I usually don’t click on Facebook ads. I am aware of click baits and I understand how they work. Until recently, I stuck to that rule. Then I stumbled over this one ad. Urban, contemporary look. Turquoise colours. Washmen. What was this? Another hipster hairdresser/beard grooming/male lounge? A laundry service? I was intrigued. I clicked on it. We usually do the washing ourselves and outsource the pressing/ironing to a local shop close by. A guy comes, picks up our washed shirts and returns them on a hangar a couple days later. A system in place for decades here in Dubai. I got so used to the odd “sorry sir, I cannot come today, driver is stuck in traffic” routine, that I learned to always keep a spare shirt at home. I also got used to always having cash at home to pay the delivery guy. I wasn’t overly happy with the reliance and process of doing all of this, but I still preferred it over ironing myself. Another first world problem filed under the "uh well, it’s not the end of the world” category.

Curious as I am, I was intrigued to try out the new service. The website looks hip & trendy (flat design, simple navigation, very much like the Zomatos of Dubai). One check I always do with websites is if they are mobile ready (responsive design). Check. I signed up and provided my location details. Credit card payments are a welcome change, however I did hesitate to provide my details to a new site/service I never heard of before. I am sure many customers would be interested to give this a go, but bail out once they are asked for their CC details (which seems mandatory). I have to admit, I spent a good 2 minutes weighing the pros and cons of doing so myself. My laziness prevailed eventually and I placed my first order. They did not have an app when I signed up and so I did everything through my mobile browser (update as of 01-Nov: the new app is now available through the app store).

Their price list. More on their website on www.washmen.com

You can select pick up and drop off times and Washmen sticks to the usual 2 day delivery service level. You can have it processed in one day, but that costs extra (fair enough). I placed an order for pickup for the same day and waited.

Pretty much bang on time the driver showed up in a washmen uniform/outfit and handed me a washmen branded clothes bag and a complimentary pair of house slippers (also branded). A nice touch I thought. The driver appeared clean and neat and was very polite and friendly. I handed him the bag with my clothes and off he went.

Two days later he returned (again on time) and handed me the shirts (covered in the usual plastic cover, but these were branded). I don’t have an extensive comparison between different laundry shops, but I do feel that the pressing quality of the Washmen shirts is way better than my previous provider. No wrinkles. Shirts are stiff and clean (starch?). Just how I like ‘em.

The payment amount gets deducted from your card the second the driver leaves and you instantly get an invoice mailed to your email address. This is also very nice for record keeping.

Having wanted to try the service first before fully committing and making the switch from my existing shop, I only gave them 2 shirts to try. I got an email from them saying that normally there is a minimum but that they would waive the surcharge normally applied for this.

There was one small glitch when I used the new app for the first time (my pickup wasn’t registered and so no one came), but I received several calls to make sure the next delivery/pickup is on its way and they even kept me up to date on the status of the issue (other customers seem to have experienced the same issue). It now seems to work fine and I have not experienced any more issues.

I told the driver to not use the door bell after 8pm in order not to wake our daughter. A request he honours every single time, without having to remind him.

All in all I’m happy with this new service. It goes to show that you really don’t always have to reinvent the wheel as an entrepreneur, but rather improve the stuff that already exists.

Thumbs up for Washmen!