Shun them like vermin. Review on SSk White Collar, Bangalore

I tried two of their outlets, one in Doddanakundi, behind the Total Mall and another in Munnekolala, next to the railway over bridge.  In the process I lost two shirts and almost lost another one.

They have just roped in some small time vendors as franchisees whose main intent is to cut costs and make as much money as they can.  Probably the share of revenue for the franchisee is too low for them to provide good service.

The biggest issue that I faced was that they do not use electric irons to iron your clothes.  They use the coal fired irons instead.  The flying splinters cause damage to your clothes in the form of small holes.  Even the roadside Dhobi uses the same coal fired iron, but he takes care not to damage your clothes because he knows he has to face you and the limited clientele that he has.  Whereas, these people have a greater reach to a wider clientele by means of web technology and glib marketing and hence care two hoots for the clients.  I am sure I am not the only one who may have faced this issue.  Just that not enough people reported on this.

Two of my shirts have holes in them and one of them is so large that I cannot wear it at all.  Another shirt got smeared with coal dust on one of the sleeves.  They said they will clean it and return.  But when the shirt came back, there was still a small black spot about 5mmx5mm left on it.  I accepted it as it is, out of fear of greater damage to the shirt, were I to return it for another wash.

When they come to collect your clothes for ironing, they come with a few dirty plastic bags to collect your washed clothes.  Then they carry the washed clothes, with a few of them hanging out of the bags, on a bike, catching all the dust along the way to their shop.  And I am sure the insides of their shop are just as dirty.  And then they claim to provide professional service!  Bah!  They don't even have a standard operating procedure for handling your clothes.  Well, one may say that the roadside Dhobi also leaves your washed clothes in the open.  But then he charges only Rs. 4 - 5 to iron a shirt while these worthies charge Rs. 15, i.e., three times of that price.  So the expectation is that much higher.

Yes, your shirts come back individually packed in resealable plastic packets with cardboard back support and plastic collar support, just like you bought them from the retail store.  But after they have been exposed to lot of dust and grime along the way to their shop and probably at the shop as well.

I also gave a few white shirts for Dry cleaning.  They came back as though they have been washed with water and soap(with one shirt with a big hole).  A dry cleaned cloth has a different feel and fragrance and we are not fools not to notice that.  We have been getting clothes dry cleaned for decades now from some of the reputed stores in Bengaluru.

To top it all, the owner of the franchisee at Doddanakundi had a very brash attitude when he came to my house to settle the matter regarding the coal dust on the shirt sleeve.  So when my second shirt was damaged(a big 1cmx1cm hole) by the Munnekolala franchisee, I did not even bother to call up the owner, although the shop assistant gave me his number.

Now here is another nugget of information.  They claim on their website that they charge a 15% service charge, which accounts for 12.36% Service Tax and another 2.64% for handling and other things.  Out of this, they are collecting 10% from the customer and the balance 5% is borne by the Company.  What benevolence on the part of the Company, I say!  Now if you look into it in greater detail, they are taking 10% from you in the name of Service Tax, which is named as Service Charge.  You think that you are paying part of the Service Taxes(the other part being supposedly borne by the Company), which, in turn, should be going to the Government.  But in reality they are pocketing it in its entirety.  If they were to be truly charging the Service Tax, then they_must_ mention the Service Tax registration number on the bill, but they don't.  I run my own Company and hence know these subtle nuances.  So effectively, while the roadside Dhobi charges you Rs. 4 to iron a shirt, you are paying Rs. 16.50(Rs. 15+ 10% Service Charge) for the same quality of cleanliness.  That is more than 4 times the cost.

And Yes!  You got it right!  THEY ARE EVADING THE SERVICE TAX!

So just shun them like Vermin!