I rarely leave bad reviews, I try to only point out excellent service when possible and give folks the benefit of the doubt that my bad experience was possibly a one-off, but sadly I am forced to finally review St. Croix Cleaners.
First, let me say that the Cottage Grove locations and assumable others, are just satellite drop off branches for this main Stillwater hub and this review should be primarily directed at the service I received from the Stillwater location. The Cottage Grove location is nice, friendly, clean and convenient, although on the higher end price-wise.
I've been consistently taking laundered items here since July as there's just not another option as convenient as this in Cottage Grove and they typically seem to get the job done.
My one-star review (would be less if possible) is the way they have handled issues with damaged items in their possession.
I took a brand new shirt to them to be laundered in Oct. '19. A few days later when picking it up i noticed the shirt sleeves and rest of shirt were stretched a good 3-4 inches. So I immediately returned the shirt for review to them, to which I heard nothing back, in spite of inquiring weekly, until mid-December. I was constantly told that someone at their Stillwater location would be calling me in the next day or so... that message was told to me weekly for appx. 8 weeks... still nothing.
One day in mid-Dec, I noticed this shirt was slipped back in with my regular laundering pickup... no note, no explanation, no call, nada. The Cottage Grove location wasn't able to help as all communication comes from the Stillwater hub. After calling Stillwater for days, I finally got in touch with a regional manager, Spencer, who happened to be in the Cottage Grove location one day and explained the issue to him. He asked if I would be willing to return the shirt to be sent in for 3rd party analysis which would take no more than two weeks guaranteed.
The next day, still mid-Dec, I returned the shirt to be sent in for analysis by the 3rd party. I didn't receive the shirt back until late Feb. 2020. The note from the 3rd party stated it could find no fault with the shirt and no evidence of stretching... which is ridiculous as it fit perfectly in the store and was new (unworn) when I took it in for launder and now it's 3-4 inches longer and can't even see my hands when I tried it back on.
I finally was able to get in touch with John Langdon, some higher up, at the Stillwater location on 2/28, and reviewed the situation. He stated it was not acceptable for St. Croix to go dark on me for so long and he would at the very least work something out with me for that trouble. I stated I wanted him and I to have a conversation with the local high quality manufacturer, Hammermade, as I had previously discussed this issue with Hammermade and wanted to loop everyone in together. John stated he would check with the owners about his ability to represent St. Croix Cleaners in discussions with Hammermade and would get back to me by 3/3/2020 if that was acceptable. John was very polite and professional in this discussion.
However, once again, St. Croix Cleaners went dark until I emailed John and Hammermade together on 3/11/2020, stating I had not received a reply by the agreed date. This morning 3/12, I received a curt email response from John that the shirt issue was not their responsibility... no follow up call, no sorry for the hassle... no recognition of the length St. Croix Cleaners ghosted me on multiple occasions.
Seriously??
I own a business and I understand that whether this ultimately comes down to St. Croix Cleaners or Hammermade at fault is not my primary issue, my issue lies with the customer service I've received from St. Croix Cleaners... horrendous at best.
Will I keep taking my laundry there? Probably. Just nowhere else to go in this area, but I may just be forced to find somewhere else. The convenience factor is killing me though... but I can't keep having ruined expensive shirts. Just had another newer Peter Millar shirt that has been shrunk beyond wearable from these guys too.
Makes me want to open a dry cleaners... read more