Comet Cleaners and Laundry

Below is the list of steps we have taken to try and resolve this issue: Ms [redacted] came in to get panels cleaned and pressedShe stated to [redacted] (team member) that we had cleaned them years ago7/18/15- Drapes picked up first time from customer 7/20/15- Drapes dropped off for a redo due to poor pleat pressing 7/20/General Manager spoke with customer about pressing and apologized for any inconvenience, she said we did a great job on them years ago 7/23/15- Drapes delivered to residence by Comet 7/24/15- Customer was still unsatisfied with pressing of pleatsDrapes were picked up from residence redo by Comet(Length was fine) 7/27/15- Drapes were delivered and hung by CometPressing was fine but drapes were shorter in length by about inchesPlease see attachment titled TABSWe explained to customer that we would do everything possible to make it right8/1/15- Customer failed to obtain original receipt but provided a quote for new drapes through [redacted] totaling $3,Customer told GM on 7-that curtains were cleaned by us yrs ago8/14/15- Dropped off one drape panel to Coit Cleaning and Restoration to try and stretch drapes to original lengthThere was miscommunication on their part in regards to how long it would takeIn mean time the General Manager was showing her curtains to lead industry consultants and they explained it's the age of panels and how long they have been hanging up in sun that this could happen8/24/15- Time frame was taking too long for Coit to complete stretching processComet took it upon ourselves to stretch drapes to length indicated on care label from manufacturer8/29/15- Stretching process done by Comet was completedScheduled to deliver and hang following Monday8/31/15- Comet Delivered and hung drapes at residenceDrapes were stretched to length listed on care label from manufacturerCustomer did not accept drapes because of claim that they were still short by inches or less in some areasCustomer refused our offer to try and stretch items any furtherCustomer asked that we proceed in form of a pay-outAt Comet when settling pay-outs we measure different factors to determine worth of articlesWe are members of the Dry Cleaning International Fabricare Institute and Comet refers to the American National Standard for Fair Claims Guidelines on Consumer Textile ProductsAttached you will find how we came up with our reimbursementWe do always try to work with clients to find a middle groundCustomer accepted $check for reimbursement

Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because:I reviewed Comet Cleaner and Laundry's (hereinafter "Comet") response and I am, sorry to say, not surprised at their failure to take full responsibility for the damage to my curtains and also not surprised that Comet has chosen to put the blame on me, the customer, for shrinking my curtainsI am not disputing the timelines set out in Comet's response. It is obvious from the timeline they provided that there were several attempts made to fix the curtains and no, I was not going to accept damaged curtains no matter how many times they brought them to my home, and the attempt to settle this claim took entirely too long.I'd like to address some of the comments included in their timeline:1) When I initially dropped the curtains off I did tell *** that Comet had done a great job cleaning my curtains in the past, but, I still voiced my concerns on how they might turn out THIS timeShe assured me that they have done several curtains and they have done well with themJust because Comet did a good job approximately years ago means nothing nowThey damaged them NOW2) When the drapes were delivered on 7/23/15, they were delivered in an employee's personal vehicle that smelled of smokeMy home is a smoke-free zone and I have made that personal decisionComet does have corporate owned vans in which the drapes would have been allowed to hang and not be bunched up and I would hope did not smell of cigarette smokeIt was completely unprofessional3) On 7/27/15, Comet did deliver the drapes which were inches SHORTERBy this time, if you notice by their own admission, the drapes would have been pressed and cleaned timesExposing the curtains to that much steam and heat would have of course shrunk themIf the pleats would have been done correctly by Comet the first time, the curtains would not have been repeatedly washed and pressed4) On 8/1/15, no, I was not able to locate the original purchase receipt, how many people can say they have receipts from years ago for a particular item? I had no reason to retain the receipt, the drapes were paid for, I was happy with the drapes, I didn't anticipate a dry cleaners would completely destroy themSo yes, I did contact *** to give me a new estimate to replace them with something exactly the same or very similar because again, I was happy with my originals curtains5) On 8/14,15, when Comet dropped the curtain panel off at Coit, that was their personal decisionI never told them that I wanted that done, I would have preferred a payout because I was not very confident in anything Comet was telling meAfter all, by this time, they had my curtains for approximately a month and continued to put me offSo of course, Comet tries to blame me for shrinkage of the curtains by claiming they had been hanging in the sun too long and because they are approximately seven years oldThe curtains are very heavy, so, the laws of gravity would say that the drapes would grow and lengthen over time but instead Comet is claiming shrinkageAnd the portion of the curtains that shrunk (the bottoms) are not even exposed to the sun, it is covered by a wall that extends below the windowsillInteresting that Comet never cites who their industry experts are that they conferred with and at no time did they inform me of this when we spoke6) On 8/24/through 8/29/15, Comet took it upon themselves to stretch the curtains, something that Comet does not have experience in doing, hence that is why they sent them out to Coit7) When Comet came to my home on 8/31/15, the drapes were delivered in the same employee's vehicle that smelled of smokeWhen Comet hung the drapes, they were still short and Comet acknowledged that they needed stretched a little moreWhat I find amusing in Comet's response is that it says "Customer did not accept drapes because of claim that they were still short by inches or less in some areas." The drapes were shorter in some areas and longer in other areas, why would I accept curtains that do not hang evenly and are clearly damaged? By this time, the curtains started to show some fading at the very top because of all the exposure to cleaning and pressing chemicals and whatever else Comet usedComet cannot argue that the fading was due to sun exposure because the very top of my curtains aren't exposed to the sun, they are covered by wall and touch the ceilingSo, again not only did Comet shrink the curtains but they faded them as wellI did request a payout on 8/31/because at this time, my very expensive curtains had been exposed to all kinds of wear and tear that they would have never been exposed to hanging in my homeComet had these curtains in their possession for months and it was obvious they did not want to compensate me and held off as much as possibleThey did not even look like the same curtains I had hangingIt was very upsetting and sad because I paid a considerable amount of money for these drapesI went for years without curtains at my windows because it took me a long time to save my own hard earned money to make the purchaseMaybe the cost isn't big to a huge company like Comet, but to a single hard working woman, it did cost quite a bit and sadly I will never be able to replace these curtainsComet never apologized for the damages and clearly from their response, they blame me for the shrinkageI did submit an estimate which showed the replacement cost to be approximately $and Comet only paid me $2000, so, I cannot replace my drapes and I have nothing hanging at my windows at this timeComet stated that it wouldn't give me more because they has already spent approximately $on the panel that was sent to CoitAgain, I never asked them to send the panel to Coit, that was their choice and they are subtracting it from any monies they owe meThe bottom line is, I entrusted Comet with my drapes and was ensured by their employee that they would turn out fineComet spent two months trying to correct their mistake and kept putting me off because they did not want to write a checkI was extremely patient with them and Comet will even admit thatExposing the drapes to repeated washes, ironing, and stretching just added to the damages and was never going to improve the drapes, I believe common sense would tell anyone thatIf Comet doesn't want to accept the possibility and risk that they could damage someone's draperies, perhaps Comet should get out of the business of trying to clean themComet ruined my drapes, they should accept responsibility and should pay the replacement cost of $I did nothing wrong here, I entrusted my drapes to a company who said they could clean them and put pleats in them, I paid for a service they did not deliver and yet I am suffering the consequences and Comet escapes liability
Regards,
*** ***

Below is the list of steps we have taken to try and resolve this issue: Ms. [redacted] came in to get 4 panels cleaned and pressed. She stated to [redacted] (team member) that we had cleaned them 7 years ago. 7/18/15- Drapes picked up first time from customer 7/20/15- Drapes dropped off for a redo due to...

poor pleat pressing 7/20/15 General Manager spoke with customer about pressing and apologized for any inconvenience, she said we did a great job on them 7 years ago 7/23/15- Drapes delivered to residence by Comet 7/24/15- Customer was still unsatisfied with pressing of pleats. Drapes were picked up from residence redo by Comet. (Length was fine) 7/27/15- Drapes were delivered and hung by Comet. Pressing was fine but drapes were shorter in length by about 4 inches. Please see attachment titled TABS. We explained to customer that we would do everything possible to make it right. 8/1/15- Customer failed to obtain original receipt but provided a quote for new drapes through [redacted] totaling $3,128.04. Customer told GM on 7-20 that curtains were cleaned by us 7 yrs ago. 8/14/15- Dropped off one drape panel to Coit Cleaning and Restoration to try and stretch drapes to original length. There was miscommunication on their part in regards to how long it would take. In mean time the General Manager was showing her curtains to lead industry consultants and they explained it's the age of panels and how long they have been hanging up in sun that this could happen. 8/24/15- Time frame was taking too long for Coit to complete stretching process. Comet took it upon ourselves to stretch drapes to length indicated on care label from manufacturer. 8/29/15- Stretching process done by Comet was completed. Scheduled to deliver and hang following Monday. 8/31/15- Comet Delivered and hung drapes at residence. Drapes were stretched to length listed on care label from manufacturer. Customer did not accept drapes because of claim that they were still short by 1.5 inches or less in some areas. Customer refused our offer to try and stretch items any further. Customer asked that we proceed in form of a pay-out. At Comet when settling pay-outs we measure different factors to determine worth of articles. We are members of the Dry Cleaning International Fabricare Institute and Comet refers to the American National Standard for Fair Claims Guidelines on Consumer Textile Products. Attached you will find how we came up with our reimbursement. We do always try to work with clients to find a middle ground. Customer accepted $2000.00 check for reimbursement

Below is the list of steps we have taken to try and resolve this issue: Ms. [redacted] came in to get...

4 panels cleaned and pressed. She stated to [redacted] (team member) that we had cleaned them 7 years ago. 7/18/15- Drapes picked up first time from customer 7/20/15- Drapes dropped off for a redo due to poor pleat pressing 7/20/15 General Manager spoke with customer about pressing and apologized for any inconvenience, she said we did a great job on them 7 years ago 7/23/15- Drapes delivered to residence by Comet 7/24/15- Customer was still unsatisfied with pressing of pleats. Drapes were picked up from residence redo by Comet. (Length was fine) 7/27/15- Drapes were delivered and hung by Comet. Pressing was fine but drapes were shorter in length by about 4 inches. Please see attachment titled TABS. We explained to customer that we would do everything possible to make it right. 8/1/15- Customer failed to obtain original receipt but provided a quote for new drapes through [redacted] totaling $3,128.04. Customer told GM on 7-20 that curtains were cleaned by us 7 yrs ago. 8/14/15- Dropped off one drape panel to Coit Cleaning and Restoration to try and stretch drapes to original length. There was miscommunication on their part in regards to how long it would take. In mean time the General Manager was showing her curtains to lead industry consultants and they explained it's the age of panels and how long they have been hanging up in sun that this could happen. 8/24/15- Time frame was taking too long for Coit to complete stretching process. Comet took it upon ourselves to stretch drapes to length indicated on care label from manufacturer. 8/29/15- Stretching process done by Comet was completed. Scheduled to deliver and hang following Monday. 8/31/15- Comet Delivered and hung drapes at residence. Drapes were stretched to length listed on care label from manufacturer. Customer did not accept drapes because of claim that they were still short by 1.5 inches or less in some areas. Customer refused our offer to try and stretch items any further. Customer asked that we proceed in form of a pay-out. At Comet when settling pay-outs we measure different factors to determine worth of articles. We are members of the Dry Cleaning International Fabricare Institute and Comet refers to the American National Standard for Fair Claims Guidelines on Consumer Textile Products. Attached you will find how we came up with our reimbursement. We do always try to work with clients to find a middle ground. Customer accepted $2000.00 check for reimbursement