Problem: Your suit came back from the cleaner torn and with two broken buttons.

Solution: Structural damage, such as broken zippers and ripped seams, can be due to manufacturing defects in the garment, according to analysts at the International Fabricare Institute (IFI), the industry’s leading trade group. Reputable cleaners will notice such problems — and repair them — before packing up your cleaned items. (They can also offer advice about returning to the retailer or manufacturer a dry-clean-only garment whose dyes, for example, bleed during dry cleaning.) The same goes for clothes damaged by an employee, such as a pant leg that gets caught on a pressing machine and tears. Your cleaner should call the damage to your attention and offer to repair it to your satisfaction; if a repair isn’t possible, he should replace the item or reimburse you in cash within a week. He’ll no doubt consult the Fair Claims Guide, published by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), to gauge the value of the garment. If you spot the problem at home, tell your cleaner and trust he’ll make good. “The test of a good cleaner is what it does in your time of need,” cleaning expert Steve Boorstein says. If you feel your problem hasn’t been dealt with properly, ask to speak to the owner, or contact your local Better Business Bureau for help in resolving the complaint. The Better Business Bureau handles such cases all the time, offering mediation and arbitration. What’s more, the IFI extends membership to all Better Business Bureau branches, which can use the trade group’s resources, including analysts and experts, to determine where the fault lies.

Problem: The cleaner can’t find your clothes.

Solution: “A dry-cleaning operation is a lot like 52-card pickup,” Boorstein says. Cleaners usually work on clothes in groups of 50 to 100 pieces, and 5 or 10 items always get shunted aside for recleaning or special pressing. Sometimes these stragglers lose their way and aren’t returned to their assigned lot. On rare occasions, paired items get “misassembled,” or garments are returned to the wrong customer. Either way, give your cleaner two to three weeks to find your clothes; they’ll usually turn up. If not, the cleaner may ask for a purchase receipt for the lost garment and information about its age and condition. The valuation protocol is the same as for damaged items: He’ll consult the FTC claims guide to appraise your loss, then pay you for it; and a good cleaner may throw in a free future service.