Should dry cleaners replace buttons for free?

It’s reasonable to expect your dry cleaner to replace any missing or broken buttons on your business shirts, free of charge. I’ve found that the overwhelming majority of dry cleaners provide complimentary button replacement on shirts, as part of their cleaning service. They usually do this automatically, without being asked, but it’s always a good idea to point out any buttons that may need replaced when you send in your shirts. Many of the better full service cleaners will go so far as to replace the entire set of shirt buttons, free of charge, if they are unable to find a good match for the missing button OR if multiple buttons on the shirt are missing, cracked, or chipping. Cleaners are willing and able to provide free button replacement for shirts mainly because most shirt buttons are normally very generic in style and can be purchased inexpensively ahead of time in large quantities.

Free button replacement is usually not extended to blouses, dresses, and other garments which often have very unique, hard to match, expensive buttons. In these cases, the cleaner will typically ask you to shop for a replacement button or set of buttons and then offer to attach them for you, free of charge. However, if the buttons were damaged during cleaning, due to the dry cleaner’s negligence, they should reimburse you for the purchase price of the buttons as well. Some buttons are so delicate that they need to be either covered up or removed before the garment is cleaned, in order to avoid damaging them.