Sometimes you don't get what you pay for
Mandy's Cleaners has a "Best in Chicago" sign in her window like every other lying business in Logan Square has. I remember when I first saw the sign a look of bewilderment spread across my face prompting me to go... "Really?" Hipsters sure know how to hype up a place & help it win awards it comes nowhere close to actually earning.
First off, Mandy doesn't have a set rate for things so she gauges you depending on how frequent a customer you are, the amount of work, how you dress, etc. Watch as she literally makes up a random high price in her mind when you walk in to pick up your items (her eyes roll to the back of her head while she's thinking), especially if you only come in once every month or two like myself.
"Due to the fact that she literally takes whatever work that comes in & does it almost by herself expect your items to always be finished a day or two later than the time you set it for."
What keeps her in business is the fact that she has a prime location coupled with somewhat of an ability to work on a high volume of items (It is because she employs her family & hopefully, she pays them something). I remember when I first used my business debit card to pay for my clothing, Mandy's eyes lit up & she asked me "you own a business?" in a delighted voice. I could see the greed in her eyes in the form of dollar signs. She did everything, but drool & lick her lips. The next time I came in the price was noticeably higher than before.
She takes down your number to sometimes attempt to call you when your items are ready. Other times when I've come in to pick up the items, she says she called me & I didn't pick up even though I know it’s a lie since I have my calls forwarded to all my phones & none of them got a call from her.
"It’s hard to say they forgot to dry clean the items when there's stains & an itemized list that says 'dry clean' on it."
Due to the fact that she literally takes whatever work that comes in & does it almost by herself expect your items to always be finished a day or two later than the time you set it for. 90% of my visits to pick up my items were greeted with the excuse that "Oh I haven't had the chance to work on it, it'll be ready tomorrow". Sometimes she adds on that she "called you to tell you about the delay" even though that’s a lie. In the past I’ve had other dry cleaners deny me at the door if they’re too busy. It’s understandable to want to make as much money as possible, but at least be honest.
I noticed she usually doesn't start working on things until the day you're supposed to pick it up as well since I just needed a small hole stitched on a shirt & set a time for about 7 days later. I come in 6 days later & she still hadn't gotten around to stitching up the hole, something that literally could have been done in 5 minutes. The whole reason I gave her a week was to give her time yet she waited until the last minute to start on it.
The last thing I want to mention is that even though she packages everything nicely, as I've seen with some dry cleaners, sometimes they don't actually dry clean the items. These cleaners just dust the items off & iron them (or do nothing at all) to save themselves some expenses. She's done it to me once or twice. It’s hard to say they forgot to dry clean the items when there's stains & an itemized list that says “dry clean” on it. Other reviewers have noted this as well. The ridiculously made up high prices for the sub-par work isn't worth it in my book.
The last straw for me was when I brought in an overcoat that had a sizable hole in the back of it to be fixed at the beginning of Summer (in June.) I asked if she could fix it & she said yes. I gave her a month to get it done since I knew her by then. A month later I stop by &...it still wasn't done. She hadn't even started on it. I keep checking back over the next few months...nothing. By then it was already Winter & I definitely needed the coat to be fixed. She finally confesses that she can't fix the coat because the material is too thin (it was a cashmere/mink blend.) I happened to have similar material at home so I offered to let her have it if she can manage to fix it. She finally managed to get the overcoat fixed after giving me the run around for almost six months! In the end she thought about giving me a discount, but claimed it was "a lot of work" so I still ended up paying what was allegedly full price (since she makes up prices) after all the trouble she gave me.
My advice to anyone thinking about coming to this place? Don't. If you have to, dress in ratty clothes, don't give the slightest impression that you have money & come in frequently so that she gets to know you. Although looking at that description she might mistake you for a hipster & charge you double. I made the mistake of walking in with a suit & wearing $400 headphones connected to a $800 phone (since I usually come in after work) so she took full advantage of me. Also note, as another reviewer stated she doesn't use invisible stitching techniques for hems, patches, etc. so expect everyone to know you've had some work done & it also doesn't look as clean or nice.
1 out of 5 stars
Mandy’s Cleaners
2061 N California Ave Chicago, IL 60647
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