FONTE BROTHERS/PIONEER CLNRS

After countless research to find a local dry cleaner with good reviews I settled with Pioneer Cleaners on Macdill Avenue.  I am writing this review a month after my incident because I wanted to give the owner, Mr. Patel ample time to return my call...I'm still waiting.  I dropped my sentimental dress off at Pioneer Cleaners on Tuesday, January 29, 2013 and mentioned to the clerk that the dress had very specific instructions on how to be cleaned and to please take care due to the sentimental value and cost of the the dress.  I was assured the dress would be taken care of.  I picked the dress up on Thursday, January 31, 2013.  Assuming everything was fine I happily paid and went on my way.  Over the weekend of February 1, 2013 as I was taking off the plastic from Pioneer Cleaners, and I noticed the dress had been burned so badly that there were holes in some areas and iron burn marks! I immediately called the cleaners on Monday, February 4th and left a message for Mike Johnson, the manager who was not available at the time.  When Mr. Johnson returned my phone call later that morning he was very curt and told me to bring the dress by so that he could take a look.  When I arrived Mr. Johnson was very defensive immediately blaming the dress designer for poor manufacturing and continuously used the term yarn slippage. A term that looks to be widely used by furniture and upholstery manufacturers.  I continued to ask Mr. Johnson over and over about the burns and he could not give me a straight answer.  Mr. Johnson also wanted to send my dress to  Couture Fabrics in Tampa to  get a fabric analysis and after research on my own I found out this business is closed.    At this point I became extremely upset, and all I was hoping for was a solution or maybe just a simple apology.  Instead  I was treated down right rude and insulted. So much for the customer is always right.  Just wanted to leave this review to warn you if you have clothing that holds a sentimental value do not take it to Pioneer Cleaners because now I am in the process of trying to get a very expensive dress fixed.  Lesson learned.