I called Chem-Dry of Henderson County (the county I live in) and the owner there advised me that they did not have a leather cleaning kit and referred me to the Buncombe County operation.
I hired Chem-Dry of Buncombe County to clean a leather couch and loveseat. I told them it had not been cleaned for 14 years and was very dirty. I was told by the technician when he arrived that they had a "proprietary" leather cleaner.
They also cleaned an upholstered recliner and area rug. The recliner and area rug came out great-very clean and looks wonderful. The leather couch and loveseat is another story.
One spot on the couch actually looked cleaner where they put a stain remover. When I asked the technician to use the stain remover on the rest of the couch, he said his arms wouldn't be able to take it because he would have to work harder and the stain remover was too "aggressive" to use on the entire couch.
The overall "clean" was so bad that I told the technician not to bother "cleaning" the loveseat. Now I had a cleaner spot on one of my couch cushions next to the areas that are still dirty.
I told the technician as soon as he started on my couch that it didn't look any cleaner at all.
They should never say that they clean leather or at the very least tell me that they can't clean leather that has never been cleaned.
When I wrote and called to ask for a refund for the $75 for the couch cleaning (which should have been called a couch "shining"), I was asked for my homeowner's insurance policy number and agent.
All of a sudden, six days later, I was advised that a limb from a tree in my driveway had fallen on the van and scratched it and broke a brake light causing damages that would cost a lot more than the cost of a $75 refund. When I told the owner that this was the first I had heard about an incident in my driveway six days prior, I was told that he (the owner) just found out about it and just had a chance to look at the van.
He said his two technicians (which I note are employees of the company and beholden to the owner for their livelihood) would testify that an incident happened in my driveway.
I advised Jim (the owner) that we were not told this happened before they even came into my house and that there were no broken glass remnants in my driveway. He said the broken glass on the brake light fell "inward" (which I've never heard of before when a piece of glass breaks)--that's why I did not see any evidence of any damage.
I am suspicious that this happened because no mention of an incident was told to me before or after the services were rendered UNTIL I asked for a refund.
DO NOT hire these people to clean leather because they do not "clean" leather--they shine it.
If you have a driveway with trees watch out. Even if the van was damaged from a limb from a tree, I have no way to know that ANYTHING happened in MY driveway because I was never informed of an incident UNTIL almost a week later when I called for a refund.
The owner says he is honest, was just told about the limb falling, had only today (six days later) had a chance to look at the van, and just received my letter asking for a refund (which I sent the very next day after the technicians were here). Apparently mail from Fletcher to Asheville took five days to arrive, even though all other mail I've sent from my home to Asheville gets delivered the very next day.
This is very disappointing and discouraging that I was looking forward to a clean couch and loveseat and got a story instead. Of course I did not get the refund. It just wasn't worth pursuing a matter that was destined to go nowhere.
I'll leave it up to you to decide if the limb falling incident and supposed damages in my driveway could have been a tactic to avoid giving a refund.
Sincerely,
Ellen McNeill
2/4/2013 read more
