You've ruined my jacket!

Working in the textile care profession is certainly not easy given ever tightening legislation, rising utility bills and material costs and the current downturn in the economy. But I find that the drycleaner’s greatest difficulty is dealing with the consequences of garment faults. This problem has always existed and probably won’t go away. It causes many sleepless nights, leads to customer frustration and has a big financial impact on our business.

Every day we seem to be seeing more garments that are badly made, wrongly labelled or designed with little or no consideration for their aftercare. As a result, the drycleaner has to deal not just with the garment but also with the owner to whom it is precious. The general public will naturally assume that the drycleaner is at fault when things go wrong. As far as they are concerned the jacket was fine when they handed it in – and you've ruined it. Even trying to warn the customer about the risks before accepting a garment can prove difficult.

Fellow cleaners will be familiar with the confused, slightly disbelieving look that the customer gives us when we try to explain that the label “dryclean only”, doesn’t necessarily mean that the garment is suitable for drycleaning. A fault on one garment can have a knock-on effect. A colour-run or dissolved button can bring problems for the whole of that load and this must be explained to each customer with an affected garment. I believe that the most drycleaners will encounter the following faults from time to time:

• interlining separation on suit jackets

• colour-runs

• dissolving/damaged buttons and trims

• failure of polyurethane coatings

• PVC internal structure

• elastane failure and

• wrong/poor labelling.

Controlling the problem

For many industries, quality control is relatively simple and all that is needed is to make sure that the processes are properly controlled and the raw materials meet the correct specification. Drycleaners have no control over the quality of their customers’ clothes and that is a big part of the problem. I do believe, however, that by working more closely together and by openly sharing some of the best practice, we can help reduce the impact this has on the business.

Speaking at the Scottish Dry Cleaners’ Conference last year and the All Industries’ Conference in Leicester in March, I was delighted at the willingness of many drycleaners to work together. At the Textile Care Company, I have taken steps to manage the handling of garment faults.

Identify potential problems at the counter.

Educate the customers.

Test if possible.

Act professionally when faced with a poor or bad result.

Counter measures

The most important step is the initial checking over of the garment at the counter, if possible while the customer is still in the shop. Take time to discuss any potential risks with the customer, helping them understand and agreeing a plan of action. Training the staff and making sure they have resources to hand will make the discussion more effective.

Counter staff should ideally be highly trained and experienced in identifying risks. They should understand labels and fabrics and the processes used in the business such as chemical spotting, machine drycleaning and garment finishing. A crib sheet similar to the one on the opposite page can be the basis for discussing any potential risks as well as for providing a record of the points discussed and agreed with the customer.

Industry journals, TSA alerts and websites (including www.laundryandcleaningnews.com) should be available to keep counter and production staff up to date. Counter staff should always record the customer’s telephone number so that if potential problems or risks come to light after the customer has left, the problem and the likely result can be discussed before treatment starts.

Testing before treatment

It may be possible to carry out some simple tests to minimise any risks during treatment. This is particularly important for designer wear, high-value or unusual items. Here are some of the tests that can be used.

Put a drop of solvent or water on a hidden part of the garment to test for the fabric’s colour fastness. Remember to dry the test patch before examining carefully.

Put a drop of solvent on a hidden area to test trims, printed motifs and fabric coatings.

Beads or buttons may have a coating over a polystyrene core or they may be painted with solvent-sensitive paint or glued with sensitive glue: British Standards recommend immersing the item in a small quantity of solvent for 30minutes, then squeezing it between pieces of white cotton fabric.

In some cases, it is advisable to remove the trims or buttons and re-attach them after the garment has been processed, for an extra cost.

Pinch the curtain lining, again in a hidden portion, to test whether it is likely to withstand the spinning process. This is particularly useful if the curtain looks old or worn.

Sometimes a poor result or processing error may be recovered by careful reprocessing, spotting or finishing.

Sources of support

Building relationships with other drycleaners, industry experts and trainers can prove valuable as

many are happy to offer help and support with common garment fault problems.

Joining an organisation such as the Textile Services Association or the Guild of Cleaners and Launderers can help to build a network of contacts. Attending conferences can also help.

If the garment cannot be rescued then it is important that the cleaner understands the most likely cause of the failure, and where liability lies – the cleaner, the customer or the manufacturer or retailer. Expert advice may be needed and it may be necessary to send the garment away for analysis.

If the drycleaner correctly follows the care label and the item fails in cleaning because it cannot withstand the solvent used or the drying temperature specified or the mechanical action, then the responsibility lies with the manufacturer. Failure to withstand stain removal procedures is generally held to be the responsibility of the cleaner.

If the manufacturer is at fault and the garment has to be returned to the manufacturer, via the retailer, I would always advise preparing a letter explaining the fault and probable cause. After discussing the problem, give the letter to the customer so they can give it to the retailer.

You should never hand a problem garment back without giving any explanation in the hope that the fault goes unnoticed.

Try to build a series of generic letter templates that cover the most common garment faults. It may be necessary to speak to the retailer or manufacturer yourself to explain the problem on the customer’s behalf. Sadly, in most cases, customer support staff at the retail-chains have little or no understanding of the cleaning process.

They may refuse to take any action and argue, incorrectly, that the problem lies with the drycleaner.

Working together

While cleaners can act individually to reduce problems, I believe we could achieve much more by working together.

Personally, I would like to see disclaimers or customer advice forms that are endorsed by an official body such as the TSA or The Guild. This would help drycleaners discuss risks and issues accurately, authoritatively, and coherently with their customers.

As drycleaners we should look for ways of getting our view on garment faults across to consumers. We could do this by producing. generic information leaflets and shop posters and by sending reports to local media.

Finally we should take a firm stance with manufacturers and retailers and demand that they begin to take responsibility for testing and labelling correctly and accept liability when garments fail to perform.

While eliminating this problem completely may be impossible, I believe that by working with the TSA, The Guild of Cleaners and Launderers and other like-minded drycleaners, we can make a difference and help to stop the customers automatically blaming the drycleaner.