RUGATTACK

Rugattack (rug-attack) is a word that I just made up and it is used when people get into a bitchy mode over a rug charge. Actually, I just changed it from Rugattack to Rugrage.

Yesterday, a petite female came into my Laundromat. I will call her Bitchiana.
Bitchiana dropped off 40-something pounds worth of laundry and when she dropped it off, I asked her specifically if she had any rugs, blankets, or comforters in her bag. See, in my Laundromat we charge extra for items like that. Now if the rug isn’t thick and it’s just a flimsy rug, we won’t charge; however if it is a thick cotton rug, we charge it. We charge these items because it takes FOREVER to dry and we keep feeding the dryer quarters. Sometimes, a thick cotton rug will take up to five bucks in quarters to dry. We would charge the customer between 5-8 bucks extra on their slip. We even have signs taped on the counter and to the wall letting the customers know that these items are charged extra. Another customer of mine doesn’t want his rug dried because he doesn’t want to pay the extra money. He let us know from day one and he doesn’t have a problem with it. On the other hand, this lady was a total bitch.

Now, throughout the story keep in mind the following details, I asked her if she had another of the above items in her laundry bag and she answered with a no. In addition, she isn’t our regular customer and she complained about stuff that WE did but really, we didn’t. Oh yeah and all of this happened BEFORE we serviced her laundry bag. Furthermore, I introduce to you the dialogue of last night and this morning.

Bitchiana (B): Drop off.
Me: Sure~ It will be ready tomorrow night at 6pm. Is that ok?
B: Yes.
Me: Do you have any blankets, rugs, or comforters?
B: No but I have pillow cases.
Me: We don’t charge pillow cases unless the actual pillow is in there. Do you have the actual pillow in there? We charge extra for those things.
B: No.
Me: And no rugs or anything?
B: Nope. Bed sheets and a couple of clothes.
Me: Okays, no problem.
B: Just make sure you don’t shrink my stuff.
Me: Well, we don’t dry peoples clothing on hot unless it is a rug or something. Also just to let you know, clothing over time shrink.
-Bitchianas voice turns demanding and bitchy-
B: I am talking about my pillow cases. You guys shrink my stuff.
Me: And you have brought your clothes to us?
B: Yes.
Me: Oh. Hm. I don’t remember you but that must have happened when you brought them somewhere else.
B: No! I bring them here.
Me: Well, your stuff will be ready tomorrow. Good night.

Bitchiana flashed me with this look of evil… As if she was going to punch me in the face.

Now as you can see from the dialogue, I was being nice and I explained to her how we work. She on the other hand wasn’t so nice but I ignored her for the mere fact that my shift was ending and I just didn’t want to be “upset”.
Today, I went to the Laundromat to fold a couple of stuff. I was asked to come in early since the owner had to go to a private affair. I was sorting through Bitchiana’s clothes and I observed that she had mostly bed sheets and pillow cases, that is until I came upon a thick cotton rug (I will have a link of the rug at the end of the blog). The rug is pretty big and if I didn’t have issues with perception of measurement, I would give you the numbers. I went over to my co-worker and I told her “the bitch from last night has a rug in her wash… either she doesn’t understand what a rug is or she thought she was being slick.” She was trying to be slick and I concluded that from the telephone conversation she and I had this morning. It went like this.

Me: Hi, is this Bitchiana?
B: Yes.
Me: This is Lillaundry girl; you dropped off your laundry last night.
B: What do you want?
(Oh yeah, not rude at all lady…)
Me: Well, yesterday I asked you if you had a rug in your laundry and you said you didn’t. I found one in your wash. We washed it already but I was wondering if you want us to dry it for you. There will be an extra charge of five dollars.
B: What did you find?
Me: -sigh- A rug. A beige rug. You know… like a bath mat. Your beige cotton rug.
B: What about it?
Me: Do you want us to dry it?
B: Well, the other Laundromat doesn’t charge me. No other Laundromat charges me for that.
(Mind you, she says she always brings her clothes to us to wash)
Me: Well, we charge. Want it dried or not? We aren’t like the other Laundromat.
B: Don’t dry it!

By the time I went to say “okay thanks, bye”, she just rudely hung up on me. My tone wasn’t bitchy or anything. Considering the fact that it was morning, I was… calm and wishing I was back in bed. I put her rug on the furnace to dry until she comes. –shrugs-

Like I said, sometimes rugs we don’t charge if they are thin and flimsy and other times we do when they are double thick like this one. We let our customers know and we ASK them if there are any in their bags. We also charge extra because we don’t wash the rugs with the clothes. As a matter of fact, it isn’t sanitary (even though they are being washed with dirty clothes). Some people like the fact that we take their clothes into consideration and others could care less. So we wash them separately, dry them separately, and then we package them in their own lil’ bag. To me, that is service; however we have customers that say “oh just wash it with our clothes” and we do. We don’t charge the same price. We knock off a couple of dollars and just charge for the drying. When they ask for it to be air dried, then we don’t bother charging them at all. That is how it goes and that is what gets explained to my customers. The regulars know this and they don’t mind because they enjoy the service. Mind you, these past two weeks customers who have tried us, told us “our clothes come out cleaner and fluffier with you guys” or “I like this Laundromat.” Of course I heard a lady last night saying “this Laundromat is too bright for me, I fucking hate it.” Then again, she looked miserable….

Anyways…

Bitchiana was out of line for being rude and bitchy towards me, even after explaining to her what the charged were. Oh yeah, don’t forget the lying too! This lady really irked me… Let’s see what she says when she picks up tonight!

What do you guys think about the extra charge for rugs, blankets, and comforters?

Oh yeah! Here is a link of the rug image!
http://www.amazon.com/Pinzon-Luxury-Reversible-34-Inch-Bath/dp/B000T2WYK8/ref=sr_1_24?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1263497569&sr=1-24