Complaints

This profile includes complaints for UniFirst Corporation's headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see Find Local Branches.

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UniFirst Corporation has 233 locations, listed below.

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  UniFirst Corporation

  68 Jonspin Rd Wilmington, MA 01887-1090

• 

  UniFirst Corporation

  2839 Lafayette St Fort Myers, FL 33916-4320

• 

  UniFirst Corporation

  317 NE 2nd St Ocala, FL 34470-5851

• 

  UniFirst Corporation

  1021 Ware St Albany, GA 31705-3260

• 

  UniFirst Corporation

  2100 N Beech Ave Broken Arrow, OK 74012-1167

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/16/2024

  Type:Order Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  We are contractually obligated to continue our services with Unifirst until 3/12/26. They consistently charge us for replacement of "damaged" inventory often with little or no evidence of damage (as is outlined in the contract). When we have requested the documentation it is not provided and when we site this breach of contract as grounds to terminate they deny that it is within our rights. We have also discovered that the drivers get a commission on these damage charges and are therefore incentivised to make them to increase their billing. We are not arguing that nothing ever gets damaged, but the amount of claimed damages with no evidence is close to 40% of our billing. In the attached documents you will see in the month of June we paid $400 in damages on $1002 in billing. This is simply not possible and we are not provided documentation. Furthermore these items are supposed to be for our exclusive use and we do not see any damage, so how can Unifirst claim they are damaged and replace them unilaterally? They have said that they will show us why they damaged them out...., "If there is anything damaged out it will be done by our quality personnel here at the plant/factory. Once this is done, they will place it in see through plastic bad and should be brought to your account for your employees to see why we damaged it out." But this evidence has never been provided as it should be per the contract. They are standing behind the fact that it is our word against theirs..., "The route service manager(****************************************) at Unifirst, has basically said it is our word against theirs regarding showing us what is damaged and that Unifirst decides what is damaged." Yet they are supposed to show us evidence. We simply want out of the contract, that is all we are asking, to not have to pay the balance of the contract through its end in 2026.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 07/29/2024

  UniFirst takes pride in consistently conducting business in an honest and ethical manner, and we take customer satisfaction very seriously, which is how we have become a leader in our industry.  Our local management spoke with ****** on 07/24 in good faith to address the concerns and details of the complaint with both sides communicating their positions.  As a result, we came to a mutually agreed upon solution and action plan.  We remain absolutely dedicated to ******* satisfaction, and upon the success of our action plan we hope to make Sea Smoke a fully satisfied UniFirst customer once again. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 07/31/2024

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I spoke with ****************************, the general manager, who did actually address my concerns and had constructive ideas on how to resolve them moving forward. I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does satisfy my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint #********. I understand that by choosing to accept the business response that my complaint will be closed as resolved. 
  
  Regards,
  
  **********************************************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/30/2024

  Type:Sales and Advertising Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I am the owner off the company ******** diesel truck repair *** and I am making my complaint base on the service you guys are giving me seen last years they give me bad services this years 2024 they are bring the uniform ***omplete and I ask the driver and every Thursday he said different version and every week continue bringing the uniform ***omplete

  

  Business Response

  Date: 08/12/2024

  We regret we were unable to post a reply to this customers complaint within an appropriate time.  In reviewing the complaint with our local management team, they contacted both the husband and wife owners of the company and verified all missing garments have been replaced.  It is our understanding that all issues have been resolved and we remain absolutely dedicated to ******** Diesel Tucks satisfaction.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/09/2024

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Firstly, I must address the repeated instances of lost uniforms. Despite our consistent adherence to the terms of our agreement, it has become distressingly common for uniforms to go missing after being sent for cleaning. This has forced our employees to work without appropriate attire, leading to a decline in morale and professionalism within our workplace.On multiple occasions, we have been charged in full for services that were not rendered. There has been an instance where your delivery team failed to show up altogether, yet we were still invoiced as if the service had been completed. Furthermore, when your manager visited to rectify the situation and agreed to replace the mishandled uniforms, we were shocked to discover that we were charged for each item replaced. This is in direct contradiction to the assurances given during the visit. It is deeply disappointing that UniFirst would exploit our predicament for financial gain, rather than fulfilling its obligation to provide reliable service.In response to these persistent breaches of contract, we promptly notified UniFirst of our intent to terminate our account. However, instead of addressing our concerns in good faith, your company chose to ignore our attempts at resolution. Despite assurances that a representative would reach out to discuss the erroneous charges, we have yet to receive any communication from UniFirst.To add insult to injury, we recently received final invoices that include false charges, further compounding the financial strain caused by UniFirst's negligence. Despite our attempts to seek clarification, your company has refused to engage in meaningful dialogue, opting instead to send our account to collections without justification.We demand an immediate resolution to this matter, including the retraction of all false charges and the removal of our account from collections.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 05/21/2024

  I have not heard from the business in response to my complaint.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 08/14/2024

  We regret we were unable to post a reply to this customers complaint within an appropriate time when the complaint was filed.  As so often happens in business, there are two sides to every story.  In reviewing the complaint with our local management team, some delays did occur, but we believed were resolved to the customers satisfaction until we received notification that the customer made the decision to cancel their service without the proper notification.  There are specific steps to be taken by a customer if and when they wish to terminate service based on performance issues. These steps were not followed as agreed to by the customer and per our contract (notably the required written letter of notification to UniFirst of any service failures/precise nature of any deficiencies). Additionally, per our Agreement, if a customer cancels service before the end of their contract term and does not follow the agreed upon problem resolution and/or service cancellation steps, the customer is obligated to cover specified costs - again,as was agreed to by the customer in our Agreement. The account was inactivated on 04/02/24 prior to the customers ******************** complaint filed on 05/09/24.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/15/2024

  Better Business Bureau:I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does not satisfy or resolve my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint # ********. Please add your rejection comments below; if you do not provide any details, your complaint will be closed as Answered. 

  [You must provide details of why you are not satisfied with this resolution.  If you do not enter a reason for your rejection, your complaint will be closed as Answered.]
  
  Businesses and Customers should be civil, courteous and polite in their responses to complaints. It is important to remain professional and productive when participating in the BBB complaint process.
  
  FAQ

  I would like to state the delays that occurred were only a small part of our complaint as you can see in our previous complaint.

  Our garments were lost due to the mishandling of your drivers, the manager promised to replace these at no cost but we were charged for every single one, each invoice we received was crossed out in pen and written as a different amount, etc.

   

  As you mentioned, we did send a letter and did follow protocol to terminate the contract due to your company's breach of contract. I attached the letter that was sent and reviewed by Unifirst.

  A representative from your company gave us a call upon receiving the letter with documents of all the times Unifirst failed to keep what was promised.

  She stated herself that she will be closing our account and sent us all our documents back so Unifirst should have all these documents on file. 

  She failed to mention what was going to happen with the outstanding false invoices and Unifirst sent those invoices to collections.

   

  This is a perfect example of the lack of communication Unifirst is experiencing among their employees and how our account was being mishandled.

  Upon receiving a call from the collection agency, they advised me to speak with someone at Unifirst.

  I called Unifirst and asked to be transferred to the manager and they refused to speak with me. The representative stated the manager won't be taking my call and stated that I need to talk to collections and told me to hang up.

   

  In conclusion, none of the statements in your response is true and did not solve anything we mentioned.

   

  Regards,

  ******

   

   

  

  Business Response

  Date: 08/28/2024

  UniFirst prides itself on high levels of customer service and satisfaction and we take things like this very seriously.  In response to ************ most recent comments on her BBB complaint, we have a very different account as to what transpired.  However, this account is now in the collection process and any further response would be inappropriate at this time.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/01/2024

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  We rent uniforms from this company. We have recently discovered that the uniforms have not been getting returned to us and several were lost after being turned into Unifirst for cleaning.Over the past several weeks I have attempted to work with Unifirst to have all the garments that were turned in for cleaning to be returned so our employees can use them. After 3 weeks the garments are still not being brought to us but we continue to be charged for them. We want all the garments that we pay for to be brought to us so our employees do not have to wear and ruin their own personal clothing. Unifirst has provided no explanation for why these garments are still not being brought to us.They also have added items to our account that were not ordered by us and we are being charged for them. We have repeatedly asked for these items to be removed and they still have not been removed and we continue to be charged.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 07/09/2024

  UniFirst takes pride in consistently conducting business in an honest and ethical manner and we take customer satisfaction very seriously, which is how we have become a leader in our industry.  Our local UniFirst management contacted the customer to discuss their concerns and the details of their complaint, and as a result both parties have agreed upon an amicable resolution.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 07/09/2024

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does satisfy my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint #********. I understand that by choosing to accept the business response that my complaint will be closed as resolved. 
  
  Regards,
  
  *********************** & Sons ******

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/23/2024

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Currently have an agreement with UniFirst to supply uniforms, supplies for our fleet maintenance department. I have noticed for some time UniFirst will adjust pricing, add unknown charges on the weekly invoices. Also charged for services never rendered. I have asked multiple times for notification in writing in advance regardless price increases, etc. What UniFirst is doing is price gouging, unscrupulous billing practices on their customer. When I question them on this I never get a response to my satisfaction. They have severed any respectable opinion I once held and we will not renew the agreement. I see why they D minus rating with the BBB.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 07/09/2024

  UniFirst takes pride in consistently conducting business in an honest and ethical manner and we take customer satisfaction very seriously, which is how we have become a leader in our industry.  Our local UniFirst management met with ****** to discuss her concerns and the details of the complaint, and as a result have agreed upon a resolution that mutually satisfies both parties.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/20/2024

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  The terminal I manage has recently switched uniform providers to Cintas. Unifirst routinely fails to drop off complete sets of uniforms for the mechanics and often fails to change the rugs and claims they were not loaded on the truck. All of these issues previously had been handled via phone. Since this left no " record " of non satisfaction Unifirst threatened to charge WBT appox $40,000 in contract buyout charges. I agreed to maintain one employees uniforms with them and drop all other items. Since then, only 2 jackets have been delivered in a 2 week period of his ***** items. Yet we have received invoices for $60-$80 each of those 2 weeks. This week no items were delivered but an invoice for $61.75 was handed to me. I have received emails from their manager stating adjustments will be made and uniforms are coming but it has not happened. The resolution I seek is termination of the contract with Unifirst. They have not provided quality service as your BBB rating clearly shows. Lastly, I offered to inventory the items returned to them and the service rep declined. This being said, I refused to accept any shortages since they were not identified with me.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 03/19/2024

  UniFirst takes pride in consistently conducting business in an honest and ethical manner and we take customer satisfaction very seriously, which is how we have become a leader in our industry.  Our local UniFirst management has contacted the customer to discuss their concerns and the details of their complaint, and as a result the parties have agreed upon a resolution that mutually satisfies both parties.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 03/19/2024

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does satisfy my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint #********. I understand that by choosing to accept the business response that my complaint will be closed as resolved. Unifirst was very cooperative in resolving this matter and went beyond the bounds of the resolution I requested.
  
  Regards,
  
  *****************************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/11/2024

  Type:Order Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On 1/21/2022 we entered a 5 year service agreement with Unifirst. During this time we have encountered many errors and inaccuracies in billing. There are many discrepancies for quantities of items received and whether we are being billed accurately. We tried to work with the branch manager to ********************************* to remedy these issues. Unifirst did make some improvements but the same issues continue to repeat. They have a very high staff turn over. We asked to amicably end our contract early while they work through their billing and staffing issues. ******** asked for 60 days to improve the issues. We granted that. We are now past that 60 days and have the same issues. I asked again to mutually part ways on 1/10 and she abruptly stated she is putting us in breach of contract, drafted premature cancellation forms, demanded inventory to be picked up 1/15 or they will be billed as lost. She now states all communication is ceased and must go through their attorney. She does not want to hear about fair issues that effect the quality of their service. We are the end user and it is very challenging to not be able to trust their billing and have a reliable service provided.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 01/24/2024

  UniFirst takes pride in consistently conducting business in an honest and ethical manner and we take customer satisfaction very seriously, which is how we have become a leader in our industry.  There were some accidental billing inaccuracies that did occur along with a staffing issue on the Towtally account.  Those billing issues were immediately addressed by local management, and the staffing issue has since been resolved.  We believe all issues have been resolved in a mutually agreeable manner for all involved and hope to make ********************** a fully satisfied UniFirst customer once again.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/31/2023

  Type:Order Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  My issue is with the criminal sales tactics used by local Unifirst service providers. I contacted Unifirst to get Shirts made and service for just 4 employees. The rate and duration I felt was extremely too long and high however the local GM assured me thats only because they need to recoup the cost of buying the shirts and adding my logo on them. The duration of the contract helps them recover those expenses. Now that my contract is coming to an end (fully paid), ** being additionally penalized because Im not willing to renew my contract as my business model has changed. They are now demanding an additional $2,315.87 for custom merchandise. Now I agree its in small print in the Terms and Conditions however the local GM told me the reason I paid so much every week and I had to have a minimum duration was for them to pay for those already. Why am I being forced to pay for those alterations in full now twice? This is intentionally misleading and deceitful business practices. Customer #*******

  

  Business Response

  Date: 01/07/2024

  UniFirst takes pride in consistently conducting business in an honest and ethical manner and we take customer satisfaction very seriously, which is how we have become a leader in our Industry.  Regarding the Biomedical account, on 01/04/****** local UniFirst management spoke with ************** and **************** in good faith about their concerns and the details of their complaint in an effort to come to a mutually satisfactory agreement. It is our belief that UniFirst and ************** and **************** have, in fact, resolved the issues at hand and have worked out our differences in an agreeable manner for all involved.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/27/2023

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Letter to Unifirst:******************* was my initial representative and I was told that I was not obligated to anything regarding their service and I could cancel at any time if I was not happy. I was told that since I am a very small business, they wanted to help me out. Called ******************* a few times and then started calling customer service because I could not get a return call. Last phone call to ******************* was 10/13/23, left message for him to call me - ************, no reply from him to date.I am very disappointed in the service I have received from Unifirst. I couldn&#**;t even get my representative to call me back regarding holy, stinky towels and invoicing that was never correct. The driver never had the soap needed for my 3 compartment sink on his truck. He blamed the people who loaded the trucks for the missing items. I was delivered ***** towels when ******************* said that it wouldn&#**;t be on the list even though it was on the initial paperwork I signed. He said this would be removed. Several weeks went by and the driver kept trying to drop off ***** towels.I told the driver about the towels and the problem with them, he told me to throw them away. I did not do that I simply put them in the dirty bin for pick up. I expressed this concern to ***** in customer service.The billing department had my shop address incorrect, and the business next door kept getting my mail because they have H31**33363736383633**H Service, and it had their address on it. Therefore, they would open my mail.In the beginning I was able to reach *******************, and nothing was ever resolved, then I would try reaching him and never received calls back but ended up getting *********************** in the picture.Multiple times I would call *************************** regarding the incorrect invoicing, issues with the service. I have the emails regarding the wrong invoicing.I spoke with a different customer service rep because ***** was not available and told her I wished to cancel my service because of the issues that were not taken care of. Neither one of the reps told me there would be a cancellation fee.Then I received a call from corporate office making sure everything was picked up from the driver and she indicated all invoices had been closed and said the account was closed. Not one time was I told about a cancellation penalty and that I signed documentation regarding this. Driver came by one last time and told me he was to try and twist my arm and get me not to cancel the service, his exact words.The first time I was made aware of a penalty fee was from ******* who took over *****************#**;s position, is what I was told and he sent this through email. I feel like I was tricked into signing a document that the supposedly cancellation fee was not disclosed to me. Unifirst did not explain or show me any documentation of a cancellation fee.******* said the dollar amount that they were sending to collections for was to recoup money for the account. There is no dollar amount to recoup. The driver literally services the next-door business same day. Again, there are no outstanding invoices so what is there to recoup? Every single item was returned to Unifirst.******* said he had the agreement in front of him showing where I signed but what I thought I signed was the agreement of product and the days of service. Again, there was no mention of a cancellation penalty and I saw no such agreement.Paying the ridiculous amount of $8,318.72 for an early cancellation fee will put me out of business! I cannot say it any plainer, I was never told or even pointed out that there would be such a fee.I have attached emails between me and Unifirst regarding the invoice. All calls regarding the towel service were being recorded and documented according to the reps I spoke to. Please review these. I am asking you kindly to dismiss this ridiculous amount so that we can both move on.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/08/2024

  I have not heard from the business in response to my complaint.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/20/2023

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Been Invoiced incorrectly and have contacted multiple local managers and even corporate offices

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/01/2023

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does satisfy my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint #********. I understand that by choosing to accept the business response that my complaint will be closed as resolved. 
  
  Regards,
  
  Riverrun Gardens