Groupon Fail: Dry Cleaning Express

First, I should say that the people working in the Dry Cleaning Express store are pleasant. But my overall experience there was not. 

Saturday, clean-out-the-closets day. I decide to use the $30 Groupon I purchased almost a year ago for $15. Call the number on the coupon. Lady says, "You need to call the pickup service at (a different number)." I call. No answer. Leave a message.  

Monday. No call back. I call the pickup guy. He answers and says he doesn't pick up for Groupon anymore. I need to drive to the store on 126th South, about 10 miles south. 

I call the same number printed on the Groupon that I originally called on Saturday. "I'm sorry, the number you have dialed is no longer in service." I try four times. 

Check the store's website. Voila, there are two stores, and one is only five miles west of me. I call. "Do you accept Groupon at this store?" Girl says, "Yeah--if it hasn't expired." ?

I drive five miles west. No store. The address is right at the intersection with Bangerter Highway, making the search even more difficult. I pull into a 7-Eleven and call again. 

Me, "Can you tell me your location?"

Girl, "We're on 126th South."

Me, "You're not on 6200 South? That's the number I called from your website." 

Girl, "Oh, that's the Taylorsville store." 

Me, "Yes, that's the store I've been driving all over looking for, but I can't find it." 

Girl, "That store closed down. We're the only only left." 

I take Bangerter to Redwood road to 126th South. Find the store on 126th South, just west of I-15. 

The girl at the counter is pleasant, and although I'm sure she's the one I spoke with on the phone, I decide not to deliver the complaint I rehearsed during the 30-minute drive down. 

Cost: Two hours and 45 minutes, plus $6 in gas, including expected pickup time and gas. Hardly worth the $15 savings. 


Plus, if you decided to visit the store, it is not Dry Cleaning Express. It's Dry Cleaning Super Store. 

Scoring: 5 Joe Cools = Recommend to all your friends and family.

1 Joe Cool = Come back in a pinch.

1 Crying Moose = No reason to come back.

5 Crying Moose = Shut this place down.

The Reason This Blog Space Exists

Remember the jingle, “Trust your car to the man who wears the star?” Okay, maybe you’re too young. This was before gasoline started rising above 35 cents per gallon. When you took your car to a service station. Where the guy with the star would pump your gas for you, while washing your windows, and checking your oil. And you drove away with not only a full tank but a free goblet or Green Stamps that you could trade for cool stuff like record players. 

Today you pay $4 to $5 per gallon at a quick stop, where you pump your own fuel, wash your own windows, and check your own oil, while maybe shelling out a few extra bucks for a Coke and chips. 

Whatever happened to the service in “service stations”? It gave way to cost cutting and productivity. And not just at the gas station. Lines are long and slow from Wal-Mart to Albertsons. I was a bagger at Albertsons a lot of years ago, and on a busy Saturday every check-out counter was open. Checkers knew the prices of every item and rang them up at lightning speed. At the end of each counter was a bagger taking pride in how fast and accurately he or she could bag the groceries. He or she knew whether to double bag, filled bags with the cans on the bottom, loaded them into the customer’s car, and ran back to help the next customer, all with a smile. Today, try to find a store that has more than a few check stands open on the busiest day, and if you want a bagger, the checker will have to page one, and you might wait until he finishes his break. 

There are still a few stops you can make during your shopping day and receive a greeting and a smile. A competent staff whose goal is to make you happy is not completely lost. 

This blog is dedicated to telling the real stories of customer service, both good and bad. I’ll tell some of my stories, from the suitcases Greyhound “lost” (stole), taking with them my wife’s heirloom kimonos, to MStar’s (now out of business) shutting off my Internet service and accusing me of stealing IP addresses (I wouldn’t know how, or why) and hogging bandwidth. I’ll also share the good experiences. Like the folks at Perschon Paint and Wallcovering (now out of business), who are always as happy to serve do-it-yourselfers as contractors, give great advice when you’re making a bad paint decision, and sell the best-quality paint--Benjamin Moore--in my opinion. 

So, check this blog for updates on the best and worst service in the United States. I live in Utah, so most will come from here, but I do travel and you can send me your stories at ServiceUtah@mac.com from across the country or post them in the comments. I’ll share them to help and warn other shoppers.