Sueing dry cleaners for charging more for womens shirts.?

Question

I want to clarify my previous question. I work for a grocery chain that requires men and women to wear the SAME shirt. Button down, dress shirts. Men's have the buttons on one side, women's have the buttons on the other side, all other features are exact! The dry cleaners charge more to have women's shirts clean, "due to the difference" in the postition of the buttons. I believe that is sex discrimination. Is it possible to sue them for this?

Answer 1

13 years Exp. Dry Cleaning personally
38 Family Owned

PLEASE READ!!! EXPLAIN Both 1st and 2nd Posted Questions
This issue is one of the most misunderstood practices in the Dry-Cleaning business.
Unfortunately many cleaner do not know how to correctly explain this.

All the answers that DID NOT mention the law or getting a lawyer were very good and most were very accurate. The biggest reason for price difference is cut and the size of ladies garments the second is fabric. Men do not were pleated ... the don't were mainly silks and linens, ECT, there shirts are not fitted and darted. If they were or the few that are, would get then same up charges that ladies incur.

Here's a test for you, next time bring your blouses to your cleaner tell them you are will to sign a full release of responsibility to clean and press your blouses the same way that men’s oxford shirts are done, tell them you want to pay the mens shirt price. Tell them you want the blouses as they come off the shirt machine, and do not want any hand finishing or touch up done, keep in mind you may damage them or they may be un-wearable.

THIS WILL ANSEWER YOUR 2nd part. UNIFORM SHIRTS
Tell your cleaner to do them the same way. Unless they are too small to fit the machine, you should pay them same. Do the above test with your work shirts see how they come out. Ask rather then demand. Better cleaners will accomodate ther customers, if the one you go to does not find another that will. You don't know how many times I have done this test with customes. Some of my customes keep bring them for mens price because they don't care about the quality or they ones that do pay the handfishied price. Some uniform ladies shirts come out fine and we have no problem charging the mens price because the exact same prosses is used no special attention has to be given. Uniform ladies shirts are a very basic cut as a mens shirt are.

The starting size that the machine accepts, it starts around men’s medium that equates to a ladies 14/16. Men’s shirts are a strait cut were a ladies is cut much different. Now bring in two 2 piece suits 1 men’s average size then a ladies, keep in mind the ladies must be strait cut no darts or flairs, plain and both wool, the price should be the same so should the quality. If not then you have a reason to question or bring up the word "LAW". Keep in mind Dry cleaning is a service and like any service business, there is a floating price scale. There is a base price then there are “up charges” In dry cleaning it is silk, linens, rayon’s, and hand finished items, ect. It is like getting a hair cut why do men pay 10/15 dollars for a cut when a ladies will pay double if not triple the cost. It the time and techniques that are involved with a ladies cut compared to a mans. If you have a question related to dry-cleaning or your Dry cleaner cannot explain something to you, please drop me an email.

Dominick

Answer 2

You may not like the answer but the truth is yes you can sue. But no it will not be worth your time.

What is it you want from them? Money; for them to change their business. You won't get either by suing.

I'm afraid as far as discrimination goes, by law have to charge people the same price for the same thing, but they do not have to charge people the same price for different things no matter how small the difference.

Plus it is dry cleaning. Even if a court found that they were wrong for charging a higher price, the pay off would not be much because you would have to prove that you had no choice but to pay the high price and you suffered because of it. Since the Judge will likely pass 8 or 9 dry cleaners between his house and the court he is not likely going to award you much because you had the option of going to other stores.

Suing someone is not the only way to fight discrimination, it is not even the most common or most effective way. It would be much easier and more effective to get in contact with the women in your area and boycott there store. If you can get even 25-50% of just their women customers to stop going to them for a week or two, I'm sure they will change their policy pretty fast.

Answer 3

Could you sue - sure - you can sue for anything. Waste the courts time, tax payers money, and governmental resources in the process, but you "could" sue.

Or you could talk to your dry cleaner and show him both shirts and if he still refuses then do what the rest of the world does when they dislike the service at one business <> go some place else. TADA.......wow that one was hard.

People say lawyers are sleazy -- well there would be no need for sleazy lawyers if people weren't always so gun-ho to file assinine lawsuits!

Answer 4

Oh My God.... change dry cleaners, or wash the shirts yourself.

That is what is wrong with the damn legal system today, frivolous lawsuits that are filed, and the attorneys that take them. It's suits, such as this, that make it difficult for legitimate cases to be won, and the attorneys that take these cases who give the great, decent attorneys a bad name.

I've been working for attorneys for the majority of my adult life, and there are great, decent ones. But the cases that are ludicrous, like this one would be, are the ones that are publicized and which give the entire industry a bad "shark, snake or dishonest" reputation.

Can you tell I'm annoyed?

Answer 5

Yes. I do not know if I would sue them. I think I would threaten to sue them and do different protests and petitioning an attempt to get them to change the policy. At least before sueing. Sueing is a bit extreme and doesn't really address the issue, which is discrimination.

Answer 6

No. Just go to a different company. A supplier can charge what they like on whatever basis they like - and you have the choice to accept it or find a different supplier. That's how our economy works.

Answer 7

Litigate like mad...it's the American way. This is your ticket to financial freedom! You will soon retire.

Why can't I join the YWCA, yet every time I go to the YMCA there are women there using the gym equipment?

Answer 8

If the shirts are in fact exactly the same, then yes it is discrimination. Can you sue, yes you could, but the amount it would cost would far outweigh the benefit you would get.

Answer 9

Sue happy people over BS like this ruin this country. If you don't like the price wash your own clothes. This is so trivial it is pathetic.