airing my dirty laundry-

let me start by saying this: i do not now, nor have i ever owned my own business. BUT, i’ve been a customer at plenty. and as such, i think i have a pretty good grasp of the way a business should work: DON’T insult your customers. DO what you reasonably can to keep them happy. doesn’t seem that difficult. apparently it is. VERY difficult.

here's a little hatorade for you: HAINSWORTH LAUNDRY: YOU CAN KISS MY ASS. i hope your business goes bankrupt, i hope you all end up in a dark alley being some big mans new girlfriend, and i hope you die in some poetic quarter related accident. (yes, quarters, as in the damn things i've had to get at the grocery store for the last few years to do my laundry).

i live in an apartment. i get that this means there are some things i sacrifice over owning my own home. one of these is having my own washer/dryer. instead we have A (yes, one) coin op in the shared basement. not only is it coin op, we still have to pay for the electricity for using it- yes, there are plug in’s labeled 1, 2, 3 for the respective apartments to plug the machines into while using them. let’s just say, i’ve been here almost 2 years and have never seen it plugged into any other outlet than mine for unit one. you’re welcome neighbors. whatever.

well. not only do we have to pay $1 to wash, $1 to dry AND for the electricity, the machines only hold HALF a standard load of laundry. ALSO? i believe they rolled off the assembly line in approximately 1970. excellent. they’re old, they hardly hold any clothes, i get charged up the ass to use them, and, final straw: they don’t clean the clothes. as in- AT ALL. they come out just as dirty as they go in. i’ve been going back and forth between this piracy and giving up one day a weekend to hit a laundromat when i get fed up with dirty clothes that have just been washed. i’ve called the business that runs the machines SEVERAL times, emailed them, everything. i’ve gotten the following responses:

1) “well, that’s what you get when you live in an apartment.” i’m sorry...WHAT? because i live in an apartment i’m suddenly a second class citizen and deserve the shittiest, oldest HALF load machine? what sort of fucking sense does that make? as a business, you have GUARANTEED business from apartments. doesn’t it make sense to keep the machines nice, modern, and actually CLEANING CLOTHES? then i won’t run off to a laundromat, YOU make more money, I’M happy. WIN-WIN.

2) “there’s nothing wrong with those machines, you must be doing your laundry wrong.” REALLY? you want to try to make me look like a fucking idiot that can’t do my own laundry? let’s see, i’ve been doing my own laundry plus my kids for...oh...15 years? but i’ve somehow been doing it wrong this whole time? because i’m that much of a fucking idiot? ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME? i’m sorry. you just made a BIG mistake.

after battling with this company for close to a year, getting no response from them, getting no backing from the property manager, i decided it was time to take control of the issue: I BOUGHT MY OWN WASHER/DRYER. now YES, this is a shared washer/dryer space. i realize the other tenants will be using the machines as well (especially if they’re GOOD machines that clean and don't cost a thing). i’m ok with that. i have 5 months left here- not that long in the scheme of things. i even bought the special soap to use with the machine because i don’t expect my neighbors to have to pony up and pay more AND i want the machine to work well so i’ll cover that cost. i get that there is a risk that they might be damaged by someone else, but i’d rather risk that than deal with the bullshit that i’ve been dealing with up til now.

so. tomorrow i’m going to go downstairs, disconnect the coin op ones, shove them off to the side with a nasty note attached and make room for a nice, shiny new set that will actually work. FUCK YOU shitty business that won’t lift a damn finger to keep your customers happy. FUCK YOU property management that won’t back their own tenants to try to correct the situation. FUCK YES to finally getting a good washer/dryer and finally having clean clothes again!

the company/property manager might throw a fit, but what are they going to do? kick me out? won’t hurt my feelings any- leaving in august anyway (if not before...house hunting is a whole different blog). maybe next time they’ll actually listen to the people that use the machines. maybe they’ll realize that shelling out a little to replace a 35+ year old machine will actually help make them money in the long run. maybe they’ll stop pissing off people that won’t sit back and take it.

either way: I’M GETTING A NEW WASHER/DRYER! and yes, this is a big event for me. shut it. ooo...and it has a “steam” setting....fancy.