If I could give less than 1 star, I would. In fact, I will be writing to the Better Business Bureau, and almost called the cops for how aggressive the woman at the front counter was.
2 weeks ago I dropped off two suit jackets to have the sleeves shortened about 1" each. The woman spoke awful, broken English. I'm not sure about Jason C.'s review, but maybe there is another staff member at this cleaners that speaks much better English. My complaint and review is not about her weak grasp of the English language, but how that definitely contributed to this ridiculous series of events.
The receipt I was given for my jacket alterations was for $0 (that's right- nothing), and the woman said she wasn't sure how much it would cost to do the alterations. I said it usually costs around $20-$25 for this type of alteration (you can fact check me here: http://www.realsimple.com/beauty-fashion/clothing/prices-common-clothing-alterations), and she said it would probably be around that.
Fast forward to today. I went to pick up the jackets. Beautifully tailored, but I was told the cost was $78! That is absolutely insane. I told her that is much higher than the standard price, the price we discussed, and the price that other tailors and cleaners are charging in the very same city. It was extremely difficult to negotiate with this woman, as she clearly did not understand about 95% of the words coming out of my mouth. She kept saying that since their establishment is a Tailor and not a Cleaner, the prices are always more expensive. She also said the building is very expensive, so they have to charge those prices. But that's not a valid argument. Nor is that my problem. Go rent a space somewhere else if you can't afford your rent. Especially considering they don't even do the alterations in house- the woman said they send them out to a tailor and he tells them the prices to charge.
The argument escalated, as I refused to pay double the price I was quoted and that I would pay elsewhere. I told her I would pay $25 per jacket (i.e. $50 total), and she repeated my words "OK, $25 per jacket." I gave her my debit card, and- this made my jaw drop- she entered $35 into the machine. She then said "Oh no!" Thinking she realized her mistake, I was about to tell her it was ok, to just run the card a second time for the remaining balance of $15, when she said "$35 each." I said, "No, we agreed on $25 each." She said, "No, I charge for $35 each." I asked her to please not run my card again, that I did not authorize that charge, and she went ahead and swiped my card! I reached over and hit the red Cancel button on her credit card machine, because I DID NOT authorize this charge on my credit card. (I will also add here that she had not yet given me my jackets, and I was not planning on leaving without paying. I just wanted to pay a fair price, and she was being ridiculously brazen.)
This woman proceeded to NOT hand me back my debit card. She held it up high in her hand and refused to give it back! I told her that her actions were illegal, that we agreed on $25 per jacket, and that she needed to give me back my debit card, the receipts, and the initial dry cleaning receipt that was proof I had dropped my jackets off there. After a good 3 minutes of arguing, she handed me back my card, but refused to hand me the receipts, and actually moved my jackets back to the rack behind the counter. I asked her numerous times for the receipts, as they were of no use to her without my signature anyways. She refused, and then started to ignore me. I told her I needed the receipts, was going to stop payment on the charges she ran on my card, and that I was headed inside the building to speak with the property management company. She started to yell at me, saying "Go, do what you want!" After a good 10 minutes of arguing (I was afraid to leave in case she destroyed the receipts and my jackets), her hand got close to me so I grabbed the receipts and left.
I went inside and spoke with the property manager, Mary, who was very friendly. She candidly shared that she was extremely overcharged to have the hook-and-eye closure on a skirt fixed once- they charged her more than the actual skirt cost. She suggested that maybe the woman at the tailor did not understand me due to her broken English... but again, not my problem. And she agreed.
Mary, the property manager, went to speak with the woman, and they ended up going the complete opposite way- refunded the charges, and settled on a final TOTAL amount of $25. I'll likely write a separate GLOWING review of this property management company, because she sure went to bat for me.
PLEASE don't bring your garments to this Watergate Valet! Hopefully they go out of business and a more respectable one takes their place. read more