another kind of cleaning (lyn)

When I lived in Boston, my dry cleaners fired me as a customer.

My dry cleaners was nearby, cheap, and not very good.  I passed them daily  on the short walk from my apartment to my office at Gillette. Rather than find a better cleaners a few blocks away, I chose not to move.  My cleaners was convenient and I was busy.  I wore suits and silk blouses back then, so I had a lot of things that needed to be dry-cleaned.  I was mortified the day my dry cleaners asked me to stop coming.  I thought I was such a good customer — judging by the volume of clothes I brought in.  They didn't care.  I complained too much... good-bye.

Today my relationship with my dry cleaners is a good one.  I don’t wear suits. I own just two  silk blouses.  I hardly dress up.  Most of my clothes can be thrown in a washing machine.  And my cleaning bills are negligible.  But I do like having my sheets laundered.  I sleep better with pressed sheets.

Larry, the owner of Joseph’s cleaners, is a true professional.  On the rare occasion that something needs to be redone, it is never a problem.  I recently brought in a duvet cover, with the duvet inside.  I can never get the duvet in right, so I asked Larry to take care of it when he is  done hand laundering the cover.  Today, when I go to put the duvet on my bed, I notice a big dirt mark on the cover. 

I call Joseph’s and am told that someone will come by and pick up the duvet cover so they can re-do it.  I am surprised when my buzzer rings and it’s Larry.  “We’re short-staffed today.”  He comes in, and I show him the dirt spot.  I also tell him there’s a big wrinkle in the middle of the cover.  “You know what I think?  We should leave the duvet here, and when I bring the cover back, I’ll put the duvet inside it, in in your apartment.  I think the cover may have gotten dirty when we put it on in the plant.”

I wish I wore suits everyday so I could give Larry more business.  He is a gem.