Pricing
We focus solely on quality
RAVE FabriCARE is not a “value priced” or “competitively priced” cleaner.
We don't run daily, weekly and monthly specials. We don't coupon. We don't discount. We don't offer rewards programs.
We don't do wholesale work for other dry cleaners or laundromats.
We don't do institutional work for hotels, restaurants, universities, etc.
And, of course, we don't offer multiple levels of quality (such as "our everyday quality" and "our couture quality") with different prices associated with each level. (For more on this fantasy, please review the section below entitled "We don’t offer multiple quality and price levels").
Ordinary cleaners sell "cleaning and pressing" --- whatever that means.
At RAVE FabriCARE, we deliver extraordinary care for fine garments, household textiles and accessories. And we price our services accordingly.
As a nationally recognized leader in true quality care for fine garments, household textiles and accessories, our prices are set at a level which affords us the opportunity to concentrate solely on the quality of our work and to sustain that quality over the long term.
By contrast, the focus of the vast majority of ordinary cleaners can be summed up in two words: quantity and speed.
Essentially, this means pushing more and more garments (quantity) faster and faster (speed) through their “production system.” They’re in by 11:00 and out by 5:00; picked up on day 1 and delivered on day 3.
At ordinary cleaners, production efficiency is the holy grail of their entire operation. Of course, no ordinary cleaner will admit to this.
Ordinary cleaners promote the absurd notion that they deliver:
- “Top Quality At A Competitive Price”,
- “Top Quality At Half The Price Or A Third Of The Price Of A True Quality Cleaner”.
But given their consistently lower price structure, it’s clear that the long-term economic viability of their enterprise depends solely on quantity and speed.
Not quality of work.
Which is fine if you’re manufacturing standardized widgets. But absolute heresy when you’ve been entrusted with the custom cleaning and finishing a client’s fine garments, household textiles and accessories. Especially their fine bespoke, made-to-measure, designer, high fashion, specialty and couture garments.
And the bottom line?
Low prices is the last refuge of dry cleaners who don’t care enough to deliver a garment, household textile or accessory that's actually worth paying for.
In your personal experience, how often is the cheaper or cheapest choice the best choice?
It’s why we always tell our clients that it’s important to know WHAT YOU'RE PAYING.
But it’s even more important to know WHAT YOU'RE PAYING FOR.
And what are you paying for? Take our 5 minute Grade Your Cleaner test.
We don’t cut costs by cutting corners
Garment care at the bespoke, made-to-measure, designer, high-fashion, specialty and couture level involves specialized procedures, processes, equipment and facilities.
And, most importantly, technically skilled labor and time.
If you encounter low to moderate prices at the bespoke, made-to-measure, designer, high-fashion, specialty and couture level of garment care, you can be absolutely assured that they’re cutting costs by cutting corners in every facet of their operation – from cleaning and finishing to inspection and packaging.
All this, despite the fact that that their slogans include “The relentless pursuit of textile perfection”, “The art of clean” and “We deliver the exquisite”.
Really?
Low to moderate prices in the metro Phoenix area would be $10.00 to $25.00 for a 2 piece suit (dry cleaning), $5.00 to $12.50 for a trouser/slacks (dry cleaned) and $2.50 to $10.00 for a dress shirt (laundered).
The notion that you cannot consistently deliver true quality at a low to moderate cost, is a simple concept…
The Four Seasons or The Ritz Carlton cannot consistently provide a first class hotel room for the price of a Sheraton or Holiday Inn while maintaining their existing quality standards.
Morton’s or Ruth’s Chris cannot consistently serve a prime quality steak for the price of a Sizzler or Lone Star while maintaining their existing quality standards.
And Mercedes or BMW won’t ever be able to deliver a vehicle for the price of a Kia or Hyundai while maintaining their existing quality standards.
True quality cleaning is no different.
We don’t offer multiple quality (and price) levels
Some ordinary dry cleaners have, in recent years, grasped onto the notion that they can generate additional revenue with almost no additional effort by offering two or three “levels of quality” – each with their own corresponding pricing structure.
Typically, these ordinary cleaners identify their multi-level quality/pricing structures with a special names such as their “everyday" and their “couture" service. Or their "diamond" and "gold" service. Or their "classic" and "artisan" service.
Fundamental to this idea is the ludicrous notion that it’s possible to serve every market segment simultaneously using the exact same personnel, procedures, processes, technologies, equipment and facilities.
The marketing implication, of course, is that there is something fundamentally different in the quality of the product they produce for each different price level.
Truth is, if you eliminated the different packaging associated with each “level of quality”, there’s practically no difference in the quality of the product amongst those different price levels.
Same product. Different packaging. Different prices.
The problem with offering multiple levels of quality is that multiple levels of quality requires multiple sets of skills – a different set of skills for each “level of quality” offered.
So the big question is this: Is it possible for a dry cleaner to employ multiple skill sets across all areas of operations – from cleaning to finishing to inspection to repairs to packaging – within the same facility?
And the answer?
It’s not possible.
It’s impossibly cost prohibitive.
Why?
Because multiple levels of quality is a slippery slope. Once you start, you can’t stop.
After a while, all three “levels of quality” merge into one and the only true level of quality produced is the lowest level of quality.
Quite frankly, the very idea is absurd.
If we told you that Morton’s, Denny’s and McDonald’s had joined forces and decided that they would henceforth operate from a single building with three separate seating areas, but that they would share the same kitchen, the same chefs, the same servers and the same food suppliers, you would tell us that that was the most idiotic idea you’d ever heard of.
Well, that’s exactly what these ordinary cleaners are telling you.
At RAVE FabriCARE, we have always offered only one level of quality of product and one price structure.
We’d never consider offering multiple levels of quality.
We’d never compromise or short cut our commitment to extraordinary care.
We’d sooner lock the doors, throw away the keys and move to the Coast.
We don’t provide telephonic quotes
Here’s a fairly typical call we receive: “How much do you charge to clean a dress?” “How much do you charge for shirts?” “What’s the price of a comforter?” “What about a handbag?”
Unfortunately, there’s no way to accurately answer these questions other than to say that it depends on many different factors. These factors include but not limited to fabric, animal skin, construction, color, trim, soiling, cleaning process(es) to be used, labor time required, and the like.
The problem with providing price quotes over the phone is simple: If we provided a a specific price quote or a specific price range based on a client’s best attempt to describe the item and it’s associated problems over the phone, someone will drop off a garment, household textile or accessory and, upon picking up that item, inform us that he/she was told that the price would be xxxx.
How was that price determined? No one knows. Who provided that price? No one knows.
As a result, we do not provide specific price quotes over the telephone.
In this regard, a true quality dry cleaner is much like your dentist. Your dentist cannot provide a price quote over the telephone without first examining your mouth to determine the extent of the work to be performed.
That having been said, we’re happy to provide you with a specific price quote -- or, at the very least, a price range -- upon physical inspection of your garment, household textile or accessory.
We do provide specific price quotes on request
We mentioned above that we don't provide price quotes over the phone.
On the other hand, if you brought in (or mailed in) a garment, household textile or accessory to our facility and we had the opportunity to access the item and estimate the labor associated with cleaning and/or restoring the item, we can provide you with a specific quote, or, at the very least, a price range.
If you come into our facility, please be patient as this pricing step may take a few minutes, particularly if the order involves multiple pieces.
On the other hand, if your time is limited, we can provide you with a "ballpark" price range for each specific item and call you with the exact pricing after all your items have been priced by our computer system.
In every instance where a specific price or price range is provided, we will note that price or price range on your receipt when you drop off the item.
Please note that we will only honor a price quotation if that price quotation is in writing and was issued by an authorized RAVE FabriCARE representative.
Accordingly, we do not honor "price quotes" of the “someone-told-me-it-would-cost-xxxx" variety.
No junk fees such as environmental taxes, fees or surcharges
We don’t follow the industry practice of adding an environmental tax, fee or surcharge of 3% to 6% to each invoice.
That’s because we view compliance with federal, state and local environmental laws and regulations as just another business expense, not an additional revenue source.
Unfortunately, the term “environmental tax, surcharge or fee” is misleading and has led many consumers to believe that this “price adjustment” is a tax that must be collected by cleaners and forwarded to a federal, state or local agency.
Truth is, there’s no such tax in Arizona.
It’s merely a sham device designed to generate additional revenue.
Their hope, of course, is that their customers will not notice the environmental tax, fee or surcharge at the bottom of the dry cleaner's ticket, and, if they do, that their customers will rationalize the tax, fee or surcharge as "that's just the way things are."
Adding an environmental surcharge to your cleaning bill is like a bar or restaurant charging for the use of the restroom.
At RAVE FabriCARE, we charge an appropriate price for the quality of the product we deliver.
We don't need to resort to the sham of adding an "environmental tax, fee or surcharge" to your tickets.
No junk fees such as fuel surcharges
Whenever there is an unforeseen increase in fuel costs, many cleaners who offer pick up and delivery services are quick to add a "fuel surcharge" onto every ticket they write.
For many cleaners, this "fuel surcharge" represents a unique opportunity to generate additional revenues that far exceeds their incremental fuel costs.
Their hope, of course, is that their customers will not notice the surcharge at the bottom of the dry cleaner's ticket, and, if they do, that their customers will rationalize the fuel surcharge as "that's just the way things are."
Of course, when those fuel costs return to "normal" levels, the temporary fuel surcharge never goes away.
At RAVE FabriCARE, we charge an appropriate price for the quality of the product we deliver.
We don't need to resort to the tactic of adding fuel surcharges to your tickets.
Our latest pricing
The Sample Price List below is highly abbreviated. Our actual Price List exceeds 50 pages.
The prices listed below are the MINIMUM PRICES FOR SOME OF THE MORE COMMON TYPES of garments, household textiles and accessories.
Our minimum prices for garments and household textiles are then adjusted to reflect factors such as luxury brands, luxury fabrics, unusual combinations of fabrics, trims and embellishments (beads, sequins, rhinestones, leather, suede, etc.), light colors (primarily whites and creams), lining, pleats, ruffles, knit blocking, removal and replacement of hardware and buttons, protection of hardware and buttons, odor remediation, heavy or unusual soiling, application of multiple cleaning processes, etc.
In other words, it’s highly likely that the actual charge will be moderately to substantially higher than the MINIMUM PRICES listed below.
Drapery prices are subject to adjustment for multiple quantities of identical drapes (greater than a pair). As a general rule and subject to the degree of soiling, the greater the number of identical drapes received, the lower the price per square foot.
Please visit the Services section of our website under Gown Cleaning & Preservation for further details or call us to arrange for an in-house consultation..
At RAVE FabriCARE, we do not machine clean your suede and leather garments. Unlike ordinary cleaners, we do all our work in-house and would never subcontract the cleaning of your suede and leather garments to some unknown, out-of-state third party. The above prices based on hand cleaning your suede and leather garments at a charge rate of $100.00 per hour.
At RAVE FabriCARE, we do not machine clean your handbags, purses, wallets and backpacks. Unlike ordinary cleaners, we do all our work in-house and would never subcontract the cleaning of your handbags, purses, wallets and backpacks to some unknown, out-of-state third party. The above prices are based on hand cleaning your handbags, purses, wallets and backpacks at a charge rate of $100.00 per hour.
Periodic price adjustments
From time to time, every business must make adjustments to their price structure in response to changes in business operating conditions.
Accordingly, RAVE FabriCARE reserves the right to adjust our price structure for any specific garment, household textile or accessory or group of garments, household textiles or accessories, with or without prior written notice.
Any changes in price structure will affect all clients equally as our prices for in-store service, pickup and delivery service, nationwide clean by mail, and worldwide clean by mail are identical.
