ZIPS Dry Cleaners

You get exactly what you pay for: not as good a service as a more thorough cleaner, but as good as any bargain cleaner out there.
The tailor that works there does good work, albeit overpriced. The dressing room is located right next to the line and entrance, so you have to walk past everyone when getting fitted. Not exactly ideal.
Glad they finally started taking credit cards (for purchases over $ 10).

My love affair with ZIPS DRY CLEANERS is officially OVER!!! Over the last year, I’ve been a loyal biweekly customer. I was especially impressed with their quick turn around on dry cleaning… and their decent prices.
Over the course of the last two months, I’ve had a total of 5 dress shirts that were RIPPED (in the elbows) after being dry cleaned… complements of ZIPS DRY CLEANERS!
In addition to the cost of each shirt, I had also spent additional funds for alterations on several of these shirts.
The last time I picked up dry cleaning, I examined each shirt before departing the ZIPS premises. Voila… ANOTHER ripped shirt. I left that particular shirt, along with a ripped shirt from a previous batch, for the Manager to examine upon their return.
This past week, I get a call from the Manager. This individual had the audacity to PROJECT THE BLAME for the ripped shirts onto me. He stated, «the blue shirt looks rather worn in the elbow, and the yellow shirt… well, I can’t really tell.»
Both of these shirts, I wear maybe once a month, and were not that old The blue shirt (as a whole), was a thinner material… but NOT worn. THE YELLOW SHIRT WAS A BRAND NEW SHIRT (eat your words Mr. Manager).
He also boasted that ZIPS cleans over 1,000 shirts per day, and has never had complaints about ripped shirts. I question the validity of that claim, based on my experience over numerous visits. If you have ever had a bad experience with ZIPS, I encourage you to RESPOND to this REVIEW!
In the end, the Manager offered me a STORE CREDIT (the cost of cleaning the RIPPED SHIRTS toward future dry cleaning cost). NO THANK YOU… I’m officially FINISHED with ZIPS DRY CLEANERS!
BUYER BEWARE… YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR…
Can anyone recommend a GOOD QUALITY DRY CLEANERS… east of Rock Creek… maybe Brightwood, Petworth, 16^th Street Heights, or Columbia Heights? Thank you…
Rob
P. S. I had a missing button sewn onto one my dress shirts. The buttons on the shirt were all white. When I picked the shirt up… they had sewn on a BLACK BUTTON… that didn’t even match the shape/​size of the other buttons… GEESH!

Went out of my way this morning to pick up my dry cleaning at ZIPS before work, and planned to wear a few of the items today so I was wearing work out clothes. When I got there I was told sorry we are NOT DOING ANY PICK-​UPS TODAY because our computer system is down. I had to go all the way back home to get new clothes, was late to work, and still don’t have my dry cleaning! Needless to say this was a big inconvenience. Just as a caution to others, you get what you pay for here, ZIPS is UNRELIABLE and clearly has ruined many items based on what I’m reading in these other reviews…

Really average place. It’s cheap, which is its best feature. Don’t get your zippers redone here. They completely butchered my pants. The dry cleaning is ok. It’s mostly just pressing. If you want something truly dry cleaned because it’s dirty, I wouldn’t go there. You simply can’t complain for 2.29 an item (used to be 1.99)
Now that I’ve moved away from that part of town, I do wish there is a zips close to me.

CUSTOMER BEWARE. DO NOT take anything of value here. You get what you pay for. Someone put a hanger hole in an expensive sweater and manager tries to say it was a moth. I’ve had a moth hole and it does not leave a small hole the width of the hanger wire. $ 200 wasted. This is the third time they’ve made the same damage, last time a silk blouse. Manager refuses to ever take responsibility. Poor customer service. I usually spend $ 50 each time. Go to the dry cleaner closer to metro and same price. Also they treat their employees horribly. No AC during the summer.

I think they do a terrible job of dry cleaning !!! I took some dress shirts there to have them cleaned and pressed. Their «cleaning» couldn’t even remove a small soda stain in the front of a shirt. You could have spot cleaned it with a paper towel and a bit of cold water, but they couldn’t remove something so trivial. It looks to me that all they did was press my shirts and charge me, with no cleaning whatsoever.
Save yourself some grief and go elsewhere!

Hopeless. Paid extra for «same day service» for an alteration. When I came to pick it up on the 3^rd day, it still wasn’t ready. No refund for same day fee offered. Go over the road to Embassy dry cleaners, same price and way more reliable.

Five stars for the price. They’ve never ruined anything of mine and they’ve always been very quick with turnaround but a couple times my clothes came back looking like they weren’t actually cleaned– just pressed. There was a stain on it that didn’t come out– and I was easily able to spot remove it myself at home. Shouldn’t that come out if it was cleaned? They’ve also come back with a funky smell a time or two. I’m looking around and trying other cleaners right now but the low prices here may keep my business.
I haven’t had any horrible customer experiences with employees. While they haven’t exactly been super friendly, they’ve all been pleasant.

I do all of my dry cleaning here and they’re always on time. There were a few times when my clothing had some nasty spots that had to be re-​done, but all in all the staff was very courteous and the quality of their work is very good especially for the price.

I have been going to this location for about four years now, so obviously I like it. I have never had a major issue with them but I must say this as a tip… if you need a button repaired among dropping off a load of clothes, just expect it not to be done when you go back for pickup. I think it’s been 3 or 4 straight times this has happened to me. It’s an obvious procedure issue but I’m not an employee so I can’t be for sure.
Don’t let this deter you from patronizing them though.

I’ve brought a lot of clothes from thrift stores here to get cleaned. I go out of my way to bring them here because of the price, but there is almost always an issue with something in each of my orders.
For instance:
— a couple months ago I brought a jacket in that had a label on it saying it was able to be dry-​cleaned. The staff told me it would be charged suede prices (it was not suede). I pointed out the label and she said it would be fine. When I went to pick it up, the staffer again said it was suede and they wouldn’t clean it unless I paid them more money. Apparently the first person never made a note or indicated it was fine. Then when someone thought it was not OK to clean, no one tried to call me about the issue nor to see if I wanted to clean it anyway at the extra price so it would be done when I went to pick it up. I’m glad I didn’t need it the same day I got it back.
— stains on a dress were still there when I brought it home, and in an obvious place on the front. At other places, if they can’t get something out, they will make a note and the staff will tell you when you pick it up. Instead, I discovered it when I tried to wear it one day.
— I got all the way home (a 45 minute+ undertaking on transit) and found two of the buttons on a shirt were broken. It was vintage, and the buttons were unique, so it basically ruined the appeal of a really cool shirt.
90% of the time, they are fine, but that last 10% will get you. Do not bring anything irreplaceable here.

Been using Zips for almost two years now and have been pretty happy with my experience. You have to take it for what it is – cheap dry cleaning – and not bring your really nice items there but for work clothes and more casual items it’s great. The turn around time and price cannot be beat.

Disappointed. Got a new shirt and wanted it laundered to get the wrinkles (from box) out. It comes back from ZIP’s far more wrinkled and creased and pretty much unwearable (until I bring it somewhere else, I hope.).
Two polo shirts I brought in are now permanently stained, and I have no idea how that happened, because the stains certainly weren’t there beforehand.
Another time, a shirt I had had a button fall off, and I brought it back to fix and then the shirt was returned to me still without the button.
The people working here are friendly, and the cleaning is quick, but the quality of the cleaning is sub-​par, to say the least. Disappointed that a trip to the cleaners has effectively ruined two shirts and made another unwearable until I get it cleaned (somewhere else, presumably).

Took 6 pairs of dress pants and suit jacket, to have let out, brought in, and cuffed. Well, I got 5 of 6 back. 1 of the 5 was not done correctly (which they rectified quickly), another pair of pants that I got back wasn’t even mine, and they completely lost the other. I asked if they would check and I felt as if they did a hap-​hazard job. Never will be going back again.
The sucky part of this whole issue, is that of all the pants I got back, the one lost was my favorite pair. So bummed.
What gave it the one star was that my dress shirts were done very well.

As suspected, Zip Dry Cleaners is not interested in customer feedback. After leaving my email address on this site and contacting their corporate office, no reply. Lip service is the only satisfaction you will receive from franchise and corporation.
Zip Dry Cleaners more than made it right with me. I appreciate the manager and the owner taking care of me. Thank you.

If I could give them less than one star I would. They did not call me when my suede jacket came back in from whomever they outsourced it to. Then when I came to check, they had it and it was completely ruined. I spoke to someone who said they would call the company they outsourced to see what could be done and he would call me. (Really though, what can be done for a ruined piece of clothing?) It’s coming up on a week and they still haven’t called…
I am not in the habit of buying expensive designer things, but when I invest money in a high quality, unique piece of clothing and i bring it to you because IT IS YOUR BUSINESS to clean it and get it back to me so I can wear it again, I do not expect it to be completely ruined. The suede was glaringly faded around the collar and various other places. The gold shimmer that had once covered the suede was almost completely removed.
If the people you outsource leather and suede to are not reliable, you should seek a new partner or not offer this service at all. I am furious. I only had the jacket for one season. I would like to be reimbursed for the cost of my jacket and the cost of the cleaning.

I have brought my dry cleaning to Zips about 4 times so far, and nothing has ever been ruined like other reviewers’ experiences. I hope it stays that way! They are quick and efficient at pick up and drop off and are so affordable. My review will remain at a 5 until I am given any reason to drop it down. Hopefully that will not happen!

So I’m picking clothes up with no ticket, and had to give my phone number. Phone number given and ID requested. Hold up, I been standing in line and no one giving a phone number has been asked for ID. I couldn’t give the cashier’s name because obviously Zips doesn’t have a name tag policy. Black male 6’2 Dreads and a goat tee. Told the stupid visor, and he brushed it off. Black on black BS. Zips needs to incorporate a name tag policy and enforce a 100% ID check. They didn’t have a problem no checking my ID when I paid

In short: though the service is inexpensive you run the risk of getting your garments damaged or lost. The management is horrible.
My experience:
This is my very first post on Unilocal and it is a shame that I need to use it on the ZIPS Dry Cleaners at 4418 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington, DC 20 008.
Even though I wasn’t very satisfied with the quality for the service I remained a loyal customer of ZIPS Drycleaners for several years. I’ve had several issues with them over the years, I would just sensitive clothing in the care of a more trusted dry cleaners rather than taking the chance of sending to ZIPS.
That all changed in September 2014 when ZIPS went beyond the minor issues and returned my garment with blue dye stains all over light gray pants. When I returned to the store, the manager was not helpful. In fact, he had a tone that implied that his establishment was not responsible for the issue. I bet after reviewing store footage her realized his error or perhaps he looked up the account and realized that it was unlikely.
First he told me that the matter was in review. Then he would try to get the dye out of the pants. Then he said he would be in touch but didn’t get in touch with me until I contacted the ZIPS corporate office.
It’s been 6 months since I’ve been trying get my pants back from ZIPS. The store manager finally told me that this «fell through the cracks» in January but it’s March and he still seems to be failing at contacting me or replacing the pants.
I would not recommend this dry cleaners to anyone. It is worth the extra month to go to an establishment with enough integrity to at least be responsive and own up to their mistakes.
I promised myself that I wouldn’t be the person that only posts negative critiques on Unilocal so in return I plan on writing a good post about an amazing establishment. This is the only good thing that came of this experience.

Oh, Zips. I was willing to forgive so much: the fact that you don’t accept credit cards and that you have the world’s worst parking lot, your unfriendly staff, and the way you manage to shrink just about everything I own. Hey, it’s insanely cheap, and at these prices, I can’t complain about the long wait to drop off my clothes, the rude folks behind the counter, or the fact that my favorite sweater has become a tube top.
But, the other day I dropped off a pile of clothes and two table «runners» — i.e. thin strips of cloth that cover a table. These are about the size of a woman’s scarf, and made of cotton. The woman behind the desk accepted all of my stuff, and two days later, I went to pick up my clothes. When I got home, I realized the runners were missing. I called the store immediately and the man who answered– kind as he was– said «we don’t accept table cloths.» And I said «well, you did, because I don’t have mine anymore.» We went back and forth on the phone, and he ultimately told me he’d «review the videotape» (which made it sound like he was a football referee…). He called back and said that I had indeed dropped off two runners (obviously), and that he had found them. Zips, he told me, doesn’t «accept» table runners, and I should come back for them. And I did. And here’s my reaction:
— What a waste of time. Why did the woman at the counter «accept» my table runners if Zips doesn’t accept them?
— Why don’t they accept them? (Mind you, each of these pieces is the same size and material as, say, a scarf).
— Why didn’t the runners get packed with the rest of my clothes thus saving me an additional trip to Zips. Or why didn’t the person who gave me all my clean clothes say «hey, you dropped off two other things we couldn’t clean.»
All of this to say, I was long willing to forgive Zips its general silliness, but this was too much. I should say, as an aside, that the day I dropped off my clothes, the two people ahead of me on line were picking up garments that Zips had lost (and then found). Not good, people.