Tubs & Tumblers Coin Laundry at 701 West Grand River Avenue, Brighton, Michigan.

I moved temporarily to Brighton in 2011 to be next to family while I finished raising my kids & went to law school.

My youngest just left home. I'm studying for the bar exam.

As a registered nurse working the night shift, my time is valuable. Renting in Brighton has meant that I have used the laundromat for 6 years. I have often opted for this laundromat over the small & expensive ones offered where I live.

Tonight I was forced to leave with my half-dried & unfolded laundry after being told by the store employee, "we don't want your kind here anyway."

I have a routine. I always park & enter on the far-end side of the establishment. The sign outside of the door says, "last wash at 7p." I have always thought, no matter the time given - I believe it has changed from time to time - that the time meant that my wash needed to be started by the time stated.

I left my apartment at 6:35p & first got $20 out of my bank's ATM. I arrived around 6:45p, brought my laundry - 4 baskets (bedding, whites, towels, clothing), laundry supplies, and a notepad, which I used to determine whether or not I had enough $ to do all of my loads. I always use more dryers than washers so I didn't want to wash anything that I couldn't pay to dry. After doing the math, loading 4 washers, paying the fee, and starting the washers, I sat down to check my e-mail. The time was 6:57pm. I was pleased with myself because I pride myself in not breaking rules or causing trouble.

During the process of separating out what couldn't be dried (intimates, bathroom rugs, sweaters) & taking everything else to the dryers (some laundry was already in the dryer at this point), I noticed that the time was 7:25pm. I needed to get done ASAP because of work that I still needed to do at home. I still picked up dryer sheets from the floor that didn't belong to me to help out by throwing them way, like I always do. I used 5 dryers.

At 7:40p, I was informed that the laundromat closed at 8p. My response was to ask, "even if my laundry is not done? I had my wash started by 7p."

"The sign says we close at 8p. It's at the other door."

I'm 44 & unfortunately have been a single parent trying to better myself on a tight budget for a long time. I have used laundromats most of my adult life.

"Doesn't the 8p time mean that no one else can drop off laundry for drying cleaning services? I would not have started my wash at 7p if I thought I couldn't finish it." I said.

"What do you think I'm suppose to do? Wait here all night? Besides, I watched you. You didn't start your wash before 7p," said the employee.

"Besides, my ride home will not wait."

I quickly wrote a complaint, left it & my business card, and vacated by 8p. Had I been given the time to finish, I probably would have been done by 8:30p - 30 minutes to wash, 45 minutes dry, 15 minutes to fold & load. This is a reasonable time to expect someone starting their wash at 7p to be finished.

I was told I am not the kind of person that the establishment wants to do business with.

And then I had to spend more $ and time to finish my laundry elsewhere.

I will NOT be doing business again with this establishment.