I'M BACK!

I got my laptop back! Woo hoo!

There are stories to tell!
The Agenda:
1. Stinky Clothes
2. Korea v. Bangladesh
3. More Meat

Stinky Clothes

I have one customer that I cannot tolerate... somewhat. She is a roommate of a friend of mine. Lately I have seen her do her laundry on her own but in the past, she would drop off her clothes at our laundromat. I will call this customer Le Stinkee. Le Stinkee is in her mid to late 20's and has a chin ring, which I cannot stand. She would drop off her clothes in the morning and pick them up in the evening. When she first started coming to us, I tried to befriend her but there was no hope =( (I think I am somewhat glad now that it didn't work out). A couple of times, when my co-worker didn't come to work, I would have to fold clothes. It was my destiny for life to fold Le Stinkee's clothes because she would always bring them when my co-worker wasn't there. Her clothing smelled. I wish I could put a smell to it so you, my readers, can get an idea of the smell. Unfortunately, I cannot. I have failed you all -sniff-

Anyways... When I put underwear in the washer, I never look at the crotch because I don't want to be horrified with a left over surprise. Looking at someones menstruation blood is not my cup of tea and it isn't pleasant. Oh, lets not forget about the poopie stains and orange crap that I sometimes find on people's underwear. -shudders- This female always had menstruation blood on her panties among other stuff and her clothes always smelled. I would always hold my breath and after a minute, I would turn around and gasp for air. Folding her clothes wasn't bad but I always dreaded folding the underwear. To see the marks was still disgusting but I formed some logic about it... the logic was "at least its clean blood..." or "at least its a clean skid mark now..." That logic worked for a while. One day it was bad. It was on the sheets too. I kept calm and poured a shit load of soap into her clothes. I even poured Greased Lightening in her stuff (by the way, have you picked up the spray?! It's good stuff!). The sheets came out clean but the underwear, didn't come out clean...I lost hope in those panties ever being clean. Now she just does the laundry herself. I rarely say hi to her since I don't see her now but when her friend is around, she is nice.

I think if I were to drop off my clothes, I wouldn't give my personals. As a matter of fact, I wouldn't drop off my clothes. I would just wash it myself and so should you. It's easier and you know what you are doing to your clothes. We have heard horror stories from customers about their clothes being dropped off  and they are pleased with out service. Unfortunately, not a lot of places in NYC are like ours and sadly, people don't appreciate it. They see our prices and complain we are expensive. People, we are expensive for a reason, your clothes don't get put with other people's clothes and we wash your stuff with REAL stuff, not generic. Oh well.

Next up, we have two different people going at it.

One lady is Korean and the other dude I think is from Bangladesh. I love the Korean female. When she comes to do laundry, we always chit chat and her son is the cutest! She is a very nice female. This guy on the other hand, was a total douche bag. When he came to do laundry, he didn't know what he was doing with the washers and would blame his stupidity on me. HELLO DUMBASS, READ THE DAMN SIGNS ON THE WASHER! When he was putting his clothes in the washer, his friend was there and he wasn't helping the situation. He would confuse his friend even more. -shakes head- Two stupid people and they both had stupid brains. You would think if they put both brains together to think, they would accomplish something but no. Instead, they made matters worse and managed to piss me off. They pissed me off to the point where I didn't even bother to help them anymore. I put my Zune player to work and ignored them. Finally they get their washer going and they leave. The dumb ass returns to the laundromat to put his clothes in the dryer and he goes to the Korean patron "Ni hao sexy" or something like that and the Korean female got pissed.

I would get pissed too. She said "I am not Chinese, I am Korean and I hate it when people think I am Chinese just because I am Asian." I don't blame her. I would be pissed too for multiple reasons. The female approaches him and asks/tells him the following:

"Do you have a mother or a sister? If someone did that to you mother or sister, would you be happy about it? What you did was NOT respectful or nice. It was rude and you wouldn't like it if I started to stereotype you. I am not Chinese, I am Korean and one more time you do that, you will regret it."

The guy bowed his head down in shame and apologized. I was listening to all this and I just started clapping from the front end of the laundromat. Haha!
People like him tend to disgust me but I would rather have that then someone grabbing my ass, which has happened on many occasions. It was grabbed by Mexicans =(

Moving on...

A guy came to do his laundry and he kept talking to me about deli meats. I would just stare at him. He would ask me if I have tried salami, pastrami, etc. I would just nod and say "uh-huh". When he asked me about a cheese,  I would say "Uh huh" and he yelled back at me "THAT'S NOT A DELI MEAT" To calm him down I said "Oh, I thought we moved on to cheeses." He didn't buy my excuse and he left. People, when someone starts talking to you about deli meats, mention cheese. It will upset them but they will get off your back!

With that being said, I am out! Sunday you guys will have your Spin Cycle post and I might be working tomorrow. If I do, I will most likely do a post. Sunday I will also update the poll and maybe get a blog picture avatar thingy. Who knows! Also, I will have links for all of you as well to check out!

SPIN CYCLE

Allllooooo there!

Sorry for the lack of posts. I got sick for two days and then I got better and now I have an ear infection. I should probably go see a doctor... or take vitamins or something at least. On Wednesday I slept for 12 hours straight. It felt so damn good!

I am NOT into gossip. As a matter of fact, I hate it. Gossip is evil and just opens a box full of fail and evil. Yesterday my co-worker was telling about this customer that was asking her questions. I have talked about this customer before, she is the one that set my dryer on fire. It should be posted somewhere at the start of the blog. Anywhoots, she was asking my co-worker if she gets paid on time. My co-workers answered "yes" and then asked her why. Apparently, a customer had a friend that used to work at the laundromat. I call TOTAL bullshit! First off, the people that used to work at the laundromat were NOT Spanish, with the exception of two. Even those two Spanish workers didn't converse with this bitch. After asking her that question, she asked how our boss treats us because her friend told her my boss used to beat her. WHAT. THE. FUCK? Our boss has never laid a finger on us. See, this is how rumors get started, by stupid bitches. I should start spreading rumors about her and how she likes to make out with her cats or something... see if she likes that. Luckily, I am not like that... to start rumors or gossip. My co-worker gives her a sour face and says "no, she is very nice". She tried to get more answers out of my co-worker but my co-worker was smart enough to say "look, I have real work to do. I'll talk to you another time." The customer got upset and stopped talking to her.

Oh and this same customer had the nerve and demanded that I should remove MY clothes from the top dryer so she can use it. I told her "no, the quarters are in and there is a bunch of empty dryers in the back. I need dry clothes too." She told ME to go and use the back ones. I didn't and instead I gave her a look and ignored her for the rest of the night.

People like her make me wonder why they are still around. I wish there was a pack of wolves that sense stupid people and then they just destroy them...harsh? I don't think so. Cynical? Naw... Cynical would be me telling my father the following "either you go fix the car or you pay for my funeral!"

STORY TIME!

I like Mike. Mike sends me stories all the way from Kansas! He owns a laundromat and can relate to me. I thought stupid people going to laundries only existed in New York but I was wrong!
Mike wrote to me the following:

"I think the parents must tell the kids to wait 'til they get to the laundromat to run wild.  It's unbelievable! 

But most of the time, when the kids arrive, they behave pretty good.  But, as soon as the laundry is in the washers, it's time for Coke and cookies.  By the time the wash is in the dryer, the little rugrats are running wild.  Always jumping on all the seats, playing with all the doors, screaming and running like there is no tomorrow.  I guess at that point I have to talk to the parents and tell them, "if you want to spank your kids, I will loan you my belt."

And then, at just the time when the clothes are done, the kids are asleep in the middle of the floor."

---------------------------------

Mike, you have NO idea how much I want to trip their kids while they run. One of my achievements in life would be complete. The worst part is that majority of the parents keep feeding their kids thinking it would quiet them down. They are wrong! Once a customers kid thought it would be a good idea to color on all the tables. I pulled the mom aside and handed her the Greased Lightening and a towel. I made her clean it up because she gave her kid a bag of chips, juice (water, sugar, coloring), and a crap load of pure sugar candy. She wasn't happy but she didn't even punish the kid! It's unbelievable! Parents like that make me want to choke them.

-sigh-

I mentioned above Greased Lightening. People, if you have this available in your stores, buy it! It does wonders! We use it as a spot cleaner and it removes anything from grease, to ink, to blood. I even have a bottle at home to I can clean the oven top and counters. I swear by it! I am 89% sure they have them at all Home Depots but in the gallon size. If you want to find a store near you or if you can purchase it online, go here www.greased-lightning.com .






OH! VERY IMPORTANT!!! THIS WEEK, I WILL NOT HAVE A LAPTOP! I AM SENDING OUT MY LAPTOP TO BE PREPARED! I WILL TRY MY BEST TO MAKE A POST ON SOMEONE ELSE'S COMPUTER!

With that being said, have a good one everyone!

PAID

I finally got paid by Cheapo (look at Irritated and Irritated part 2 for details). I was supposed to get paid yesterday but he wasn't there. Well actually, he was supposed to pay me yesterday (Monday) and he said he wasn't in the office.

You know what really pissed me off though? He really was in the office but didn't have the money. I found this out by Moshe. Moshe asked me when he is paying me and I told him "Well, he was supposed to pay me today but he isn't in the office." Moshe smirked and shook his head. I knew what was going on and I asked "He really is in the office, isn't he?" He nodded.

PISSED I TELL YAH!

Today he didn't answer the door when I was ringing it. I stood outside a bit. Nothing. I went to the car and I slammed the door. Then I hear from the intercom "hello, hello, HELLO!?" and I yell "IT'S LAUNDRY GIRL" There was a pause. I could feel a self monologue from him that went like this "shit, shit, shit"... finally his secretary opens the door for me and he is taking money out of his pocket. I took his last two one hundred dollar bills. He gave it to me with a mean look and said "here you go dear". I just blinked, thanked him, grabbed the money, and left.

You'd think that I was the mafia for him to hide like that but really, I'm not. It was only $240... nothing more... I want my money just as much as he wants his skirts. Maybe I should become my own mafia with only me in it to scare him into the fuckin money. Instead of smoking a cigar and asking "wheres the money?" I would be sucking on a lollipop. -shakes head-

Next time I am making a non-kosher comment towards Cheapo. Also, today I wanted to deflate Moshe.

SPIN CYCLE

You know what sucks? Me losing all of my laundry links to post for the Spin Cycle posts. There were videos, pictures, and random stuff. I had to reinstall Windows last week because HP tech support decided to make my laptop worse. -sighs- It's okies though! I will find everything.

Hope everyone is enjoying there day! It's Valentines Day but I really don't observe this day. Even if I had a boyfriend, it would just be like any other day for us. Today is really just a day for Hallmark and Hersheys to make extra money. My logic is, why focus on love on one specific day when it should really be everyday? Oh well!

Here's a note for everyone and hopefully you absorb this information because an argument can be avoided! If your zipper breaks and you take it to your local tailor, do know that the zipper that they will use to replace the broken will be better quality and will NOT be the exact color as your previous zipper. Why? Well, when factories make coats with zippers, they do not splurge on the good quality zipper since they cost a lot. YKK is the best brand for zippers. One YKK zipper may vary from three dollars to sixteen dollars. As for the color, factories order the zipper made for that color coat. The tailor (if he or she is good) will try to match the zipper color to coat color as close as possible. It will either be lighter or darker than the original color. This is useful information to know or to explain to customers because then there isn't a misunderstanding.

Two days ago a customer came to pick up her North Face coat and she was complaining that the color on the zipper didn't exactly match the coat. I told her the above and she didn't believe me. She wanted her money back but I refused to give it to her. I explained to her that when she dropped it off, I told her the above. She sucked in her teeth to make a noise and left. On her way out she said "I ain't comin back to dis ghetto place" I said "good, we dun like ghettoness in here" She was NOT happy. She did leave though. Hey, she deserved it!

Every week I share a story that a reader sends me or I answer questions from readers. This week, Mike from Kansas sent me three stories! Woo hoo! However, I will be sharing one and then the others next week. Here is Mike's story:

Mr. Scary

The first time Mr. Scary came in was close to closing time one night. He is big and tall, bearded and alway dressed in black. He always uses the same two small washers and always sits in back. He pre-spots his "work clothes" with some magic formula that always leaves a black powder on the folding table and inside the washers. He wears geek glasses and is always reading some thick book while waiting for his clothes. He always drags a chair over with him to be in front of the dryers. Often, he walks to the bathroom, stops and stands, looking at the TV for a few minutes on his way there and back.

One night, out of nowhere, he asked me if we were going to start staying open later. I told him I didn't think so right now. Then he asked me if I needed someone to work in the laundromat, he would like the job. Needless to say, I told him no. Later, he said he was getting a job driving an ice cream truck around the neighborhood.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ah Mike, I used to have a Mr. Scary and he tried to dye his clothes with black dye. He always wore black. I never allowed him to dye his clothes though. Often I remember him and I wonder where he is. One night I actually had a dream about him and he tried to melt my face off with an iron. NOT a fun dream!

I'm not sure the kids will be happy with Mr. Scary.... -shudders-

With that being said, I'm signing out!

Have a good one guys!

FRIDAY NIGHT SMACK DOWN

Okay, it wasn't a physical smack down. It was verbal. The customer was cursing me out because I wanted to help her with inserting the coins in the washer. She was banging the coin slot instead of pushing the very obvious button. -sighs- Her child was there too. I asked her to stop and she just started to go off in Spanish and in English... the words varied from bitch to fuck to maricon... -shakes head- Her daughter was just staring at her mom. I hope this child doesn't look up to her...

Sorry guys but I am too tired for a long post. I had to lift six bag equaling to 362 pounds... its as if needles are slowly piercing into my lower back.

Yesterday I didn't have a post because I posted on Wednesday.

Good Night everyone, have a fun and safe weekend!

Make sure to check back on Sunday for the Spin Cycle post! I have stories from a reader. Remember, you can submit your laundry story to Lillaundrygirl@gmail.com

Take care!

IRRITATED PART 2

I know today is my day off from posting in my blog but I wanted to. I should rather say that I needed to post because I need to rant and ranting is always good.

Yesterday I mentioned that Moshe wanted me to deliver the black skirts to him so he can complete his order for Thursday evening; however the problem was that I didn’t know if I was going to deliver the items due to the blizzard in NYC.

I ended up delivering the skirts to him.

I was not pleased that he called me early in the morning to do so either. I should put my phone on silent or vibrate at least. He calls me and asks the following “hey laundry girl, can you deliver the skirts to me please? I need them.” I told him to tell Cheapo to have the money ready.

So I get out of bed cranky and I look outside to see a blanket of snow covering the ground. My exact reaction was “oh fuck, I better get paid for this shit.” Thankfully I have a jeep with four wheel drive and it took me to where I needed. I drop them off at his place and I go to him “your five skirts are delivered.” He says the following (which pissed the fuck out of me) “oh, why did you bring them in this weather? I saw what it looked like outside. Also, I completed my order but thanks for bringing them.” Really? I had a look on my face that projected “I’m going to fuckin’ kill you”. I told him “you, you asked me to bring them to you because you needed them and they were important, you could have called.” He apologized but I didn’t accept it or anything. I turned my back to him. I asked him if he got any word from Cheapo and Moshe said that he didn’t come to work because of the snow. ARE YOU FUCKIN KIDDING?! YOU FUCKIN ASSHAT, YOU GOT ME OUT OF BED TO BRING YOU SKIRTS WHICH YOU DIDN’T EVEN FRIGGIN NEED?! WHAT. THE. FUCK!? If I were to kill him on the spot, it would be my fault. Not his. This also led me to believe that whenever he rushes me with the skirts, he really doesn’t need them. As a matter of fact, it makes sense. I believed that he rushed me for nothing a long time ago but today really did confirm it.

I saw olive colored table skirts still on the hanger and in plastic. My memory is excellent and I remember him saying “I need these olive skirts back as soon as possible, they are for a wedding.” I remember picking them up in the morning around 9:00am and dropping them off at 3:00pm. He never used them. If he did use them, then I would be cleaning them again after the wedding. So Cheapo is really cheap and Moshe just likes to feel important. Great. Really, I shouldn’t complain because it’s money coming in for the owner and it’s how I get paid but if money doesn’t show up on Monday, Cheapo is REALLY going to hear it from me.
I have patience and I am a calm person but when I am being dragged around and treated unprofessionally, then I can get pretty mean.

I HATE GRADE A ASSHATS!

Next up, there is a friggin blizzard going on outside. Why is the Laundromat busy?! Why are people doing laundry when they can be at home in a warm bed or couch watching television or something?! WHY THE FUCK WOULD YOU COME AND DO LAUNDRY WHEN THERE IS ALMOST A FOOT OF SNOW OUTSIDE!? WHY!? Oh I know why… these people are destined to make my life difficult. Then again, they are the customers that are labeled as “stupid”. I got a good bunch of them today. Then again, they were the only bunch. One customer kept asking me over and over if bleach is only for white clothes. I told him to read the label after the fifth time. Another customer put coins in the wrong washer and started it up. Another one put soap in a wrong washer and asked me to reimburse the soap to them. I just stared at the customer and walked away. I was NOT in the mood to deal with them. Then I had a customer who decided that it would be a good idea to dye her clothes in the washer with hot water. I stopped her. My favorite one is the one who was confused with the mirrors. The mirrors reflect some of the equipment and he kept asking me how he could get to that side. Really?

I need to sleep and I need to get my money on Monday.

IRRITATED

Sometime last year I mentioned in one of my blogs that we do a pickup/delivery service for a kosher catering company. The owners are Jewish and I never have a win situation with them. As a matter of fact, they still owe me money for six invoices. What we basically do is pick up the table skirts, spot clean the skirts, wash them, dry them, and then hang them so they can be delivered. It is a lot of work and at times, we get almost fifty skirts. Lately I have not been happy with these people because trying to get my money from them is like pulling teeth.

Time to give names to these people that I deal with to avoid confusion so here goes!
Moshe: The guy that gives me the skirting and passes word to the big boss to pay me.
Cheapo: The owner of this catering company that refuses to pay me on time.

Now that we got the names covered, here the gist of what our deal was…

The deal was that I would get paid on a weekly basis. I would pick up on Thursday and drop off on Friday and receive my money on Monday when I pick up again. Moshe and I agreed to this deal since it seemed convenient for both of us. The first four months went great! Payment was received on time! Then shit started to hit the fan and our deal dates started to get a bit odd. Sometimes I would get a bulk check after four invoice submissions. Of course I put my foot down and I told Moshe the following “look, lately we haven’t received any checks from the big guy, can you please let him know that we have bills to pay too? Plus, lately we bring back your items the next day because we are professional like that.” He understood and then I realized I was preaching to the wrong person.

Now fast forward to this month.

It hasn’t been busy for them lately because majority of the demographic that they cater to, went away… or so I have been told. Moshe continues to converse with me until he tells me something that I find alarming. He tells me “look, Cheapo just told me that you will have to be dealing with him for now on with the money. He doesn’t want me to be giving you the checks so whenever you have an invoice, you have to take it to his office.” I was pissed. He saw my pissed face and told me “don’t let him procrastinate with your money. The balance will build up and then the check will bounce.” Did I believe him? Yes. Payments in the form of a check have bounced from them before. They paid the bouncing fee but still… a bounced check equals unnecessary dilemma and trouble.

So now instead of communicating with one person, I have to communicate with two. Moshe wasn’t bad but Cheapo is horrible. Cheapo always brushes me off so fast but come Monday, I am demanding my money and telling him the following, “Look, we provide you extraordinary service in a fast time period. We would like the same back. At the beginning our deal was that I would be getting paid on a weekly basis. The owner of the Laundromat is NOT happy and I am being yelled at. If you can’t afford us, then please let us know to discontinue servicing you.”

Today I had to clean five black table skirts. I did a shitty job and I admit to it. If Cheapo or Moshe say anything, I will have to point out to them the shitty time they take to pay us. Seems fair to me.

Speaking of Moshe, he decided to get on the flirting train with me. I don’t respond to it and I tend to ignore it; however, it’s fuckin’ annoying and unprofessional. Before the weekend arrives and I drop off his order, he tells me “have a good weekend and try not to get wild” and I truthfully respond “don’t worry… I’m not!” Then he says “you sure? You seem like you are a heavy drinker” and I respond “I’m not.” He does this a lot. It’s irritating. Moshe wobbles and I should tell him “try not to wobble yourself down the stairs” after he tells me that…

*breathes*

OH and get this! Supposedly a monster storm is going to hit New York. He calls me up today asking me if his black skirt order will be ready for delivery tomorrow. I told him that if it isn’t bad in the morning, I will deliver it to him but if it’s bad, I won’t be able to. He asked me when he would get it back and I told him Thursday morning. What did I get from him? “Shit, that is going to screw me over for Thursday morning.” Huh, and you not paying me isn’t screwing me over? FUCK OFF MOSHE! IF THE APOCALYPSE IS GOING ON OUTSIDE MY STORE FRONT WINDOW, I AM NOT LEAVING THE PREMISES! YOU ARE GETTING IT THURSDAY MORNING! The nerve of him!

THE BET

Last week I made a bet with a customer of mine. The bet was the following:
If he finished his laundry before I finished doing two loads (each around 30 pounds), then he would get two weeks’ worth of free wash (one load per week). If he didn’t, then he wouldn’t get anything and secretly he would be known as a failure.

Pretty sweet incentive right? He thought so and so did I! The owner doesn’t have a clue about this bet but hey, this place can practically be identified as my own at this rate. Plus the cash for the free laundry would be coming out of my pocket.

The reason I made this bet is because this customer takes six hours to do one load of laundry. Unfortunately, I am NOT exaggerating. He would come in at 2:00pm to put his wash and he would leave. Then he would return five minutes before or after closing to pick up his laundry. Oh yeah, at one point he would come back to toss his laundry in the dryer. The point of this bet was to show him that it isn’t hard to stick around to do one load of laundry. By the time he finishes a newspaper or whatever, he would be done. Plus I get to go home early if I don’t stick around for him to come and pick up his laundry. Actually, I don’t stick around for him at all now. He is one of –those- customers who think that the world works around him. He claims to be a star too. I wonder if I could hit him with a reality brick. Is that against the law?

Sometimes I want to pat this customer on the head and patronize him by saying “of course you are a star. I bet the people at Olive Garden know that too.” He is a waiter. Not at Olive Garden BUT it is a major food chain. –shakes head-
Today I reminded him about the bet and I had two bags ready to put in the wash. I started to put the laundry in at the same time he started to put his laundry in the washer. I asked him if he was sticking around and he said “I will be back in twenty minutes”. Our washers run for twenty-eight minutes. Thirty minutes later, he doesn’t show up and I am already putting the two different loads of clothes in the dryer. He can still make to win the bet. Forty minutes pass and I remove the first load from the dryer and I start to fold. I think to myself *this guy has another forty-five minutes. He better make it.* He was nowhere in sight.

In a way I was kind of glad that he didn’t show up because then the money would remain in my pocket. Will I continue to wait for him? No. If he complains, the owner of this place will side with me. Even the owner asked “who the hell takes six hours to do laundry?” I answered “he does apparently.” Oh well. He had an opportunity to get two weeks’ worth of free wash as well as to see that being in a Laundromat for an hour isn’t that bad when you have something to do.

I have seen people stay in the Laundromat for three hours because they had a crap load of laundry to do and they hardly complain. What’s his excuse? Probably scratching his balls and dreaming about his dream mansion now that he is a “star”. I really need to research if it is illegal to hit someone with a reality brick.

I wouldn’t mind if someone took his clothes from the dryer while he was out and about instead of being in the Laundromat. It would teach him a lesson. Then again, I can see him blaming it on me or whoever is on duty because his clothes were missing. Meh, he would get the same answer I give others “you should have stayed in the Laundromat to monitor your property, not our fault.”

Oh well. Sucks for him and I learned my lesson to not bother making bets with customers. It’s for the best for my pocket.

SPIN CYCLE

Sunday Funnies has been changed to Spin Cycle. Why? Well it seemed logical to me because Sunday doesn't only have funny stuff but useful information and such. Now it's even enhanced with stories from readers! I have one today too!

Please submit your stories or questions to lillaundrygirl@gmail.com =D

Does anyone know a site where I can upload images and get a code to paste it on here? Something other than Imageshaq or whatever it's called.


Someone during the week posted a comment asking what a "pill" is on clothing. Here is an image. Those "dot" thingies on the clothing, they are called pills. You can purchase a device to remove these little suckers or you can just ask your dry cleaners to remove it. If you don't ask, they most likely won't remove them.



Some dry cleaning advice: Please don't bring wet items to your local dry cleaners. They will most likely deny. I have this customer who *thinks* it's a good idea to pre-soak the item before giving it to me. I had to tell her several times that she is making the problem worse. Finally she stopped and now she is bitching that the stains won't get removed. Gee lady... not my fault you can't follow directions. She is the one that damaged her silk blouse with pre-soaking treatments. This is why morons shouldn't have nice things.... and when they do, I have to deal with them.

Here is a readers story. It is by To the Moon, Alice :

My laundromat is usually quiet and most people seem smart enough to function at mine. Today however not so much. You know how the arrows go up and down to point which dryer is which? Apparently she literally had no clue which way was up. She had a bottom dryer and kept hitting start for the top one. I'm just watching her stare and open and close the door and repeatedly hit the wrong button. I continue to fold my clothes and watch her. My father keeps telling her she's hitting the wrong button and to hit the other start button. Now this lady knows perfect English and so does my father so I knew this bitch was ignoring him because my dad was right next to her repeating to her it was the wrong one. (I'm sorry but it was the wrong button the first time and the next eight times after. Ain't gonna change, Lady.) I was about to tell him within her hearing range to not bother with an imbecile but then she decided to hear him and went "Oh" as she hit finally hit the right button. Didn't thank him, nothing. God I hope she doesn't drive.


Alice, I deal with people like that everyday with one or two exceptions. Your lady understood English and 80% of my customers, don't even know how form a sentence. If I were you, I would have said that to your father along with giving her a look. In my case I get the "Dryer no work. Dryer broken" deal. Not fun at all. Then I have to sit and explain to them while using hand diagrams that they are using the wrong dryer and I can't refund them. Those who are fluent in English tend to say "I don't want to use the bottom dryer, give me my money back to use the top." Of course I tell them that it is not possible but they can't understand why and when I tell them why, they refuse to understand it because they want their way. -sigh-

Moving forward...

I am going to choose a day of the week to not blog. I need a break from blogging for a day. Maybe two. I am thinking about Wednesday and Saturday.

With that being said, I am out.

I wish you all a good week and enjoy the day!

BUMPER CARTS

I need to make a sign stating "this isn't an amusement park". Four kids decided to race carts in the laundromat and then play bumper carts. I yelled at them. I think I turned red too. They didn't listen and the mom wasn't any better.

I hate this shit.

I'm off to bed.

WHAT IS QUALITY?

Before I get into my rant, I just want to say that technology is against me and if germs could eat me alive, they would. Being sick sucks. Well now all I have is nose blowing and sounding all stuffed up. Actually, I sound like one of my customers who talks through her nose because of the crack she has been taking. No, I am not kidding you and yes, I really do sound like her BUT minus the crack. She is nice though. Technology wise, I had to take back my G1 phone because T-Mobile decided that I needed a defective phone as opposed to a good NEW phone. The pictures that I had on there of the ghetto underwear are gone. Don't worry... he will be back though...

Today a lady walks in asking for some tailoring to be done to her pants. First I asked her if she had the items with her (believe it or not, people show up without the items that need to be tailored). She said yes. Then I asked her if she knew how short she needed her pants to be tailored (this way I free the fitting room) and she said she didn't. Next I tell her the price (its best to tell the customers the price beforehand... I'll get into that a little later) and that is when she said "it's too expensive." This is where my title of my blog comes into play. We charge twelve dollars to hem pants and jeans. It may seem a bit pricey but really the customer is paying for a good quality job. Many people say so. Here is a story from the past:

Two years ago a customer walked in and demanded that he needed his jeans to be hemmed. The tailor gave him the price and he said "oh no honey, that price is too much. Up the block they can cut it for me 6 dollars." The tailor told him "so go up the block." The next day he returns and in a panic he says "Oh my gosh, they ruined my pants. One side they cut too short and the other side is still too long. Please help me, I can pay whatever you want me to." The tailor told him "That's what you get for six dollars." He coughed up eighteen dollars so the tailor could repair the damages and cut the proper length. Not once did the customer complain about it being too much. Mind you, two years ago the hemming price was ten bucks. He could have easily paid the extra four dollars for the quality as opposed to paying more the second time. Now he praises our tailor and doesn't complain.

The lady comes in fully prepared to get her items hemmed until she sees the twelve dollar charge per pant. With a Spanish accent she says "oh my! You people charge a lot." and I replied "well, not to brag but the tailor does a good quality job. She will make sure you get what you want and she guarantees it. If not, she fixes the problem without a charge." She didn't seem convinced. She told me "well, other places are cheaper." to which I replied "other places won't guarantee you good quality." She was still looking at the prices. I got peeved and I stated to her "if you would like, you can go somewhere else where it is cheaper. We have no problem." She wasn't happy by my remark and she said "well, I have a lot of pants. I will!" I told her to have a nice day. She will probably be back. Eighty percent of the time they come back asking for their items to be fixed properly and out of the eighty percent, twenty percent cry. That twenty percent also say "my jean/pants cost me 300 dollars! Help me!"

So what is quality? I'm not asking for a definition but the answer is not much for majority of the people. It's kind of hypocritical actually because half of these people buy pants that cost over one hundred dollars due to the quality yet they don't take care of the garment the way they are supposed to. It is mind boggling. If it were me, I would be paranoid! Paranoid that the tailor wouldn't do a good job or the dry cleaners would fuck up my silk blouse. I'm lucky that I work in the Laundromat because I have these good quality services available to me; however, some of these people refuse to understand that a price being so "high” is high for a reason. Labor and hard work is put into doing a good job and a good job deserves good compensation. If you pay six bucks for a tailoring job to be done, expect one pant leg to be long or shorter than the other one.

It annoys me to the point where I want to kick these people in the head. Argh! Before I worked at the Laundromat, I would take my items to be dry cleaned at a store that charged me two bucks for dry cleaning my trousers. I got them back and they were shrunk. A couple of years later, I found out why... they washed and dried them when the instruction tag specifically said "dry clean only". See, we pay attention to that. We also pay attention to what material the garment is so we could avoid damage. We use this logic for tailoring and dry cleaning... yet people refuse to acknowledge this logic... they just want the cheap buy...

-UGH-

-grumbles-

So last night before bed I accidentally took the wrong medication... I took medication that was filled with caffeine and stimulants... I have been awake for over 24 hours and all I had was an hour nap around noon.

Sorry, I feel way too tired and I am still sick to make a proper post.

I guess you can say that Laundry Girl is currently out of order.

=(

HAPPY FEBRUARY!

HAPPY NEW MONTH! I wish you all a good month!

Last couple of days I have been sick and I still am but I managed to get three updates on here. The three blogs are available for you to read bellow. The three posts are labeled as TMI, The Jerk, and Parenting.

In one of my posts I mention that I now have an android phone (Google phone) and I will abuse it at the Laundromat by taking pictures of people and people’s laundry (after it is washed). Woo hoo!

Also, I have come up with an idea. I was thinking what I could add to my Sunday Funnies and the light clicked! Posting laundry experiences and/or stories from my readers! I would love to read some of your experiences and stories! In addition, another thing that I am going to add is questions from my readers. The questions would vary within the laundry topic (soaps, stain removal, prevention, clothing storage, options, etc).

If you would like to participate, simply email me your story, experience, and/or question to Lillaundrygirl@gmail.com
I would LOVE it if I get some reader interaction!
What do you guys think?

Also, a new poll will be up! The poll is located at the bottom of this blog page.
Don't forget to read the three blogs posted!

XoXo,

Laundry Girl

THE JERK

I don't understand some people and I am not going to start trying to understand them. I am still sick to even try and argue. Today I worked. I was feeling a bit better and to be quite honest with you guys, I couldn’t stay in bed again… all day. My body hurts from just laying down all day Saturday and Sunday. When I talk, it sounds as if someone is holding my nose together. It could be worse and I am thankful it is not.

Today a customer came to pick up his dry cleaning. I would love to call him Mr. Upper East Side with a Stick Shoved Up his Ass… but it’s too long. Guess I can call him a Douche Bag but someone else has claimed that title. Meh, I will stick to Jerk. He dropped off his dry cleaning on Saturday and the owner of the Laundromat serviced him. According to the owner, Mr. Jerk gave one instruction which was to remove the pills from his jacket. The dry cleaner dude followed the instructions and did so. Mr. Jerk was informed that there would be an extra charge to pill removing. Mr. Jerk was not too happy about that. Oh, let me not forget this part… Mr. Jerk had a friend with him. This to me is significant because when someone has a compadre (friend) with him, the person’s behavior changes. I have observed this many times with different customers. For instance, when a customer is picking up something alone, they seem nice and have manners. When the same customer comes with a friend to pick up something, they become cocky/conceited and they forget their manners. It is quite pathetic if you ask me.

Mr. Jerk walks into my Laundromat with his friend. While chewing he starts to ramble on about insignificant information that he thinks I need… here is the dialogue:

Mr. Jerk (MJ): hi so I dropped off clothes but I don’t have my ticket.
Me: Is it dry cleaning or laundry?
MJ: its two tickets with a suit and jackets. A couple of slacks and sweaters…
Me: So dry cleaning?
MJ: Yeah. This other lady…
(I cut him off)
Me: Your name?
MJ: Mr. Jerk
Me: When did you drop it off?
Mj: (he starts talking to himself) Let see, what is today? Oh yeah, today is Monday and yesterday was Sunday. So, I dropped it off on Saturday.
Me: Okay...
(I find his stuff and I hand it over)
Me: I just need you to sign the book since you didn’t have your tickets.
MJ: What am I signing for, you want my autograph huh?
Me: No, not really.
(His friend laughs)
MJ: So how much?
Me: $63.00
MJ: I thought it was less than that!
Me: Well, you got charged extra for the lint removal.
MJ: So if I were to go somewhere else in this neighborhood to get the dry cleaning and pills removed done for me, it would be cheaper?
(That above is a typical threat that customers say so they can get a couple of bucks knocked off)
Me: Probably but who knows.
MJ: I just praised you guys and gave you good words to my friend and now you charge me that extra 6 bucks?
Me: Yup! It works out great, doesn’t it?
MJ: I don’t know anymore…
(His friend whispers to him “they did a fantastic job” and Mr. Jerk nudged him)
Me: Well anyways, here is your receipt and have a good night.
MJ: How do they dry clean this stuff?
Me: Chemicals, heat, and steam to clean and press clothing and other fabrics. In the past they used to use formaldehyde but now they don’t.

He tried to say something else but I cut him off with “well, have a nice one!” and they left. His attitude was pretty bad and cocky. I could have embarrassed him in front of his friend but my nose needed to be blown badly. See, it’s people like Mr. Jerk that makes me wish that they fall into a ditch already. He wasn’t even cute to be cocky, let alone smart...

TMI

TMI= Too much information

I consider myself to be an open person. Cynical at times too but that isn’t important. A lady walked up to me after putting her laundry in the wash and she just started talking to me. She acted as if I were her best friend. I guess she didn’t catch on to my facial expression, which was “what the fuck?” First she was complaining about her husband and how he doesn’t help out at home or with the laundry. Now, keep in mind this happened on Friday and I was sick. I couldn’t swallow, my glands were swollen, and later on in the night, I was running a fever.
As I was saying, she was complaining about her husband and I told her “ha! You should make him sleep on the couch.” See, I tossed that into the conversation thinking maybe she would leave me alone. Nope. I was wrong. She replied “I would but the thing is that he is good in bed.” I wanted to ignore that. Sadly, she didn’t stop there. She continued to say “the best thing is, we don’t have to use a condom because my tubes are tied.” I cocked my head to the right and I just looked at her. I wondered if I was imagining all this due to all the medication I took at once (Tylenol, Advil, alieve, Dayquil, and some other stuff. Hey, I’m still alive), but I wasn’t imagining it. It was truly happening. All I said was “oh… that’s cool…” She agreed with me. Then she asked me how I have sex. I told her “oh, well you see… it’s kind of hard to have sex with a cartoon. Communication between me and Pikachu just isn’t working out.” Her head went back and he eyes opened and she said “what? Is that code for something?” I shook my head sideways.

To think that my reply would make her leave was only a dream. She sat there and continued to talk. She told me about her daughter from her first marriage and how she obtained an STD. Lovely lady. Real classy… I applaud to you and your stupidity. Finally my time to leave came. I excused her and told her to have a nice one. She said “it was nice talking to you, we should do this again.” I looked at her and told her “yes, next time, please keep the TMI to yourself.” Guess she didn’t know what that meant.

If you are wondering what she looks like, think obese and white trailer trash. She looked like a stuffed sausage in a brown sweat suit. The back read “Preious”… I think the “c” was hidden between her… you know what, never mind… I’ll spare you all the mental image.

PARENTING

Parenting should require licensing. As a matter of fact, a background check too while they are getting their parenting license. On Thursday, a mother decided to put her child in the dryer as punishment. The kid was freaking out. I wouldn't be surprised if he grows up with a complex or a fear of clean clothes. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if the child grows up and just Febreezes himself due to the fear of doing laundry. Hey, I have customer who does that. As much as I enjoy his citrus smell, I would prefer if he took a shower. I will talk about that customer after this child's nightmare... and mine.

Its okay to put a child in the dryer if the electricity is off and the heat isn't going. I have been in the dryer before. I felt like I was at Six Flags. My boss told me that the ride in the dryer was my vacation. I laughed. Sadly, she wasn't laughing.

Anyways, the kid was crying and the mother was holding the door. I was minding my own business and playing with my new phone (I got the Google phone, G1) until a customer came up to me with a shaky broken English accent telling me "I think you might want to come see this."  I didn't want to see anything. As a matter of fact, I wanted to continue playing with my phone; however, to avoid paperwork and any liability, I did head to the drying area. I wasn't happy. The child was banging on the door, crying, and screaming. I told the mother to remove the child from the dryer because it wasn't safe. She told me "this is my child. Not yours." I felt like saying *you fuckin Mexican, you don't know better!* but I didn't. Instead I remained calm and civilized. I let the parent know that if she doesn't remove the child from the dryer, I would have to call the police. She gave me a look as if I were bluffing. I wasn't bluffing.

Shit, I just got a new on that day (Thursday) and I did NOT mind using it to call the cops. As a matter of fact, my phone has an emergency option thing, so I wouldn't even have to dial. AND WHAT BITCH, BRING IT!
The lady had another child too with her. The kid appeared to be older than his brother, who was in the dryer. He must have been around 11 years old. I asked him to translate for me but he was too busy playing under the folding table. I turned to another customer for help and she did help... in her Spanglish translation. Oh, I forgot to mention... the child was removed from the dryer. Now I asked this customer to translate the following:
"Tell her that what she is doing, is abuse and she is putting her child in a dangerous position."
What did the psycho bitch reply? This: "tell her it's not her son and that I will do to my children what I want. She has no business."

I shook my head and just walked away. She put the kid in her shopping cart with a blanket over it... I guess so the kid won't escape? It's pretty horrifying and the only reason I didn't call the cops on her was because I wanted her to know first that what she is doing, is bad and not healthy.

When she was ready to leave the premises, she stopped at the counter and with her head bowed down she said “sorry”. I looked at the kid and asked how he was doing and I didn’t get a reply. He was quiet. I didn’t reply to the apology. Instead I said “have a good night”. I didn’t know what to say… hell; I think this is the first time a customer ever apologized to me for their actions!

I mentioned that I bought an android phone… which means… LAUNDRY PICTURES! Woooo hooooo! I have pictures from Friday, when I was folding someone’s clothes but since I wasn’t feeling too well, I couldn’t upload anything or update my blog due to having the plague (being sick).

Moving on, the Febreeze dude… he comes into my Laundromat once a month with two big bags of laundry. He is around my height but a bit taller. I would say he is approximately 5’7” weighing in at 230 pounds. I could never tell if his hair is jet black or if the grease on it is making it black… pretty frightening. He looks dirty but he smells like April Fresh and sometimes Orange Citrus. How do I know this? I have a bottle of febreeze in my car, room, and bathroom. Oh yeah, at the Laundromat too. If you sniff him really well, you will sniff past the febreeze and reveal his true scent of “dirty fool.” One day, I think he forgot to febreeze himself and my eyes started to tear up and I gagged. I couldn’t handle the stench so I pulled out my own bottle of febreeze. It would have been funny if he came over and asked to use some. Hell, I would have offered….