Dry Cleaning: $100?
From the pink slip…
2 pc suit with lining
8 @ $12.75 each
10% discount
Taxes
Total: $93.39
On one hand, I look at this and think “Did I just pay someone $100 to CLEAN my clothes?” Then I realize how much I love the look and feel of my suits after dry cleaning and shrug it off.
At any rate, I am impressed with this family’s business. This is only the 2nd time I’ve used them and I’ve noticed something special that I haven’t experienced at other dry cleaning establishments. Every time I drop off, no matter who is there, they come from behind the counter to help me unload my dirty crap. And when I pick up, they insist on carrying them to my car. The first time, I didn’t think anything of it because I was parked right in front of the store, but this time, I wasn’t because I stopped at Starbucks first. So I was shocked when she walked the parking lot to my car, held out her hands for my keys, opened the door, hung them up in the back seat and thanked me for choosing them. Now you know I’m a sucker for ‘exceptional’ customer service, so they’ve already earned my repeat business. And I don’t mind paying a premium for it either.
But here’s the deal. I only dry clean 5-6x per year and I’ve never paid attention to the unit price. Shame on me, I know. LOL So tell me. Excluding the potential premium for exceptional service, is $12.75 per suit a good deal or a rip off? What do you pay to dry clean your suits?
[image credit: Chelans Company]
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I spend less than that to do probably four times as much dry cleaning a month. I think my suits are about $3-4/piece. But this is Texas.
$4 to dry clean a suit? Wow! [-SM]
In DC, that sounds reasonable to me. Besides, the cheap dry cleaner is not a bargain when your suit’s skirt goes missing or they close at 6.
I don’t get suits dry cleaned, but what I do get dry cleaned usually ends up being around $5-6. if you think about your suits as 2 separate pieces, then you are paying $6ish each. which i dont think is bad for good service (both customer and the actual cleaning- i’ve gone to cheap dry cleaners where they clothes came BACK with a stain!) i willingly pay more for good dry cleaning- if its done well the clothes last much longer! ps im in TX
Well I’m very jealous of dogatemyfinances and the cheap Texas dry cleaning. I moved from Fort Worth TX to the DC area about two years ago and nearly fell over when I saw the prices! Luckily in the past year they have actually opened up a few of those One Price Everything Cleaned for $1.89 each places which I’m a big fan of. You do have to try them out though because some are better than others, but on a whole they do a decent job. So, I basically pay about $4 for a suit. I can pay $9 for a two piece suit to be cleaned if I want them to pick it up and drop it off to my house :)
I don’t think I can trust a $1.89 establishment to clean my $100+ suit. LOL It’s not worth the risk. [-SM]
I’m in Chicago and my favorite cleaners is $1.99 per piece. I love them! The only thing they charge more for is leather, coats, etc.
They don’t carry the clothes to my car, but they have run to get the door for me a few times, and I usually double park in the aisle of the strip mall, anyway, so my car is just outside the door. ;-)They do a fantastic job, so I’m be very upset if I had to start paying mush more for some reason.
I should know the answer to this as I drop off my husband’s dry cleaning but I never look at the receipt…well because he picks it up. I dont dry clean suits but it doesnt sound like alot but what do I know….
With the sweaters I do dry clean Ive been looking for a solid alternative, if you find one let me know.
Like BK mentioned below, I machine wash on the gentle cycle, then lay flat to dry. [-SM]
Because of the area you live in I will say its FINE because I pay $8 per suit and I get the same type of service. I’ve been going to them since I’ve moved here and I love the service. They know when the season’s change they will see me LOL
With all these $3-6 estimates, I was beginning to think it was a rip off. LOL But I figured you would have an idea since you know exactly where I am. Thanks! [-SM]
@ginger for sweaters I usually wash in my own washing machine on gentle and I use dryel or woolite depending upon the type of sweater. If its cashmere though I go ahead and foot the bill for the dry cleaning and it’s about $5 (even for a twinset).
New York here laddies and I pay $11 for a suit.
However I am in one of the 5 bouroghs and in Manhattan itself the prices are much much higher.
Ok, with the discount was about $11.50, so that makes me feel better. I don’t know if I’d compare where I live to Manhattan but the COL is pretty darn close. [-SM]
I’m in Seattle and I just got a pair of pants and a blazer dry cleaned this week. The total came to $13.22 after tax. Looks like we’re paying about the same.
I should say that I just go to the place closest to my house and they never have deals or coupons. However, they do a great job, are open early (can do before work drop offs/pickups) and are super close (about .5 miles away). Sometimes it’s worth it to pay a little more.
Yea, I forgot to mention the convenience. They’re a hop, skip, and a jump from my front door. Plus they’re open ’til 7 and on weekends. The care for my clothes, convenience, and customer service is more than I can ask for. [-SM]
When I lived in DC, outside of those $1.99/piece places that I mainly found in the suburbs, I paid $8-10 a piece. I’m in the midwest now and prices range from $3-9/piece.
— I’ve been reading for a long while…first time posting— California
2piece lined suit – $18.45 – I was shocked. I have been going to this place because of the convenience (always open) AND because my clothes never smelled like ‘dry cleaning fluid’ – never paid much attention to the per piece pricing, but I knew it was pricy. I just happened to take one suit in and was given the price of $18.45…
I have since tried 2 other dry cleaners and each one has left my clothes with the dry cleaning scent…one sweater has been left out for airing (for days) and it STILL has that scent attached to it.
There has to be another place, but it’ll take some aggressive searching on my part. I loved the flexibility that ‘always open’ offered…but the pricing is too high to ignore.
In the suburbs around san francisco, that’s the price I pay for suits to be cleaned, and I don’t get a 10% discount either. Fortunately, I can expense part of the cost – we only have to wear suits on the client site, so our project picks up a certain amount per month.
In the suburbs around san francisco, that’s the price I pay for suits to be cleaned, and I don’t get a 10% discount either. Fortunately, I can expense part of the cost – we only have to wear suits on the client site, so our project picks up a certain amount per month.
I pay about what you do. For suits I’m going to wear a lot, I buy 2 pairs of the pants or skirt so that the cleaning of the jacket and the pants can stay the same (ie so I don’t have to clean the bottom too rarely or the jacket too frequently.)
I’ll use discount dry cleaners (like the $1.89 franchise) for blouses and unlined non-suit jackets, but they make their money on volume and don’t have much time. I’ve found if I take good suits there, they often will be careless/quick with how they press them, and then I end up with lining hanging out of my sleeves or showing from under my skirts.
$18 is high for San Francisco, but CA also has really different pricing because of the costs associated with running a dry cleaning business. That’s just the way it is. I went from free dry cleaning at my mom’s in Philadelphia to $15 for a suit in San Francisco. que sera sera.
$12 isn’t bad for a 2 pc suit in the DC area. But always, always ask for a discount if you take in more than $100 worth of cleaning in one shot. That will pretty much guarantee a 10% discount. Also, take in the stuff during the week, T, W, or Th. The store is more likely to have a 10% sale day on those days, and if they don’t, then you are more likely to get a discount then.
I work the Korean angle and get a discount nearly all the time because most cleaners are still Koreans. I hate the $1.99 places and chains because I can’t get a discount if I ask and they have kids behind the counter who know nothing about clothes. (Yes Crest Cleaners at Franklin Farms in VA, I am never taking my clothes to you again.)
I’d still shop around though. I know Bergmann’s in Arlington, VA has a concierge service at some offices where they will pick up and drop off your clothes at work.