Quality First Cleaners

I used to do business here regularly, for cleaning and tailoring, but when I brought in a dress recently, when I got it back it smelled like smoke and men’s cologne. It’s like that Seinfeld episode — like someone wore it to a party and gave it back without cleaning it. I will not be going there again.

Worst place ever; the owner got violent and went ballistic and only calmed down when another customer walked in.
First, the basics: the place looks pretty run down. You walk into the store, and there is a sad sewing machine in the corner with 1 – 2 spools, and a barren counter in the middle. It looks like the place was abandoned or went out of business, especially when you compare to the better upkept storefronts like Super Quality Cleaners in Sunnyvale.
Second, the guy doesn’t know what he’s talking about. They claim to do «expert alterations» but they couldn’t do something as simple as altering a skirt to a smaller size. He said because it was lined and it wasn’t just a waistband alteration, it would be way too difficult and expensive. I asked him for an estimate, saying that what I might consider expensive may not be what he considers expensive, and he couldn’t even do that. I’m sorry, but if a place that claims to do alterations cannot simply take in a skirt, what are they good for? Anyway, I ended up driving to Super Quality Cleaners instead, and the woman there was like no problem and charged me $ 15. I haven’t gotten it back yet, but having had many things altered in the past, it did seem strange that the man at Quality First Cleaners claimed it was too difficult to do.
Third, the cleaning sucks. I should have known not to leave my cleaning there, after hearing his incompetent answer to my alteration request. I left 2 jackets and a dress. One of the jackets had some stains that I had him mark, 2 on the collar and one in the lining. The dress was not marked, but there were some light stains on the lining and generally just smelled of sweat from wearing it. When I picked up my cleaning, the stains on the jacket collar had been removed, but the stains on the lining were not touched; I suspect they didn’t see the sticker on the inside. The dress was obviously not cleaned at all — it still smelled of sweat, even though the jackets both had a faint chemical smell. The light stains on the inside of the dress were also still there. I pointed these out to the cleaner, saying that maybe the people he sends the clothes out to didn’t really clean it. He didn’t give me any benefit of the doubt, just made up all these excuses like they use different chemicals on the dress vs jacket (but why then does the dress smell like sweat as if it weren’t cleaned at all?) and that I didn’t put stickers on the dress (if there are no stickers, then it doesn’t get cleaned at all??). He didn’t even offer to try to clean it again; instead, he said, «You can take it to another cleaner and if they get it out, then you can come back here, and I’ll give you your money back.» Um, hello, do I look like I have time to go somewhere else and then go back to him? Why don’t you just do the job correctly, period?
Now here comes the fun part. When I said I don’t think I should have to pay for an item that was not even cleaned, he suddenly grabbed my clothes, saying that I can’t have them then. Uh, where did that come from? I held on to the other side of the hanger, telling him to let go and asking why he was being so violent and unreasonable. Did he really think I was going to grab my clothes and run out of the store? He was shaking very angrily and saying how I was accusing him of lying, and I said, «No, all I said was that the people you send out your clothes to to be cleaned might not have cleaned it, and what happened to giving the customer the benefit of the doubt?» We ended up in a tug of war on both ends of the hanger (thankfully, he wasn’t pulling on the clothes themselves), and I kept telling him to calm down and stop it, but he wouldn’t. He said it was his store, and he could do whatever he wanted to. Finally, another customer came in, who told the guy he needs to calm down and let go. The guy even offered to pay for the disputed item, and I told him that I appreciated his gesture, but it was unnecessary. Of course, the dry cleaner, with no conscience and only greed, said to the man, «Ok, you’ll pay for it? You will?» and let go. WTF?
I paid for it only so that the poor innocent guy would not pay for it and left the store. I will never EVER go back to that place, and I hope this review prevents issues for others as well. It is one thing to be incompetent, but it is another thing to then attack the customer.
(NOTE: The name of this business is Quality First according to their business card, not First Quality, which may be the listed name on Unilocal until Unilocal editors correct it, which I’ve pointed out to them. The address and phone number in Sunnyvale are correct, however.)