A popular Australian dress hire business in Victoria has shocked thousands after exposing the filthy, damaged and baffling conditions some gowns are returned in.
Owner and manager of Dress Hire AU, Ellie Gafforini, recently took to social media to share what she described as the ‘worst of the worst’ customer returns her team has dealt with over the years.
The confronting post showed dresses returned with severely stained hems, ground-in dirt, mystery marks and damage so extreme some followers questioned how it was even possible.
‘What are they doing in these dresses?’ one person asked.
‘Some of these look like they were run over. Are they tire marks?’ another wrote.
‘This is exactly why I don’t hire clothes because these are how all my clothes end up after a night out,’ one joked.
‘I wouldn’t want to risk doing that to clothes I’ve hired from a company!’
Speaking to Daily Mail, Ellie said the viral post was never meant to suggest all customers behave badly, but rather to show the extreme end of what can happen with a business model like her own.
Staff at popular Victorian dress hire business Dress Hire AU (pictured) have shocked thousands after exposing the filthy, damaged and baffling condition some gowns are returned in
Owner and manager, Ellie Gafforini, recently took to social media to share what she described as the ‘worst of the worst’ customer returns her team has dealt with over the years
Ellie, who has run the business since 2015, said her company loans out an average of 750 garments a week, with its Eltham, Victoria warehouse opening to customers in 2018.
‘The posts that we put up have been a collection of our worst over the past few years,’ she explained.
‘Unfortunately, it happens. It’s to be expected with hiring, but they were the worst of the worst.’
While most items are returned in good condition, she said dirty hems are common, particularly after wet weekends, and on average, the team deals with one to two really bad returns a week.
‘When I say really bad, not as bad as some of the ones in that post, but it just comes with the nature of what we do.’
Some of the most challenging returns involve customers attempting to clean garments themselves, which often makes the damage worse.
‘We actually don’t like it when customers dry clean it themselves.’
‘Dry cleaning can often set the stain in, and then it becomes even harder to remove it.’
The confronting post, which has racked up more than 285,000 views and thousands of comments, showed dresses returned with severely stained hems, ground-in dirt, mystery marks and damage so extreme some followers questioned how it was even possible
Ellie said the post was never meant to suggest all customers behave badly, but rather to show the extreme end of what can happen with a business model like her own
Even worse, she said, are items that are handwashed in an attempt to clean them at home, then come back damp and sealed in postage satchels, leading to mould, which accumulates quickly.
‘When it’s been sitting in an Australia Post satchel wet for a few days, that’s when it grows mould, and mould is one of the hardest ones to get out.’
Despite the shocking images, Ellie stressed that within her business model, they don’t take bonds and rarely charge customers unless a garment is completely unsalvageable.
‘If it can’t be repaired, it’s the retail price of the dress, but very rarely does that happen,’ she added.
Despite the shocking images, Dress hire AU don’t take bonds and rarely charge customers unless a garment is completely unsalvageable. ‘If it can’t be repaired, it’s the retail price of the dress, but very rarely does that happen,’ Ellie told Daily Mail
Often, items that are handwashed in an attempt to clean them at home, then come back damp and sealed in postage satchels, leading to mould (pictured), which Ellie says is the hardest to get out
The business does offer a $100 insurance option, covers all standard cleaning in-house using an industrial dry-cleaning machine and can fix minor repairs themselves – otherwise customers are charged the full retail cost of the garment if it cannot be restored
Instead, the business offers $100 insurance, covers all standard cleaning in-house using an industrial dry-cleaning machine, and only charges customers if a dress truly can’t be restored.
Ellie said honesty from customers goes a long way and often works in their favour, leading to them being less inclined to charge for dirtied or damaged garments if it was an accident or there’s remorse.
‘The ones that come back and you’re like, ‘there’s no way you can send that back without saying something’, that’s where we’ve got to charge for it.’
‘Strangely we do also get a lot of underwear back. That’s a weekly thing,’ she joked.
The post also prompted an outpouring of support from other hire businesses, with another dress hire owner agreeing that customer behaviour like this is ‘absolutely not okay.’
‘Our pieces must be treated with the same care and respect as if they were your own,’ they added.
‘Holy moly! We owned a dress hire for 12 years in Perth and never have we ever had this kinda damage before,’ another wrote.
‘This is gross! I’m so sorry you have to deal with this,’ a third agreed.
Ellie said she hopes the viral moment doesn’t put customers off hiring, but instead reassures them they don’t need to panic if something does go wrong.
‘Just be honest.’
‘Definitely don’t attempt to clean it, just tell us and it will always work in your favour.’
