Can't say enough good things about Arlene's. Arlene is the real deal -- super nice, friendly, offering me quarters for the parking meter, Korean candies while I wait -- wow! Needed a shirt and suit laundered and dry cleaned for the Symphony the next day and she make some calls and got a 100% commitment to having it on time 24 hours later. Super duper service! Too bad I live in Southern California, or I'd definitely be a regular. read more

Arlene's real name is Hea (pronounced "hey") Pak, and she is a sweetheart. I stumbled upon her by reading positive reviews on Yelp! and decided to try her. She did such a wonderful job on my clothes that I now travel from Walnut Creek to patronize her business. Highly recommend her. She's the best. read more

I have taken my clothes here for a long time and they have always come back great. Today I took a pillow sham in to get the zipper replaced and the two ladies working worked on the zipper for about 5 minutes to try and get the zipper to close-they wanted to make sure the zipper needed to be replaced. It was obviously going to be difficult to close even IF they could get it to zip shut so I asked how much to just replace the whole zipper. She quoted me a totally reasonable price and I said that was fine, let's replace it. The two ladies kept working though and did get it zipped after another 5 minutes of working on it. She pointed out a place where I could hand sew at home & the problem might be resolved without having to spend any money. I was grateful that they were so up front and helpful! I came home and tried to hand sew but another part of the zipper came apart so it definitely needs to be replaced. Going to take it back to Arlene's tomorrow but I sure do appreciate that they tried to fix it first rather than just take my money. Lastly, parking is difficult in this area and I had actually parked on the yellow curb out front because I thought it was just going to be a quick drop off. Towards the end of this whole ordeal one of the ladies said, is your car on the curb because the parking lady is coming. I ran out just in time to not get a ticket (yay!) without grabbing the pillow sham. One of the ladies even brought it out to me when she realized I wasn't going to be able to come back in without getting a ticket. Love them!! read more

Paid more than $18 to retrieve a single light coat that was with them for a week ... it's minus one small light spot (with even smaller, lighter blemishes nearby ignored), plus a lot of lint, and otherwise looks and smells just the same as when I brought it in. I'm sure I can do better myself. Maybe they looked at it and thought it didn't need much, but we talked about what it needed when I brought it in. I wouldn't mind paying that much for a clean collar and fresh-smelling garment, but clearly not much happened here. I've had great experiences with Arlene's in the past with larger and more challenging tickets -- that was a couple years ago admittedly and I don't remember it costing this much per coat -- but I felt underserved this time and I'm wondering if it's because I bothered them with too little a job and was overcharged because it was a higher-end brand. Or maybe they're just too busy. This was kind of a test to see if I wanted to entrust them with my more costly coats, and now I'm not sure it'd be worth it. read more

Customer service exceeded expectations!! I don't use yelp to write reviews, but they deserve this one! I work with a company where we value our people and our customers, as well as providing world-class customer service experience. But as I walked for a simple dry cleaning service, there is a wonderful lady who offered me water (which I first politely declined, but she insisted anyway). Positive attitude and welcoming visit! When I came back to pick up my suit, her and her colleagues valued me; they even provided care for my suit. They provided me a suit cover to protect it from dust and sunlight (even though they already provided the plastic cover), and she offered me another water for this visit. I tried tipping them but they refused and they placed it back in my pocket; and at that point, i understood how feels like even for ourselves, when we can't accept tip as thank you. They now found themselves a new loyal customer. read more

Right, so I told myself I'd never waste my time and sign up on Yelp, but this lady has single-handedly made me do otherwise. Arlene's is by far the best dry cleaner's in the area of Berkeley. The words "above and beyond" do not fully describe the kind of service and positive attitude Arlene exudes. If it's your first time, you apparently get a "first time discount" of a free dry cleaning. I was very pleasantly surprised. If all people in the world were like Arlene... well the world would be pretty close to perfect. read more

I love this place. I came here after looking on Yelp in February. I got my wool coat cleaned. It was a spectacular job. I could only pick it up earlier than it's original time. It was cleaned, but she hadn't gotten to the lint. She was really sorry and asked if I could wait a bit, but I couldn't. So I got it and it only cost $7. A great deal. I went back this week with tons of stuff. A suit, a sweater, a long coat with a zip-in liner, and three suit jackets. She told me that once the coat was done, it wasn't right so they did it again. No charge for it. They were running a special of 20% each item if you bring in more than one. It was supposed to be $50, but she asked if I'd been there before and I told them about my coat and how happy I was about it; she charged me $45. She offered to help me out and then was concerned about how heavy it was when I said I was taking BART. In short, great prices, great service, great care, and environmentally-friendly solvents. I love this place! read more

This place is great. I had two coats that I hadn't had cleaned since I bought them. They finally had gotten dirty enough that I felt it was time to take em in so I yelped a place and found this and headed over. The owner is super sweet. Like ridiculously sweet. she took my coats and I picked them up the next week and I couldn't believe how clean they were. One of them had a stain on that I wasn't expecting her to be able to get out but she did! And it was a lot cheaper than I expected. And it's eco friendly! And within walking distance to my house! (which I realize means nothing to you but I'm pretty happy about that) You really can't beat this place. It's pretty legit. read more

I'm big on dark-colored denim, but lately I've been noticing that they fade with each machine wash. I couldn't afford to diminish the quality of my expensive denim, so I pull up the handy-dandy Yelp app to look for a dry cleaning place around the area with great reviews, and, of course, Arlenes Cleaners came up. I was a bit caught off guard when she told me it would take longer than expected, but I didn't mind too much. Came in, dropped off my items, and was on my way in minutes. My items were supposedly ready for pick-up on Saturday, but I didn't have enough time to pick them up, so I stopped by on Monday morning. For a split second, she made me poop my pants because she told me that my items weren't ready, and I was in a desperate need for some clean denim. I'm just like, were my jeans that soiled? At this point, I started to have doubts about this place, but false alarm, she double checked and they were ready (phew!). She charged me $10 instead of $11.90 for nearly giving me a heart attack and gave me a bottle of water. Great customer service much? Um, hell yes! I've found my #1 dry cleaning spot in Berkeley. Quick tips: If you're coming from around campus, take the 51B down College Avenue and get off on the corner by Ici, then take the 51B back! Side notes: (1) If you couldn't already tell from above, Arlene is the sweetest lady ever. She'll make sure you walk out happy! (2) With the reviews come the business, so don't expect to get your dry cleaning the next business day. She's a busy woman! read more

Her name isn't Arlene, but she doesn't mind being called that. She does fantastic work for a very reasonable price. It's definitely helpful to tell her in advance what you want done with each piece you bring in (e.g. general cleaning or if there are heavy stains), and she'll tell you what she's able to do for it. For example, I brought in a dark teal cocktail dress with heavy stains, and she told me that she would try her best, but she wouldn't risk changing the color of the dress. The dress came back with a few faint stains, which you really had to look hard to find, but the color intact, so I was quite happy. I'm not sure if she still does this, but when I told her it was my first time bringing my clothing to her shop, she gave me a discount and a free lint roller. read more

After seeing all the reviews and not having been to a dry cleaners since I moved here 2 years ago, I had to see what the fuss was about and hoped to find my new go-to cleaners spot. Let me tell you, the reviews here don't lie. Arlene and her family (i'm assuming) are such hospitable and kind people. They were all smiles and "thank you's" both when dropping off and picking up my clothes. Of course they asked me if I wanted a bottle of water both times and offered me candy. Clothes turned out perfect and price is very reasonable. If anyone has anything bad to say, it's the reviewers problem, not Arlene's read more

Arlene is such a customer friendly person. She will often give you a free lint roller or a discount on the dry cleaning to make sure you come back. My only pet peeve is that once I had a stain on my cream pants and I didn't mention it to her. Yet the cleaners tried to get it out and failed yet they left a larger white spot around it. I'm not too upset about it since those pants had a stain anyway but now I feel that they made it a little worse. read more

I dunno, maybe it's because i've been spoiled by my newfound neighborhood cleaner. But Arlene's seemed to be just a normal cleaners to me. Don't get me wrong, Arlene herself is precious. Maybe it's because she's so busy, but i didn't feel like my clothes necessarily got all the attention they needed. I'm used to them scouring my garments for any spots, tears, defects, so that they can mark it for some TLC. She did give me and my friend a discount when we picked up and paid...but considering how much we ended up spending there, it was really just a drop in the bucket. plus...you have to pay for parking on college. boo. sunny cleaners is the cleaner for me. read more

Great, chemical free service! I know this is gross but I had never gotten my jackets dry cleaned (after wearing them for months) and they had plenty of stains, in need of a deep cleaning. When I came to pick up the clothes they looked brand new and smelled amazing. I couldn't believe how shiny my jacket was and how effectively they got the stains out. Amazing job and very reasonable priced. Bonus because I also called to see if they were ready a day early and they were! Amazing service. I'll be back! read more

Based on Yelp reviews, I chose Arlene's as my new dry cleaners and took my suit for my first trip *holds breath!*. Even after a fair warning from Yelpers, I was taken aback by Arlene's sincerity and friendliness. She made me feel like my suit would be in good hands and that I'll surely have it back in time for my company's holiday party. I go back a few days later and it is waiting for me as promised. When charging my card, she made an error by accidentally charging me $0.02 so had to reswipe the card. To me, this didn't make too big of a difference as it required no extra work for me - she was the one who was suffered more. However, she apologized profusely while re-swiping my card. Not a problem if you ask me. However, the small gaffe was significant enough to her that she offered me a gift to keep my suit looking sharp. It's business owners like this that make me *want* to come back despite the inconvenience of the location. 4-stars because there was one spot in particular that wasn't removed from my suit, but not sure if it's a spot that can be removed through dry-cleaning. read more

5 stars, no doubt. I've been here twice now, and my experiences have been great! The people there are really nice, the service is top notch, and the prices are amazingly low. The lady behind the counter is really sweet and she always has a smile on her face. Today, as I was leaving after I picked up my stuff, she offered candy but I turned it down...so she forced candy into my hands (while I was saying NOOOOO) we had a really good laugh about it. I remember when I first went here, I called 2 days before my deadline to see if I could pick up my suit early, and yup, it was ready! Last week I brought in a suit jacket, pants, and two sweaters. All came back so fresh, so clean (so fresh and so clean clean), with nothing really to worry about. How much did that set me back? About $19! read more

I'm with everyone else on this - this is the BEST dry cleaner in the east bay. Holy cow. Story of the day: Today, we called at 3 asking if we can pick up our stuff early - 3 pairs of jeans (hemmed), a blanket, one suit, and eight sweaters - because we forgot that we need some of the items tonight. She paused for a moment, said she'd call back in a bit, then hung up. Within 10 minutes she let us know she might be able to make it happen and that she'd call us before she closed today at 6. She called at 5 o'clock and said everything is ready, which we were totally excited about. She apologetically said the cost was $107, but when we got there she charged us an even $100. Yes, what you just read is correct - SHE GAVE US A DISCOUNT AFTER WE ASKED TO RUSH OUR CLEANING. WHO DOES THIS?!? Arlene's Cleaners is amazing. Just, I mean...just go there, man. PS - Does anyone in yelpland know if the older woman who works there is Arlene, or is that just the name of the shop? read more

They really dont need another 5 star review from me as I agree with all the other reviewers. But since I found Arlene's because I Yelpd it and chose it based on the reviews, I must add mine. They do a great job! Bonuses: they are cheaper than any around, and they use "green" cleaning. Tip: go before10am to avoid College Ave traffic. read more

Seriously, Arlene makes what should be a chore into a delightful interaction every single time. Not only do my incredibly stained chef whites come out perfectly white and pressed every time, she does them quickly and for a great price! Additionally, Arlene is absolutely adorable, high-energy, genuinely helpful, etc. she told me she didn't know if she could get my stains out but didn't want to lie and say she definitely could... Turns out she did a perfect job! She called me to let me know some items were done early, she gave me a dollar in quarters when she knew my meter was running low... Just incredible service. This place makes me sad I'm moving! read more

I have been going to Arlene's for almost a year, and she has always done an amazing job. In fact, my wife and I entrusted her with dry cleaning my wedding suit her wedding dress. We were not disappointed. I've recommended her to friends and my mother, all of whom have been happy with Arlene's work. She is always kind and friendly, with an attitude that makes you feel as if your business is wanted. It may not always be convenient for me to stop here, but the quality of the service and Arlene's attitude will keep me coming back. read more

This is my first Yelp post ever and for good reason, I've never been so impressed by a business before! Arlene is the most kind, generous, and helpful person I've ever met. I do a lot of dry cleaning and I've never truly been happy with any service, but I heard about Arlene's from Yelp and I was blown away by the quality of the work she guarantees. I just had 6 shirts tailored and a few suit items dry cleaned and besides all of them being perfectly done, Arlene gave me the dry cleaning for free and a few nice gestures such as a laundry bag and lint remover rolls. If you need a new dry cleaner try Arlene's! read more

Been coming here for more than five and a half years. The first three years I would have told anyone who cares about their clothes to drive any distance in the Bay for this place. In the last two years "Arlene" retired, and the business has steadily declined since. Miss Arlene! Arlene was about the sweetest lady you will ever meet, but she also ran an incredibly tight shop. Hospitality and customer service were the best I've ever experienced. They were organized, efficient, accommodating, welcoming. The shop was absolutely outstanding! Even after I moved out of Berkeley I would continue to drive 20+ minutes to get here, fight College Ave parking and traffic, and pay the higher-than-most prices. But the last dozen times I have come here the service has gotten progressively worse. Can't do it anymore and can't recommend it. At this point it's a revolving door of faces, no one seems to care about their job, the shop, the customers' experience, well being, or most of all, CLOTHES! Only thing that still feels the same is the name on the sign and picture on the wall. I will always pay up for great service, but they are way too expensive for the poor service they provide. If Arlene ever returns I'll be back in an instant! Otherwise, done with this place. Good cleaners are hard to find, and this place no longer fits that bill. read more

After calling on a Friday morning to see if I could get Monday morning pick up, they said they could deliver on Monday morning if I brought my clothes in that day. Their yelp info also states that they deliver to Oakland. When I come in, they say they cannot deliver to me because I live too far (5 miles), and that only my dry cleaning will be done by Monday, and that the laundry will not be done until Tuesday. While I am making calls to find a place who can clean my clothes by Monday, I get a $60 ticket for being in the loading zone. So I leave and find sunny Cleaners about a mile away. Guess the ticket was a wash because sunny was so much cheaper. 3.50 laundry and $7 dry cleaning for shirts at Arlenes. Not happy about the false advertisement and assurances... read more

I wrote this amazing review and then my computer took a shit and it went away. If you were to hop on the last train to awesometown this place would be the oncall dry cleaning service on the train. No, seriously. Really. She saved me money, did an amazing job, and best yet? She fixed the holes that were in my cashmere sweaters! Seriously! Fixed them so wonderfully I couldn't tell where the patches were. FOR FREE! She did this FOR FREE! Really? Yes. Just stop going to where ever it is you go and go here. You'll thank me... and if you're lucky, you'll get a lint roller too. I did. read more

I've been going to Arlenes for 3 years and have never been disappointed. She does a great job. I've gone to her for drycleaning, wash and ironing, and altering. Her prices are very reasonable. Not sure if she's still doing it, but she was offering a 20% discount if you bring in 2 or more items. My only issue is that parking is pretty difficult. So I usually try to get there early, before the restaurants open. read more

Wow! That is some friendly service! Arlene offered to carry my clean items to my car when I came to pick them up (they will bring them out to the car if you call when you pull up out front). I didn't need this service, but the offer was appreciated. I had 2 down comforters dry cleaned for $70 and dropped them off on a Thursday and picked them up on the following Tuesday. It seemed to be a good deal since they use eco-friendly products and were so friendly. Thanks for the free lint roller since it was my first time coming in - functional gifts like this are cool. It looks like I found a great eco-friendly dry cleaner near my new place - thanks for guiding me here Yelpers! read more

Amazing customer service! Definitely 5 stars. My cat peed/pooped on my down comforter. I was devastated and brought my smelly comforter to Arlene's. I expressed my anguish at my cat and also my concern that the chemicals used in dry cleaning will destroy my comforter, me, and the environment. Arlene reassured me that chemical wise, they only use biodegradable stuff because the normal chemicals are so harsh. Yay. She took a look at the stains and told me that they will try their best, but sometimes the stain may not come out :( She told me to come back in a week and since parking is hard to find, I can pull up right outside the store, call their number, and someone will bring it out to me. A week later, I came back to get my comforter... which was perfectly white again, no funny smells (cat or chemical). It cost me $39 and she offered to carry it for me and walk me to my car. Very sweet of her. It was just one comforter, so I said no thank you. She also gave me a $5 back as I left... just as a thank you, please come again. I love Arlene's. read more

I've only gone once, but the first time was quite the charmer. Technically twice, of course. Once to drop off, and again to pick up. Last week, I dropped off my coat to a younger girl - very sweet, polite, and attentive. I told her when was most convenient for me to pick up, she gave me my receipt, and I was on my way. Quick and pleasant. Today, I went to go pick it up and there were two older women. One was helping another customer, and the other came to me with a very sweet smile. After getting my coat back to me, she told me it was $9.50. I gave her $9.50 in cash and she gave me a dollar back! Did I hear wrong? I looked at her, puzzled, and she just waved her hands at me to take it. I'm still confused. As I walked away, I had wondered if there was a tip jar or something. But all I know now is that I must go there from now on for drycleaning, at least to return the gratitude! read more

Most definitely beats the diy dry cleaning kit I bought from Walmart. As amazing and unfathomable as that feat is, Arlene's has met (more like surpassed) all three of my minimum criteria: to clean my clothes and do a good job at it, to be affordable (they've given both my friend and me first timer discounts), and to be friendly. They also have lollipops. read more

Who knew I would write a review on a dry cleaning place! But, Arlenes Cleaners deserves 5 stars! Love Arlene! She goes above and beyond to provide personal and efficient service. Thank you! read more

I am the first to think the dry cleaners are a commodity business; they are all the same. But Arlene changed my mind. The clothes are clean, but almost everyone can do that. The service alone is worth the extra drive from Rockridge and the crappy Elmwood parking. She is SOOOO nice and sweet (and that kind of thing never sways me). She takes credit cards which is almost a requirement to get me to be a customer. Arlene's Rocks! read more

I've dropped off a few pieces here (suits, dresses) and they are always ready for pickup within a reasonable time. They do a great and thorough job for a fair price. Would recommend especially if you live in the area! read more

This place is awesome!! :) I came in about 2 weeks ago with a tan cardigan covered in bike grease. I am not exaggerating, I thought the sweater was ruined but I thought that maybe they could get it out. Went back today and picked it up. Cardigan was like new!!! Been here before with other things too and it always makes me feel like I just went shopping. read more

I have four coats dry cleaned for $31. My coats came out fine and very clean, just like every other place, but what really sold me about this place is the service! Arlene is SUPER nice! She's the epitome of good service!! If there was an example of what good service is, it's HER. When I dropped off my coats, she was very welcoming and polite. She even offered to rush the service when I didn't even ask for it just because she thought I would be cold without my coats! When I picked up my coats, she inspected each one for the belt and anything that might have been wrong with it. She had a nice bowl of candy (always a plus!) for me to eat while she was getting my coats for me. AND when I left, she walked me out the door and thanked me numerous times for coming. FREAKEN AMAZING SERVICE. If you don't go for the dry cleaning, just go to meet her and experience what GOOD SERVICE can be like!! read more

The "Cleaning Service" itself is good, so they get 2 stars. But "Reliability and Customer Service" is about as bad as they come: If you must have an item ready by a certain date, do NOT rely on their service. My shirts were not cleaned in time for a 2-week trip. On another occasion, I requested that they fold the shirts. But the shirts I picked up were placed on hangers. I'd gladly pay their higher price...but for higher quality service. Not this. read more

Arlene was extremely nice, the price was great, and most things looked great. However, I took two skirts in with side zippers, and the clasps came back destroyed. I'm not sure if the chemicals they used took the black paint off the clasps or the old ones came off and brass ones were sewn on, but the zippers and clasps were NOT in the condition that I brought them in. On one skirt I had to take a pliers to bend the clasp back before I could actually wear it; on the other skirt the zipper is now a pain to zip up. It seems hit-and-miss, so check over everything before you take it in, and check it before you leave. I didn't take my things back because at this point I'd rather just fix the clasps myself (luckily I can do that much sewing). After all these great reviews, I was pretty disappointed. read more

Just adding my 5 stars to the pile of 5 stars already accumulating here! Found Arlene through Yelp and took in a coat that hadn't been cleaned in about 3 years to her. Had food stains, etc. She "made no promises" but I got it back in 1 week in brand new condition. Didn't even smell like chemicals, and she did a thorough once over with me, looking for spots (which she had all gotten out!). When I told her I found her through yelp the ridiculously cheap price for the cleaning ($9.50) was dropped to $5!!! And she gave me a full size, name brand lint roller. And a butterscotch candy. Seriously, this was sort of the highlight of my day. She will have my repeat business for sure!! read more

I've been to another dry cleaners on College right near Ici, but decided to check this place out and see if it's actually 5 star worthy. Turns out it pretty much is. The lady at the front was extremely cheery and attentive to know how I wanted my dress altered. When I called in to see if my dress was done they were busy and said they'd call back but they forgot...so I just called back again and she couldn't stop apologizing. It cost about $30 to hem my lace dress and take in the sides. Considering it had two layers I think it was a decent price. read more

To launder and press a men's shirt here is $1.75. I haven't checked around other places to compare prices but I don't plan on it. The customer service here is top notch, and Arlene is always willing to satisfy the customer. read more

I had a creamed colored jacket that I brought here because I had some strange colored stains (almost looked like water spots but dry...and i dont think it was oil cuz i never wore it near oil...) that I couldn't get out. Apparently, Arlenes was not able to get it out either (hence the 4 stars, instead of 5) HOWEVER, even though they had dry cleaned my jacket, the lady working there was very kind and didn't charge me any money because they were not able to remove the stains. Really sweet lady:) That is the kind of service that will encourage returning customers! read more