Understand these risks before choosing to bring your garments here:
Improper care to delicate materials and horrible/accusatory customer service if your article of clothing is damaged.
I took a "dry clean only" polyester dress to get dry cleaned because of oil staining. When I arrived the woman at the desk explained that they will try their best but the oil may or may not come out. I understood, as this fabric can be tricky, and I was willing to pay the $17 fee with the risk that the stains may not come out.
When I returned, I found that some of the oil stains were removed, but there was a dark discolored blotch on the front and the texture of the material was damaged. This indicated that this delicate material was not handled with the proper care. Polyester garments should be cleaned inside out to prevent snags or damages. You are also not supposed to iron directly on polyester fabric, it needs to be ironed inside out... and during the conversation she attempted to iron over the stags and warped fabric which indicates that she had no idea how to handle this material.
When I pointed out that the material had been damaged, she immediately told me that it was like that before and reminded me that she told me there were no guarantees. To which I responded that I understood that there were no guarantees that the oil would come out, but further damage to the dress was not acceptable. She proceeded to call me a "Liar" and a "Bad person". She also eventually told me that I should have told her how to specially handle the material. I told her that I expected a dry cleaner to know how to handle all types of fabrics.
Then she asked me what I wanted her to do.. she offered to run it through the dry cleaner again, but at this point, I was concerned that further damage would be done. Also, putting the garment though again wouldn't repair the damage to the texture of the material, so there really was no use. I knew there would no possibility of compensating for the damaged $250 dress, so I simply asked for a refund of the $17 dry cleaning fee. She refused. I honestly would have been fine with a simple acknowledgement that the material was damaged due to improper handling, but she continued to call me a liar until I realized the conversation was hopeless and left.
I would say this is a completely fine establishment so long as everything goes well. However, I would caution anyone who is bringing their garments here that in the event that any damage is done, no reasonable conversation, acknowledgement, or compensation will follow. So I would consider that risk before bringing your garments here.
You may want to take photos for proof in case something goes wrong, although I am not confident they would even be taken into consideration.
My hope is that this review brings awareness so that others understand the risk associated with dry cleaning at Lucas Custom Tailor and Cleaners, especially with delicate fabrics.
I was appalled that the woman considered pointing out damage made me a "bad person" and a "liar". I really wanted to support this small business as I come from a family of seamstresses and tailors, but after this experience I certainly cannot trust them. read more
