My parents (and my oldest brother) owned (and still own) dry cleaners. Their odyssey in the dry cleaning business started when I took a part-time job working in the dry cleaners owned by a family who went to the same church as my family. A short time after I began to work there, my parents and brother realized that the corporate world was not for them (or rather, the glass ceiling prevented such a future for my parents and my brother was sorting out what he wanted in life) and they apprenticed at the same cleaners by the time I was in college. They opened FamiLee Dry Cleaners and Tailors (hence my blog name) around 1987. They subsequently opened FamiLee Too and FamiLee Three which were/are drop-off locations. The actual cleaning was done at the main shop. Around 2001 (I forget the exact date), they sold the main business and retained the two drop-off businesses. My mom and dad "officially" retired, but they kept working part-time at one of the smaller shops. As most know, my mom passed away in December 2002 and so she never go to enjoy the fruits of her labor. My brother and dad continue to run the shop, so to speak, though I am unsure for how much longer. Still, it's been 20 years and there are many stories to tell.
In the news today is a story about a lawsuit in which a district judge suited a Korean-owned dry cleaners in Washington, DC for 54 million dollars!!!! Read story here. It's a completely ridiculous lawsuit and fortunately the presiding judge agreed with the defendant. Plus, the judge made the plaintiff pay for all the legal fees and more. It had all started with a missing pair of pants. Apparently, very fancy pants. They were part of a pricey suit that the cleaners had lost. Sometimes it happens in the dry cleaning business. In return, cleaners usually pay the cost of the pants. If they are old pants, you pay their "blue book" value, so to speak. If they are new pants, you pay the retail cost. However, you do not have to pay 54 million dollars. Somehow, this plaintiff/judge thought "satisfaction guaranteed" meant you got this much money. Ridiculous.
MINOR UPDATE - From the AP, [Judge] Bartnoff wrote that Pearson, an administrative law judge, failed to prove that the pants the dry cleaner tried to return were not the pants he took in for alterations. Makes you wonder if the guy was really just feeling vindictive and needed some way to soothe his wounded ego.
My parents had many such encounters at the dry cleaners. They had individuals who requested strange things such as dry cleaning and pressing underwear, laundering cheap, polyester dress shirts purchased from Sears in 1970, and more. On occasion, clothing would get lost. My parents would have to pay for the current value of the sweater or shirt or pants. Most customers were understanding, but some would get enraged. A few customers would leave and some of them actually would return after a time because my parents' business was the best in town. Such was life.
Having previously worked in a dry cleaners as a high schooler and then having had to work every summer and vacation in my parents' cleaner, I learned the value of hard work, patience, monotony and repetition, attention to detail, and customer service. Learning when to just smile and when to stand up for oneself. How to bargain and how to accept a deal. You also learn how to spend lots of time in silence, alone with your thoughts, as you tirelessly press suits as 110+ degree steam hits you in the face for hours upon hours on end. It was a valuable learning experience. At the same time, I realized from these experiences that I did not want to be a small business owner (at least not as a full time occupation).
So, being the son of dry cleaners is a part of the reason why I am in academia. It's completely different but in some respects it is the same. The lessons learned still apply. Plus, on a day like today, you feel good when Judge Fancy Pants loses a lawsuit!
Posted by richlee at June 25, 2007 10:51 AM