I had to be there in two hours. My dress, a sturdy and somewhat matronly double-breasted affair in tough, heavy stretch cotton, had arrived in the post that morning, and bore all the signs of having been posted. My flat, still not fully furnished, contained no iron and my attempts to tame the creases with hair straighteners were limping sadly to a halt. Oh no. Oh no oh no. This was to be a big night for me - how could I show up all crinkly?
"Good evening, Johnsons Elm Row?"
"Hi. Hi. Um. Hi. If I bring a dress in now, like RIGHT NOW, could you - sorry - could you just... iron it for me?"
"Just press?"
"Yes, that, yes, please."
"Just the one dress?"
(At a pitch audible to bats) "Yes."
"Certainly."
I tore up the road with the dress flying out behind me and fell gasping against the glass door, which swung open. A cheery blonde lady materialised from behind racks of coats and suchlike. "You're wanting a dress pressed?" A twinkle of indulgent amusement, perhaps, but no tutting, no officiousness, no bustling haste to get this ridiculous girl's frantic pleading out of the way as fast as possible.
"Yes please. Thank you. I'll come back in half an-"
"Give me five minutes."
She vanished again behind the racks and I gazed around at the spacious counter and the things on display. There was a good view of the street - a very nice place to wait for five minutes. She was back in three - all smiles and radiant creaselessness. I have always been supremely wary of dry-cleaners, fearing financial meltdown for little return, but this was, under the circumstances, an unexpectedly enjoyable experience. While she took the payment (less than a fiver! I had anticipated considerably higher, given the urgency of my request) her assistant hastily and elegantly packed my dress into one of those plastic covers with a hanger. I was back in my flat within 15 minutes. Pretty awesome.
Yes, I know it's just a dry cleaner, and they sort of cleaned my dress while it was dry, so they were just doing their job. But the level of service and the attitude of the staff made this altogether a joy. I can't think that many people walk (or in my case, run) away from a dry cleaner's shop actually feeling a huge ton happier. So if ever a dry cleaner deserved five stars, it was now. read more