Academy Cleaners

Truth be told, they were not my first choice. I first stopped at British Imperial Dry Cleaners, but the woman was busy feeding her little dog. I won’t get into the very unusual particulars, except to say that it was disgusting and the entire place reeked of whatever she was feeding this dog (everyone’s clothes were hung up around this). So I left. I don’t think that she even noticed that I was there.
Then I wondered over to Academy Cleaners on a whim. I have a very comfortable sofa with giant soft cushions. About once a year I’ve taken the cloth cases off of the cushions on my sofa to be dry cleaned. They are rather large. There is something about dry cleaning. You know the way that red wine gets spilled on something and everyone tells you in unison with a sad face «oh, that needs to be dry cleaned.» I have no idea what dry cleaners do. I’ve done this for several years now and just assumed that the cushions would be ruined if anyone other than a dry cleaner took these into a back room and with a pair of goggles and lead lined gloves and applied some type of cancer-​causing solvent.
So I emptied these out on to the counter, explained what they were and what I needed them to do. She interrupted me while I was holding one of them up: «This is going to cost you a fortune. Just put this in your washing machine. They will be fine.»
Boosh! That’s the sound of my head exploding.
So I did. It cost me $ 2 to wash them in my building’s laundry room and that was just as good or better than any of the many times that I had them dry cleaned. My point is that they seem like a pretty honest shop if they send you home because they think that’s cheaper and easier.

Cheaper than the other cleaners in the area and the job is just as good if not better.

I live really close by and the prices are cheap so I really wanted to like this place. I dropped a jacket I had worn several times off for cleaning and pressing. I don’t know what the fabric is, but it stayed clean-​looking while getting incredibly wrinkled around the elbows. I needed it back in 4 days for an interview.
The lady was very nice and it was ready when I had requested it. It looked clean, but then again, it looked relatively clean when I dropped it off. The deep-​set wrinkles were still in the sleeves. I couldn’t even tell that it had been pressed. It pretty much looked exactly like it did when I dropped it off. I ended up going home and ironing it as best I could. Kept my arms bent at the interview and got the job, but Academy Cleaners will no longer get my patronage!

I use these guys because they deliver to my building, not because they’re exceptionally good or inexpensive. In fact, I think they are THE most expensive cleaner in town – for either laundry or dry cleaning.
And, while they do a good job of hemming men’s pants, every other alteration work was poorly done (shirts, sewing buttons back on jackets, etc.). The hemming on the shirts came undone after the first or second time they were laundered. The buttons on the jackets came undone/​fell off within 2 – 3 months, etc.
And, unless you specify for them to dry clean your dress shirts, you can BANK ON your dress shirts shrinking when they launder them. So, buck up to pay dry cleaning charge of $ 4.75/per shirt for every dress shirt (including the ones that do not require dry cleaning). Otherwise, they will shrink!
Also, on occassion, your credit card will get billed twice for the same service (as they keep the number on file for pick-​up/​delivery service customers). And, credits/​refunds are only offered when you bring the duplicative charge to their attention. If you don’t notice it yourself, you will likely not get a refund.
The good news with them is that the staff is exceptionally friendly and polite and most of the errors/​issues re: over charges, duplicative charges, or delivery errors/​issues are innocent human errors and genuinely unintentional.

I have used Academy Cleaners several times they have a good deal on Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s it’s 20% off. The staff is very nice and that’s why they got 2 stars from me.
If you need your clothes in a timely manner, and you don’t drop them off before 10 am. then don’t hold your breath.
When I got home recently from LA I had two items to be dry cleaned only two one shirt and one dress, the dress had a stain on it, so after dropping off the items on a Tuesday I was able to get them back on a Saturday, that seems absurd.
Also after memorial day weekend I took in three pairs of pants to be hemmed, I dropped them off on a Tuesday they said they possibly couldn’t be done until Saturday. I went in on Saturday morning at like 10 am, in a rush because I had to leave for another trip and they were not done, they said «you came so early,» you had four freaking days!!! So I said have them done in 40 minutes, and I came back. Also when I went in to drop them off I had already measured how many inches I wanted off, they kept asking are you sure, not in like a casual way but as though I was wrong. This isn’t my first rodeo in getting pants hemmed I’m 5’0. A little attitude is not appreciated. I miss my old cleaners in Washington Square who hemmed in one day.
The staff is cool but that’s the only good thing about this place, plus the discount on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and the location can’t be beat.

TERRIBLE! i dropped a dress off to get dry cleaned on monday and was told to come back thursday because i needed it for a ceremony on friday afternoon. when i went thursday they said it wasn’t ready and to come back friday morning. when i went back the dress was still not done and when i complained they said they would have it done at 4 pm which was when my event was over! they gave it back full of stains so i had to find something else to wear. apparently 4 days is not enough time for cleaning one dress. DO NOT GO TO THIS CLEANERS! there are plenty of other more competent cleaners in the area, trust me!!!

I have used this place because they deliver to my building, not because they’re good
I left a blazer with them to have a button sewed back on. It fell off again after one wear. Shoddiest repair work I ever had done.
there’s this weird negotiation of when I can get my clothes done by, and the time frame is very inconsistent
Also, I think they’re one of the most expensive places in the city.
2 stars for location and delivery, but no stars for the actual work product, and in the end, isn’t that what counts?

This is one of those reviews where I want to give a 5 star but I can’t– let me explain. I brought 5 shirts and approximately 3 pounds of laundry. The shirts cost 2.20– very reasonable and they were done perfectly. The laundry cost SIXTEEN DOLLARS to wash and fold! In Boston (much higher rents) I pay 1 dollar a pound. The owner explained she doesn’t make the price– it is farmed out– thats nuts– I don’t know what to think. The owner was very nice but still $ 16 to wash and fold 4 shirts, 5 pairs underwear and 5 pairs of socks– THATS COMPLETELY UNREASONABLE. IF THE OWNER IS READING THIS– DO SOMETHING NOW OR YOU WILL PROBABLY GO OUT OF BUSINESS.

Hooray for Academy Cleaners! Definitely my dry cleaner of choice, I didn’t think I would Unilocal about them until my last visit when the person ahead of me was such a, shall I say, 1 star, that I was completely overwhelmed with admiration for Academy Cleaners.
So, this 1 star individual came in with about 10 or more pairs of pants, went through the measurements with the woman behind the counter (who was very nice and apologetic to me, waiting, the entire time) and then asked for them to be finished by the next day at noon! When the woman behind the counter said that she didn’t think she could finish hemming the 10 pairs of pants by noon the 1 star individual threw a fit. But Academy Cleaners handled this fit with grace and the woman behind the counter assured 1 star that she would do the best she could, and 1 star was on her way.
That said, Academy Cleaners does a mean pants hem and I take all of my new, long, pants to them. I’m pretty short. I’ve also been very happy with their dry cleaning, and they can be fast. I like that I don’t have to tell them my phone number any more to be looked up, they just know. And I really like their 20% discounts on Tuesdays and Wednesdays!