Pressed 4 Time

We are extremely particular about our clothing, from tailoring to the care and appearance, we notice wrinkles, improper creases, and Darren’s dry cleaning service is unmatched. His customer service is terrific, so convenient and accommodating, better than if I take matters into my own hands. A couple of times a year we run into the issue of my husband having to take off somewhere last minute and needing his dry cleaning done in quick turn around, Darren has yet to disappoint, always comes through.
As for the quality of dry cleaning, we entrust him with some pretty costly custom clothing, and though 1 time had an issue, human error which can happen anywhere, he made it right, and he sincerely showed that he cared. I’ve had issues with other drycleaners and have pretty much been told, «Its not our problem». Never the case with Darren.
I highly recommend the service, the value is absolutely there, can’t say enough good things:)

You can’t beat the convenience of Pressed-​4-​Time, but after they were late on my orders… twice and then destroyed one of Mrs. Kvatch’s sweaters, I stopped using them.
In their defense, they didn’t argue when I just refused to pay the cleaning charge for the item they destroyed. So, for that, they get one extra star.

I started using them in November 2008. The pick up/​delivery was terrific and the price was competitive. That’s where the value ended.
In January and February 2009, I blew through the elbow of 4 shirts (RL, Hilfiger, RL Purple Label). I didn’t think so much of it, they were older shirts. 3 of them were purchased at the same time. I purchased replacements from Vineyard Vines in February.
Fast forward to May 2009, 2 Vineyard Vines shirts that were less than a year old failed in the elbow then one of the shirts I bought in February tore in the elbow. Then today, June 4^th 2009, another of the February shirts died in the elbow.
I emailed the guy who runs the place after the 6^th shirt died this year, he promised to get back to me, which hasn’t happened and 2 more shirts have died since then.
These were quality shirts. Nothing has changed about my usage habits in the 10 years I have been a software engineer. In that time, I have had one shirt fail like this. I get that I lean on my elbows, typing and mousing, but I have always done that. I have never had so many shirts (8) fail in such a short period of time. Pressed 4 Time is the only variable I can see to blame for the failure of my shirts.
They have to save money somewhere, to offer competitive prices and offer the pick up/​delivery service. I am guessing its the quality of the dry cleaner they use.
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After using a competitor for the last 6 months, none of my new shirts have had any issues. I sit at the same desk, doing the same job. The only thing which changed was my dry cleaner.
I can only conclude that they are responsible for my shirts tearing.
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Darren, The argument you make below is flawed.
The first batch of shirts were old and dry cleaned dozens of times. The second batch of ruined shirts were dry cleaned fewer than 10 times.

LATER NEWS ON PRESSED 4 TIME. .. THEY APPEAR TO CARE MORE THAN OTHER DRYCLEANERS. .. BASED ON THAT I’M UPGRADING THEM FROM 3 TO 4 STARS. .. IF THEY REALLY PROVIDE THE SERVICE THEY PROMISE OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL MONTHS, I WILL UPGRADE THIS TO 5 STARS.
See their response to my earlier posting today and my reply:
From Darren: «Thanks for responding. I very much appreciate this feedback. We may have met at Zarif‘s one time and every customer she has given me in the last 2 years loves my service still to this day. I am the kind of person that will take care of issues minor or major. If you always dealt with me directly, perhaps we could have communicated better instead through Zarif. As a quality-​demanding consumer myself, I have found people are human and things can be fixed… I do go the extra mile for my customers! In my experience, the only cuffs that look bad after pressing are the back sides of the french cuffs. This is almost always a result of a manufacturer’s issue with regard to the extra fabric. Sometimes collars have extra fabric that cannot be pressed correctly. Buttons are plastic and often crack. If they do, I will replace them. We always read labels and shrinking happens on occasion even when processed according to the label’s instructions. If an item shrinks, we will replace it regardless! Zarif tends to want everything rushed which can result in things being overlooked occasionally. I‘m sorry she was in the middle. If you work with me directly, you will get quality service (pick-​up and drop-​off at your door). I‘m willing to win your service back by giving you $ 50 in free cleaning, however we must deal directly with each other.
Sincerely,
Darren Bartz «
and my reply: «Darren,
I appreciate your diligence in pursuing this. I used your service through Zarif’s because that is where I got some tailoring done and she suggested I just bring my drycleaning there, too. That was handy because I drove right by the store to and from work every day.
I guess we were really spoiled by the drycleaners that we had for 10 year in Austin before moving to N Virginal. Other than one lost shirt, we never had a mishap. I think our experience here is reflective of the fact that there are so many people here in the DC area and therefore such a huge volume handled by any drycleaners. That makes it so much more difficult to take care of every detail. Even so, as a customer, I always prefer and expect Nordstrom and LL Bean service rather than the lowest common denominator that most people seem to be willing to put up with. And I will pay extra for it.
I guess what pushed me over the edge with your service was getting back a blue dress shirt with white buttons and one oversize brown replacement button at the collar. It’s such a hassle to return stuff that I just moved on to another drycleaners. However, they are not as convenient because I have to drop off and pick up on Loudoun Cty Parkway near Sully Road.
I would be happy to give your service another try. Do you or can you pick up in Belmont Country Club in Ashburn? Or at my office at Centerville/​Elden and the tollway?
Steve C»
NO WORSE THAN ANY OTHER DRYCLEANERS THAT I HAVE USED
Darren Bartz is the franchisee.
He recently took issue with my mention of his service in a review of another drycleaners. I sent him this reponse:
«I used your service for several months through Zarif’s Custom Tailors in Ashburn. I even met you there one time. I showed you mismatched replacement buttons on shirts from my previous drycleaners (Narnia) that I was having Zarif’s replace. You assured me that would never happen with your service. Well, it eventually happened, as well as the occasional item returned with missing buttons, cuffs and collars with wrinkles pressed in, and a dryclean item that was laundered and shrunk.»
AT LEAST IT’S REALLY CONVENIENT.