Beacon Cleaners

I was lucky enough to borrow a wedding dress from a friend that required the most minor alterations — but it needed a little bit of cleaning love. I also wanted to clean the dress again before giving it back to my friend since she wanted to hold onto it as a keepsake. Getting your wedding dress cleaned is already generally an insane expenditure (I had a $ 100 gift cert to dependable cleaners and the price was still going to be over $ 200 out of pocket for just one cleaning, let alone two), so I decided to stop in at Beacon Cleaners to see what they would quote me with, since I walk by it every day. The owner was very nice, and when I explained my situation to him — needing to clean a wedding dress 2x — I asked him what he would charge to get my dress cleaned both times. He told me the price would normally be about $ 120-​$ 130 for one cleaning, but that he would do 2 cleanings for $ 200 ($ 100/​cleaning), and I was floored that two cleanings here would cost less than one cleaning in the first place I had looked. He then handed me a coupon for 20% off if I paid cash, and I made him write on the back of the coupon the $ 100/​cleaning price he had quoted me so he wouldn’t forget.
I brought in the dress several months later, coupon with note, and cash in hand. Except when he began to ring me up, he rang me up at $ 100, not accounting for the fact that I had brought cash and a coupon. He told me he’d quoted me the cash price, which he had not. He’d said nothing about needing cash when he quoted me $ 200. I was under the impression that had I paid with a credit card it would’ve been the $ 200 he quoted me, but because I brought cash, it would only total $ 160. I knew $ 200 was still a deal, but I might have looked a little harder at someplace else/​decided not to clean the dress for the minor stains at all, so I felt totally low-​balled. We argued for a bit, and I was able to negotiate with him to meet me half-​way and charge me only $ 180 for the 2 cleanings instead of the $ 160, but since he was the one in charge, there was really nobody else to take it up with.
Look: they did a nice job with my dress, after our very uncomfortable conversation they were very pleasant, and from what I can tell in the wedding dress cleaning market I was still charged a very fair price. I just don’t take kindly to being given a coupon for which I followed the terms and then was told I couldn’t use. It’s bad business. If I hadn’t felt swindled I probably would’ve been singing their praises, but I did, so I’m not. If you use these guys, just make sure you get it in writing, and make sure you clarify cash v. credit amount.

I’ve tried quite a few dry cleaners as I am a transplant here. This one has by far performed the best service and at a very reasonable rate (again I’m new to the area, things a bit different out here). I haven’t told them about a specific stain and when I got all the clothes back it was gone. This is my go to spot as long as they keep up the service, and since I’ve seen the same guy every time… I think they will.

Always prompt with my dry cleaning. I’ve tried other places just because they were closer, but those places ruined my clothes. Beacon Cleaners has never let me down and I’ve been a regular for 7 years at this point. Very professional work and never had an issue.

Beacon Street Cleaners deserves –5 stars because 1 star is being too kind. I live primarily in NYC but we have a place a few blocks away in Brookline. Last week I left one of my favorite dresses to be dry cleaned & was returned DESTROYED!!! The black bled into the white parts of the dress. I’ve had the same dress dry cleaned about 4 – 5 times at my regular dry cleaner in NYC AND have the receipts to prove it. When I called the owner he told me that the dress was not supposed to be dry cleaned. Really? The label reads DRY CLEAN ONLY. If they weren’t able to handle this particular cleaning it should’ve been returned to me dirty. Don’t blame your incompetence or the incompetence of your workers on your customers– be apologetic & try to fix. Women reading this post will understand how upsetting it is to lose a dress– expensive or not– as it can be a tedious and long process to find a flattering cut with particular body types.

Ouch! We were charged $ 100 for what would have cost $ 60 at a perfectly sufficient dry cleaner in any other major city. Beacon Cleaners is THE most expensive dry cleaner I have ever used other than emergency hotel dry cleaning services. $ 2.25 for a men’s dress shirt to be cleaned (not dry cleaned) — that’s steep. $ 7 for a no frills work blouse — that’s just nuts. Additionally, my husband had to go to great pains to convince the cleaner that one of my work shirts was a blouse and not a dress in order to pay the pricey blouse fee instead of the astronomical $ 14.50 dress charge. It was a regular, normal waist-​length blouse. I don’t think anyone, not even Lady Gaga or a porn star, would consider this shirt to be a dress. That my husband had to argue with the cleaner underscores the fact that Beacon Cleaners is trying to squeeze every penny out of you. As further evidenced by the fact that while our drop off slip said our cleaning bill would total $ 97.75, we were charged $ 100. Why? Just to ensure that we felt sufficiently fleeced — I don’t even want to know how much they would charge to clean a fleece! Our first and last visit.

I’ve brought several items here for dry cleaning and had great results. Reasonable prices and pleasant service. Not sure why people have had such bad experiences. They seem to have a pretty high-​tech setup as well that automatically brings the items around for them. Tickets are all barcoded as well.

I don’t use this place so much for dry cleaning, but I use it for the tailoring services. the rates are really excellent. but the quality varies. Some of the custom tailoring work has been outstanding, and other times, just average. for example, changing the rise in my trousers and hemming the trousers: excellent. On the other hand, sewing in a new liner in an area of a sport coat: average to subpar.

This place is far better than the earlier reviews would lead you to believe.
I have a jeans addiction, I spend too much money on a single pair of jeans, and I am short.
Beacon Cleaners feels my pain. They’ll shorten my designer jeans and leave those original, fancy hems intact for only about $ 15. It’s cheaper than anywhere I know of on Newbury St., they’re quick, and I don’t worry about them ruining a pair of my expensive pants. Totally worth it.

I have been moved to write my first review.
I have a dress. A gorgeous dress. A fits-​like-​a-​glove dress. It’s very dressy, but not your average little black version. It’s teal; it matches my eyes and complements my reddish hair. It curves in all the right places. I love this dress.
This magnificent piece of fashion, on its very first outing, became the wasteland of every drink that was ever spilled by any person at that cocktail party. Photographic evidence revealed multiple stains at every angle. It looked like a Pollock painting.
I was fine with spending the rest of the night with the patchwork, but was terrified that I would never get to wear this baby a second time. I even went back to the store to buy another identical dress in case the dry cleaner couldn’t perform the miracle that I so desperately needed. The dress was sold out, so the dry cleaner was under a great deal of pressure at this point (whether or not he knew it).
I went to Beacon Cleaners in Washington Sq, because it’s within walking distance and because I’ve seen my lots-​of-​dryclean-​only-​clothes neighbor go there.
I pleaded my case. I impressed upon the nice man at the counter how critical it was to me to have this baby back in action. He asked permission to wet it and I gave it.
I have just picked up this dress, less than 48 hours after dropping it off with my heart in my throat.
Beacon has performed a miracle. My dress is perfect again. I just tried it on to check before finishing this review, and it hasn’t shrunk or sprung any strange puckers.
My friend at the counter, who had commiserated with me over it when I dropped it off, celebrated its return with me when it came back whole. I told him I will be back. I just hope it’s not with this dress.
Epilogue: As I walked home with the hanger held high over my head, a woman walking by said «That is a beautiful dress! You’re going to look great in that!» :)

I’ve only had great fast service here, and the negative reviews are definitely wrong. First of all, the prices are good and reasonable for Brookline. Sometimes they offer seasonal specials for blankets and winter coats. Standard shirt is $ 2 for wash and press. Turnaround is usually 2 days, and they will do 1 day or same day if you bring it in early and request it. Everything comes back clean and intact. What more do you ask of a cleaner?
I haven’t tried the tailoring because I go to Benny Ho up the street (now called Bendi’s.) Seriously, why not go to a real tailor for alterations? I don’t get my oil changed at a carwash. FYI, tailoring is expensive. If you don’t want to do it yourself, you pay the price.

agreeing with below review–
i only went there because they were right next to the shoe repair place (which is awesome btw), and will never go back. i dropped off my jeans for a simple button repair, which was quoted at $ 8 but i paid $ 10 for. i asked that the fabric be reinforced, which it was not. furthermore, the grommet came off in my hand the first time i touched them. never again will i stray from lovely maria’s tailoring on harvard ave.

The WORST! Like Jen, I only went there because I use the Brighton Shoe Repair next door. While he is EXCELLENT, this place is pathetic. I had two dresses to be altered. While I was waiting to drop them off, the clerk was dealing with a woman who was complaining because this was her SECOND trip back & the alterations were still incorrect. Why didn’t I hightail it out of there right then??? I just figured it was only a hem… how bad could they be? Well, when I picked up my dresses, there were problems with both. One of them hadn’t even been sewn!!! They charged $ 18 to just cut the material off. When I called to complain, the guy insisted that they hadn’t done anything wrong! He finally agreed to fix it, but that’s the last they will see of me! DO NOT USE THIS PLACE!!!

A miserable experience.
Two coats plus three repairs (seams) = *$ 77*!?! By the time he rang me up, he already had my coats hostage. To be honest, I wouldn’t have dropped by if they hadn’t been right next door to the shoe repair guy and I was too lazy to trek to my usual cleaners up on Tappan Street. Lord knows I overpaid for my sloth this time. The coats were clean, yes, but the repair jobs could be classified as shoddy as best. They even forgot one of the repairs, but they definitely didn’t forget to take my money. Even writing this review is getting me pretty incensed, so I’m going to end it here. Never again.

my dry cleaner by default. their proximity to my apartment does more for my patronage than their actual services. actually, it’s not so much the cleaning as it is the prices — they clean and press my clothes to my specifications, and managed to get some pretty gnarly stains out of my favorite cocktail dress. but to call my plain, white cotton oxford shirt a «blouse» instead of a shirt just because i’m a gal so you can charge me $ 6.50 instead of $ 2.25? pshhhh.
also, i wouldn’t reccomend them for hemming or alterations; they only did a so-​so job on another dress of mine, and don’t understand the meaning of «original hem» when altering jeans. pretty much, i stick to cleaning with them and nothing else — even still, i’m seriously contemplating zoots’ delivery service.