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AZ Alteration & Cleaners
Categories: Local Services Dry Cleaning & Laundry Local Services Sewing & Alterations Dry Cleaning & Laundry, Sewing & Alterations [Edit]
3875 Piedmont Aveacross street from Blockbuster video
(between Rio Vista Ave & Montell St)
Oakland, CA 94611
Neighborhoods: Piedmont Ave, North Oakland
(510) 658-2259
- Hours:
Mon-Fri 7:30 am - 6:30 pm
Sat 9 am - 6 pm
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
34 reviews for AZ Alteration & Cleaners
34 reviews in English
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Review from Michelle B.
Oakland, CA
9/2/2010
Tina created the wedding dress of my dreams for me!! She took care of every little detail to alter the dress to make it fit like a glove and to bring out all of my best features.She enhanced the design of the dress to to make it flattering and fashionable. I wore the the strapless dress for 10 hours and it was so comfortable. I never pulled or tugged at it once!
Thank you so much Tina for your expert skills and keen sense of design. You helped to make my my wedding day wonderful. -
Review from Analisa S.
Oakland, CA
11/29/2011
These guys did a fast and perfect alteration for me for one pair of pants. Granted it wasn't the hardest job, but I've had hems messed up plenty of times.
Only 4 stars because the alterations lady was a little inpersonal and left the room when she was done without telling me she was done. She still did a wonderful job, so I think that's just her style.
Other than that I had a great conversation with the woman at the front and will be bringing my next alteration/dry cleaning needs there. -
Review from Shalyn P.
San Francisco, CA
8/18/2011
If you're looking for a reliable and affordable person to hem your jeans (because you're 5'2" and not about to roll that shit up) this is your spot. I brought in three pairs of pants, picked them up less than one week later and paid under $40 total. I am very satisfied with the results and will definitely be a return customer.
Insider tips:
Ask for the Yelp discount!
In my experience, they don't set appointments for fitting - just show up before 6:00pm. Know that you may be in for a bit of a wait. They're friendly and quick, though, so don't despair.
She will ask you what length you like to wear your pants (short, normal, long). Don't be shy, tell her how you wear 'em, and she'll do a beautiful job meeting your needs.
Original hems cost more. If you can live with a simple hem, it will save you some cash and you can hardly tell the difference (on denim, that is). -
Review from Molly J.
Oakland, CA
7/1/2011
The staff was friendly and conscientious, and the clothes came back from cleaning looking great. Even a a skirt with complicated draped pleats was handled well.
The problem was that my clothes came back REEKING of chemicals. I had to let them air out for weeks before I could wear them again. It's a shame, because otherwise their work is great. -
Review from J E.
Oakland, CA
6/29/2011
I brought in 5 pairs of pants to be hemmed and have the pockets taken out of one. Since I was a first time customer I got a discount (on their website) and paid about $60 total-pretty darn good I thought. Everything was ready within the week.
The staff was sweet and they have a dressing room in the back to try on. The sewing quality is very good. Did a nice job. Just a warning for others though-they do pull down your pants as they pin, so make sure to adjust as necessary since most people don't actually wear pants like that. I made sure to tell them what I wanted (yes, even if it took a few tries) and I would say my pants were still hemmed a smidge too short.
My old tailor back east would also press my pants and make sure they were all set to wear after hemming (included in the charge). They don't do that here, so I had to then iron them when I got home. It might be a nice touch to get them back wearable.
Overall a pretty good job. -
Review from A N.
Oakland, CA
9/9/2011
I am very very picky with this kind of thing. My mother was a master tailor and I grew up in Hollywood in the film world. I know about costume design and all of what it takes to really do this kind of work and do it well. I used to shlep back and forth between Oakland and Hollywood every other month and I'd take stuff all the way down to Beverly Hills to a man who routinely was out working on runway shows - a guy who was on call for the big designers (we're talking Valentino, Saint Laurent, de la Renta, etc.) when something was needed in Hollywood/BevHills et al. I had found NOBODY in the entire SF Bay area who could tailor like that guy.
When I no longer was needing to do my monthly back and forth, I stumbled upon Tina at AZ alterations. I figured I'd test it out with something that was not that critical but involved some considerable engineering (which real tailors essentially are doing - they are engineers) and she rocked it. That was it for me. Since then, I've brought a lot of stuff to her - and she has absolutely met the grade for me.
First visit, she'll require a deposit BECAUSE SHE DOESN'T KNOW YOU so come on, people. That is completely understandable and whatever attitude you may perceive (expressed in some reviews here) is not because she's suspicious or cold, it is because she is thinking and thinking about the job and figuring it out in her head. The woman is an engineer and that is what superb tailors and master Academy award winning costumer people are.
Again, gotta say - I am really picky. I grew up in the film business in Hollywood so I know when something is done well and when it is ...shall we see... your average pedestrian dry cleaning repair. Tina is a master.
There are very few folks out there - California and elsewhere - who are this skilled. Rejoice that she's here in this area and pray she doesn't get fed up and move or charge 3x what she does or that the film industry get a hold of this and contract her to do a bunch of stuff making her inaccessible to we plebians. -
Review from Vandana M.
Oakland, CA
6/27/2009
I had a dress and a pair of jeans altered here and the service was prompt and professional (dropped off Monday, picked up Friday). I also got my guy's suit drycleaned along with a blouse of mine.
My total bill was under $50, including the alterations (the dress was the most expensive).
I'd go back for the alterations, definitely. Also, if you visit their website, they have a coupon that offers some good deals, so be sure to print that out. -
Review from B C.
Berkeley, CA
5/17/2011 11 Check-ins Here
I absolutely love this place. Tina took care of all my difficult alterations. She's so creative and really took the time to ensure everything was perfect. I was concerned about one of the dresses I needed to alter, after all it was a very expensive designer but she handled it with so much care and now it fits like a glove. I would recommend Tina to ALL who want quality work done.
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Review from Sierra M.
8/23/2009
I absolutely love this place. First, the woman who works there actually owns her business. Second, she is extremely professional and does an amazing job as a seamstress. She has a good eye for your clothes, is extremely patient, and my clothes have always turned out exactly as I wanted them. Third, she is honest. Once, I took in a sport coat that was a little large for me and had sentimental value, and instead of trying to push business, she gave me an honest opinion about the upside and downside for me to decide on my own. (Despite my decision to not get anything altered that day -- my first time as a customer, btw -- she was still extremely friendly and nice.) Fourth, the place is clean, great dressing room, and the computerized billing system is very transparent.
In sum, I cannot recommend her highly enough! Will continue going out of my way just to take my close here because the service is so excellent! -
Review from Amy V.
Oakland, CA
9/7/2011
Well Tina is two for two now. She altered a big bunch clothes for me and now I have a whole new wardrobe. The work was not cheap but it was expertly done. She also told me that the buttons on one of my suits were outdated and selected a new set of buttons from the Fabric store across the street. I had no idea my buttons were outdated! She also told me that one entire suit was outdated and not worth altering. She saved me about $75 with that advice. She's a pro AND she has fashion sense which comes in handy for someone like me.
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Review from Shawna S.
Oakland, CA
6/23/2009
You know when you walk into a place and you get a weird feeling? Trust it. I should have walked right out when I saw this was not an alterations place first and foremost - the dry cleaners are in the front and the alteration room is tiny and in the back. From the beginning I felt rushed along and there was no sense of privacy.
A man came in while I was still doing fittings (I brought in two dresses and two pairs of pants) and I overheard the woman who was helping me (who kept running out at every sound of the doorbell) say to him that she was helping me and could he come back in five minutes? Perfectly acceptable, but I still had two pairs of pants to deal with. That's at least ten minutes. When he came back, I heard her tell him that "the girl's still in there, I'm not sure why...". Hmm, maybe it's because we're not done yet. The door to the fitting room was open and some man came by (not sure if it was the same guy who was waiting) and could see them doing the fitting. NOT OKAY. That door should have been closed.
They didn't value my business so I left. Sadly, she was the most human when I explained to her that I was taking my things elsewhere. Too late! -
Review from Janet L.
Oakland, CA
4/13/2011
I've gone to this location a number of times over the last year because of others reviews. Perfectionist + warm smile = my kind of business. But Tina the owner is not warm or friendly. She is patronizing, judgemental and just plain rude. I don't have an interest in spending money where I will be treated poorly. And so I won't be going to this place ever again. Future patrons be warned - Perfectionist + Poor attitude = AZ ALteration & Cleaners.
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Review from Dorian G.
Oakland, CA
Updated - 4/5/2010
Every time I go get something cleaned, the owner has wowed me with her knowledge of everything to do with garment construction and care.
She takes the time to explain every little detail of a seemingly straight-forward item and warns you of things that could possibly go wrong.
For example, the leather buckles on a rain coat are dyed black in the leather making process, but the edges are raw suede and usually just colored after the fact. Therefore, the edges have a tendency to lose the color because it's not the same dye.
And I learn these things each time I bring in something new or different.
I don't think I've ever experienced such dedication and thoroughness.1 Previous Review: Show all »
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10/29/2009
She did a fantastic job with my jeans hems, despite clearly being super swamped that week.
The dry… Read more »
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Review from Carrie E.
Oakland, CA
3/16/2011
Tina (owner and seamstress) is absolutely fantastic!!! She is a perfectionist, and it shows in her work! I've brought many different items to Tina for alteration, and she has done a superb job on all of them. Notably, she has also taken on some very unique and complicated projects for me, and those have all turned out beautifully!! On one such occasion, she held out until she found an exact fabric match, and the end result was exquisite and perfectly done. It's clear that sewing is Tina's passion. She takes great pride in her work and her customers reap the benefit of that. Tina does everything with a warm smile. It's always a pleasure to see her.
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Review from Mark R.
Oakland, CA
9/2/2008
I feel pretty good about taking my clothes to this local establishment for cleaning and tailoring. They're friendly, efficient, and affordable.
Thanks for making me look good, AZ! -
Review from Mona M.
Berkeley, CA
9/27/2011
Fine quality work, but when I indicated how short I wanted my pants hemmed (to go with flats), she argued with me, was totally dismissive, and insisted that I get them hemmed longer ("everybody wears pants like this") -- it was pretty rude and i paid up but I have to go elsewhere to get them hemmed shorter so I can actually wear the pants.
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Review from Lemmke H.
Oakland, CA
8/20/2008
I had to get a pair of pants hemmed before a job interview and called around frantically to find someone who could get them done in less than 24 hours. AZ was one of the few that not only said that they could do it, but didn't charge me any rush fees.
The tailor was helpful and friendly, recommending the correct length to go with the shoes. The next morning, the pants were ready as promised and looked great. By the end of the day I had been offered the job. -
Review from Meuy S.
El Cerrito, CA
2/8/2010
This place is the best for alterations! I went there to get my jeans hemmed and the owner was super detail oriented. She made sure that if I wore different height shoes, that the pants won't looked like I was flooding. The norm is a 2 day wait but she was able to get my jeans hemmed the next day. It was $12 for the hemming, but if you wanted the original hem it was an extra $2. If you are first time customer, there is a discount and its posted on their website.
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Review from Berkeley B.
Berkeley, CA
10/7/2011
AZ Alterations added 2 inches to the waist of a pair of motorcycle jeans that otherwise sized right everywhere else. The added material was so well hidden that I couldn't find it until Tina showed me. Fits perfectly. The job completion was promised in 3 days, but it was done the same day at a reasonable price. Highly recommend this establishment for alterations.
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Review from Bird L.
Richmond, CA
5/8/2009
I have never found a drycleaning/alterations place that I really like...until this one!! Thank goodness for coupon books, because that's what led me here. The service is EXCELLENT and totally affordable!! I had a suit drycleaned, a pair of pants hemmed and drycleaned, and another pair of pants given a replaced zipper and drycleaned - all totaling to just over 30 bucks. And even better, my clothes looked fabulous. I also love that they're an organic cleaners. A+++
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Review from Marcus W.
Oakland, CA
1/8/2010
This place is awesome I took a pair of 180.00 $ Diesel jeans that were a little to big to be altered now there my favorite jeans her work is high quality and worth every cent !
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Review from Cielle T.
Oakland, CA
10/22/2010
I love this place! At first I just went here because it's conveniently located, but I keep going back because the owner is so nice and professional. Totally on top of things (notices loose buttons, etc) and quick turn-around for both dry cleaning and alterations.
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Review from adrienne c.
Oakland, CA
1/28/2010
ok adrienne. time to face the music. after a two year hiatus of review writing, it is time to become a functioning member of yelp society again.
it only seems appropriate to write a review of an essential resource in my new 'hood.
having built up an obscene amount of drycleaning in the past month and a half, it was finally time to make an epic trip to the dry-cleaner.
AZ alteration/cleaners is awesome! the lady who works here takes great care to examine pieces that you bring in to mark stains/damages. but the real beauty of this place is that they CALL YOU! they call you if they need to fix something, or find something that needs to be fixed. they call you if they need more time to get your clothes back to you all bright and shiny. no more futile trips to the dry cleaner to realize they didn't actually get something clean! hooray!
i also dropped of my first alteration today. the hem fell out on my silk banana republic blouse and the lady gave me all the options on how to repair it. we're going with invisible stitching. i'll report back on how it goes.
a word to the monetarily conscious: they are not the cheapest place on the block. but they're definitely worth it. save up your stuff and use the 20% 1st time discount by mentioning yelp!
street parking is the trade off. feed the meter! -
Review from Mike A.
Oakland, CA
6/8/2011
I needed to have the crotch in 2 suit pants opened up. Tina did a wonderful job - Completed the job a day earlier than she had estimated. Very easy to work with, great experience.
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Review from Elizabeth S.
Oakland, CA
5/27/2010
I like this place as well. It's really the owner who makes the difference. She's friendly and professional and I trust her to be straight foward. I will say that I swear I have paid more than $12-$14 ( for a hem that another reviewer said she paid.
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Review from Lisa A.
Oakland, CA
10/19/2009
Attention people with Chemical Sensitivity: This is your new dry cleaner!
I cannot tolerate the chemicals used by typical dry cleaners and this place does a great job cleaning my clothes and I've had no reaction from chemicals when I get them home. Great alterations too. Very happy to continue to give the owner, Tina, my business. -
Review from Christie C.
Oakland, CA
11/2/2009
I brought in a $400 pair of jeans I won in a raffle that needed tailoring, and the owner was very knowledgeable about how to make the alterations invisible. She did an excellent job, and for a good price. She's tailored a number of other items for me, and all turned out perfectly. I've had several jackets dry cleaned there too, and the owner did just as good a job on those. She is sweet and gives attention to detail both in her work and in her customer interactions. Street parking can be tough, but I park in the lot behind Cesar.
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Review from Art C.
El Sobrante, CA
1/20/2011
I've never got anything altered there, but they do a great job at dry cleaning and washing! I took my suit and shirts there, came back clean like new. My Burberry tie that I had them clean was also like new after spilling a drink and staining it. Service lady was very nice too. Thank you! They are excellent. Will return
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Review from JB D.
Oakland, CA
9/29/2008
A high end cleaners and if that's the service that you're looking for she is a sweetheart. Probably not for everday men's shirts, especially if you want on a hanger (yeah go to French up the block for under a $1. But if you want folded shirts, well she'll do it for you. Not cheap.
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Review from Becca M.
San Francisco, CA
3/11/2011
I have a coat that I wear all the time and it was looking pretty ratty when I brought it in. Tina fixed it right up. I was so impressed with her workmanship that I brought in another raggedy coat last week to see what she could do... .she's creative and really knows what she's doing - what more can you ask?
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Review from Louise D.
Oakland, CA
2/26/2011
This is an excellent cleaners. I have finally found not only courteous service, but also masterful alterations. I have brought my designer clothing to Tina who has repaired and redone what was mangled elsewhere. This is the only cleaners that I patronize.
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Review from Lexie M.
Oakland, CA
7/14/2008
I went to three different places to get an alteration estimate for a bridesmaid dress, and this place was definitely the cheapest! Not only that, but the woman who helped me was very kind and gave me her honest opinion (she did not try and convince me to get an alteration I might not necessarily need). I was considering getting the dress taken out a bit because it's a little tight, she cautioned me that the original stitch line might show. To show me what it would look like she undid part of the seam, and then sewed it back up for me at no charge! Because of this, I decided not to get my dress altered because the seam line was quite noticeable! I will definitely be taking my dress there to be steamed before the wedding, and will be going back for future dry cleaning or altering needs!
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Review from Mikki M.
CA
11/5/2008
I had many pants and a dress hemmed here and I have to agree, she does wonderful work. I will never bring her dry cleaning again though.
I brought in several items and after I picked them up and got them home, I noticed that one of my sweaters (a white one) had a blue mark on the back below the collar. A few days later I had a chance to bring it back and her response was very disappointing. She hadn't noticed the stain and once it was pointed out she proceeded to lecture me that this was likely to happen when you bought your clothes at a discount because they put a mark through the label and that was what ran onto the sweater. I was more than a little off-put by the attitude and the condescension in her tone. When i asked for it to be re-cleaned, at first she said it wouldn't come out. Then she said that she would try it but that I had to pay for half the cost. When I protested, she said that she sends out her dry cleaning and they would charge her that much so she would have to charge me. I went ahead and did it since half price was better than full price somewhere else, but at that moment I decided I would never go back, despite the great job she did on the alterations. -
Review from Kristi B.
San Francisco, CA
7/28/2010
I had a bridesmaid dress that came in 2 weeks before a wedding a little too tight up top. I brought it in to her and she took her time examing the dress/fabric and telling me what she could do for the dress. She had it back to me, fitting great, in no time. She has also done an awesome job on some of my other garments in the past. I highly reccomend her- worth the few extra $$ she might charge more than other places... the work speaks for itself!
