Peninou French Laundry & Cleaners

Ignacio has been doing our pickups and deliveries for the past year and a half. He is so nice to work with. If I need laundry done sooner he is always kind to accommodate me. His customer service is above and beyond what you would ever expect. It’s so refreshing to have someone who really cares.

Peninou + Carly = FANTASTIC!
This business and it’s employees are pure perfection. The customer service is the best I have experienced in an extremely long time. On my first visit Carly explained their array of services offered to best determine the cleaning method that fit my needs. Upon my first pick up, my shirts were amazing. They were washed and pressed to perfection and I am hard to please. They looked like new and continue to do so.
Then, Carly took the time to send me a hand written thank you welcoming me to their store and to call with any questions. That was very much appreciated in our world of email. I was thoroughly impressed with her customer service skills, attention to detail and going above and beyond what I expected. Her professionalism and expertise shined and continue to do so each time I return.
After being a customer for at least a month, I could not be happier. My shirts are perfect each time and ready when promised. In my opinion they can do no wrong.
I will be a long-​term customer, with no question.
I highly encourage you to visit this amazing business.
Russell Merlo

I bought a women’s faille jacket at a vintage clothing shop that was in absolutely perfect condition, but it had a lot of white deodorant buildup on the underarms of the lining. I took the jacket to Peninou for this single reason – the jacket had no other stains and didn’t even need to be pressed.
When I came to pick it up, it looked like it had been in a dogfight. The entire jacket had been pressed so hard that not only did the seam allowances and hem show through, but the inner points on the scalloped collar were frayed, with threads sticking out. Also, whoever pressed it thought that it ought to have a pleat at the bottom of the lining (but it was a short jacket, so it didn’t need a pleat), so they wrenched the lining down to create a pleat, which caused the back to buckle. This wrinkling was pressed into the fabric. I was horrified.
I pointed out the damage to the churlish girl behind the counter, who didn’t even apologize. Instead, she whined, «Well, you said it was worn before.» Of course it was worn before! This is a cleaners, isn’t it? You clean clothes that were WORN BEFORE?
I was furious, not only to the damage to a formerly perfect garment, but because of the clerk’s idiotic response and lack of apology. I will never go here again.

I drove from Half Moon Bay to Menlo Park to take a coat to Peninou that needed extra care. I arrived at 3:30 pm and was greeted by a sign on the door that said, «Closed for lunch 12:00 pm — 12:30 pm». There was no one there. I won’t make that mistake again. What a huge waste of my time.

When Peninou does a good job, they do a good job, but for an upscale cleaners, I find them whiny.
1) When I ask them for special treatment of items (clipping sleeves together on men’s shirts for example), they do not offer this service. For the price paid, ANYTHING should be possible. Especially something as simple as this.
2) If tags are gone, they ask you to sign a waiver that allows them to ruin the item without liability. Tags are often removed for comfort reasons. This is not uncommon and they should know how to clean items without them. The most recent refusal– a dress with beading that they refused to clean without guaranteeing that the beads wouldn’t fall off. CRAZY! I took it to another dry cleaner– no problem.
3) They won’t just press items. They require cleaning. ALL other dry cleaners offer this service, so I end up going to multiple dry cleaners.
4) They forgot to bill me for some items (their mistake) and called me multiple times in a day to «correct» the mistake. Their mistake, not my problem. It should have been comped and I didn’t like the several phone calls in a few hours. It felt like harassment.
5) When items are unable to be cleaned (stains that won’t come out etc), they don’t tell you and you only see that there is a problem, after paying full price, when you put away clothing and are annoyed.
They could VASTLY improve service. They seem to put more focus on being «upscale» by creating a nice environment with pomp and circumstance (welcome calls, cards, gift packs) than actually providing helpful, wonderful service.

WOW-​WAH-​WOO-​WAH!
These guys are FAN-​FLIPPIN-​TASTIC!
I’ll start with an official warm fuzzy for Peter! Peter is our driver and he swings by every Tuesday morning to see what adventures in laundry we will have for him that week. His smile and demeanor light up the morning and I know that I can trust him to handle any special requests graciously and efficiently.
I LOVE the way they make the mens dress shirts look like they are brand new! The collars are perfectly shaped and the shirts are folded and sealed up with the Peninou label on them. They lay perfectly flat and stackable in the closet for ease in pairing up with suits and ties each morning. It’s great!
Want your clothes on the hanger instead of a tight fold? They will deliver them as you request. Special suits even come with stuffing on the sleeves to prevent wrinkling in the closet when you’ve got a little more wedged in there than you probably should ;)
When I dropped off some extra items myself at the DT Menlo location, the ladies inside (who were rockin out to some grooving tunes BTW) not only told me they would attach the items with the delivery Peter was going to do in a couple days, BUT they also let me know about specials happening that would save us 15% on special items! LOVE IT! LOVE IT LOVE IT!

I just picked up some items (8 total). The cost was $ 250. Never in my wildest dreams did I think it would be that much. Granted, some (half the items) I wanted to make sure that they would not be ruined the first time I got them cleaned — but still. It was a few blouses, pants, dresses. NO CLEANER is worth that much. NO, NONE, NEGATORY, NADA. I also had a $ 25 certificate that they honored (the impossibly small writing said it was to be presented when I dropped off the clothes). So… SO WHAT. I will NEVER use them again. I only had the gift cert because the first time I ever used them was for a cushion cover that wasn’t ready a week later when they said it would be. Only 2 experiences and I’m totally unimpressed and feel totally ripped off. Never again.

I have used Peninou for years, have a regular charge account and delivery service with them. They are quite expensive, and while they don’t charge extra for delivery, that cost is built into their rates.
But poor customer service is part of their management.
Example: I brought in a skirt to be cleaned, asking for quick turn around service. They gave me a price of $ 33 to clean it and said I would need to pick it up to have it back in time. That worked for me, so I left it for them. When I went to pick it up, it was not at the store, or even cleaned. The reason? The actual charge to clean it was $ 37, so it was just sitting in its cleaning facility waiting for me to approve an additional $ 4!
1. For $ 4 they did not do the service they agreed to?
2. For $ 4 difference, most merchants would have honored their price.
3. Next time, I’m taking it to Hoot ‘N Toot.

I took antique bed linens here for laundry service and they did a very nice job. I’ve used a couple of other MP cleaners who’ve damaged items & lost a pillowcase. .They’re pricey — 2 linen sheets with embroidery & cutwork for $ 28. I asked ahead of time about the cost & was told that it would depend on how much hand-​finishing was needed. I’ll go back with some special things.
I didn’t use their pick-​up or delivery. Some people might prefer not to have that cost factored into the prices.
I’ve been into the shop 3 times and have been treated very courteously by all the staff.

I’m with the people writing about the failed customer service. I have had a few cocktail dresses dry cleaned in the $ 30-​$ 40 range. I know this place is expensive and does well with delicate things, so I have made it a point to take my really good stuff there. I had an long evening dress that my mom found in her closet that I wore more than 10 years ago (I thought that I had scored a free dress for a formal event that is going to cost me in other ways). When I brought it in to Peninou, I was asked if there were stains to pay attention to. I said, «You know, I wore this last more than 10 years ago, it hasn’t been cleaned since, and so to be honest, I just want it to be somewhat wearable and I don’t expect every stain to come out.» It’s a very dark dress, so some stains hide well.
When I went to pick up the dress, the bill was $ 92! Again, I know this place is Mrs. Gottrocks expensive, but at no point was I ever clued into the fact that I’d be paying almost as much as the dress cost originally just to get it cleaned. I told the clerk that I expected something around $ 50 and asked the clerk why it was so expensive and why they never mentioned the great expense. They just explained that it’s how much their evening dress cleaning costs.
I’m giving Peninou one star not because they are expensive (that is well known even though you can’t find a price anywhere on their website or in their shop), but they seem to care less about their customers and keeping them well-​informed and happy. It would have been nice to have been told when I said that I didn’t expect every stain to come out that they would be cleaning this by hand and it requires a lot of labor. It also would have been nice for the employees to offer me anything to make up for my discontent. I have worked in retail and thought that the most important thing was to keep a current customer happy. It’s too bad for Peninou that I’ll never return to do business with them.

This is a great eco friendly French Laundry business and the quality is really good. Go see the rep Mark and he will take care of your shirts really well. Its a quick, elegant shop for those who value their special items.
*** Dress Shirts and Pants, they do a really good job with

I’m not sure what all the fuss is about.
Yes, they’re expensive. Yes, they’re not gushingly friendly.
But I’m here to get my clothes cleaned, not to get pampered, and if you don’t know what you’re signing up for when you walk in the door (i.e. excellent cleaning that comes with a high ticket), then you shouldn’t be here. Admittedly, I still take most of my clothes elsewhere for a lower price and less attentive cleaning, but for certain delicate items, only Peninou does the trick.

First the positives: Peninou does a lovely job with their french laundry service for dress shirts and dry cleaning of suits, sweaters — including pill removal, etc. They work miracles with stain removal. Clothes are returned in terrific condition. The staff is friendly and efficient. The pick up and delivery service is reliable. They use cleaning products that are more environmentally friendly than most other laundry services. (I have researched this thoroughly.)
And now the downside: Peninou is extremely expensive compared to other shirt laundry and dry cleaning services in the area. The per item cost for laundering a shirt is based on the shirt’s maker. High end shirts can cost $ 8 or more per wash. Customers are not notified in advance of this. Peninou does not negotiate on this. Secondly, packaging of items is excessive, even when «minimal packaging» is requested. This is particularly the case with high end shirts; they are returned one or two per plastic bag with special hangers and tissue paper in the sleeves. Again, Peninou does not negotiate on this or support customer request for less packaging (ie, 4 shirts/​bag, regular hangers, no tissue).
My recommendation is to use Peninou only for very special items or items requiring special care (ie, stain removal, pill removal on sweaters). For this, Peninou’s service is worth the price. For typical weekly shirt service and dry cleaning, try T&C Cleaners in the Town and Country Village, a short drive away.

Massive customer service failure.
I’ve been bringing my shirts here to dry clean for awhile. Went to pick them up today and there was a neatly wrapped package with them — with a bill for $ 8.32 on it.
«What’s this?», I asked. «Oh a pair of your underwear was buried in your shirts» the clerk answered.
I laughed and said, «well obviously I didn’t want you to dry clean those,» just take take it off my bill. The clerk responded, «Oh, I can’t do that.»
Say what?
«Ok, can we talk to your manager?» I asked, hoping that someone with judgement would laugh too, and realize how silly this was.
«Oh, there’s no manager here, I have to call corporate.»
Let me get this straight Peninou, you claim you have great customer service and you haven’t authorized your clerks to exercise a modicum of judgement on a bill under $ 10?
Unbelievable failure in customer service.
Guess what, you just lost a $ 5K a year customer.

I am new to the area, and went to Peninou in Menlo Park to get a suit dry cleaned rush delivery. It seemed like a nice place at first. They told me that it would cost 30% more to get the rush delivery which seemed ok. But when i asked them how much they charged, they said they didn’t know. This seemed a bit odd to me. I followed up by asking if they could give me an estimate, and they still said, «We don’t know. They will figure it out.» «Who is they?» I asked. The woman proceeded to tell me that the people who clean the clothes also decide how much to charge based on various criteria. Despite my huge issue with this fee structure (I mean dry cleaning a suit is pretty simple, especially if it doesn’t have any big dirty spots or stains), I decided to go forward and get the cleaning done with Peninou, especially since it was just one suit, and I didn’t have time to waste going to another cleaners. When I picked up the suit, I had a bill for $ 90. That means they charged me roughly $ 70 if you take out the 30% rush delivery charge. I was apoplectic, absolutely in shock. I am originally from NYC, a very expensive place, where I have seen my fare share of rip-​offs, but this was way worse. Peninou is involved in deceptive business, and they should be in jail for such egregious practices. They told me that they charged me $ 90 based on the brand of my suit (I.E.: the better the brand, the more they charge). This is bad business. The funny thing is the suit I took there was originally purchased in China about 5 years ago for only $ 200, and has no brand. Because it was «custom made,» Peninou felt obligted to charge me the highest rate. They are crooks, and I will make it a mission in life to make sure everyone knows to never go there. I would think their only loyal customers must have a serious screw loose and have no concept of money.
Oh, and by the way, the cleaning was mediocre. My lapels on the jacket came back poorly pressed and were sticking straight out, rather than being flush.

I was going to give two stars for my dealings with the main office, but I had to give an extra star for Steve, the stellar Route Representative.
They called to ask about whether they could wash a pair of pants rather than dry clean it, so I gave them the okay, but they declined to say when those pants would be ready. It took about a week to get those pants back. They offered a coupon for 15% off for the trouble. That was two weeks ago. The coupon has not arrived.

Started the process in Los Gatos and spoke with the crew in Menlo Park. This same review appears under both Los Gatos and Menlo Park Peninou locations.
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Picture this …
The Friday started out rough. Stressed. Had a meeting with the CEO of one of my client companies. Got bumped up a few hours. Not prepared. Had a photo shoot over the weekend. Not mentally prepared. Needed my caffeine. Running late. Grab my super-​charged latte. Try to throw on a warm/​cold «sleeve». Sh*t. Sh*t. Sh*t. Explosion. All the frick over my vanilla colored Rebecca Taylor blazer. All over it. Seriously. Could this not have happened on a day that I was wearing black???
As I am pulling from within the combination of expletives that are normally only heard from a truckers mouth — I ring up my mom and ask WTF do I do … «You know, Beau brought his suit to Peninou and I hear they did a terrific job. Maybe call them?» Great. Okay.
I ring Peninou. I deliver the dastardly tale of what happened to my gorgeous blazer. The guy on the other line somewhat gasps. «Well. That could be difficult. Bring it in and we will try our best.» Great. Okay.
I dropped off my blazer in the Los Gatos location — close to my clients office. They have a drive-​up. Really? Awesome! Seriously, I instantly warm up to things that seem over-​the-​top. It’s ridiculous. I know. But I do. They were soo friendly when I walked in. Espresso splattered blazer and all.
Yes they asked for my personal information. You know what — they used it — for the GOOD. I like the personal touch. You get it here. I received a cute little card in the mail letting me know my blazer was ready. The espresso was gone. Not a trace. Was it pricey? Sure. But, hey — I love my blazer. And it wasn’t as pricey as buying a brand new one.
Peninou seriously earned my repeat business! After I picked up my blazer I received a call a few days later — wanting to ask me if I was pleased with my dry cleaning. Really? Hells yes I was! I recounted my tale. The woman on the other end was please. She thanked me for answering her questions and said she would be sending me a «thank you» in the mail. $ 25 off my next dry cleaning. Thanks, Peninou. I was going to be back anyway — but I DIG the customer service!
Over the top. I love it. Fantastic service. Great results. Dry cleaning worthy of the red carpet. Who doesn’t love it.
BTW, they also pick-​up. And deliver. Heaven.

This place sucks. Super expensive, bad service. I only went here because the other place I take my laundry to usually burned down. But I’ll be searching for another after my experience here.
One of my pet peeves with businesses is asking for personal information that is superfluous to serving you as a customer. These people want my phone number, even though they don’t call me when my laundry is done. They also want my address to «send me coupons.» Fuck that, I can deal without your junk mail, Peninou.

So, you should be really really clear on these guys: this is not where you take your shirts every week, unless you have plenty of money to burn. This is not even where you take your $ 3,000 wedding dress. This is where you take your $ 3,000 wedding dress after it was stained with cake frosting and dunked in the Pacific in a «trash the dress» shoot.
They do all their cleaning by hand, and they use only environmentally friendly products. Duh — they’re pricey. Taking even your expensive designer clothes there isn’t worth it if they just need a little sweat and deodorant taken out of them.
I took four drapery panels made of heavily embroidered, deeply colored sari silk. They had been hung by windows that were open to a smoker’s courtyard. They were full of dirt from the wind blowing grunge through window screens, smelled of cigarette smoke, and one panel had a cat pee stain. I tried two other cleaners that wouldn’t even touch them because of the brilliant colors and the embroidery. Peninou said they would need time to provide me a quote, after which I could decide whether I wanted to go to the expense. They did; it took about a week. It was expensive. I told them to go ahead. The drapes came back flawlessly cleaned, fragrance free, and without a single thread out of place.
Ordinary shirts and suits? Don’t bother. Expensive, delicate, irreplaceable items with cat pee stains that other cleaners won’t touch? Worth every penny.

I spent $ 300 here and had two blankets come back in an unusable condition. I won’t ever go back.
I used to take my more expensive clothes here, under the assumption that this was the best available dry cleaning quality, and thus worth it for expensive clothes. I could never actually see the difference in the result between them and my regular dry cleaners, but I trusted that it was worth it.
Then one day I took in two wool twin-​size blankets that had been sitting in the garage and were very dusty and cobwebby. I paid $ 150 each to have them cleaned. The labels said «dry clean only.»
When they came back and I removed the plastic — both blankets REEKED. The stench was awful. I have no idea what it was; it wasn’t noticeable before. I tried airing them outside on a clothesline; didn’t help. I actually had to leave them outside the house, the stink was that bad. (My husband stepped in the door of the house, wrinkled his nose and said «What the hell is THAT?» And that was just left over from having them in the house a short time.)
I took them back to Peninou. They said the only thing they could do is run them through the process again. I asked various questions about what might have happened, how to fix it – the staff there had no useful ideas or comments. They just shrugged and said «I dunno» and «we’ll run it through again.» They didn’t seem to know anything about stains, clothing or dry cleaning.
When I picked the blankets up again — no difference, the smell was just as bad. Again the staff just shrugged. I pointed out that I had paid $ 300, and that I expected some kind of refund or shop credit, considering that the blankets had come back from them in an unusable condition and they had been unable to remedy the situation.
The staff told me that they were forbidden to ever give refunds or store credit. All they were allowed to do, if a customer complained, was to take the materials back and run them through the dry cleaning again.
I said that this had been a very poor customer experience, and I was really disappointed, that they were supposed to be the best dry cleaner in the area. The woman shrugged and walked away.
Bottom line: these people charge a fortune, but they don’t provide better results, and they don’t care about customers.
PS per the blankets — in desperation, as a last step, I ran them through a washing machine. They don’t look at nice anymore, but at least the smell is gone and they’re usable again. So I paid $ 300 to Peninou for ruined blankets that I fixed with $ 5 in quarters at the laundromat, with no help from them.