Virgilio Laundromat

I was absolutely shocked at Virgilio’s customer service, which was by far the worst customer service I have ever experienced. First, the washing machine was broken and when I went to tell the woman who appeared to be the owner she acted like I was making it up to try to steal from her. Then, a young woman who is presumably her granddaughter came over to watch me remove my unwashed clothes from the broken washer and she started to yell at me that I had put too many clothes in the machine (which I had not). When I told her that I have uniformly washed the same amount per load of laundry ever since I started doing laundry on my own at age 9, she began to SCREAM at me in a shocking manner. When I calmly asked «Really? Is this your customer service? Yelling at customers?» she proceeded to continue to scream at the top of her lungs. The owner came over and yelled in her face (two inches from her face) «ENOUGH!» but did not bother to apologize to me at all. After this disturbing incident, I proceeded to leave with my clothes and walked down the street to the more modern, clean competitor where no one yells at you for the inadequacy of their machines (the machines at Virgilio look like something out of the 1970s).

Absolutely the worst staff but, when one is desperate, you observe your options. They do not take credit cards which is a major inconvenience (head to Lavanderia) and do not want to hear from you whatsoever. Fortunately, if a machine is open and working the staff does take initiative and move/​hold your clothing for others to take advantage of machines. Admittedly, one of the worst laundromats in the north end but, it’s just a way to pass time for these ladies. P

I am actually quite mad at myself for coming back again there and give them my quarters.
So, yes, these women are indisputably mean, really rude. Some will say it is the Italian way, but I disagree, this is just mean rudeness.
I had put sneakers in the dryer along with other clothes.
When I came back, 20 minutes after the end of the cycle, I see the dryer is still on, showing 31 minutes. The lady comes to me and tells me I cannot put shoes in a dryer. Their dryers are so modern that shoes in a dryer push the doors of the dryer. So, she tells me that she was generous enough to add quarters because my «clothes were soaking wet», weird, because when I took out the clothes from the washer, they were not soaking! She then touches my clothes and says that it is soaking wet… Well, at worst, it is a bit humid, but it is definitely burning. She offers that I dry the things longer. Is she out of her mind, these things have been drying /​cooking for 45 minutes now!
Now, a few of my nice clothes lost their color and shape…
And I am supposed to thank them.
Blame on me for not taking the extra steps to go to modern spin or prince laundry…
Pass your way.

While I love their prices, as I think they are probably the cheapest in the North End… the staff is not the best in the world. I understand it can be busy, but especially on Sundays you would think you were a burden. I must say I started off doing my laundry myself, but being such a time consumption, I have switched over to drop-​off service. This is the way to go! At only a $ 1 per lb (min. 12lbs) you can not go wrong to have them wash, dry, and fold!

While the prices may be competitive for the city, the machines are OLD! The washing machines don’t clean well and the dryers never dry heavy materials unless you want to pay $ 2 to dry a load. With the amount of money this place makes, they need to update their machines. It’s 2013 not 1970!

Do not go on Sundays. The staff there on Sundays is never even remotely pleasant. Best bet is to go during the week. Still worth going to but better to get your laundry done prior to Sunday.

I have been doing my wash and dry there for a few months now and have had no problems and zero wait to get machines.
My issue is with the dry cleaning/​drop off service. I dropped off a comforter to be dry cleaned assuming it would be $ 18, because a sign saying «Comforters Single/​Full $ 15-​$ 18» was posted. The dry cleaning took 2 weeks to get back and when I went to pick up, the bill was $ 38!
I was told that what I was looking at was the «drop off» price (although it was simply a sign with prices, and nothing saying drop off) and that the dry cleaning prices were on the wall. I looked around and there was nothing, so the girl working went behind the counter on a corkboard and pulled off a sheet of paper that was covered by hanging clothes, a sheet that read in font 10 the dry cleaning prices.
The individual was Inconsiderate about communicating the difference in price and the issue with posting signs that were not clear.

cheap wash and fold. However, service is below average. Went in there do to my laundry on a saturday. There were no machines available. When 3 – 4 machines finished, the woman working at laundromat refused to empty them even after 15 – 20 minutes of waiting! there are better places. Plus they ruined my gfs skirt when she got a wash and fold (bleach stain).

As other reviewers have noted, there is an older woman there with reddish hair who is miserable. Not sure if she’s the owner, or just an employee, but I avoid this laundromat so I don’t have to deal with her. She hassles you the entire time you do your laundry. I would rather pay more for a less ugly experience. Waterfront laundry is much, much better.

SO EASY WITH NO FUSS.
This was the second laundromat I’ve had to use. The first time I went to a laundromat was a few months ago, and it was one of the most awkward experiences I’ve ever had. That place had so many different sized washing machines and there were so many people in there (granted the place was bigger). And there I was, walking from machine to machine with my sack of laundry, reading each of the machines. I felt so out of place there. But here at Virgilio’s, none of that awkwardness because it’s so simple.
All the machines are the same size so just pop in the:
$ 2.00 for WASH and
$ 1.00-$ 1.50 for DRY. (it’s 25 cents for every 8 minutes)
When I do laundry, I have 3 bath towels plus clothes and the $ 1.00 dry still left the towels damp so I had to air dry those at home. I tried $ 1.25 the next time and they were drier but not dry enough for me to fold them and put them away. So if you have towels to wash, I recommend $ 1.25 or $ 1.50.
Great hours — open at 7:30am. I usually do my laundry in the morning and there’s always that one person there before me. No problem finding a machine.
And I haven’t encountered any angry/​mean lady there like that other guy mentioned. In fact, I don’t think I’ve seen anyone that works there, which is nice, just how I like it.

I really enjoy that this is a family-​run business; I find the service always friendly and prompt. The prices for drop-​off are very reasonable. The biggest complaint I have is that their washing machines are moldy. They need to be cleaned a.s.a.p.

Directly across from Old North Church, this laundromat is a testament to how doing laundry in the heart of a city should be – cheep, fast and just a little grody. I tested Virgilio out for the first time this past weekend – however, my roommate has been washing her cloths here for more than a year now, and she’s a big fan.
Overall I had a fine experience. The washers and driers were a little old, but they still worked well. The washer was fine and the dryer did the trick in just 30 minutes (medium sized load). The prices are what you’d expect, maybe a touch less: $ 2 for wash and $ 0.25 for 8 minutes on the dryers, which I very much prefer over having to pay a full $ 1 or more for a flat 40 – 60 minutes.
The only problem with this place is that there’s no place to wait, like everything in the North End it’s a little narrow and there are no chairs or spaces to hunker down. So if you’re showing up with a book, be prepared to sit on your detergent encrusted washer or head to a café for 30 minutes. Or just plan on going home in between.
Overall I was happy with my experience and I’ll probably be heading back next week.

I’ve been doing my laundry here for over a year and any employee I’ve ever encountered has been cheery and sweet. It’s a small spot so sometimes all of the washers are occupied if you’re going during the afternoon on a weekend, and I think the timers are a little off on all of the washers because they generally take 5 minutes longer than the initial time displayed on the screen, but other than that I really have no complaints. The business feels very family oriented and I like spending my quarters here and supporting that.

This place is great as far as I can see. Decent prices, not crowded (when I went in the afternoon) and convenient from most places in the North End. I just went there for the first time today but I have no complaints whatsoever. The proprietor and her family were more comical than annoying.

Free laundry detergent on Mondays and Tuesdays, open until 10pm (but they get really annoyed if you put in laundry past 8:30 because it won’t be dry by 10, supposedly), and never overly crowded. They are nice about giving you change for a $ 20 if you only want $ 5 in quarters from the change machine. Virgilio’s is on Salem Street and really accessible from many different parts of the North End. They won’t let you use the bathroom so don’t ask. It’s really a fine laundromat and gets the job done. $ 2.00 per washing machine, $.25 for 8 minutes in the dryer. Expect to spend $ 1 to dry at least. But $ 3 to wash/​dry a load of wash is really normal so I recommend this place over the others (especially over Waterfront).
Note: There is a VERY mean woman who works there that makes the laundry experience very unhappy. She is older and has short reddish hair. If you go in there and see her, beware. I went back to Waterfront this past week just to avoid her. Waterfront is more expensive though so I feel torn on what to do. Ah the laundry dilemma, sigh.