First Class Cleaners

I’ve used this establishment off and on for a few years. Over that time there have been a few red flags that caused me to suspect it might not be the most reliable place — being told garments had already been picked up when they hadn’t, strange attitudes from the employees, just things here and there that seemed out of the ordinary — but I tended not to think too much about it. After my last encounter I’ll never be going back, and I caution others against it. It’s not a service issue, it’s a serious hygiene issue.
I went to pick up one coat and drop off another that my cat had discovered and slept on. I explained before I pulled it out that the new coat was covered in fur, so that they’d know how to handle it. The person at the counter picked it up and took it to the back. I was then surprised to see her handling other people’s clean garments without washing her hands… The coat was quite dirty, covered in fur and dander, which she had certainly noticed when she took it as she made a face when she registered its fuzzy condition.
I was a little unsettled, but I thought I might be being paranoid. Not wanting to be rude, I told the other employee I was a bit of a germaphobe, and asked if they usually washed their hands before handling the clean clothes. He said no. In a cheerful way, he said that, after all, if they were handling a dirty garment and someone came in wanting their clothes, they couldn’t stop to wash or they’d be washing all the time. I didn’t point out that in a business where hygiene was important washing all the time was exactly what they should be doing. I asked if that were standard in the dry cleaning biz, still thinking maybe I was worrying too much, and he said it was.
After I left, though, I just couldn’t believe it was true. What if someone brought in something with vomit or blood on it? I could swear I’d seen people at dry cleaners accept garments using gloves in the past. So I called the next closest dry cleaner and asked how they handled things, using what just happened at First Class as a hypothetical situation, and the person there was audibly shocked at the idea!
I went back and retrieved my clothes, then took them to the new place (Wesmere Cleaners, whom I’d highly recommend). When he saw the furry coat, he wouldn’t even let me put it down on the counter, and I greatly appreciate his concern for hygiene!

Horrible service all around. Took my Pottery Barn comforter for laundering just as the care label called for. When I picked up the comforter I could immediately see through the plastic it was faded and turned different colors. Marie at the counter thought it was appropriate to argue with me that my bedding was fine and stated I wouldn’t get more than $ 10 back, and at the same time wanted me to pay the $ 25 cleaning fee! I went home to retrieve the pillow cases, which I laundered without any fading. I showed the normal color to Marie and requested to speak with the manager. The owner of the location called me personally & promised to make the situation right. She stated she needed to send the quilt out for testing but again she would make it right regardless of outcome and apologized for treatment by Marie. Yay! The Owner offered me a credit in cleaning but with previous lost clothes from another FCC I decided I would never trust them with anything else, so I declined and requested we discuss compensation to which she agreed.
After several weeks and several calls and emails from me to FCC requesting a status, I received the report from a lady I had never dealt with before, and the report indicated of course no one was at fault– just my bad luck for buying a comforter from Pottery Barn and no mention of making it right or next steps. I replied to the sender and copied the Owner to ask the next steps and received no response. After sending a final email indicating I would submit reviews to Unilocal and other referral type websites, I finally received an email indicating I should take my bedding back to Pottery Barn and that I declined the original offer of free cleaning — no mention of the previously discussed compensation. Avoid this location!