Count your items at pick up. You would never leave the bank without counting so do the same at the cleaners.
Pick up your items on a timely basis. Items left for weeks will lose their pressed look. Legally, items left over 30 days can be discarded. Most cleaners will sell or donate items left over 60 to 90 days. Cleaners should not have to hire a private investigator to find you before removing your garments.
Unless you are: educated in fibers, fabrics, stain removal, and accepted cleaning procedures don't assume you know what happened to a damaged garment. Cleaners are more likely to bend over backwards to assist a "nice" customer we want to keep before helping someone who comes in aggressively with accusations.
Cleaners cannot : bleach out, scorch, and tear clothing. Just as fireworks factories would not allow smoking, we do not have items that will permanently damage a garment. Bleaches are only used on special cases, scorching does not happen because we use steam rather than heat element irons ( home irons), and cleaners take extreme measures to make sure your clothes cannot get caught on machines while pressing. That is why you should go to a cleaners that you trust. If you happen to see an iron like the one you use at home, RUN the other way! That shows they are not professional cleaners.
If a garment is damaged by something that the cleaners did, you will be reimbursed for the current value of the garment rather than replacement value. Just like cars, clothes also have a life cycle.
Better Business Bureau recommends you send a garment in for testing if it is damaged to determine fault. Cleaners are usually blamed because we are last to handle the garment, but the blame may be on the manufacturer for not testing the components before selling. Federal Trade Commission rules stipulate that all components of a garment withstand the cleaning process as recommended by the manufacturer. BUT manufacturers are not REQUIRED to test garments before selling:( I know its crazy but its just the way government works.