Warning: BAD Cleaners

[liz100]

Hi Everyone, I thought I'd post and provide a caveat emptor.
You may want to avoid using World-wide Gown Cleaning Service. Actually, they go by about 10 different names, some of which are Nationwide Gown cleaning service or variations on the two names. You might see their name and 800 phone number in the tag inside the wedding dress, and their address is on Nostrand Avenue in Brooklyn, NY. The best recommendation I can give you is to avoid them at all costs. They are the biggest, sleaziest business on the planet and there is a high probability that you'll regret sending your gown to them.

[alandenisefields]

Thanks for that comment. As readers of the BRIDAL BARGAINS book may remember, we discuss this company in Chapter 2.

Did you have a direct experience with Nationwide? What happened?

Alan & Denise Fields, Authors
BRIDAL BARGAINS * BRIDALGOWN.COM * CYBERBRIDE *

[liz100]

Hi Alan and Denise,

I had thought you mentioned a different company in your book - although this dry cleaners has so many names, it's possible that I got it confused.

Here's the story:
I borrowed my sister-in-law's gown and the World-wide gown name and phone number was on the tag inside the gown. I called them up and they quoted me a price. They said that they had been in business for over 25 years and never had a complaint (lie#1) and that all they do is clean wedding gowns and they do it by hand (lie #2) and they take great care, etc. So, I sent them my gown for cleaning.

Once they got my gown, they called me and told me that they would have to charge me more for extra cleaning. Interesting, because the gown was clean; it had just been in a box for a number of years. But, they wouldn't ship the gown back, either. I paid the extra. Yes, I had begun to get worried. Once I did get it back, it was damaged. Most of the lace and beadwork on the front was torn off and a lot of the dangling beads were missing on the front and the sleeves. It turned out to be near impossible to replace the beads, but that's a different story.

I called the company to resolve the problem. The chap who I talked with was really rude, told me that he didn't believe that the dress had been damaged, and told me to send it back to him. I asked him what would happen if I returned the dress to him. He wouldn't say. I really got the impression that I would never see the dress again. When I mentioned that I was going to dispute the charge on my credit card bill and talk with the Better Business Bureau, he told me that neither of those routes would get me anywhere (he was right), which made me think that he has a lot of experience.

Anyway, I'd love to get the word out to folks so that they know to avoid this cleaners. Please let me know if you have any other suggestions on how to get the word out.

Also, if you have any tips on how to get reimbursed for the repairs to the dress, please let me know.

Liz