Tales from the Road: Dry Cleaning

I believe I have shared this travel trip with you before.

There are occasions I pack dirty clothes (never delicates or socks) from the week before and send them out to be dry cleaned once I arrive at the new destination.

There are times I will wear the same pants a few times in a week since I can send the slacks out from the hotel. Doing so allows me to pack lighter and makes my life easier.

This week I sent out 2 pairs of slacks and a shirt. I picked them up on my way in from dinner last night. Total for this service was $25.00.

Yeah, I about fell out too. This is the highest I have paid for same day service from a hotel before.

I hopped on the elevator, made my way back to my room, and still somewhat seething I looked at the address on the receipt. Wouldn't you know, the dry cleaners was literally one block away?!? I could have dropped off and picked up my own dang clothes had I known this.

I couldn't do anything about the charge so I took a deep breath and let it go.

Fast forward to this morning. My bill was slipped under my door as is usually the case. I quickly reviewed the charges and noticed I hadn't been billed for the dry cleaning service.

This is a good thing I thought because I was going to have to ask them to remove the charge from my bill and let me pay for the service separately. I don't charge the company for my personal efficiency travel/packing tip.

And let me keep it real. For a tiny moment, and I mean tiny, I thought about not saying anything.

But I am better than that. I wouldn't be able to feel good about myself and look in the mirror without knowing I did something wrong so on my way out I stopped by the front desk and let them know I was not charged for the dry cleaning.

The front desk manager then begins to debate with me. She tells me I have been charged. I look at her, smile, and proceed to let her know I indeed have not been charged and would like to pay for the service.

She furiously pounds on the keyboard, looks in a few places, and then argumentatively asked when I received my clothes.

I tell her last night and then all of sudden, she turns to me and says, "You're right."

After she creates a new folio and I hand over my personal debit card, she says, "How refreshing. Most people wouldn't let us know if they were not charged."

I smiled and thought to myself, "Yeah, that's how I roll."

Peace and Love Peeps.