Stan Caplan: The lot system vs the day system

Last month's article discussed the difference between the day system and lot system. For a busy operation, the obvious lot system is chosen.

Customer service area
The customer service representatives (CSRs) are advised by the plant manager as to the maximum number of lots to be received for the day (as discussed in last month's article).

If the maximum is reached before closing time, then the CSRs will consider the new orders as being received "tomorrow," and these new orders are kept separate from the last lot of the "previous day."

The marking tags, whether pre-printed or computer printed, should have the same color for all the orders (including singles) in the lot, and a separate lot number should appear on the marking tag in addition to the order number.

If a complete invoice is printed at the point of sale, which I highly recommend, and the customer is given an itemized, priced receipt, the use of pre-printed marking tags is the most viable option.

The senior customer service representative will ensure that all CSRs are receiving orders in the same lot by dividing the total number of strips of marking tags by the number of CSRs (counters).

Each strip represents an order, and a lot consists of 50 orders (most practical). Single piece orders are excluded since they are marked on a #1 tag of the same color but with a separate set of order numbers.

A strip of marking tags contains either five or six tags, and the entire set of 50 strips has the lot number printed before the order number.

When the first 50 orders, including singles of the same color, are received and kept aside, the next lot is used with the next lot number, but the order numbers are continued consecutively. Singles are handled with #1 tags of the color of the new lot and with continued numbers. This ensures no duplication of tag numbers.

As an order is invoiced, the CSR picks up the next strip of marking tags and enters the lot number and order number onto the invoice (either still in the computer or by hand after it is printed) so that all copies contain the lot number and order number. The counter bag is held open with the one hand, and the garments are slid into the bag along with the invoice and strip of marking tags.

Note: By placing the invoice and tags into the bag first, they will be on top when it is emptied on to the marking counter.

Specials are marked with a red marking tag, and the counter bag is placed right onto the marking table (or marking area on the counter) to indicate priority. Usually a red counter bag is used in addition to the red marking tags therein. Specials are kept separate from regulars.

In marking, the lots are never mixed. All the garments of a lot go into one hamper or large bag. If more than one hamper or bag is required, each one is labelled with the same lot number.

All belts, straps and ties are put into one bag and placed into the proper (labelled) hamper or bag. As a lot is completely marked in, it is taken back to the drycleaning department together with its invoices.

The marked-in specials are taken away with the regular lot but kept separated so they can be pre-spotted and run with the very next load.

Even though all the invoices are given to the assembly persons, the special invoices are hung immediately on a separate rail.

Now, this procedure lets the assembler easily check the time promised and to maintain vigilance over the specials as the delivery deadline nears.

"The marker never breaks, or divides, an order between two lots."

This rule is very easily obeyed in the 50-order lot system due to the rule that an invoice must contain no more than the five or six garments, (including belts, straps and ties) matched with that total number of marking tags in the strip.

Therefore, if the customer has more than the five or six pieces, the CSR will prepare another invoice, complete with the next strip of marking tags. The rule is easily broken when using the 100-piece lot system.

At the end of the day, the customer service area may be partially through a lot. In this situation, the partial lot can be mixed with the previous lot if it consists of less than 25 orders (excluding singles), or it can go as a separate last lot if it consists of 25 or more orders (excluding singles).

If you are in the midst of a very high volume season (such as south Florida during January through the middle of April), you may then split the lot between going with the last lot of the day and the first lot of the next day.

When this is done, the same (color) marking tags are used until the 50 orders have been received. This will automatically give assembly priority to the second half of the "old" lot when it is mixed with the new lot.

The promise date for the second part of the old lot is actually the date given for the new (next) day.

However, if the second part of the old lot consists of more than 35 orders, then you could discard the balance of strips of marking tags and merely have a smaller-than-50-order lot.

A work station counter measuring 7 to 8 feet wide and 2 to 2.5 feet long is recommended. This work station serves to receive and deliver all customer orders on about 55 percent of its width, and the remaining 45 percent is the marking area, which is surrounded by a 10- to 12-inch bulkhead to divorce it from the other 55 percent.

A few 40 x 30 inch canvas "pick-up" bags, stretched over a portable frame with casters, can be stored below the counter top. The counter bags filled with unmarked garments (orders or singles) can be stored below the top of the marking area.

My main plant's customer service area had six of these work stations, and they could handle up to three lots at a time during the heavy weeks of the month at Ft. Meade, Maryland. Our customer base was approximately 30,000 to 35,000 military and civilian employees (retired military).

We were monitored for quality control by the "sampling method" by the Army and Air Force Exchange. We were contracted as a concession for more than 30 years. Our network consisted of a main plant store and seven to nine branch stores through the area of the post (base).

Since the main plant's customer service area had the largest volume, we used the color code plus lot number marking tags -- five tags to a strip and 50 strips to a lot this is known as the "Ellrod System," named after Cecil Ellrod, who was the father of modern drycleaning production management. Cecil developed the viable lot system by keeping orders small and easily workable

He also introduced the "unit finishing" concept and designed most the labor-saving pressing machines in use today. He was the father of weekend installation of entire plants.

The branch stores used the "no waste" or "piece counter" system which uses a strip consisting of only the number of garments in the order. Maximum number of garments to an order was set a six rather than the system's total of nine.

Therefore, each branch had always three lots: 1 and 2; 3 and 4; and 5 and 6. The 1 and 2 lot consisted of one and two-piece orders, the 3 and 4 lot consisted of three- and four-piece orders, etc.

Therefore, the tag's master number (lot number) was the piece number which was followed by a three digit order number.

Example: 3--275 tag was in lot two (3's and 4's), and it was part of a three-piece order number 275. Each branch store had its own marking tag color, and it was identified as the "blue tag store," etc.

Branch stores marked-in their work. There were sufficient CSRs to ensure that all orders received before 3:30 to 4 p.m. were marked and bagged and ready for pick-up on the driver's last run for the day.

After the driver left with the branch store's day's work, the store then switched over to the next day for receiving and promising garments. These orders were carried over to the next day to be included with "new work."

This procedure ensured that all work for that day was in the plant at the end of that day so the plant would have all the work there for the start of the next day's work schedule.

The plant manager could easily "eyeball" the day's work in the early morning since all of the pick up bags containing marked work were sitting in the "soiled sorting area."

Each bag was identified with the color of the branch store and specials bags were together in the front of the regulars.

My motto was: "If you organize the dirty work, the clean work will come out right."

The lots from the main plant's store were in hampers labeled with the lot number. Each lot had a bag of pre-spot garments, belts, straps and neckties.

The drycleaning department would clean the high-volume branch store's work by itself, but two or three lower volume branch stores were mixed to get proper classification for good cleaning.

At the spotters' inspection boards, the lots were reassembled as the garments were inspected for spots.

The spotters were the expediters who were given responsibility for feeding the finishers one lot at a time as well as breaking the garments down for the different finishing units (pants, jackets/coats, dresses/skirts/blouses, etc.)

When the specials were cleaned and spotted they would take precedence over the regulars and were cut in immediately.

Along with the specials, the stragglers and re-runs from a previous lot were given the same priority. Every effort must be made to have stragglers catch up with their respective lot as soon as possible.

Ideally, the spotters should be at least one lot ahead of the finishers so that if it becomes necessary to re-do one or more garments, there will be time to do this and still have the straggler catch up with the lot it belongs in before it goes to the finishers, or soon after.

Any work returned by the finishers or inspectors should be worked on promptly and returned to the finisher since these garments could very well be holding up an order. A hanging divider should be used to separate the lots awaiting finishing on a hold line.

The finishers
If your plant has distribution conveyors, the spotter will hang the garment on its proper hook to be conveyed to the unfinished drop-off rail of the designated finishing unit. I was fortunate to have distribution conveyors in my plant at Ft. Meade and it really kept the work moving continuously to the finishers.

Each finishing unit should have a divider behind the old lot on its drop off line so not to mix the old lot with the new lot.

If your plant is configured with slick rails, the spotters hang the unfinished garment onto the unfinished feed rail.

The spotters form the lot on the unfinished rail by placing each garment next to the other garments designated for the appropriate finishing unit.

In other words, for the pants unit all the pants are hung on a "pants tree;" and for the coat unit all the jackets are hung together, šall the overcoats are hung together and all the suit and sport coats are hung together; and for the silk unit all the dresses are hung together, all the skirts are hung together, all the blouses are hung together, all the fancy slacks are hung together, all the ties and belts are hung together, and any miscellaneous fancy items, etc., are hung together.

The first grouping in the lot, hanging on the unfinished rails, corresponds to the first positioned finishing unit and so on down to the last finishing unit.

This makes it easy for the spotters to push the respective grouping to its designated finishing unit.

Some plants ignore the fact that finishing is the toughest and most productive operation in the plant, and it determines whether the work gets out on time or not on time.

Finishing is the most laborious since each garment must be pressed completely, one at a time.

Therefore, the easier we make the job for the finisher, the faster we will get our work out by taking away from the finishers the chore of organizing the unfinished work.

Since the finisher works from the front of his or her drop-off line, any work which the spotter places in front of that line is done first, whether it is a special or a straggler.

If the finisher finds a spot on a garment that has no "spot tag" on it, it should be assumed that the spotter overlooked it, and it should be hung aside to be returned to the cleaner/spotter.

If the plant is conveyorized, the garment is hung on to the proper hook for return to the cleaning department.

Garments returned by the finishers should be reprocessed as soon as possible and returned to their respective group.

Careless inspection at the spotting board, and failure to (honestly) use a spot tag for irremovable spots will result in loss of valuable production time and good customers. (Unless the spot is noted, the customer will think the garment wasn't even cleaned.)

Most important is the procedure for the finisher to jump in and help the others when he or she is finished with his or her portion of the lot. No finisher must start the new lot until there is really nothing he or she can do to help the others complete the present lot. The plant manager of a bigger operation must also see to this.

Inspector-assembler
Unless there is a conveyor bringing the finished work to the inspector-assembler, part of this person's job is to pick up the work from the finished line and push it to the inspection station for scrutiny of cleaning, spotting and finishing quality, etc.

Any rejects must be returned to the respective department for correction and returned to the inspection station for expedition to assembly. These pieces will be holding up an order from completion and bagging.

The assembly department may be configured with either "split rail" or assembly conveyor. Along each unit should be a "short line" to hold incomplete orders from previous lots.

I personally used split rails with several back-off lines to hold any lots previous to the current lot being assembled since sometimes the finishers were working on a separate (late) shift during heavy work-load times. I found it more practical to hire a second shift for four hours than to work the regular crew overtime and get less production with more gripes and higher cost.

If everybody has done his or her part, including the plant manager, to this point, the work of the inspector and assembler has been made easy. The lot is now coming through as a complete unit and the color sequence of each lot enables the inspector to spot stragglers quickly and take care of those first.

Setting up work flow lot system is my favorite consulting work.

Stan Caplan has over 35 years experience in his own drycleaning/laundry business and over 20 years experience teaching and consulting. A former chief instructor at IFI, the SDA school in Denton, TX and the ISFA school in Illinois, he offers consulting services on work flow concepts, lot systems management, call-office efficiency studies, production studies, plant equipment layout, engineering studies and specifications, equipment specifications, TQM, training programs, cost analysis and accounting and general plant management. He can be reached at 3601 Clarks Lane, Suite 307, Baltimore, MD 21215; phone or fax (410) 358-0870 or e-mail at: stancap100@aol.com

Ray Colucci: Why do people clean their clothes?

It's time we change our image and reveal our hidden secret -- the secret of why our customers have been cleaning clothes since the industry got started.

People -- our customers -- like clean, well-pressed garments but resent paying for fully professionally processed garments for clothes they seldom use or even want!

Sound strange? That's why closets are filled with new garments while clothes we have bought and have worn perhaps only once keep accumulating. That's also the reason why a drycleaner gets orders of 20 or more garments when he runs a special like 50 percent off!

It's as if the word went out to gather all the clothes you can carry, clothes we have outgrown and clothes "it's a shame to throw-out" and too valuable to just give away.

We can rid ourselves of any guilty feelings over clothes we bought but only wore only once, and at least have them cleaned and pressed. Maybe someday we'll lose that extra weight, or the style and color will come back.

See for yourself
If you have any doubts about the above theory, just try a special "clean the closet week" for a slow week in January, February or mid-summer and see the loads come in.

Just so you don't run this special as a complete giveaway, put in some conditions such as a minimum of 10 garments with no maximum, for one week only and acceptable when paid in advance with credit card (so you don't become the storage closet) and give at least one month notice of the sale. If you want to sweeten the pie, offer free moth/mildew proofing.

Then prepare for the avalanche!

Why am I so sure the above promotion will work like magic? Because I go back to the early '60s (who's an old man?) and I firmly believe that people never change -- never! What goes around, comes around.

Back then, the biggest boom was "coin-op drycleaning" For $2 you could dryclean eight pounds of clothes and there were specials for new stores that offered eight pounds for a dollar!

The machines were solvent guzzlers, and virgin perc made the clothes come out bright and clean.

There was no finishing, little prespotting or spotting but the bargain was apparent. Some operators converted to professional cleaning and survived, but a valuable lesson was to be learned for this mistake in our history: Everyone likes a bargain, and do-it yourself and save made sense.

Now for what this industry needs today.

Our image needs a drastic change. We have the means to let the public know of what we contribute to society, without a large national budget.

I spoke earlier about a secret. Before us, all along, is the means of disclosing that secret. We have more than 30,000 drycleaners nationwide who use millions of plastic bags and other packaging materials that go into every home in the land. And we have thousands of vehicles driving around every town in the land, each one acting as a colorful, moving bill board.

Next we have the use of "garment hang tags" which can contain brief messages, that must be read before removal. They can be colorful and the message can change periodically to be certain they attract attention.

We don't have a million-dollar budget, but with as little as a 30 percent participation, we can have the punch of a billion dollar budget if our industry can only join hands, stand up, be counted and all spreading the same strong and truthful message: "Stay healthy and wear bacteria and germ free clean laundered drycleaned clothes!"

We have to finally dispel the bad publicity of being "taken to the cleaners!" And we must kill any contest about who has "the best horror story" about a drycleaner?

I see a no-contest with a Dryel product which will soon join the ranks of a dusty bottle of Woolite on the shelf. They are all very limited.

People want labor-saving to preserve the scarce quality time that the two-income families have available. The proof is the increase in route delivery and all the other services now being offered to the home.

As they say in the old Western movies, "If it's fight they're a-lookin' fer, then it's fight we'll give 'em!"

Here's the secret we have to let our customers know... it's the truth! The process of drycleaning kills all germs while steam finishing kills all bacteria.

Do we need a national agency or laboratory to confirm that fact ? I recall a product that came out a few years back called N-ta-Germ which was a simple powder. The uniform rental industry was a constant user, because the application also eliminated any odors that could have remained.

We, of course, have many "masking products" in use to hide smoke in fire restorations or any other offensive odors. I'm certain numerous products are available to meet any need.

What is important is the fact that without any additive, "natural drycleaning and laundering, with the addition of pressing and finishing removes all germs and bacteria!"

It's a fact ! We know it.

There's another factor I'm sure we are also aware of. When we increase our volume through good quality, advertising or promotions, we technically take it away from a competitor, and that's as it should be.

But when we promote the image of germ- and bacteria-free drycleaning, we boost up our place in society. It says it's smart to be clean and healthy, not just in appearance, but in good health!

That's something that you cannot buy and something Procter/Gamble or the likes cannot offer.

There's no price on good health!

A closet with soiled clothes not only attracts moths and mildew but untold amount of bacteria. It's the drycleaner who not only removes stains and heavy ground-in soil safely but also restores garments to like-new appearance each and every time.

Can the average housewife duplicate that kind of care and skill and, most important, does she have the time?

Probably not, but even if she can, let's give her another reason for drycleaning -- those clothes will now be germ- bacteria-free.

Dan Eisen: Don't be flummoxed by flocking

Flocking is the application of very short fibers attached to the surface of the fabric by an adhesive to make a pile-like design or fabric.

Flocking can be applied as a print or is used to give a garment an overall velvet or suede-like appearance.

Crushed velvet effects can be obtained with rayon flock by wet crushing the fabric through calendar rods or hot embossing and brushing operations.

Flocked surfaces can also be embossed in various patterns to obtain unique designs and texture effects.

Modern-day flocking can be made from any fiber. Rayon and cotton are widely used because they are cheap and easy to cut.

The base fabric to which flocking is attached can be of any type. The base fabric can be non-woven polyurethane and vinyl, as well as most woven fabrics.

Flock can also be applied to an adhesive film which can be peeled off and laminated to a base fabric. Flock fibers are usually applied to adhesive coated surfaces mechanically, electrostatically or by a combination of both techniques.

Flocked fabrics are used in all types of children's, women's and men's apparel including shirts, blouses, suits, jackets, coats and trimming.

Flocking is also used for draperies, curtains, slipcovers and bedspreads.

Fabric problems
The durability and serviceability of flocked fabrics is determined by several factors.

1. Type of adhesive used. There are many types of water- and solvent-based adhesives used. Some of these adhesives may be soluble in drycleaning solvent. Routine drycleaning may cause a partial or complete loss of flocking.

2. Improper curing of the adhesive. If the adhesive is improperly cured or set, flocking can be removed in the course of normal wear and the mechanical action of drycleaning or washing. Improperly cured adhesives may also be soluble in drycleaning solvent.

3. Vinyl base fabric. When the base fabric is vinyl, the garment cannot be drycleaned. Vinyl fabrics contain softening resins referred to as plasticizers. Routine drycleaning dissolves the plasticizer, resulting in a stiff and boardy condition.

4. Dye bleeding. Flocked fabrics usually do not lose complete color in drycleaning or washing but can transfer color when used as trimming.

5. Distortion of flocking. The lay and alignment of the pile creates a uniform color effect. When the pile is distorted, it changes the light reflectance of the fabric, resulting in light and discolored areas. Embossed designs may also be removed from friction in normal wear, spotting or wetcleaning procedures.

Inspection
Examine flock coated and printed fabrics carefully. Loss of flocking will be most evident on areas subject to wear such as collars, shoulders, waistlines, sleeves, seats, cuffs and underarm areas. Shoulder areas are susceptible to damage from rubbing of the straps of pocketbooks.

Even it the loss of flocking is very slight, it must be remembered that the mechanical action of drycleaning will accentuate the condition.

Inform customers of possible loss of flocking and obtain a signed release before processing.

Check areas for staining. Contact with perfumes, deodorant and hair sprays can weaken the adhesive, causing a loss of flocking. Dye bleeding can occur from moisture and perspiration in normal wear.

The fact that a flocked garment is labeled as drycleanable does not necessarily mean it is a serviceable garment.

Even if the customer informs you that the garment has been cleaned previously, the risk of loss of flocking is not eliminated. Flocked fabrics can lose the pile progressively and may not be noticeable until after several drycleanings.

If flocked fabric is labeled as PVC or vinyl, it cannot be drycleaned without losing the plasticizer and turning stiff.

Test for serviceability by cutting out a small piece from an unexposed seam and attaching it to a garment to be drycleaned in a regular run. Examine the sample for loss of flocking or stiffening which would indicate a risk in drycleaning.

Drycleaning
Turn flocked garments inside out and place in a net bag. Run two to three minutes in a high solvent level with no moisture and the solvent temperature below 80 degrees F. Extract and dry at 140 degrees F.

Spotting
Avoid dryside spotting agents as oily-type paint removers, amyl acetate and volatile dry solvent will dissolve the adhesive binder, causing loss of flocked design.

Before using a steam gun, test an unexposed area by flushing into a cheesecloth. The test is to observe two factors:

1. Observe whether the dyes on the flocked fibers are fugitive to water and bleed into the cheesecloth.

2. Dry the sample and observe if moisture caused a distortion of the pile. Distorted pile on the flocked area may show up as shiny or dull due to the change in light reflectance or loss of embossed effect.

When using the steam gun on a stained area, keep it five to six inches from the fabric.

If applying any wetside lubricants, acids, alkali, tannin or protein formulas they must be tested on an unexposed area first.

Use soft head silk brushes for tamping and brushing.

Attempt to remove rings by feathering with a cheesecloth or towel.

Levelling agents consisting of drycleaning soap and solvent may loosen the adhesive binder. Instead, use a spray spotter with levelling properties.

Wetcleaning
Flocked fabrics usually can be wetcleaned provided dyes are stable and distortion of the pile is not a problem (refer to testing used in spotting). Turn the garment inside out and use cool water with a mild detergent. Use gentle agitation and hang to dry.

Finishing
Pressure on a flocked fabric is not as critical as on regular velvet since regular velvet pile is usually longer and shows distortion more readily. Pressure, however, must be used with caution since distortion of the pile can still be objectionable.

Dan Eisen is chief garment analyst for the Neighborhood Cleaners Association Inter-national. NCA-I's "Principles and Practices of Drycleaning" course teaches all aspects of spotting and stain removal procedures. He can be reached at NCA-I, (212) 967-3002.

Stan Golomb: Evaluating drop store performance

This is Part 2 in our series of the five sources for generating sales in the drycleaning business.

Last month, I wrote about package plants. This month, we'll deal with stores that act as agents for a central plant. These are often called dry stores, drop stores or satellite stores.

Regardless of what you call them, they are outlets that are staffed by the central plant. Their job is to take in the work, mark it in, and assemble and inventory the finished work for the customers to pick up and conclude the transaction.

It was 48 years ago, when I was working for R.R. Street & Co. as a field technician, that I really learned about how to evaluate drop stores. There was a plant in the lower East Side of New York City called Rivington Cleaners.

The lower East Side of New York was a world unto itself, densely populated with both high- and low-income families and a complete mix of ethnic groups. This plant had 25 drop stores, all in the immediate area, called ABC Cleaners.

The stores were treated as separate businesses and each store was watched carefully to see if it was profitable or not. If not, they promoted the store to its limit and if that failed, they closed the store and opened another one.

They were able to track stores weekly with a simple profit and loss method. Each of the ABC stores paid the plant, Rivington Cleaners, 50 percent for processing the work. The store would have the balance and this showed a profit or loss for the week.

After a few weeks of losses, the management would evaluate that store and make personnel changes or do whatever it took to get the volume up. If that failed, they would think nothing of closing the store at once.

If a store was losing money, they closed it.

A drop store has to work off its 50 percent and deduct the rent, payroll, utilities and other consistent items. The balance left was either profit or loss.

Rivington knew, weekly, which stores were profitable and which were marginal. If they felt they couldn't convert a store to a profit center, they closed the store as the management did not like working for free.

Rivington Cleaners did a huge volume with all the 25 stores and were able to generate about a 10 percent net profit at the plant. They had great production numbers and even though their income was half of retail, they still managed to make a net profit at the plant of 10 percent.

The lesson I learned was that drop stores should be looked at as a completely separate business.

After paying the plant the market price for wholesale work, they either showed a profit or a loss. Based on this formula, I find that many drop stores operating today are losing money.

The two biggest costs to operate a drop store are rent and labor. But the true cost of having the work produced runs higher than the other factors combined.

Whatever the monthly sales are, half should be allocated to the cost of having the work picked up, processed and returned to the store.

In today's market, where shirt laundering can be as high as 30 percent of total sales, the plant should charge more for the shirts. A charge of 75 percent of retail to process the shirts would be about right.

If a drop store operator asked you to do his work -- pick it up, do all the production and return the work within 24 hours -- you should ask these questions.

1. What do you charge for pants, dresses, suits, etc.?

4.What are your total weekly sales?

The store that asked you to do the work is five miles from your plant.

They charge $4 for pants and $7.50 for dresses.

They charge $1.35 for shirts and do 500 shirts a week for shirt sales of $675.

Their average weekly volume is $3,000.

Obviously, you want to make a profit if you take on this extra work, so what percent of retail would you charge the plant for drycleaning and what percent for shirts?

You can do your own calculations knowing that it costs you 90 cents to do a quality shirt.

Next month, I will tell you what the sales would have to be for the store to make a profit and what it would take in operating and production costs for the plant to make a profit.

We had set up some numbers to calculate what the plant needs to make a profit in my previous report. Now we can take a look at what the store needs to break even.

I'll have to use hypothetical numbers, but you can relate these items to your own stores.

The costs to run the store are rent, labor, FICA, benefits, supplies, utilities, advertising and bookkeeping.

Let's start with a reasonably good location at a rent factor of $2,000 a month.

Store labor will be based on the hourly rate, the total number of hours to man the store, and benefits.

If the store is open 70 hours a week, or 300 hours a month, and the base pay with benefits comes to $8 an hour, and you need 80 hours a week to man the store, your labor cost, at 346 hours for the month, will come to $2,771.

Add the rent to this and you have a cost of $4,771.

We're not through. Now you have to add at least $500 a month for utilities, supplies, and miscellaneous expenses. That gives you have an operating cost of $5,271.

Understand that busy stores need more help and some locations call for two counter people in the evening for security reasons, so you can compute your own store hours for the labor factor.

All the other expenses are relatively fixed so on the surface, you will need monthly sales of double the $5,271 left to the store to break even.

Since you have to pay the plant 50 percent, you would need monthly sales of $10,542 to break even using this example.

Profits are made when a store's sales exceed break-even and not before. This same drop store will make a reasonable profit at sales of $20,000 a month.

Don't overlook the fact that you had to make an investment to build the store, provide a lease deposit and that you will lose money until you reach break-even.

Whatever the cost of the store at the outset, plus your investment in losses to reach break-even, will show your investment and return on investment when and if you reach break-even.

If you could buy a store that was breaking even and add it to your plant's volume, why would you? The only reason to buy a store would be if it had potential and had never been promoted.

What kind of investment would that be if the store had reached its limit and had no more potential? The store would have no value whatsoever. All you would have accomplished is to create a lot of extra work for nothing.

I'm now being redundant but I think it's important to restate the situation in different ways.

If you can find a location that can do $20,000 a month, you will make a profit depending on the operating cost of the drop store.

At $20,000 in monthly sales, you have to deduct $10,000 for processing the work. You have $10,000 for the store to work with. Now you have to start deducting rent, labor, utilities, supplies and miscellaneous items, such as advertising, bookkeeping, etc.

If you can do all this for $8,000; you have $2,000 left as gross profit.

In addition, you should be able to make 10 percent on your production for another $1,000 a month.

With those kinds of numbers, you have a drop store that is now worth $80,000 as it can produce a total income of $24,000 a year.

The plant should be able to pick up another $8,000 to $10,000 a year.

Opening drop stores is a risky proposition. However, it can be worthwhile if the store volume can be built quickly to reach break-even.

A great many drop stores never become profitable and instead become a profit killer for a business that was doing okay prior to wanting more sales.

I've heard all the arguments about needing the volume to support the plant, but that's nonsense.

I remember working with a man in Milwaukee who had a very successful package plant doing nice volume. He also had another location where he did shirts and this was also very profitable.

But he had three drop stores, all losing money, and two routes that were marginal.

This man could have done very well financially had he dumped the three drop stores and the route, but he kept arguing with me that he needed the volume to keep his plant going.

No matter how much pencil work I did, I couldn't convince him to dump the losing and marginal outlets. They were a drain on his profits, but I just couldn't get him to see it my way. He went broke a few years later after exhausting his borrowing power.

Some operators lump their sales together. I had one consulting situation where they had four package plants and each one serviced four drop stores of their own. They were competing with themselves and losing money. Once I got them to consider the drop stores as profit units on a 50 percent basis paying the plant to do the work, they realized what they were doing and closed half the stores.

The remaining stores became profitable as they picked up a good chunk of the volume of the closed stores and instead of four losers they had two winners.

The key to understanding drop stores is to realize that the store should allocate half its sales to servicing the store and the production of the work.

Next month, I will deal with routes. This is a subject that has been covered in the National Clothesline lately by two outstanding writers, Al Robson and Ray Colucci. They know the business and understand the problems of routes, so I may as well get my comments in.

Frank Kollman: A few words of advice about sex

OK. So I went for sensationalism in the title of this month's column. I was inspired by three cases that were decided recently concerning sexual harassment in the work place.

But before I discuss these cases, perhaps it would helpful to summarize the law concerning sexual harassment.

There are two types of sexual harassment prohibited by federal law and the civil rights laws of most states: quid pro quo harassment and hostile environment harassment.

The type of harassment that has a Latin name (not Latin America, but ancient Rome-type Latin) involves demands for sexual favors or romantic interludes in connection with working conditions. It is clearly against the law for a manager to require, as a condition of employment, that an employee have a sexual relationship with him.

Hostile environment harassment is more subtle, prohibiting a "sexually-charged" atmosphere in the workplace based on sex.

Such cases frequently revolve around the use of vulgar language or gestures normally reserved for drivers who cut you off in traffic, or gestures used by adolescent boys hanging out at the mall.

Whether an employer is successfully charged with hostile environment depends, many times, on whether there are complaint procedures in effect or whether the employer took prompt remedial action to stop the harassment.

A federal appeals court has confirmed that quid pro quo harassment does not constitute sex discrimination if a supervisor harasses both men and women. In that case, the supervisor harassed a married couple by soliciting sex from both. In other words,"authentic bisexual or equal opportunity harassers" are exempt from liability, according to the court.

While we do not recommend seeking out bisexual supervisors to avoid charges of sexual harassment, you should know that sexual harassment still must involve some element of employment discrimination.

Another federal court, however, has made it clear that hostile environment harassment can be between two employees of the same sex. A federal employee, whose female co-workers called her a "bitch" and accused her of promiscuity, was allowed to allege hostile environment harassment.

The court found that the employer's response to the harassment was insufficient, noting that the supervisor characterized the banter as "just some black women going through menopause." Interestingly, the court did not find the use of the word "bitch" to be non- sexual because it means a female dog. Because "bitch" is generally accepted to mean "a malicious, spiteful and domineering woman," the court found there to be sex or gender based connotations.

Finally, another appeals court, this time in New Jersey, prohibited the alleged victim of harassment from delving into sexual relationships between other consenting supervisors and employees.

The employee in question had demanded, in pretrial discovery, information concerning sexual relationships or conversations of a sexual nature between supervisors and female employees. The court would not allow such embarrassment and humiliation to take place, despite the serious sexual allegations made by the alleged victim.

Employers should be mindful of their obligations under the civil rights laws concerning sexual harassment. You should be prepared to deal with dating between employees and the inevitable fallout from breakups between once romantically-connected employees. You should have a sexual harassment policy, and you should respond swiftly and decisively to complaints of harassment.

The following is a sample policy we use in our model handbook:

A sample sexual harassment policy

Policy of no sexual harassment. It is the policy of The Company that there shall be no harassment of any employee on account of an employee's sex. The Company will not tolerate sexual harassment of its employees by anyone -- supervisors, other employees, clients, or customers. Persons harassing others will be dealt with swiftly and vigorously. Anyone who violates this policy will be subject to disciplinary action up to and including discharge.

Definition of sexual harassment. Sexual harassment is behavior of a sexual nature which is unwelcome and personally offensive to its recipients.

Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitute "sexual harassment" when:

• Submission to such conduct is made explicitly or implicitly a condition of an individual's employment;
• Submission to or rejection of such conduct is used as a basis for an employment decision affecting the employee; or
• The harassment has the purpose of effect of unreasonably interfering with the employee's work performance or creating an environment which is intimidating, hostile or offensive to the employee.

The following are examples of unlawful harassment:

1. Unwelcome sexual advances. This means patting, pinching, brushing up against, hugging, kissing, fondling, or any other similar physical contact considered unwelcome by another individual.

2. Requests for demands for sexual favors. This includes subtle or blatant pressures or requests for any type of sexual favors accompanied by an implied or stated promise of preferential treatment or negative consequence concerning one's employment status.

3. Verbal abuse or kidding that is sex-oriented and considered unwelcome by another individual. This includes commenting about an individual's body or appearance where such comments are beyond mere courtesy, telling "dirty jokes," that are clearly unwelcome and considered offensive by others, or any other tasteless, sexually-oriented comments, innuendoes or actions that offend others.

4. Engaging in any type of sexually-oriented conduct that would reasonably interfere with another's work performance. This includes extending unwanted sexual attention to someone that reduces personal productivity or time available to work at assigned tasks.

5. Creating a work environment that is intimidating, hostile or offensive because of unwelcome sexually-oriented conversations, suggestions, requests, demands, or physical contacts.

Complaint procedure
Any employee who feels that he or she has been sexually harassed should immediately report the matter to his or her supervisor. If that person is unavailable or the employee believes that it would be inappropriate to contact his or her supervisor, the employee should contact the Human Resources Director.

Any supervisor or manager who becomes aware of any possible sexual harassment should immediately advise the Human Resources Director who will handle such matters in a lawful manner to ensure that such conduct does not continue.

All complaints of sexual harassment will be investigated in as discreet and confidential a fashion as possible. No person will be adversely affected in employment with the Company as a result of bringing complaints of sexual harassment.

Frank Lucenta: Avoid creases when pressing sleeves

When pressing suede and leather, you do not want to press creases into the sleeves. Customers do not normally ever want creases pressed into the sleeves of their suede or leather garment any more than they want creases in their laundered shirts.

A simple and inexpensive way to avoid the unwanted creases, while still pressing out the wrinkles in the sleeves of a suede or leather, is to use a sleeve press pad.

A sleeve press pad is shaped like a sleeve with a cover made of a tightly woven fabric that will easily slide into the sleeve of a garment and will also resist the heat and pressure of the press.

A sleeve press pad, in a "one size fits all," can do a satisfactory job on most leather sleeves. Sleeve pads that come in two or more sizes can be handy as they can more closely match the size variations of the sleeves of different garments.

For example, a large or "macho" size sleeve pad would more easily fill the sleeves cut larger by the garment manufacturer to accommodate the larger more muscular arms of men.

On the other hand a small "petite" size would more closely fit the smaller narrower sleeves of garments made by garment manufacturers for the slender arms of women.

To use the sleeve press pad, simply slip the pad into the sleeve to be pressed. The narrow end of the pad goes in first.

Slide the pad into the sleeve in the same way your arm would go into the sleeve, that is from the shoulder to the cuff. Insert the pad into the sleeve until the larger end reaches the seam of the shoulder pad. This will allow you to press the sleeve right up to the shoulder seam.

Once the sleeve press pad is properly in place inside the suede or leather sleeve, you are ready to press.

Caution: Do not use live steam when you press suede or leather unless the steam pressure has been reduced to no more than 40 psi (3.5 kg/cm2). For best results, use a hot head press with the steam pressure set at no more than 50 psi (2.8 kg/cm2) or use a press equipped with a hot head (non perforated) grid plate.

Start by pressing the underside of the sleeve. First, place the sleeve with the pad in it up on the buck of the press. Position it so that the head of the press will press the sleeve from the armpit to the cuff. Be sure the cuff line is set where you want it to be before lowering the head of the press. Then bring down the head of the press and press the underside of the sleeve from the armpit to the cuff.

If the garment is a suede, brush up the suede nap after the head of the press comes up.

Next, turn the sleeve over so you can press the outside of the sleeve. Pull the sleeve up on the buck of the press so that the head of the press will press the entire length of the outside of the sleeve from the shoulder seam to the cuff. Again, be sure the cuff line is set where you want it to be before lowering the head of the press. Then bring down the head of the press and press the outside of the sleeve. If the garment is a suede, brush up the suede nap after the head of the press comes up.

This pressing procedure consists of two lays and will result in smooth, wrinkle-free sleeves that will satisfy most customers.

However, if you wish to provide the optimum in pressing quality on sleeves, you will want to press the sleeves using four lays.

In this case, after you have completed the first two lays as described above, you will roll the sleeve around on the sleeve press pad so that the areas of the sleeve that were at the edge of the pad are now up on the flat part of the pad. Then press the sleeve on one side to press the area that was along one edge of the press pad on the first lay.

Then press the other side of the sleeve to press the other area that was along the other edge of the press pad on the second lay.

Now every part of the sleeve has been in contact with the head of the press in four lays and the finish on the sleeve is superb.

Dennis McCrory: A check-up by the telephone doctor

Sometimes you come across something that is just too good not to share, something that's so insightful you say, "I wish I'd thought of that."

Well, I can't take credit for something I didn't do, but I will pass it along to you. The following is by Nancy Friedman, aka The Telephone Doctor. It's a telephone etiquette quiz that reminds us of some important customer service opportunities that employees often overlook

Answer each question for yourself before you read Nancy's answer.

1. The faster you handle-a phone call or any service situation, the better service you'll be delivering to that customer? True or false?

Answer: Efficiency is great, but not if it means giving up effectiveness. Let's face it, exceeding our customer expectations is the reason for our being at work. Doing a poor job quickly is no accomplishment at all. False.

2. It's a bad idea to take notes while you're listening. You'll be distracted? True or false?

Answer: The alternative to taking notes is relying on memory. Written notes give you an accurate record of the caller's name and message, including times and dates. False.

3. By answering the telephone for your company, you have assumed the responsibility of handling an irate customer's problem? True or false?

Answer: By picking up the phone to represent your company, you have accepted full responsibility for the call. Even if the solution belongs in another department, it's your responsibility to make sure that this situation gets pointed in the right direction and handled properly. All employees who come in contact with customers need to be trained in the protocol for handling upset customers. True.

4. Dealing with irate callers means that you'll simply need to accept periods of foul and abusive language. It comes with the job. True or false?

Answer: Giving excellent service doesn't mean having to subject yourself to profane or abusive language. Firmly asking the caller to discontinue using the unnecessary language so that you can continue to resolve the problem will get the call back on the path to productively handling the situation. False.

5. While handling a complaint call, its a good idea to avoid making excuses? True or false?

Answer: Customers who need something are looking for a solution. Although it's sometimes necessary to explain how your organization dropped the ball, it's best to focus your customer on what you're prepared to do to rectify the situation for them. In most cases, excuses only tell the customer, "I'm not going to help you right now!" True.

6. Giving your name when answering a phone call is as important as putting your signature on a letter. True or false?

Answer: Giving your name on every call you make -- or take -- without waiting to be asked, goes a long way toward establishing credibility with the caller. It also tells the person several other important things about you and your approach to your job.

Identifying yourself up front lets the other party know that:

A) You accept responsibility for your work;

B) You intend to handle the call in a sincere, professional manner; and

C) You take pride in yourself and in your organization.

True.

7. Since you aren't able to predetermine a caller's rate of speech, it's best to simply speak at the rate you find most comfortable. True or false?

Answer: It may be comfortable for you, but not easily understood by the other party. Take your cue from the caller. If people continually say, "Excuse me?" or "I don't understand you," you're probably speaking too fast.

It's important to mirror the pace of the other party. Otherwise, you're likely to confuse a slow talker by talking too fast, or irritate a fast talker by talking too slow. False.

8. Employees who answer the phone should learn to do two tasks at once, by dividing their attention between talking on the phone and the duty they were doing before it rang. This will, in effect, make them twice as productive? True or false?

Answer: Generally speaking, people who try to do two things at once don't do either one very well. False.

(My comments: Few cleaners can afford the luxury of having people whose sole job is answering the phone, but we can have one or two people whose job it is to answer the phone when necessary. And these people should be able to give the caller their undivided attention when talking on the telephone.)

9. A caller doesn't need to see your face to tell whether you're smiling or not? True or false?

Answer:As surprising as it may seem, you don't have to be able to see people to know whether they're smiling or not. The difference is obvious. True.

10. Most people hate to wait, so a good way to make them feel better about being placed on hold is to tell them "It'll just be a second." True or false?

Answer: About the only thing you can do for them in "just a second" is put the phone down. Virtually everything else takes longer. It's much more helpful to give them an accurate estimate of how long you'll be away from the phone.

Ask "Are you able to hold?" and wait for a response before placing them on hold. False.

Dealing with customers in person, or by telephone, is a skill that requires practice and forethought.

If you scored a 10, you're a pro. If you scored anything less, re-read the logic behind the answers and reconsider how to handle these situations in the future.

By all means pass this column on to your employees in order to institutionalize good service in your plant.

Dennis McCrory offers several programs and products to assist drycleaners. For more information or to place an order (credit cards accepted), call (800) 646-5736, PIN 4615. Identify the package you are interested in as follows:
Package A: Pre-employment Screening Kit, $18.
Package B: "The Caplan Method of Stain Removal," videotape and handbook. Produced by Stan Caplan and Dennis McCrory, $174.

McCrory writes for several industry publications, both here and abroad. He also speaks and does consulting on marketing and management. In addition to the phone number above, he can be reached through The Successful Management Group, 3925 Lake Trail Dr., Kenner, LA 70065.

Alan Robson: Basic management procedures

This month's article is a review of some of the basic management procedures that must be followed if you are to gain and maintain the competitive edge.

Every owner, no matter how small or large the company, must do the following:

• Define the organization's structure (Functional Organization).
• Outline the reporting procedures (Standard Procedures).
• Establish production goals for every operating department (Goals).

Functional organization
The organization's structure refers to who is assigned and held responsible for accomplishing the daily tasks that must be performed. In other words, who (other than the owner) is responsible for getting the work done?

This is a basic management procedure that is necessary for every company with more than one employee.

As the company grows, it becomes necessary to structure the organization around the functional areas of the business. For most drycleaners, the functional areas are: Finance and Accounting; Retail Sales; Production; and Marketing.

These functional areas group together like activities.

Finance and Accounting is responsible for paying the bills, seeing that payroll is done correctly and legally, that all taxes are paid when due and that there is adequate insurance (liability/workers comp., etc.).

The Retail Sales department is responsible for all customer service, including: Route sales, counter sales, alterations, etc. One individual needs to be in charge of retail sales.

As the company continues to grow, you may need to add group or team leaders who will report directly to the Retail Manager one person must be in charge.

One Group Leader may be responsible for all route sales and another Group Leader can be assigned to all counter sales, but there needs to be one Boss.

When you create the position of Group Leader you are not creating a non-working position. For example, the route group leader is an individual who is also a route driver.

Production is usually separated between drycleaning and shirts/laundry. The drycleaning department includes the following three functions: drycleaning/spotting; finishing; inspect/assemble/bag.

Because these activities are closely related to and dependent of each other they are grouped together.

Once again, as the company grows these areas may need Group Leaders. The Group Leaders are responsible for getting the work through the department in a timely manner. They are also responsible for producing work themselves.

Standard procedures
nce you define the functional areas of your business you can develop reporting procedures.

To develop reporting procedures you must first decide what information is pertinent. This is information that helps you make better decisions quickly.

On a weekly basis, you need to know the number of drycleaning pieces and the number of shirts that come in. You also need to know the dollar sales volume for drycleaning and shirts.

Next, you need to track your labor hours and costs by department. Labor costs are your biggest expense and, believe it or not, this is the expense that you have the most control over. Your labor costs are fixed, semi-variable or variable.

Fixed costs. The fixed portion of your payroll includes your salary, office salaries and managers. Fixed costs are costs that continue even if you do no business at all. Rent is another example of a fixed cost.

Semi-variable costs. Your semi-variable labor includes counter personnel. A semi-variable expense is an expense that fluctuates as sales fluctuate, but not in direct proportion.

For example, one counter person can handle up to $3,500 per week in sales volume.

This means that a drop store that does $4,500 weekly in season will require one person to be on for all the hours that store is open, plus a part-time person for 20 hours a week during the busiest periods.

When the drop store slows down to $3,500 a week you can go back to one counter person.

Another example of a semi-variable expense is your phone bill. If you did not use your phone for a month you would still receive a phone bill with basic monthly charges for having a phone.

Variable costs. A variable expense is an expense that varies directly with sales volume. Theoretically, your productive labor should be a variable expense, but in this industry it is rarely truly variable.

At best, for most drycleaners, their productive labor is a semi-variable expense. Productive labor should never be a fixed expense.

Goals
Productive labor costs must be managed. The only possible way to accomplish this is to establish production standards for each area of the business. Below is a list of what your standards need to be.

Production standards:

Tagging-in: 70 pieces per hour.

Drycleaning/Spotting: 70 pieces per hour.

Drycleaning/Finishing: 30 pieces per hour.

Inspect/Assemble/Bag: 65 pieces per hour.

Shirts: 25 pieces per hour all operations.

Start measuring how productive your employees are. Don't make it difficult! You know how many DC pieces and how many shirts you do each week. You know how many hours your employees work every week. Do the math.

If you have questions, get on the Internet and go to my website, www.bizbuilderonline.com, and send me an e-mail or pick up the phone and call me.

Management is the ability to get work done through other people. The drycleaning business is a tough business but it can also be a very rewarding business.

The fear factor
To be successful you must get past the fear factor. The fear of increasing prices... the fear of going to the next dollar level when pants are priced at $3.95... the fear of setting production standards... the fear of setting quality standards.

One of my clients drove out his low-priced competitors with outstanding service and excellent work. He was able to provide this quality because his prices are 1.5 times higher. Two competitors within one mile were charging $.89 and $.99 for shirts and $4.95 and $5.50 for a two-piece suit.

My client was charging $1.45 for shirts and $8.35 for a two-piece suit when the competitors closed their doors. They closed because they could not sell businesses that were not making any money. In order to build a drycleaning business that has value, you must generate a profit.

Alan Robson is a private consultant dealing with the specialized needs of the drycleaning industry. Readers are encouraged to contact him with questions or comments by telephone at (508) 753-6619 on the web at: www.bizbuilderonline.com.

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