Charleston Cleaners and Alterations

What a huge disappointment. First time trying this cleaner because of their convenient location. Brought in 3 pairs of slacks for dry cleaning and one of them needed to have the hem stitching repaired. I only received 2 pairs of my slacks returned and someone else’s. I had my girlfriend pick them up while I was out of town and she wouldn’t know they were not correct. My biggest dry cleaning fear realized, my nice silk pants are lost and I received someone else’s and someone else received mine. Don’t bother if you have any other options. I’m sorry I gave them a chance.

They damaged my clothes on three separate occasions. They damaged the fabric of my silk blouse; they stained a Stella McCartney blazer, front and back. Looks like ink that they tried to remove, which caused more damage to the fabric. And they stretched out a top which was a few years old so that was probably part of the problem. I kept going back because they’re right next to Piazza’s and my home; so I kept giving them the benefit of the doubt for convenience sake. Never going back again.

Be very careful about pricing. There is no price list, so their price is «Market price» like fish in the restaurant.
I brought one cotton shorts for dry cleaning. It’s 16 dollars! I thought I misunderstood what the owner said. Unfortunately, Iranian business is like this, not only this cleaner, but also I experienced other Iranian cleaners grocery stores in bay area. No price list, so it changes every day.

I have to mention this because I think about this very unpleasant experience every time I drive by this cleaners. I am always surprised they are still open considering their subpar work and their terrible attitude. Quite a few years ago, I ran into my girlfriend in the lot (where this cleaner is located) and we decided to leave my car parked there while we grabbed lunch elsewhere. We were gone for maybe one hour at the most. Lo and behold, we returned to my car where the owner was standing next to it and yelling about having my car TOWED because I had parked my car close to their store without using their service. Mind you, the entire lot was empty except for maybe 1 or 2 more cars. I was not blocking their business by any means. They seem to think any parking area close to their business belongs to them, and no other businesses. He did not seem to care that there were no signs indicating his ownership of the lot or the fact there must have been 20 other parking spaces all open at that time. His wife also came out of the store telling us to get lost before they call the towing company.
It felt like a terrible way to treat a former customer (it was so long ago that they don’t remember obviously) and another member of their community, if you’d ask me.
So I stopped going there all together and wonder every time I am in town visiting how in the world they are still open. A few months later, I was not surprised to read about the theft allegation a customer made against this cleaners for a missing Rolex watch in the local newspaper. Do they care about the community? I definitely think not. I’d take my business elsewhere if I were you.
Now that I am a business owner myself, I realize the importance of treating people within (and all around) your community with care and appreciation. Because of them, you can exist & because of them you can pursue what you want to do in life. If you forget this, I really feel that you have no business being supported by the community. Thanks.

— Overpriced, almost double of most dry cleaners
— Clothes were hemmed lopsided, dirty spots left untouched

I had been going here for the past 3 years and was always happy with the way my laundered dress shirts came out.
However, I recently had to bring back a total of 13 shirts that were all stained/​burned by whatever company they use for laundry service. And what’s worse is that I have now made 3 separate trips to this cleaners in an attempt to get the issue corrected.
Each time, we discover new stains or marks that are left on my shirts even after they are sent out for re-do’s. This has been the most frustrating experience. I would have expected them to double check my shirst after they come back from re-do’s just to be sure the stains have been removed.
Out of my 13 stained shirts, I now have 9 back that have been fixed (although 2 of the 9 shirts still have a yellowish stain mark but I’m so tired of going back to this place I decided to just live with it).
I’m still waiting for the last 4 years to come back. This time the owner said he would personally remove the stains.
Keep in mind that all of these stains are on the exact same spoint around the rear shoulder area. I was told that whatever machine they used to press the shirts was probably dirty so it kept staining my shirts in the exact same spot.
Of course I’ll be taking my shirts elsewhere from now on.
I would also like to point out that the owners seems annoyed rather than apologetic for staining my $ 100+ shirts. To this point, they have not offered any gesture of compensation, whether that be complimentary cleaning or whatever to make up for this hassle.

I think that Charleston Cleaners used to be fantastic, judging from older reviews. However, they now send out things that need to be laundered (shirts, tablecloths, etc.) to some horrible outside service. This service has DESTROYED four of my shirts that are new by blowing out the seams with their air drying machine. This service also took a new tablecloth of mine (used just once), washed it, and returned it to us without ANY IRONING. We had to re-​wash it and iron it ourselves. It is a disgrace that Charleston Cleaners uses this outside service and takes no responsibility for the poor quality of what it does. Shame on you! We are switching to another cleaners.

I used to love this place, and although expensive, they had done a good job over the 15 years I’d been going there. Lately, though, I’ve had to have several items redone, and on one simple alterations job, that one was done but the garment came back to me with something else wrong that hadn’t been that way before I left it with them. The final straw was when I stopped by at 9:05 a.m. on my way to work a couple of weeks ago with a desperate need to have two items cleaned to wear for a sudden invitation to a wedding the following day. The owner said he had just started his machine and wouldn’t stop it to add my two items, and said it wouldn’t be run again that day. And they don’t run their equipment on Saturdays at all. The last operation for the entire week would be at 9:05 a.m. on a Friday??? So regretfully, I am now looking for another dry cleaner to transfer my loyalty.

I had a horrible first experience with Charleston Cleaners. I just moved to the area and thought I’d give this place a try. I had 4 shirts that needed to be dry cleaned and curtains that I needed alterations done on.
I first called to ask about how much alterations on a pair of IKEA curtains would cost. (I only paid $ 20 for the curtains and wanted them hemmed a bit). The woman who answered the phone said that the alterations lady would be in later in the day and to come in around 1:00. I came in at 2:00 and the woman I spoke to on the phone said that the alterations person would in fact, NOT be in today. Sooo I decided to leave the curtains for her and said to call me the next day to give me an estimate of how much it would cost. I SPECIFICALLY said to call me before anything was done and give me a price because I didn’t want to overpay for hemming on cheap curtains.
So now it’s the next day at 2:00 and I still haven’t received a call from alterations. I had to call and check to see if the alterations woman was in. When I called, no one could find my order and so they said they would have to call me back in 10 minutes. 2 HOURS LATER I get a call back. The alterations woman says «Okay, it will be $ 30 – 35 dollars, you can pick up on Friday.» OK, I think. That is WAY overpriced but it will save me the trouble of hemming them myself. I’ll just do it. After I agree and am about to get off of the phone she says «Ok bye, see you Friday $ 35 dollars for each curtain, bye!» and hung up. WAIT a minute. $ 70 for hemming 2 IKEA curtains? ARE YOU JOKING ME? I immediately called back and said that I was coming to pick them up. She said «Sorry, the curtains have already been sent off for alterations, they are not here at the shop.»
So that means that either (a) The curtains were taken for alterations before I gave my approval on the price OR (b) The woman was lying to me about them not being there.
Either way, I complained and said that I needed the curtains back by NOON tomorrow otherwise I was going to be extremely upset. This place seems like a RIP-​OFF and after my first (AND LAST) experience there, I will definitely not be going back.
It makes me cringe that I still have to pay for my 4 overpriced dry cleaning shirts.
Save yourself a trip and go somewhere else.

I have brought two pairs of jeans here to be hemmed. BOTH had to be taken back and re-​done. Both times I came in they couldn’t find a tape measure! They said it would be ok without measuring. Seems like a pretty standard tool in this line of work. The math seems to differ between employees. I tried giving them a second chance but it is safe to say that I will not be returning for my future alterations.
No experience with their dry cleaning.
Update: the tailor called me today and said to come in and they would measure the jeans. I came in at 530, she said she would be there until 6, and she had gone home! I have been there 4 times now for a simple hem. This is easily the worst experience with a tailor I’ve ever had.

I brought a white jacket with two tiny spots. When I was picking up the jacket, I found that not only the old spots were still there, but there was a new big spot on the sleeve. I told the owner that instead of cleaning the spots, they put a new one which was so obvious. He insisted that the new spot was there before I brought the jacket to the cleaners. At the end the owner was very rude, and told me he doesn’t want my business anymore. I was really shocked with such rudeness, and obviously I’m not going to risk cleaning my clothes in a future in this place.

The people here are very friendly which is why I’m giving 3 stars but I spent $ 200 in dry cleaning here… i didnt see anyhing wrong with the 20 things i left behind, BUT when I got home I noticed that the zipper on my juicy couture parka had been RIPPED OFF :(
Not going to lie… it made me really sad because i LOVE my parka & the zipper is uniquely shaped in a J.

Holy cow this place is pricey. I come here because it is close and easy. However the price I pay always seems to be random.
So this week I dropped of 4 ties and a new white dress shirt. I asked for the ties to be cleaned and pressed, and the new shirt to be pressed also. I hate the way new shirts are creased poorly.
When I picked up the items, I was distracted and just handed her my credit card. She asked if I needed the receipt and I said no. No signature needed on the slip, and I walked out and went home.
I checked my account later and was charged $ 33. That’s right. $ 33 to iron a shirt and clean 4 ties.
Serves me right for not paying attention.
I don’t think I will go back. I looked at some old receipts, and I have been charged different prices for the same shirts on several occasions.
We will see if they respond to me.

I’ve been going to Charleston Cleaners for over 12 years and have never been disappointed. They are very friendly, professional and timely. Fred is a conscientious small business owner and really strives to make his customers happy. He once called me at work to ask about a coffe stain on a pair of pants. He wanted to know if I take cream in my coffee since it would require a different spot remover! That is great service.

I was surprised to see this place had less than 5 stars here. It is an amazing cleaning service. I have lived in Palo Alto for five years and this is by far the best one around.
The prices are very reasonable, probably around half of what other cleaners in the area charge. They do a much better job as well. Additionally, they will often clean clothes faster than other dry cleaners (sometime by the next day), often at no extra charge. The owner’s attitude seems to be, tell me when you need the clothing done by, and well get it done by then if possible.
Additionally, when they make a mistake, which is very rare, they will always redo the garment at no extra charge. When they can’t clean something they tell you honestly.
They are also great about keeping items that you left in your clothes. I left my passport in my jacket pocket recently and they kept it for several months while I was out of town (and called me to tell me what I had done). If you don’t already use this service you are really missing out.

This is an excellent dry cleaning service. The owner is extremely friendly and knows my name every time I come in. I have never had a problem in the three years I’ve been doing business with Charleston Cleaners. They go above and beyond, removing all stains and sewing on any missing buttons.
I highly recommend this place!

Good. Owner is attentive but restrained. Service is timely.

One of the best dry cleaners that I have found. They have gotten stains out of clothes, that I thought was hopeless.
Family owned, friendly service and convenient.

I’m a complete noob when it comes to cleaning and maintaining clothes. While we may have metrosexuals crowding the SF Bay, I’m still a guy that puts all my clothes of various colors into the same wash. Luckily, I’m not too much of a ‘shirt and tie’ kinda guy and I can dress rather casually to work.
That being said, there are occasions where one needs to take care of more delicate clothes than the home laundry machine can handle. That and I don’t own an ironing board or iron.
I guess that’s why I found myself on Unilocal looking for a dry cleaner. You’d think without an iron I’d have scoped these places out sooner. Well, you’d have guessed wrong. I decided to call a few up and see how the prices were.
I started with the further One Hour Cleaners and was told a dry clean for a dress shirt would be $ 5. Seemed fair. I then called Charleston Cleaners. He stated that for a dress shirt I’d probably want a wash and press instead and that it was only $ 2.50. I excitedly drove over with my new, but very wrinkly, dress shirts.
Service was nice enough and I noticed the bowl of Hersey’s kisses. But as I left, I couldn’t help but feeling as if I just didn’t know enough about what I was paying for. When did it get so complicated. I thought you just went to the dry cleaner to get stuff (ie: suits, pants) dry cleaned. When did all these variations come into play. And how do I get that stain out of my cashmere sweater???
I figured I’d write this review, highlight my cluelessness and see if the Unilocal community could educate.
So did I get a good deal? Is washing and pressing better for dress shirts? Or did I get lured by the low price and fall for a classic bait and switch? Should I have dry cleaned? He also asked if I wanted starch. Do I? He said he’d do a light starch and it was free. Are my shirts going to end up smaller, a lighter color, and stiff as a cardboard?
Boy, I sure am clueless.
That being said, I do hope the shirts come out well. I may be clueless but I’m not tasteless and thought those shirts looked pretty good. Here’s hoping they still fit…

The prices here are a little more than other dry cleaners, but shoot they do an awesome job on cleaning. I take my delicates there that I don’t trust anyone to wash, and they always give it back to me looking brand spanking new. Prices run about $ 10 for a sweatshirt/​coat but thats fine when they cost $ 400+. I’ve never had any problems with this place so far, so this is on one of my go back to places for sure.

I’ve tried at least a dozen cleaners over the past couple years, and Charleston is tied for the top spot with the shop in Sequoia Station, Redwood City.
I dig the relaxed, family-​owned vibe in here… this weekend I went in to pickup some shirts and was greeted warmly by a couple of middle aged gents who were sipping coffee and were deep in conversation. As I walked in, the proprietor stood fluidly, retrieved my shirts and change promptly, said a friendly goodbye and then resumed conversation with his buddy without either (a) missing a beat or (b) making me feel like I interrupted them.
They’ve also been doing a fine job with my shirts and seem charge about average prices.

Neighborhood cleaners, quite busy since Piazza’s and Peets are in the same shopping center. Take 3 – 4 days to get items back.
Takes about a week to get alterations back. Hem for pants are $ 15 which seems average for the area. Very nice staff and open late on the weeknights til 7pm.