2 Stars: 1 star for having my dry cleaning and alterations ready on the agreed upon date, and 1 star for "trying" to make things right when I was unhappy.
I recently moved back to this area, and Sunmade was one of two cleaners located on Palatine Road, right near my rental property. I chose them simply based on proximity, and due to the fact that business there always seemed bustling. Big mistake.
I brought in over 7 pairs of slacks to have alterations done. Some needed to be let in, some needed to be hemmed, and others needed both. I had an experience similar to one of the previous 'Yelpers'. Every pair of slacks had issues. Some were let in too much, even though I specifically wore thicker underoos for the fitting to avoid this. One of my slacks that were hemmed had uneven leg lengths. Another pair they had sewn over the two belt loops in the back. What's worse, the sewing is paltry at best. One pair of slacks has a thread color that doesn't even come close to matching. Two others were coming apart before I even wore them, and had tons of loose/frayed ends inside the pant legs.
I also had them clean and press 4 button downs for me. I asked them not to write my name on my clothes, I had enough of that during my years at summer camp. I also asked for no starch. All of them came back starched, which made it even harder for me to iron out the huge creases they had made, and all of them had my name written on bottom.
The owner asked for a second chance, in order to make things right, and I obliged. After trying on each pair for them again, I let him have all of the slacks back, for another week or so. I was not happy with the changes they made. Everything they did to try and fix their mistakes, just made things look much worse on each pair of pants. The worst was when they tried to let out the pants that they let in too much. Now I had track marks going all the way down my butt on two pairs of slacks. The rear of the pants were so oddly shaped, it looked like I was a white girl in "apple bottom" jeans, with all this extra (unused) fabric in the seat of the pants. To make matters worse, I'm not even sure they dry cleaned my clothes as I paid for, after the alterations. There was some dirt on a khaki colored pair of slacks I gave them, and I asked him to try and get them clean when I left them for the second round of alterations. The dirt was still there after what was supposed to be the second time dry cleaning them. Before trashing all of the slacks, I put this pair in the washer, just to see if the dirt would come out. After all, it was just dirt from rubbing up against a CTA bus by accident. The dirt was gone after a simple cold/gentle delicates wash, and all their sewing on the pant legs was coming undone. I found that interesting, to say the least.
Needless to say, I cut my losses and threw all but one pair of slacks in the garbage. It's not life or death, just a few hundred dollars of ruined clothing. So I chose not to get into an argument with the owner, or make a scene. Even though he tried to intimidate me by coming around the counter, and taking a stern tone with me, as his store filled up with customers.
All of that being said, the worst part of my experience was when the owner tried to belittle me for the brand name of one of my pairs of slacks. They were a gift from my ex, and the only pair that was an off-brand. So when I was showing him the mistakes they made on the alterations, he replied with "Cmon buddy, it's not like they're Armani or anything...." That speaks volumes, doesn't it?
My advice: avoid using them for alterations. Use them for dry cleaning and pressing at your own risk, you'll clearly be tempting fate. While they may not think there is a problem based on their volume, there is simply no excuse for their mistakes with my alterations, and their "you need us more than we need you" attitude is utterly ridiculous.
PS. If someone asks you not to write on their clothes, DON'T write on their clothes! read more
