I should begin with a confession.
I went to New York Cleaners because of the name.
There was no exhaustive research involved, no comparison spreadsheet, and certainly no careful examination of Dublin's dry-cleaning industry.
I am a New Yorker.
I saw "New York Cleaners" in Dublin and thought: these are my people.
As reasons for choosing a dry cleaner go, this may not withstand rigorous academic scrutiny.
It did, however, turn out to be an excellent decision.
I found myself in Dublin with an evening ahead of me, a set of tails requiring urgent attention, and the rapidly developing realization that formalwear emergencies operate according to the same principles as plumbing emergencies:
They occur precisely when you have neither the time nor the temperament for one.
Every formal evening begins with a plan.
And, if the universe is feeling mischievous, the plan generally survives until approximately the moment you put on the clothes.
Enter New York Cleaners.
There are businesses that provide a service.
There are businesses that provide excellent service.
And then there are those rare establishments where somebody takes one look at your predicament and understands that what you need is not a receipt, a ticket, or a lengthy explanation of company policy.
You need help.
These people helped.
And they were magnificent.
They treated my predicament as though it actually mattered. There was no theatrical sighing, no bureaucratic discussion about why something could not possibly be done, and no attempt to turn their scheduling problem into my moral failing.
They simply set about solving it.
That may sound like a modest compliment.
In the modern world, it is practically a declaration of sainthood.
My tails were rescued.
My evening was rescued.
And, depending upon how one defines dignity while standing in a Dublin dry cleaner worrying about formal attire, there is a reasonable argument that I was rescued as well.
The work itself was excellent, but what impressed me even more was the kindness and professionalism behind it.
They understood something many businesses forget: These were not merely clothes requiring attention.
There was an evening attached to them.
That distinction matters.
Anyone can clean a garment.
It takes a considerably better business to recognize the human being nervously attached to the garment.
New York Cleaners did exactly that.
By the time I left, the crisis had disappeared, the tails were once again fit for polite society, and I could return to my evening looking considerably more composed than circumstances warranted.
Which brings me back to the name.
I originally chose New York Cleaners simply because "New York" was written above the door.
By the time they were finished, they had earned it.
In fact, if these people actually operated in New York City, there is absolutely no question where they would belong in The Financial District.
Efficient. Direct. Professional. No unnecessary drama. A problem appears, somebody takes ownership of it, and the thing gets done before anyone has time to establish a committee to discuss why it cannot be done.
Nowhere near Queens.
Five stars.
They saved my evening.
They saved my tails.
And they confirmed something I have long suspected:
Sometimes judging a place by its name works out splendidly. read more
