Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Our local dry cleaner charges $1.49 to wash and iron a man's button down cotton shirt. However, if I take a woman's button down cotton shirt to the same cleaner, the charge is $4.75. I even tried to clarify that I only wanted washing and iron, not dry cleaning and I was told the difference was that the woman's shirt was "smaller and harder to iron" so they charge more for the same service.
What the heck? If I brought them a smaller man's shirt would the price go up? Do all dry cleaners gouge their prices for woman's clothes?
Yes, they do this by me too. Its ridiculous. It costs $1.59 for my hubby's shirts, and $3.99 for mine. Also, my pants are $4.19 and my hubs are $3.50. That is why I go to the cheapos places that charge a flat $1.59 for eveyrthing (at Cary Parkway and Highhouse). They do a fine job on our clothes and its cost effective.
I was told the difference was that the woman's shirt was "smaller and harder to iron" so they charge more for the same service.
If it's smaller then shouldn't it take less time to iron thus be cheaper?
I remember having this argument w/ a dry cleaner in Portland. Being tall I don't ever recall be classified as "small". So when they gave me the women's shirts are smaller theory I replied well this woman's shirts ain't small. It didn't fly. I found a new dry cleaner.
Another dry cleaning $ tidbit - I brought my white labcoats in for cleaning with my regular stuff. The prices were about the same as in RI for ladies shirts and slacks. On my way home, I looked at my receipt and to my horror, saw that they charged me $11 for each labcoat!!! I used to pay $4.50. When asked about this high price, they told me they require extra attention for the stains!! I had no stains!! I think I'll go to the $1.59 place.
I was told the same thing for a different reason - hub's shirts were 99 cents, mine are 3-something. The machine they use to press the shirt somehow only works for men's shirts, and ladies' shirts have to be done by hand. Why don't they just use another machine? There has got to be enough women's shirts to justify it. I think they DO use the same machine and it's just a lie.
We, too have switched to the $1.59 place (or is it $1.79 now?)... we were using another place that promises "a cleaner earth" and had problem after problem of things coming back with stains, missing buttons, major wrinkles, so we gave up. I want a perc-free cleaner that charges a flat fee per item (normal items, not tuxedos or comforters) and gets my clothes back to me on-time without wrinkles or stains. Am I asking too much?
I dropped our dry cleaner when they charged me $8.49 to clean a silk sweater.
Went to the $2.59 place (it went up recently) and they did just a good a job. The old dry cleaner folded a few weeks ago.
I think there was alot of attention paid to the price discrepancies some, oh, 10 or 15 years ago.
Time to raise Cain again!
I think it's a pretty common practice to charge more for women's items than men's. As I recall the practice is illegal in California (Orange County and LA anyway). A few drycleaners have been taken to the cleaners (sorry) for either posting signs showing women's items priced higher or charging a higher price for women's things. Shop owners claimed they did not know it violated any laws.
Yeah, this is not novel for this area. It was a huge controversy when I lived in DC. Not that it stopped all the places from doing it.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
