Tam’s Alteration & Dry Cleaning

Tam took my shirts last minute and had them ready to go the next day. She even stayed open and waited for me to arrive — ½ hour after the store was supposed to close! Will definitely be there again!

Doesn’t accept cards. Probably running a business «under the table.» This lady needs to be audited by the IRS.
Overcharges small repairs. Did a very bad job fixing a hole on one my pants. Now I don’t want to wear it anymore. Very poor job!
Go somewhere else!

I had a disappointing experience with Tam while my Fiancé’ had a great experience. I came into Tam’s establishment for a 1 day service emergency. I needed my shirt cleaned/​pressed and my pants hemmed up for a job interview the next day. I told her of the time crunch and asked no less than three times throughout the course of the service request if she could have it back to me by noon the next day. She said yes and told me she could do it. At that time I also turned my fiancé’s dress to her for alterations which had a much more extended date that she needed it back on.
The next day I came in the store and attempted to pick up my garments for the interview. She told me they weren’t ready, that the dry cleaner never comes before 1 PM to drop off the clothes and that my request was too last minute to complete on time, she chastised me for this. I was beyond angry and left livid and missed my appointment as I didn’t have my professional clothes ready. I don’t mind that it wasn’t done but I was given her word it would be finished. If it was too short a time frame for it to happen, she should’ve told me so and I would’ve done something else.
On the flip side, my fiancé’s wedding dress was picked up today and it fit her perfectly. Tam did a good job on the alterations. It’s a 5 from her and a 1 from me. So it’s a three star overall
Only thing I have to say more is that her prices are a bit more expensive than what I was wanting to pay.

Tam is wonderful and does great work. Her prices are fair. I got my wedding dress last min from my tailor (tam can tailor dresses o found this out to late super bummed about that) I called other places who I could tell they didn’t care abut helping me they wanted to up charge me for the last min request Tam gave me a fair price and got my dress back to me in less than 24hr. The dress looked perfect. She is really great and her work is excellent

I came to Tam with a dress that I had bought online to be worn as part of a comic con costume. Ordering online has its dangers and of course it was way too big (about 2 sizes). I’m new to La Mesa and Unilocaled a good alterations shop and Tam’s came up. I went in on a Thursday and I needed the dress back by Monday. Tam indicated that she was busy, but would do it. When I came back on Monday, the dress was done and tailored nicely. She indicated that the dress took a lot more work than she was expecting, but remained at the original agreed upon price of $ 40. Overall, I was pleased with the work and the time in which it was done. I will be back! One star taken off for being cash only.

Sandy is the best. I will never go anywhere else. She has taken in my sleeveless blouses (including very stretchy fabrics), she has shortened my tanks, hemmed pants and jeans and the ultimate test — taken in the seat of my shorts. I have found many tailors don’t do well with the seat. All my garments fit my body as though they were made for me — not too tight, not too loose. She does not leave excess material inside your clothes. The garments are cut and you’d never be able to tell there were alterations done. I can’t say the same for the last two professional tailors I went to! She has pointed out problems and provided solutions I wouldn’t have identified. Clothes are always ready on time and Sandy always remembers the quoted price (it won’t go up a few bucks if didn’t find your receipt). Best of all, Sandy is so pleasant, you just want to take her to lunch to give her a break from all her hard work. Thanks so much Sandy!

The cute little lady tailored my wedding dress, and she even put a little button in the back to not have my dress trail behind me. It was about $ 175. Anyways, I’m still going to give a five because he service was amazing, timely, and I got exactly what I wanted.

I have been coming to Tam’s for nearly 20 years now, and it’s just out of the question that I would ever go anywhere else for alterations. Sandy has some type of intricate «filing system» and has never once lost or misplaced anything. She is so personable and pleasant, very efficient and her alterations are flawless. She’s a neighborhood treasure and I just can’t say enough good things about this shop.

I brought my sister’s Nicole Miller wedding dress to her to clean in the hopes that I could wear it for my wedding. It had wine and other random stains all over it, and they had been there for 4 years. Tam was able to make this dress look brand new. She is a miracle worker!

Sandi (Tam) is absolutely the best! She has such an eye for what looks good & executes it, amazingly. She works wonders with items that seem impossible to tailor or mend. The prices are reasonable & she has a great memory, so if you forget your ticket, she can still find your things. I highly recommend Tam’s Alterations.

I got a very intricate dress for my wedding that needed some serious alterations and I was afraid I wasn’t going to find anyone to alter it — luckily a friend referred me to Tam and she saved my life without breaking the bank! She also altered a bridesmaid dress of mine, two of my husband’s suits (for our wedding and another), my husband’s mother’s dress and we keep referring more people to her.
It’s a very small place in downtown La Mesa and don’t be afraid she will lose your stuff like others have said — she’s very organized. And such a sweet lady! Her memory is very impressive. She is a great seamstress and I felt confident having her alter my most important dress (even when she said my dress was her biggest challenge yet) and she is now my go-​to.

The owner is very nice, however, unless you like one pant leg or sleeve hemmed significantly shorter than the other, avoid this place.

Tam is wonderful, i lost my receipt and Tam helped find my item, we played phone tag until we found my blouse! I will definitely be going back!
She cleaned a Lucky dry clean only embroidered blouse turned out great!
Make sure you bring cash! She does not accept debit cards

I should have known better. This place is an alteration place first and foremost but I went in for dry cleaning which I believe is sent out to another company. Anyways, I had some items that needed to be dry cleaned and when I got it back home I noticed that my pieces were not cleaned. I called and asked for a refund but I was told that I could bring it in to have it cleaned again which is very nice but I rather bring to another place. I would just like a refund or at least half a refund! Overall I am not coming back here for any dry cleaning again but the store seems to be busy with alterations so maybe this place should stick to just that service.

Sandy is the BEST!!! She is so talented when it comes to alterations! Since I found this La Mesa gem, I have had all my clothing altered here! Not to mention the dry cleaning prices are fair! It’s a ONE-​STOP-​SHOP for me!

Just moved to La Mesa and was seeking dry cleaning service for my husband’s work clothes and golf gear. Tam’s has great service — the clothes always look great and the prices are very fair. Definitely recommend!

I’m in a wedding and of course needed my dress altered.
I’ve had dress alterations done before and always pay over $ 100 for alterations and steaming (my experiences with actual bridal places). So I was on a search for someone professional yet inexpensive.
I found Tam, such a sweet lady. This is her shop and it’s usually just here there. I’m not going to lie, when I walked in I thought «Is this lady going to lose my dress?» Her place is buried in clothing racks and clothes piles everywhere.
I had to wait for her for a couple of minutes while she was helping someone else. While I waited for her I noticed so many people coming in that appeared to be regulars and they would leave piles of clothes with her. Then I realized she has a lot of regulars with a lot of simple jobs such as hems. Hence clothes everywhere! I figured she must be good if she has so many regulars.
I had my dress taken in from the top and sides, and steamed. $ 55! That’s it! I was impressed. She finished this all in a week. My dress fits perfect.
She has a new regular customer :-)