Dependable Cleaners

Very good service at the Coolidge Corner branch. I’ve always received my order on time, as promised. Nice staff.

I wish I could give this place negative stars. If only I had the wisdom to read the reviews before I dropped off a load of dry cleaning. However, it was a late Sunday afternoon, and they were the only place open in the neighborhood.
Altogether, I dropped off about twelve items, including shirts, blazers, etc. They said the stuff would be ready on Monday afternoon. I was pleased to hear it would be ready so quickly. That’s where my satisfaction with the service ended.
When I picked up the dry cleaning, the price they charged was astronomical. The total was close to $ 200.
When I got home, I noticed that two of the shirts were missing. They cost around $ 120 at the store. I went back to Dependable to see if maybe there was a mix up. The person working was polite and looked in the back for it. However, they didn’t find it. I went back the next day to check again. They promised they would check again and follow up with a phone call. Guess what happened? Never heard anything, not even an apology for losing my clothes.
They brushed off any possibility that they had lost my clothes, telling me that they inventory all the clothes dropped off. I did an exhaustive search everywhere in my apartment and even my car. The clothes never turned up. From now on I plan to write a list of all clothes I drop off. My days of trusting the dry cleaner are over thanks to this terrible joke of a business.
If anything good can come from my experience, I hope others can be warned never to step foot near this place. I’m surprised they’re still in business.

I had a fantastic experience, my clothes look new, they were ready within two days, and the manager that I spoke to was warm, welcoming, and helpful! (Even when I came in two minutes before closing and sweating profusely from the gym!) I am now a loyal customer. Yay dependable cleaners!

Do you want your clothing lost? Do you want to be given the run around? If so, this is the place for you!
They lost my skirt that belonged to my Grandmother. Do they give a crap? No. Will the manager call me back and give me updates? NOPE. Are they even capable of being decent enough to call me and let me know any progress on finding my clothing? Not even a little. For over a week I have had to call to try and find out what on earth happened to my dress and skirt that is irreplaceable, and all they do is say «I’m sorry, we’re just waiting on the manager to call.» «I’m sorry the manager has called out sick for today and tomorrow». Translation: We don’t give a hoot about our customers or how badly we treat them. They enjoy misplacing your items and causing emotional distress. DO NOT GO HERE UNLESS YOU WANT YOUR ITEMS LOST

Dependable, not! Was told to pick up my coat after 5:30, only to be rescheduled next day. Cleaners, not! If you can’t complete a job w/​100% integrity then pls don’t argue w/​the customer that it’s better than what it was before. Don’t be fooled by their occasional promotions. Can’t clean properly, horrible customers service and can’t be depended on

I was SO impressed with the service and results at this place.
I dropped off my wedding dress a week prior to my wedding, as it was in dire need of a pressing. The gentleman in the store at the time (I think he might have been the manager) seemed a little concerned that the dress might not be back in time, as I hadn’t realised that it would need to be sent away. However, after a few phone calls, he sorted it and gave us a price.
A week later I went to pick up my dress and was greeted by a pleasant young lady. The dress was immaculate. SO pleased!
One thing to be aware of (which I was not!) is that if you get a wedding dress back in the original dress bag as opposed to having it folded into a box, it WILL be stuffed full of cardboard and plastic to keep it pristine on the journey home, or for preservation purposes. Unfortunately I don’t drive so I had to make the 15min walk home carrying a full-​length wedding dress which was stuck completely upright! However, if I’d had a car that wouldn’t have been an issue, so I can’t really blame the dry cleaners for that as the reasoning behind the stuffing is sound. It was perfect when I got it home.

Please, save your time and money and avoid this place.
I dropped off some clothing last Saturday and was told it would be done Tuesday. So Tuesday morning I drop by, and then manager is so RUDE in telling me that I was told to pick them up Tuesday EVENING (which is a straight up lie because they said anytime Tuesday would work). He made me feel stupid for their mistake, which just puts a really sour taste in my mouth.
When I went to pick up the clothes the next day, it took the employee 10+ minutes to find my items… Picking up dry cleaning should be a quick in and out kind of thing, in my opinion.
So, come here if you want overpriced service with rude employees. I think I’ll pass.

My first thought while visiting Dependable Cleaners recently was: «Am I on a reality show and getting trolled, or am I on drugs?»
I suppose this is an inditement of all area dry cleaners, considering Dependable Cleaners was the 4^th one I visited and only one open at 1pm on a Sunday. Is this a thing that people know about, that Dry Cleaners just don’t work on Sunday? What the shit is that?
Anyway, Dependable Cleaners puts the DEPENDS in Dependable… I’d be hesitant to send them a pair of Depends with a full load in them after the bizarre encounter I had today. Hell, I don’t even know if I’m going to get my one item back or a whole bunch of random clothes.
So I get there, and the person behind the register asks me for my account number, phone number and last name, none of which they get right, considering if she asked if my name was Christine, and if my phone number was a different one that I recited. I have to fill out an application with an e-​mail address to receive and account number. Odd.
Meanwhile, another customer comes in and asks if she can have a purse cleaned. Apparently because they don’t clean purses or leather they have to send it away and the employe doesn’t know how much it will cost without a manager. What’s the fucking point of even having a store if you 1: don’t provide the service you are there for, and 2 if you have to send it out, why bother knowing the price? Fuck me right?
I hand over my application for the dry cleaning service, and the Pranksgiving Day parade begins. Keep in mind I brought in ONE item.
«How would you like your frilly buttoned down shirts returned, folded or hung?»
–Uhh excuse me?
«Do you want it folded or on a hangar?»
–Uhh a hangar?
«And how do you want your sweaters folded or hung?»
-*Look of unadulterated, horrific, confusion* Folded?
My one item of clothing? A PAIR OF PANTS!!!
Oh the ride continues…
«Would you like a crease in the pants?»
–Yes there is a crease already in the pants.
«Your item will be available tomorrow, you can pick it up at 5:30.»
–What time do you close?
«5:30»
–So I have to pick it up at closing time?
«It will be ready whenever but you can pick it up at 530. Do you want starch on your shirts? (Again I brought in pants)
–O_​o …no?
«You don’t look like a starch person.»
–Thank you?
«Have a nice day! ^_​^
DAFUQ is this place, on TV??!

Since I sometimes work ridiculous hours, dry cleaners are closed on my way home from work and I won’t be leaving earlier in the A.M. to stop at the dry cleaners that is for sure. So I am forever searching for a dry cleaner open later or on weekends. So happy to have found this place. They have a drop box where if you sign up for their VIP program (that is free BTW) you can drop off your dry cleaning whenever, and then it will be ready in a day. And they are there on Saturday and Sunday for pickup. So if you are working on Saturday or forget to pick up your dry cleaning — no worries, they are open Sunday until 5:00.
Their prices can be high, especially for specialty items, so I recommend them for work suits and dresses, but you might want to go somewhere else with an evening gown. Otherwise, the bill might be surprising. But they are open until 7:30 during the week and on Sundays… and I haven’t found anyplace else in town that is too.

I just found out they lost two or three pairs of my pants. There is nothing the employee can do right now… she has to wait until Monday when the manager is around. Problem is I am leaving for Costa Rica early Monday morning…
I will give them one week to find my pants. This incident combined with their history of poor service will get them 1 star for now. If they find all of my pants, they may get an additional star.
Most of the employees don’t seem to care about the customer. They consistently are gone for a «few» minutes during the prime time during the day and are not helpful. I am shopping for new cleaners immediately. Look for an update in a week to see if my pants are found.

DO NOT GIVE THESE PEOPLE YOUR BUSINESS!!! I have been a loyal customer for over 3 years, but no more. Most of my orders were satisfactory, but when problems did occur, the customer service was horrible.
I sent in a white cotton duvet cover and matching white pillow cases for wash/​dry/​fold service. When I got it back, the duvet cover was still white, but the pillow cases were yellow. I was shocked. The clerk at the store had no idea what to say when I showed it to her. The best she could come up with was «we won’t charge you for the order». So instead of paying to have my items ruined, I got them ruined for free! Yay! A few days later, I talked to the manager (who is not capable of intelligible conversation), followed by her supervisor, «Lori», from the Watertown location. Even though Lori had not yet seen the discolored items, she immediately gave me a littany of excuses to explain why it wasn’t their fault.
She told me that white items may become yellow when you wash them and quoted me the statistical odds of an item being discolored, considering that they wash 10,000 items per week. So apparently I had no business expecting them to come back white. She also told me that if the items were truly ruined, I would be compensated for the «depreciated» value, as specified by law. She informed me that she was not legally obligated to give me a penny more than what the law required. Wow — that’s great customer service.
My pillowcases went from white to yellow in one wash; it was not a gradual yellowing over time. Furthermore, I have washed the duvet set in a public laundromat dozens of times and it has never been discolored. Here’s the thing — I know things get screwed up sometimes. But any good business stands by the quality of their service and tries to make it up to you when things go wrong… oops, I mean, when statistically improbable events occur that are beyond their control. I did not even receive a sincere apology. She did the «I’m sorry you are upset» thing, instead of «I’m sorry we ruined your stuff».
It’s clear that Dependable Cleaners has no concern about losing customers. I guess they are making so much money that it doesn’t matter to them.
Btw, they have 2 complaints against them on the BBB website (including a charge of fraudulent overpricing) and they are not BBB accredited.

Dependable hasn’t figured out how to clean button-​down shirts wihout DESTROYING the buttons. I’ve given this cleaner a number of opportunities with a number of my good shirts and as a result they’ve been ruined. they replace the buttons complimentary but mixed-​matched buttons on a shirt is still a ruined shirt.
take your shirts somewhere else!

I usually go to Eagle Cleaners down the street, but I didn’t make it there in time, really needed something cleaned, and this place is open until 7:30. Service was fine if not a little sterile, hours are good, but my main issue is price. $ 16.98 for dry cleaning a casual-​ish dress (that I probably could have machine washed)?? Really? The place down the street cleaned a satin bridesmaid dress for like $ 8.

This is by far the worst cleaners I have been to. I have gone here several times, always to be severely disappointed! I needed 5 rather plain dresses drycleaned and I paid $ 15 – 20 per dress, which I believe is a rediculous price.
On another occasion, I brought in a couch cushion with an old coca cola stain and a very recent small beer spill stain. I waited a week for it to get drycleaned and it was returned to me in the same condition as when I brought it in. The girl at the register charged me $ 40 for that and wouldn’t give me my money back. I paid and walked down the street to Harvard Cleaners. The little Asian man looked at my cushion and checked the label and told me that I could just throw it in the washer at home on the cold cycle and the stains would come out, and if not, to soak it in a solution of vinegar and water and then wash it again. Dependable Cleaners never checked the label… she just took the cushion and obviously they did nothing to it.
DEPENDABLE CLEANERS IS A HORRIBLE HORRIBLE SERVICE.

horrible horrible place. I recently moved here, and it just made sense to get my dry cleaning done here. Eff that, used it twice, they lost my laundry twice. No apology, no discount offered, nothing. It took them a week to locate my shirts, and tried to blame it on me. who the hell do they think they are?
Word to the wise, NEVER bring your laundry here

UNDEPENDABLE Cleaners
I always request my shirts folded since it makes for easier packing for travel. The shirts often worse off then when brought in due to the poor and clearly rushed folding. They also seem to have a knack for adding new stains. 33% of the time they overlook the fold instructions and they put them on hangers.
It is also infuriating when you made a trip just to pick up your cleaning and there is a note posted on the locked door around noon that says be back momentarily. I’ve encountered this a number of times. I think it is completely unprofessional for a service business to close up for a break or lunch when customers are using their dlunch break to run errands.
They also loose things so always make them take note when you drop off of what you are dropping off. Once a shirt returned with a tear. They «investigated» and after 2 weeks it was deemed my fault. How they determined that I do not know — great customer service!
You should ask for a detailed receipt because on one occasion (the only occasion I checked) they mis-​classified my item at a higher price item.
Sometimes I forget which phone number we used for the account — when I request searching by last name this past drop off, the clerk rolled her eyes. I don’t see why entering a last name vs a phone number takes that much more effort. They always seem to be annoyed by this.
Okay okay so why go there… the location is convenient, but it’s not worth the losses and frustration — No more!
Check out HARVARD CLEANERS. These guys are great! The family run business is extremely attentive and friendly. They make my shirts somehow feel cleaner and silkier!

After my shirts returned from my old dry cleaner with a sandpaper patina, I decided to shop around for a new cleaner.
I had long assumed that Dependable was the kind of place that folded shirts into boxes, or dry cleaned bowler hats, or provided the odd bow tie repair. But actually, what I found was an eco-​friendly, person-​friendly, all around great establishment. They literally go through each shirt, noting the color and any special fabric requirements, and have excellent turn around time.
Clearly all of this — overhead on fancy Newbury and Coolidge storefronts, standard express service, friendly, kind employees — comes at a cost, and it ain’t cheap. The good news is that coupons abound, and you can rest assured your threads will return good as new.

Dependable owns several locations and seems to be the biggest franchise dry cleaners operating in Boston. But they might be a bit too big for their own good, as they’re usually staffed with people who couldn’t care less how the business does. When I was working stupid-​crazy hours and couldn’t get to other dry cleaners, I used them because they have a closed-​hours chute so you can drop off your clothes whenever. A nice pro, but it is far outweighed by the cons:
— On 2 occasions I had the door locked in my face, even though there were other customers in the store, because it was after 7pm. Look, I get it if I’m 15 minutes late; people deserve to go home, but we’re talking under 5 minutes. Even after telling them it would mean I’d have to walk to Allston to buy another shirt for a meeting the next day, no dice.
— Their prices are significantly higher than the smaller cleaners in the area.
— They don’t do a light starch; it’s either no starch or cardboard with sandpaper over the nips.
— Several delays for pick-​ups, with absolutely no attempt to make it right.
Because of this, as soon as I worked hours that allowed me to drop off my shirts elsewhere, I canceled my account. I can only recommend this place if you have nowhere else to go.
UPDATE: After writing this review, one of the uppers at Dependable wrote me a message apologizing for their customer service, and that they are working to improve the service level for this location. My experience might have come after these changes, and not indicative of current service levels. While I’m sold on my new cleaning service, it’s nice to see a business hold itself accountable to its customers.

Oh in these times of pennies not dollars, dry cleaning is luxury.
For those must-​clean items, this is the place to spend your dollars. They work hard to get out stains and you can’t beat same day service. Go only on Wednesdays and Thursdays so you can print their online coupons and save a buck a piece.

I am tempted to add a star because the woman there was friendly and nice… but I’m not.
After hearing some good things about Dependable (and after another cleaner destroyed my dress.) I decided to give Dependable a shot. They were a little pricey (especially with my gazillion dresses) though my stuff came back fine… however, they were late with my sweater. Definitely minus points for there. Pending the survival of the rest of my clothing, I will probably be back.