Model Cleaners, which has six locations in the Pittsburgh area, recently announced that the company has launched a web site, (www.model-cleaners.com), which will offer its customers a free online pickup and delivery service.
Already, Model Cleaners has been scheduling a pickup and delivery service over the phone, but the company decided to expand to the Internet so that it might offer customers a higher level of convenience.
John LaCarte, who is president of the business that his father started 14 years ago, now runs the business with his three brothers. LaCarte said of the venture: "It just makes logical sense. We already have a fleet of pick-up and delivery vans on the road that travel back and forth between our processing facility and stores. This is simply an extension of the customer service that has helped us grow as a Pittsburgh company."
LaCarte also noted, "The biggest hurdle to marketing the service is not getting people to use it -- everyone thinks it's a great idea -- but getting people to believe it's free. People are amazed when we tell them we'll come to their home or office at no extra charge. But for us, customer service has always been paramount. We're just taking it to the next 'e' level."
The service is quite simple. Once customers sign up online, they may request a pick-up by filling out a simple form on the site. Model Cleaners then picks up the clothes and returns them in two days, charging the customer's credit card for services provided.
There is no monthly charge or minimum order needed to use the service, and Model Cleaners also provides customers with bags for transporting garments.
The site also features coupons that can be printed and clipped out to be used at any of the company's six retail stores. As a special promotion, Model Cleaners is also giving away $100 of free drycleaning every month. Customers can register to win at the web site.
The West Virginia Dry Cleaners and Launderers Association will be hosting is 2000 convention at the Lakeview Scanticon Resort and Conference Center located off I-68 in Morgantown, WV.
The convention is scheduled to take place from Aug. 11-13.
The event will be highlighted by a golf tournament that will feature a practice round on Friday and the tournament round on Saturday.
Friday's practice round will begin at noon and Saturday's tournament starts at 12:30 p.m.
Cost for the practice round is $52. The tournament costs $38.
Registration for the convention is $125 for adults, $75 for kids ages 13 to 18, and $50 for children ages 6 to 12. Kids 5 and under are admitted free of charge.
These costs include admittance to meeting rooms, meals Friday and Saturday evenings, and breakfasts Saturday and Sunday morning.
Room rates are available at the Lakeview Scanticon Resort and Conference Center at a room rate of $109 per night. To make room reservations, call (800) 624-8300.
For more information, contact the West Virginia Dry Cleaning and Launderers Association at (304) 346-5014.
Almost 300 booths have been sold for the event, which will offer attendees free access to all of its exhibits.
Full registration packages are available for $35. PDCA members can register free of charge. The package includes the Friday evening welcome reception, the Saturday evening reception, the Saturday morning seminar and the Sunday panel discussion on technology. If purchased separately, registration for the Saturday morning seminar and reception are $25 each. Sunday's seminar is free.
Saturday will kick off at 9 a.m. with a two-hour interactive presentation by John Graham, author of the book Magnet Marketing. Graham has experience working with drycleaners and understands the problems that people in the industry face. He is president of Graham Communications, a Quincy, MA-based marketing service and sales consulting firm.
Graham will discuss his marketing philosophy that creates customers through a "buying environment." This "Magnet Marketing" approach is accessible to both consumer and business-to-business audiences.
Sunday's program will feature a panel discussion on technologies for the future that will run from 9 to 11 a.m.
Panelists will elaborate on new technologies for the industry, as well as which technologies are changing. Old technologies that are still viable will also be covered during this session, giving attendees a practical and realistic picture of how to choose the best path that is right for them.
Technologies discussed will include carbon dioxide, hyrdrocarbon, perc, GreenEarth, Rynex and wetcleaning.
The exhibit hall will be open to attendees from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.
A broad spectrum of drycleaning and coin laundry equipment will be present, including the latest advances in washers, dryers, drycleaning machines, finishing equipment, computer lines, and cleaning supplies and services.
Accommodations for PDCA's Expo 2000 are available at a variety of hotels. The Sheraton Atlantic City, which is located across the street from the convention center, will offer $135 per night single/double occupancy room rates. Call (800) 325-3535 or (609) 344-3535 for reservations.
Caesars on the Boardwalk will be offering a rate of $140 per night single/double occupancy by calling (800) 345-7253 (option #1).
Other hotel options for convention attendees include: Holiday Inn at $169/per night (800) 548-3030 or (609) 348-2200; Quality Inn for $110 per night (609) 345-7070; Sheraton West at $85 per night (609) 272-0200, (ask for Maureen Kern); and Clarion Bayside Resort for $85 per night (800) 999-9466.
For more information, contact PDCA, (215) 830-8495.
The Wisconsin Fabricare Institute has announced that plans for an upcoming leather seminar in Wisconsin, as well as their annual conference, have been finalized.
WFI and Leather-Rich Inc. will join forces to sponsor a unique seminar for Wisconsin cleaners on Thursday, Aug. 17 at the Leather-Rich plant in Oconomowoc, WI.
The seminar, which will begin at 3 p.m., will be a 3 1/2 hour open house program that will feature a presentation by Kent Wainscott, an investigative reporter for Action News 12-WISN-TV, that will explain what type of quality service consumers look for in a drycleaner.
Afterwards, WFI's Executive Director Joe Phillips will offer a contest similar to ABC's Who Wants to be a Millionaire? program. Up to seven contestants will be randomly selected to answer questions about drycleaning. Cash prizes from $1 to $200 will be awarded.
The questions will be displayed on a large video screen so attendees can follow the action.
Complimentary pizza and refreshments will be available and Phillips pointed out that the event is open to both members and non-members.
Also on the horizon, WFI will be hosting its annual convention from Sept. 15-17 at Fox Hills Resort in Mishicot, WI.
A reception on Friday night will feature a buffet dinner and a 90-minute program, "Revenge at the Reunion," which will be a murder mystery comedy led by a group of professional actors.
Saturday morning will begin with a two-hour presentation by Pamela Yellen, a drycleaning-marketing specialist who will discuss "ways to flood your business with more customers than you can handle."
A panel discussion on Sunday morning will examine "survival in the dot-com era -- are quality and customer service enough?"
For more information about either event, contact WFI at (414) 529-4707.
The Indiana Drycleaning and Laundry Association has set plans for its annual convention on Sept. 15-16 in Indianapolis, IN.
Friday, Sept. 15, will feature a golf outing at the Saddlebrook Golf Course, beginning at 10 a.m. Cost is $55 per person, which includes cart costs.
Later in the evening, IDLA will host a cocktail reception and a chance for attendees to view vendor displays. A semi-formal buffet will follow with entertainment provided by Miss Indiana.
Saturday's highlights include an annual IDLA meeting and a program featuring Ms. Laura Barron of The Barron Group, who was selected as the 1990 National Business Woman of the Year by the American Business Woman's Association. She will offer her own brand of motivational speaking that encourages her audience to find high energy and a "real world" approach for business managers and employees.
Hotel reservation room rates of $135 per night at the Embassy Suites Hotel have been secured. Reservations can be obtained by calling 800-Embassy.
Early bird registration (prior to Aug. 25) is available for the convention at $139 for members and $165 for non-members and $68 for spouses. For more information, contact IDLA at (800) 401-0703.
Drycleaner Michael Rubinowitsch, 59, recently made headlines in The Bergen Record of Englewood, New Jersey after he was praised by city councilman Michael Wildes for demonstrating valiant good citizenship.
Rubinowitsch, an Oradell resident who is owner of Highwood Cleaners, was nominated for a Certificate of Commendation for his efforts to intervene and help a woman who was under attack from a man who was brandishing a knife.
According to the article in The Bergen Record, the assault occurred at 2:30 p.m. on May 25, when Solomon Brown, 18, was seen dragging the woman by her hair from a bus onto the sidewalk and past Highwood Cleaners.
Brown, who had threatened the woman with a knife, had been overheard arguing with the woman to renew their relationship, which she had ended. The suspect had allegedly intended to take the victim to his nearby apartment for the purpose of sex.
The woman had feigned submission to Brown and exited an empty bus (except for the driver, who ignored the man and woman's arguing). She had believed that the crowds of shoppers on busy Palisade Avenue would deter Brown from abducting her. However, nobody came to her aide.
While Rubinowitsch was unloading clothing from his van to take into his plant, he noticed Brown dragging the woman and confronted him. Rubinowitsch demanded that Brown behave like a "gentleman" and let her go.
Rubinowitsch, who served as an Israeli soldier in the 1973 Yom Kippur War, had told reporters that he hadn't seen a knife. He also added that it wouldn't have stopped him from trying to help the woman if he had seen it, as he was fully capable of taking care of himself in a fight.
Rubinowitsch managed to engage Brown in conversation and keep him distracted until the police could arrive and arrest him.
Police jailed Brown and he was assigned $13,500 bail for assault, terrorism and weapons charges.
The woman was unharmed.
In a letter dated May 26, councilman Michael Wildes wrote to Rubinowitsch: "Your good citizenship and quick thinking may have averted a more serious incident and I applaud your actions."
Continuing the tradition they began last summer, Anton's Cleaners is sponsoring its Read 'n Win program to encourage area students to read more.
Anton's Cleaners, a family-owned business that has been operating for 88 years and has 39 stores in eastern Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire, is offering four drawings for full computer systems as an incentive.
Each computer system is valued at $1,000 and includes a monitor and printer.
The contest is eligible to students who are entering grades three through nine.
"We hope that the kids who participate in this year's Read 'n Win program discover the joys that go along with reading," said Charles Anton, president of Anton's Cleaners.
For every book a student reads from his or her school-approved summer reading list, they will receive one chance for the computer drawing. Students can increase their odds of winning by reading more books.
To enter the contest, students may fill out a Reading Validation Form for each read book at any Anton's Cleaners location. Each form must be signed by a parent or guardian in person at Anton's before being submitted.
Anton's will put all of the entries into one pool and draw a total of four winners throughout the summer -- one each on the following dates: July 10, July 24, Aug. 7 and Aug. 21.
Many local reading and educational associations, such as the Massachusetts Reading Association, the Massachusetts Library Association and ReadBoston, have approved of the program.
For more information about the Read 'n Win contest, visit Anton's web site, located at: www.antons.com
Courses at the New York School of Drycleaning, sponsored by the Neighborhood Cleaners Association-International, are fast approaching.
"Principles and Practices of Drycleaning" will be presented in ten-week sessions, meeting on Monday and Wednesday evenings from 7 to 11 pm.
The course will feature lectures, demonstrations and practices that will teach students the four methods of stain removal, the proper use of drycleaning machinery, how to identify fabrics and their properties, as well as other skills that are pertinent to drycleaners.
The start date for these classes will be Sept. 11 and Nov. 27.
NCA-I will also be offering "Principles and Practices of Pressing," a four-week session that runs on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m., beginning on Nov. 7.
This class will discuss the finishing process for all kinds of garments in a hands-on environment. A workbook and other training materials will be made available for the class.
Space size for all classes at the New York School of Drycleaning is limited. Early registration is advised.
For more information, contact Vincent Beazer at (212) 967-3002.
The Coin Laundry Association recently gathered Texas laundry owners together for three educational meetings in Dallas, McAllen and Houston as part of its four-week "CLA Road Show."
The goal of the meetings was to promote a greater interest in the industry.
Each night, CLA hosted a free dinner and presented two coin laundry seminars.
Brian Wallace, CLA's executive director, presented "The Top Ten Trends in the Industry," and John Vassiliades, CLA's executive director of the CLA Insurance Program, discussed "Profitability, Vend Price and Profit."
Throughout the course of the meetings, CLA met with over 90 coin laundry owners from Texas who were all willing to share information and work together with hopes of building a more prosperous industry.
Among topics discussed was the possibility of expanding the Texas Coin Laundry Association, which is already an affiliate of the national CLA.
Many attendees approved of the idea because it would increase the opportunity for owners to get together and discuss local challenges and problems facing Texan coin laundries.
Jim Merritt, president of the Texas Coin Laundry Association, was present at the Houston meeting. He said, "I am excited to see such a great turnout! It will be great to have some new volunteers who want to band together to improve the business in this part of the country. I am looking forward to future meetings, and the opportunity to network with other owners in Texas."
Throughout the month of May, CLA visited more than 200 coin laundry owners as part of its "Road Show."
CLA also has plans to host its annual convention from Sept. 8-10 at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel in Boston, MA.
The three-day event will celebrate CLA's 40th anniversary with a variety of exhibits and educational seminars.
Cost for registration after Aug. 4 is $349 for members and $449 for non-members.
For more information or to register, contact CLA at (877) CLA-IDEA or visit them at: www.claconvention2000.com.
The Louisiana Mississippi Drycleaners and Launderers Association recently announced that Linda Ferguson will be the new executive director for the association.
Ferguson, who is from Jackson, MI, has been a plant owner since 1971. She began her term on June 1.
She has already served as president of the association from 1994 to 1995, and has been a member of LMDLA's board of directors since 1990.
Ferguson is also a District Committee Member of the International Fabricare Institute, representing a total of eight states.
She is currently active in legislative affairs and serves as the Vice Chairman of the Small Business Compliance Advisory Panel in the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality. In addition to that, Ferguson is also a member of the executive board of the Better Business Bureau of Mississippi.
Recently, the South Carolina General Assembly passed legislation that initiates alterations in the Drycleaning Trust Fund law that originally passed in 1995.
General Bill 1279, signed into law by Gov. Hodges on May 30, changes the wording in some of the sections of the original law, resulting in the following changes for drycleaners:
More stringent requirements for drycleaning containment were also added as a result of General Bill 1279 in order to prevent further environmental damages from drycleaning facilities. The new requirements focus on preventing solvent leakage from other areas of drycleaning plants.
According to Craig Duke, a South Carolinian environmental state official, drycleaners who have already met the containment requirements set in 1995 should not have to invest too much time or money to meet the new ones.
The law still requires that cleaners have a third party liability insurance policy in order to be eligible for the Fund; however, there is still no insurance policy that is approved by the Department of Insurance for the program so that requirement is currently being waved for parties seeking fund eligibility.
More information on the Drycleaning Restoration Trust Fund and its recent amendments can be obtained by calling Kimberly Prickett of the Bureau of Land and Waste Management at (803) 896-4129.
Details of the bill can be viewed online at: www.scstatehouse.net/bills/1279.htm.
An upcoming Milnor washer-extractor service seminar will be held from Sept. 12-15 in Nashville, TN, covering a wide range of information pertaining to Milnor washer-extractors.
It is the second scheduled service seminar of 2000 for Milnor. The last one was held from May 2-5 in Las Vegas, NV.
The four-day courses are designed to train personnel to quickly and accurately diagnose and treat field problems on Milnor washer-extractors ranging from 35 to 750 pounds, including split and open pocket designs.
Attendees gain an overall knowledge of how the equipment operates.
For more information, contact Randy Stiver, supervisor of training and education at Pellerin Milnor Corp., at (504) 467-9591, extension 514.
A brochure is available by calling (800) 469-8780 or through the company's web site at: www.milnor.com.
The California Cleaners Association is currently offering registration packages for its 79th Annual Convention and Trade Show at the Hyatt Regency in Long Beach, CA.
The event, which is called "Fabricare 2000 -- Back to the Beach," will be held Aug. 25-27.
Full registration packages are available for CCA-member cleaners at $150 and for CCA-member Allied Trades at $175.
Non-member cleaners pay $250 and non-member Allied Trades pay $325 for registration.
CCA is also offering convention registration and five-month's membership for $190.
This year's educational program will kick off at 8 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 25, with Ed Pupka and Christine Schaufelberger of the South Coast and Bay Area Air Quality Management Districts presenting "Rumor Busters - What is Your Air Quality District Really Doing?"
The seminar seeks to dispel false rumors and set the record straight on air quality regulations.
At 9:30 a.m., on the same day, R.R. Street and Company will be offering "Improving Customer Satisfaction," discussing the five biggest problems plaguing consumers.
On Saturday, Aug. 26, the day's first seminar will begin at 8 a.m. when Bill Bishop of The Golomb Group poses the question, "Are You Making the Money You Should Be?"
Following that discussion will be a program on "Computer Databases as Marketing Tools" at 9:45 a.m. Darcy Moen, a columnist for Fabricare Canada, will explain how to boost your profits by as much as 30%.
A "Cleaning Technologies -- Present and Future panel discussion is scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 27, and will feature representatives from Rynex, GreenEarth, Exxon, the Halogenated Solvents Industry Alliance and the Urban and Environmental Policy Institute.
CCA's Fabricare 2000 will also include a variety of other events, including an Aloha Cocktail Party from 5:30 to 7 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 25, at the Rainbow Pavilion, where 5-Star Drycleaners and CCA Scholarship Sponsors will be recognized.
CCA also will hold a board of directors meeting during the Official Convention Opening from 11 a.m. to noon on Friday, Aug. 25. The meeting will include the election of the association's 2000-2001 officers.
A "President's Casino Night" Reception and Dinner will run from 7 to 10 p.m. on the night of Saturday, Aug. 26.
In addition to installing the new officers and offering casino games and prizes, CCA will announce the winner of the Dry Cleaner of the Year Award.
The Hyatt Regency Long Beach Hotel, which is adjacent to the Long Beach Convention Center, will be offering special room rates of $120 single/double occupancy per night, plus occupancy tax (currently at 12%).
The hotel is located at 200 South Pine Ave. Adjacent to the Hyatt Regency is the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific, one of the country's largest aquariums that hosts 550 species of fish in 17 major living habitats.
Room reservations for the hotel must be made prior to July 20 by calling (562) 491-1234 or (800) 233-1234. Be sure to identify yourself as a CCA convention attendee.
For more information about CCA's Fabricare 2000, contact the association at (916) 443-0986 or (800) 390-8409.
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