset the sector. Firstly, many garments retailed in the UK – and in many other countries – are never properly checked to determine whether they can be satisfactorily drycleaned or wetcleaned in accordance with the care label.
The International Standards Organisation has developed fairly foolproof methods to enable a care label to be critically checked, but far too many manufacturers and retailers rely on either care labelling by guesswork (!) or in many cases just sending
the garment to a local cleaner in the country of manufacture and asking them to check that it is cleanable.
The cleaner might send back a reply saying “Yes, it’s cleanable” or they might return an undamaged garment to the maker. There is very rarely, if ever, an unambiguous description of the solvent used in the test, the cleaning process used, or the method of finishing employed. The cleaning process selected by the local tester rarely meets any minimum criteria for solvent choice, cycle time, cleaning temperature, drying temperature, mechanical action or number of cleans. If pressing and finishing is employed, this is usually limited to one very careful light
press, with no record of whether steam is used, iron soleplate temperature, finishing technique or other critical parameters. This whole scenario is little short of an international scandal, which is not being satisfactorily addressed in any region, despite strong efforts in the UK, USA, Canada, Australia and Western Europe. A good reason for the unusually high volume of cleaning complaints (sometimes very justified) is the high level of skill required nowadays for successful drycleaning, wetcleaning or finishing. The modern cleaner needs considerable fabric and cleaning knowledge, stain removal skills and finishing expertise to deliver a competent job and, with the exception of parts of Scotland, there are now no qualified trainers in the UK to teach these, and the situation worldwide is very variable.
LCNi delivers what might be the only regular update for professional cleaners faced with the challenges posed by current garment designs, trim adornment and manufacturing shortcomings, with ‘What Went Wrong’ articles and our answers to ‘Readers’ Queries’.
Action to take when faced with a complaint
LOOSE DYE: The motif on this designer top released black dye, creating patchy grey marking when cleaned in accordance with the label. Simple rub tests indicated that there was still loose dye present, even after cleaning
When you are faced with a complaint about the quality of the cleaning or about the unexpected and unacceptable changes that have occurred during cleaning you should address the issue calmly and focus on the following: 1. Examination of the damaged item to determine the technical cause: there are several groups of common faults. It is vital to establish correctly the technical cause. The blame might lie with the cleaner, the owner, the maker, and sometimes the retailer. The following tips will help you: a. Holes, tears and cuts: examine the damage using a magnifying glass (or
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