$4.19 a Shirt Part II: Expectations vs. Performance

Not long ago I wrote about the $4.19 a shirt laundering experience I had. This concierge cleaner went over the top to create a unique and creative experience that wowed me. I described this “new patient” experience as being so impressive that even though I didn’t need all they offered while cleaning my shirts; I WANTED it!

Here’s the second part of the story. I left nine shirts and asked for five to be lightly starched and the remaining four to have no starch. When I returned I was excited to see what a shirt that had its armpits pressed looked like. Anticipation filled the air.

The shirts were beautifully displayed in the plastic bags with the sleeves folded across the body of the shirt and held with little plastic stays. This was going to be a special day for my closet to be graced with laundry art!

I got them home, tore off the plastic and discovered that every shirt except the front one was wrinkled and what was worse…the lightly starched shirts had no starch and my silk and cotton blend shirts had been starched. They looked like bent plastic and felt like cellophane. I was crushed.

They had gained my confidence with an entrancing and sensate experience at the first visit and then let me down on every count THE VERY FIRST TIME!

As I said before, if you are going to do only one thing then you better do it better than anyone else. The higher the expectations of the patient, the further and more painfully they fall if I let them down.

I am back at my $2.00 a shirt cleaners and I remember that quiet confidence must be supported by my actions.