Al Robson: Stake out your place in the future

The past decade was a phenomenal one for technology and e-business. In the '90s we saw more people make more money than was imaginable ten years ago. We also saw more IPO money go up in smoke than was thought possible.

This year will begin a decade that will see the biggest impact on the drycleaning industry of any single decade since polyester.

The industry is going to go through three phases in the next ten years. The shakeout phase, the progressive phase and the segmented phase.

The first stage, shakeout, has already begun. It is where the distinctions between the low-priced, bang and hang sweat shops, and the higher-priced, full-service drycleaners become much clearer. Three major factors will initiate this stage

The slowdown
First, the economy will slow down. All the signs are here -- slow Christmas sales, lagging corporate profits, major layoffs and the stock market slump.

The slowing economy will cause a panic with many marginal drycleaners who will lower their prices. For most of them, this will be a fate worse than death.

The lower price syndrome will be further exacerbated by newbies to the industry. As the economy slows, the people getting laid off will be looking for new careers. The drycleaning industry remains very attractive for entrepreneurial types because of the extremely low entry barriers. To get started takes very little money, no experience, no training and no licensing. You know the old sayingŠ Last week I couldn't spell drycleaner, now I are one!

Many of the new entrees think that they are much smarter than the average drycleaner and, therefore, know that they will be able to make more money with lower prices. More pressure for lower prices!

Next comes the "I need more volume" syndrome. An overwhelming number of business owners can only see success through increased sales volume. Their unspoken mantra becomes sales volume at any cost.

As a result, we have more under-performing drop stores today than we have ever had. This scenario exists in large part because every strip mall developer includes a drycleaning storefront in every mall they build.

Thus, the finite number of drycleaning customers in that market area are given yet another location to choose from which means the slices in the pie are cut even thinner.

During this period of economic uncertainty some customers will be looking for ways to save money and others will be looking for greater value.

Furthermore, during this period it will become more important for business people to improve their competitive edge by looking more professional. These real drycleaning customers will remain more concerned with getting their clothes back wearable and when they need them than they will be with price.

For the next few years, the demand for drycleaning is going to decrease. Also, the customers will be trying to save money, but they will not be in a position to save money on drycleaning services if their clothes are not fit to wear.

Your biggest challenge for the near future is to provide quality customer service and quality workmanship -- and doing this costs money.

The shakeout
The shakeout that has already begun will see the demise of the middle-of-the-road cleaners. These are the ones who provide poor service and poor workmanship at prices that are "average," which represents the vast majority of cleaners.

Within a few years there will be high-priced and low-priced cleaners with very few left in the middle.

During this "shakeout period" other things will be going on in the background. There will be many technical developments and there will be investors looking for new opportunities. This will begin the second or "progressive" phase.

The new industry
Scientists and engineers are constantly searching for new applications for the technologies that have been and are constantly being developed. Some of these technologies will definitely find their way into the drycleaning industry. After all, this is a $7 billion dollar a year industry that is ripe for new technologies.

The new drycleaning machines and solvents that have been developed are beginning to find greater acceptance even though they are more expensive. The progressive drycleaners are willing to spend more on new technology because they understand that research and development costs money and they want to be on the cutting edge.

New finishing equipment and garment identification systems are on the drawing board. Like the new drycleaning machines and solvents, they will require a larger capital investment.

The drycleaners who proactively manage their sales and costs over the next few years will be positioned to remain on the cutting edge. The bottom line is that in the next four to six years, the drycleaning industry is going to shift from a labor-intense industry to a capital-intense industry. The equipment is going to become more automated, more sophisticated -- and more expensive.

The new equipment will require fewer people, but it also will require employees with more technical skills. These employees will command higher wages and better benefits. Higher equipment costs and comparable payroll costs (fewer employees being paid high wages) will necessitate higher prices and improved levels of customer service.

This is when we will begin to see two distinctly different types of drycleaning service. The lower priced cleaners will have figured out that their survival requires doing high piece volume while providing limited services. Limited services means that they will refuse items that require special handling, such as spotting. As a matter of fact, that is how the few low-priced cleaners who are making money today operate.

The drycleaning industry will become segmented between the one location, low-priced cleaners and the higher priced, full-service cleaners. The full service cleaners will cater to the high-end consumers by providing the convenience of multiple locations and office/residential pick-up and delivery. Your short-term goal for 2001 is to watch where every penny is being spent.

For the next six to 12 months, your biggest challenge will be to reduce costs without reducing the quality of the work or the service that you provide. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, labor costs are your biggest expense.

For details on realistic production standards, go to the Biz Builder website at www.bizbuilderonline.com and visit the library to find an archive of articles, many of which will give you information on cost standards.

A happy, healthy and prosperous New Year to all!

Remember in the game of business the more you know the better you can play the game.

Dennis McCrory: Be somebody to your customers

OK, so you've worked like crazy advertising your business, attracting positive attention, using every marketing trick you know, and doing everything right, so it seems, because you've had a tremendous increase in new customers, but you lose them. They never come back.

You designed your advertising so well and marketed so wisely that you're almost in a state of shock at how your customers ignore you. You treated them courteously while they were in your store. You gave them a fair price and ensured that your staff produce a quality product. Basically, you made service your middle name. You smiled and used their name when you said good-bye, thanking them for their business.

And then, after all that caring attention on your part, they completely ignored you. They never set foot in your store again.

Do you want to know why they ignored you? Why it was so easy for them to forget about your cleaners?

It's because you ignored them. It's because you made one transaction and then made the grave, but all-to-common, error of thinking that your marketing job was over. That was a terrible mistake. But a least you've got lot of company making the same mistake. Nearly 70 percent of business lost in America is lost due to post-sale apathy. This "love 'em and leave 'em" attitude can be fatal to your bottom-line.

So what can you do to make sure those new customers keep coming back for more?

The opposite of apathy is follow-up. Develop a "love 'em and love 'em" attitude: market to prospects like crazy until the sale is made, then continue marketing to them like crazy after the sale. Apathy never has a chance to set in because they never feel ignored.

Do everything in your power to intensify the relationship with caring follow-up and loving attention. Once you establish a genuine relationship, your service is no longer thought of as a commodity. Cleaners who sell their services as a commodity usually lose customers to lower priced competitors.

Cleaners who develop warm relationships with their customers go beyond being thought of as a commodity and are able to maintain their customer relationships with good service and constant contact. It's no wonder they don't lose business very easily. People want relationships. They want the businesses they patronize to stay in contact with them. They want to feel cared for and not ignored.

Astute cleaners know that their customer relationships are their most precious assets. They know that if a customer comes to them one time and has an enjoyable experience, they're very likely to come back again, and again, providing many referrals over time.

As a way to foster this kind of relationship, it's a good idea to send a "Thank You" note within 48 hours after their initial visit. About a month later, contact them again to make sure they are completely satisfied. Get in touch with them about three months later to let them know about other services or specials. Three months after that, make another contact.

As you can see, this is a continuous process that will build life-long relationships for your company. The best part is that The Golomb Group will carry the ball for you, both before the sale and after. This way you can concentrate of the smooth running of your operations, which, as you know, is a full time job in itself.

This kind of follow-up not only prevents apathy from setting in, but also increases business anywhere from 20 to 300 percent. Customers, in their hearts, silently hope for recognition, acknowledgment, information, and, even, advance opportunities to take advantage of specials.

Instead of the kind of apathy that loses customers forever, constant attention and follow-up results in healthy back-end sales, in other words, repeat, ancillary, and referral sales. And this means big profits to you because it costs six times more to sell something to a new prospect that to sell the same thing to an existing customer.

All of the marketing experts ask you to calculate the lifetime value of a customer. If you don't understand the damaging effects of apathy after the sale, that lifetime value is pretty small. If you do all in your power to prevent apathy from ever setting in, the lifetime value of each customer will continue to increase.

You'll profit from the initial sale, from the repeat sales, from the referral sales, and from the long mutually beneficial relationship. All of this can only happen when you overcome apathy. And now you know how to do that.

Frank Lucenta: Spray finishing painted leather

Since all the color and shine are on the surface of a painted leather, the spray materials and procedures to restore it will depend upon the condition of the surface finish of the leather.

For example, as a result of wear, the leather may have lost its shine, lost its shine and color, or lost its shine, color and skin surface.

To correct these conditions and to restore the leather to an acceptable condition, the following materials and procedures should be used:

1. If the leather has lost its shine but has good color and the surface of the skin is in good condition, the surface of the leather can be sprayed evenly with the Leather Pro Clear Flexible Leather Finish at 60 psi of air pressure at a distance of six inches between the spray gun nozzle and the surface of the leather.

This procedure will restore the shine to the surface of the skin. The degree of shine will be determined by the amount of finish deposited onto the surface of the skin and the distance from which the spray is applied. Generally speaking, the further the spray nozzle is and the smaller the amount of finish being sprayed, the duller the shine will be.

2. If the leather has lost its shine and color, but the surface of the skin is in good condition, then spray the surface of the leather with the leather finish in its original color.

The original color can normally be found under the collar or under pocket flaps or inside the pockets. It is important to closely match the color of the leather finish to the original color of the leather, if the result is to be satisfactory.

Remember that the leather finish will appear to be lighter in color when wet or in liquid form than it will be when dry. Therefore, allow the finish to dry on an inside seam before concluding that it is a close match to the original color.

Spray leather finish onto the surface of the skin at 60 psi of air pressure with the spray gun nozzle six inches away from the surface of the leather.

The leather finish will impart both color and shine to the leather surface.

In addition, the leather finish will cover over bad spots and stains because it is an opaque pigmented material that contains tiny solid particles of colored material or pigment that give it color and the capacity to cover unwanted surface stains or discolorations.

3. If the leather surface is worn and porous and the color and shine are gone, then it may require more than one application of leather finish to restore the surface, the color and the shine to the leather. One light coating may be applied first as a base coat to seal the worn porous surface. Then, after it dries, a second heavier coating can be applied to restore the color and shine.

If the surface finish is peeling and cracking, all of the loose finish must be removed before leather finish is sprayed on the surface of the skin. The loose peeling and cracked old finish may be removed by stripping it by hand using a bristle brush and/or a coarse cloth moistened with a leather prep thinner stripper.

The old finish may also be stripped by cleaning the leather for an extended run time of at least 15 to 30 minutes, using a very low level of drycleaning fluid in the wheel to allow a maximum amount of mechanical action to strip the old finish from the leather.

If this method is used, be sure to watch the button trap for an excessive build up of old finish which can clog it and cause the drycleaning fluid to back up and overflow the trap!

After all of the loose old finish is removed, any remaining patches of finish on the surface of the leather may be smoothed down or removed by hand using the stripper. Then the new leather finish may be applied to the clean smooth surface.

This same stripping technique may be used to prepare for a color change. Even though it is possible to spray one color over another and cover the old color on a leather, it is best to strip the old color off before applying the new. The old color may begin to show through as the new color wears with use, or the new color may not bond perfectly to the old and it may peel or flake off in use.

Also, remember that leathers are always pressed on a hot head press, or a press equipped with a hot head grid plate, before and after spraying. Pressing before spraying ensures that the surface of the leather will be smooth and flat for easier spraying.

Pressing after the surface has been sprayed and dried will ensure that the pigmented finish will bond to the surface, become soft and pliable, and be smooth, slick and shiny.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Do not use products not specifically formulated for use on suede and leather. The products referred to in this article are specifically formulated for leathers. Other products may not give the same results when used as described in this article.

Frank Kollman: Investigating sexual harassment

A prompt and thorough investigation of a sexual harassment complaint is the employer's best defense in a harassment suit. Then again, an employer must have complaint procedure in effect to defend a harassment suit on the basis of an investigation.

Such complaint procedures should (1) publicize the individuals designated to take complaints who are unbiased and trained in the area of sexual harassment; (2) maintain confidentiality to the fullest extent possible; and (3) stress the importance of documentation of all aspects of the complaint and investigation process.

Here are the basic steps.

• Step One: Interview the complainant. Obviously, it is the complainant's story that must be verified. Find out all the surrounding circumstances, including any behavior that might suggest that the conduct being complained about was not unwelcome.
• Step Two: Memorialize the complainant's fact statement. Write it down. If the employee's story changes later or is embellished, this written recollection may shoot holes in the story.
• Step Three: Interview the alleged offender. Get all the information you can. Proceed to Step 4. If the alleged offender is a non-employee, such as a delivery person, you may need to obtain the cooperation of his employer.
• Step Four: Give the accused the opportunity to submit a written statement summarizing his/her position with respect to the individualized allegations made by the complainant, and identifying all persons who would corroborate his version of events. The quality of your investigation may depend on how carefully you follow up on things said by the alleged victim and the alleged perpetrator.
• Step Five: Review the statements of both the complainant and the accused to identify points of agreement and disagreement. Separately list facts in dispute for continuing investigation.
• Step Six: Re-interview the complainant to discuss the accused's version of events and to highlight the facts in dispute.
• Step Seven: Interview witnesses offered by the complainant and the accused.
• Step Eight: Meet with line management, human resources management and legal counsel to review the results of the investigation to determine if further investigation is required, and, if not, how to conclude the investigation.
• Step Nine: If the investigation reveals that harassment occurred in violation of company policy, determine what disciplinary action should be imposed.
• Step Ten: Communicate the results of the investigation to the parties and to management personnel involved in the parties' chain of command.
• Step Eleven: Clean up the file. This last step means arranging the file in logical order, assembling notes and other documents for later referral.

Finally, in many cases, you will have divergent stories, and you will find it difficult to tell who is lying and who is telling the truth.

In most cases, some sort of remedial action will be required, even if you doubt the veracity of the alleged victim. That is why it is so important to get good legal advice whenever confronted with a claim of sexual harassment.

Stan Golomb: Guerrilla warfare in drycleaning

There are now 100 million households in the United States and these homes are where drycleaning and related sales come from.

There are an estimated 40,000 drycleaners in the U.S. sharing in the rewards.

The average household spends $80 a year for drycleaning services.

Total sales for the industry come to an estimated $8 billion. This means that the average drycleaner will do $200,000 a year.

We know some plants will do millions of dollars a year while other will barely scrape by with volume under $50,000 a year, but averages are averages and that's all we can go by.

The point I'm getting at is that any plant that can get more than $80 per household in their market area is either doing a sensational job or is in a better market.

My last article dealt with a plant in a mill town in Arkansas with no drawing power outside the immediate town. The average household income was well below the national average so in theory, this plant should have done less than $80 per household per year.

But to our surprise, this plant produced double the national average per household and did it with guerrilla marketing.

I know they didn't think this was what they were doing. As a matter of fact, the expression, "guerrilla marketing" wasn't even being used when these folks were doing it.

For the past six months, I have been reading and studying everything I could on guerrilla marketing. I have read just about every book on the subject and now realize that the Golomb Group has been providing these tactics for the past 20 years without knowing what it was called.

Simply stated, guerrilla marketing comes from the term "guerrilla method of warfare."

This is where an unorganized band of guerrillas fight on their turf against overwhelming odds and usually win.

In business, the odds are overwhelmingly against the small business person who thinks he can compete with the major companies, who are always trying to increase their market share.

This is so evident on TV and the print media where huge companies compete for more market share in the sale of autos, beverages, various food products and even athletic shoes.

As a result of their effort, they take a large share of the consumer dollar and the local small businesses cannot compete at their level.

Some try to compete by hiring advertising agencies to give them a better image and increase their market share in a highly competitive field.

However, institutional advertising does not sell under these conditions.

You can run full-page ads saying that you do a great job but the cynical public has to be shown. They hear this hype all the time and over the years, they have become jaded to claims and assertions.

The most popular restaurant in your town reached that status because it has built confidence in its patrons who know that it does a good job for the money.

The most successful cleaner in your area has proven himself over the years. So what can the little guys to do to compete?

They have to attract customers by direct communications, but once they get that customer to use their service, they have to keep that customer. This is where most will fail.

In small businesses, it has been proven that six times as much money is spent trying to get customers as is spent trying to keep customers. This should be the reverse.

In the cleaning business, new customers are abundant because many have been disappointed by their present drycleaner.

It may not have been that cleaner's fault. Drycleaning is not like making hamburgers. Each garment is unique, as is the stain and the amount of wear and tear on the garment.

People stretch and wear off the nap on garments with repeated wear. They pick up stains and dyes and color loss and often find stains that did not show up when the garment was brought in.

These problems create customer dissatisfaction and turnover, so now you get a new customer. What you do and how you treat that customer and what incentives you use to keep that customer happy and coming back is of prime significance.

The way customers are treated at the counter is vitally important. This is where all the emotions come into play and this is where you can either lose a customer or make her feel that you have her best interest in mind.

My past as a salesman of drycleaning chemicals, teacher of sales at a major university, and student of marketing and communications, and a drycleaner has given me a certain insight into what it takes to run a successful drycleaning business.

I'm now in my declining years but my mind is well tuned to the problems of the industry today and even more to the problems of individual drycleaners.

And my staff is also very much aware of the various methods we use to build sales for our customers.

I am very fortunate because I enjoy what I do and that is to find ways to improve the business for those individuals who are willing to put themselves out to learn and implement.

Please, if you have any questions or wish to write me about anything, I will be glad to answer your questions. Questions will be quickly answered if they're on e-mail.

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Don Desrosiers: The use and misuse of collar cones

This month, let's talk about collar cones -- what they are for, what they are not for, how they can help your quality and how they can hurt your quality.

So, first things first. What are they for?

The intent is to improve your quality by neatly rounding the collar and smoothing the inside of it, the part of the collar band that touches one's neck. The resulting shirt has a collar that is perfectly round, doesn't droop in the front and stays that way.

What they are not for:

• A coffee cup holder.
• A place to throw wet shirts on.
• A place to throw a pressed shirt on for a while until you can get to button it.
• A thing to make tying a button easier.
• A thing to hold a shirt for a few seconds while you tie the buttonŠ and (sorry about this next one)Š
• It is not a thing to hold hangers.

My guess is that you knew about the first three no-no's here, but are not inclined to agree so quickly with the last three.

"A thing to make tying a button easier."

True or false?

Both.

You can get rather fast at tying a button if you learn to pull against the cone while doing it, but you are clearly missing the point if you tie a button while pulling against the cone and then promptly hang the shirt on a hanger and send it on its way. It is true that you get better at tying a button that way than tying a button on your own shirt, due to shear repetition, but this is far from the intent of the collar cone.

It's all relative. It's all what you are used to. Consider that there are collar cones on the market that cost over $1,000. I wouldn't care how much easier button tying got, I wouldn't be able to justify $1,000 unless the shirt buttoned itself!

"A thing to hold a shirt for a few seconds while you tie the button."

True or false?

Both.

Is only true if you also add several dozen more seconds to let it sit there for a while, after you button it.

"It is not a thing to hold hangers"

True or false?

FALSE. You get no latitude on this one.

The fact that some brilliant inventor decided to cut a slot in a collar cone so that it could hold hangers is inconsequential to me. I will not waiver. It is not a place to hold hangers because the very fact that there are hangers in there prevents the shirt from hanging low enough on the cone to do its job.

It is okay to buy one that has a slot in it, as long as you don't use the slot for hangers. The presser needs to tie the button around the collar cone and then push the shirt down on the cone firmly. It should stay there for 30 to 60 seconds. The cone should be heated in order to be supremely effective. The wooden ones are passé.

If you can't leave a shirt on there for 30 seconds due to production, get a three-headed one. It is the ideal solution for all but the lowest volume plants. It virtually assures that 1) hangers will not be used with them because there are no hanger slots; and 2) the shirt will stay on the cone for 60 seconds or more.

So how can a collar cone lower your quality?

This is the scariest thing about collar cones: using them incorrectly. If you do any of the things listed above; not using a collar cone at all, using it to hold the shirt while you tie it or leaving it to droop on a hanger while the cone never even touches the shirt, you aren't really deteriorating your shirts, you just aren't using all of the tools at your disposal. You have a collar cone, but you are not using it for its intended purpose.

You will lower your quality if your presser pulls the shirt down on the cone in such a way that the front of the shirt, where the collar button is, rolls down and folds over on itself. This is very undesirable. In fact, I think that this is the reason that most folks buy a collar cone in the first place. They are trying to fix the problem that we generally call "drooping."

I would universally endorse collar cones if they invariably fixed droopy collars. They do not, however, for one or more of the following reasons:

1. The collar cones are not heated.

2. The shirts don't stay on the cone for any length of time.

3. There are hangers in the way that prevent the shirt collar from ever being pulled tautly around the cone.

4. The collars of the shirts are carelessly pulled down on the cone. This, instead of curing the collar in the upright position, cures the collar in the "drooping down" position.

If you are curing the collars in the "drooping down" position, you are using a tool that is intended to improve your product to actually lower your quality. It's like buying a hammer to pound a nail, but pounding your thumb instead. Ouch!

Get a nice heated, three-headed collar cone to improve your quality. Each shirt will stay on a cone for two to three press cycles. You will be pleased with the results provided that you train your people how to use it, show them what to avoid, and then supervise!

Ray Colucci: What drycleaners should be doing

The best place to start, in our business, is the most important and that is at the counter. Surprised?

Many years ago I wrote "Up Front Is Where It Counts!" I was able to prove that the most successful plants were those where the counter was a marvel to behold.

I explained that a customer leaves a drycleaner, not for price, not for service, not for quality, not for convenience, parking or any other reason you can think of, but for "counter help indifference!"

Indifference can be demonstrated in many ways, but it's always with the same result. The customer is made to feel that he or she as an individual, just doesn't matter.

The customer is left feeling that she is an interruption or an inconvenience to the business and not the sole purpose of business.

What conveys that attitude to the customer?

Let me list a few:

1. Failure to recognize or acknowledge that the customer is even at the counter.

2. Failure to offer eye contact or to greet the waiting customer.

3. Failure to remember the customer's name, or to smile.

4. Failure to handle, inspect and list the clothes in gentle manner.

5. Failure to listen, list and answer all questions and instructions.

6. Failure to explain a difficult stain removal or a risk in the process.

7. Failure to apologize for the delay or interruption after answering a phone.

8. Failure to maintain a clean and efficient counter and a neat appearance.

9. Failure to announce special promotions or an additional new service.

10. Failure to thank the customer for her patronage.

I stopped at 10 bad habits, but there are many more and they involve the entire team. As in a symphony orchestra, the counter is the eyes and ears of your operation, and you, the owner or manager, must act as its conductor. The counter is what the customer sees and hears, senses and understands. It creates the impression that remains.

I can assure you that in the most successful plants I have visited, I see the importance management places on running the counter. Allow me to elaborate:

The counter should always be a meeting ground, not a battleground, and for that reason the counter person should always be an extrovert, someone who enjoys meeting people and, in general, likes people. Give me an extrovert, a "people person" who can roll with the everyday problems of our business, and I'll show you not only a smooth counter, but also a profitable and growing business. Competition and lower prices fade away in the face of a smiling counter person.

Remembering customers' names. Some say remembering names is too difficult, but it only takes practice. Just think of the joy you receive at a party or at a favorite restaurant when a supposed stranger remembers your name from a casual meeting you once had. It can be the same at the drycleaners!

Remembering is the result of repetition. The customer enters and you ask the last four digits of his phone number. The computer brings up his name, and you confirm that it is correct.

This gives you the opportunity of repeating his name, and that's number one.

Next, you can say, "We're delighted to tighten this button," as you write it on the ticket and mention, "We always do small tailoring free of charge, is there anything else? It's usually more work to find an open seam than to fix it, Mrs. Jones." That makes twice.

"Would you like this Thursday, Mrs. Jones, or would Wednesday be better?" And that's three times.

Next try to find some memory trigger with Mrs. Jones, such as "J street" or "Jones, she drives a Jaguar" or some other association. Mark your connection on the ticket as a reminder and occasionally go through the rack to refresh your memory.

If you would only look to recall five names a day, in a short time you would have mastered a few hundred names of your most important customers. People would be amazed at your ability to recall, and it is all done by simple repetition and an interest in other people -- your customers.

Identifying stains. You don't have to be an expert at identifying stains, but it gives you the chance to show your professionalism. For instance, if it looks "set," like it has been on for a long time, it is your opportunity to boost the firm's credibility. Now you can declare, "Many times it can become a problem. Which is stronger? The stain, fabric or the dye of the material?"

It also gives you the opportunity of taking the customer's phone number (mentioning the name again). Be certain to phone back. "Mrs. Jones, I checked with our spotter and there is no problem on the stain's removal, and, yes we will have it ready for you on Thursday as promised."

An occasional session with your spotter will help in the process of identification, removal of ground-in soil or adding an extra day in processing. (Write to me for the proper legal procedure for a "Hold Harmless Release.")

Listening. I was told a long good Lord gave us two ears and one mouth and that we should use them accordingly. How true! Did you ever think about the compliment you received on your ability to hold an intelligent conversation? And all you did was listen! Dog lovers are so fond of their pets because they constantly wag their tails when spoken to. Be an interested and alert listener and everyone will love you.

Interruptions. Many people object to phone calls, forgetting that it is not an interruption of business, but the thankful function of business. Everyone understands that, even the customer you are waiting on, so always apologize and tell the party that you will call back -- and be sure to do so. A brief and polite tape message goes a long way toward explaining that "Your phone call is very important to us at XYZ Drycleaners." And be sure to phone back!

Thank you! It sounds trite to say "thank you," but believe me it's your only chance to show your appreciation. Stan Golomb once asked me to describe a customer. I went through what I thought was a sound appraisal, then Stan, in his imitable fashion, explained "That's when your customer receives the order and leaves your store." They are, in essence at that point, any or every one's "customer." If they come back, it means you have done all the things you promised and, although they were fair game for all your competitors, you still maintained their patronage.

These counter tips are all equally important. You can write for my counter personality test, which will determine whether applicants are extroverts or introverts and if they can handle one of the most important and vital positions in your plant.

Stan Caplan: training is the basis of success

Training for a large operation can be conducted during the day, as large corporations and hospitals do, by rotating personnel within each department and subdivision. An excellent example of this training requirement is the military where training is continuous and no one in the unit is exempt, since personnel are rotated as a result of viable cross training.

I am a devout believer in cross-training plant workers to perform every task with equal skill. Through cross-training, an employee can become tremendously important to your operation and be worthy of a top wage and establish a career and not "just a job."

For a small operation, the training program can be conducted after working hours for the basic phase of about two weeks consisting of classroom instruction with in-plant practical application. Conducting the in-plant portion during working hours is not practical since untrained, or inexperienced, persons are too unproductive in a busy environment trying to get the work out on time.

For a large operation, especially one with at least two plants, the in-plant portion of the training program can be performed in a designated area during working hours.

The training program is divided into two parts: classroom presentation and practice (hands on).

Classroom presentation
The science of operating the plant's equipment and performing the job in the plant should be fully outlined and explained. Training aides should be utilized by the instructor to generate a practical explanation of the process being taught.

Slides and video presentations of the plant process are shown and explained by the instructor after the students have been participating in the hands-on phase of the training program. This gives the students a break from the physical rigors of the in-plant phase, especially finishing.

Critiques and questions and answers are most important in order to both relax the students and reinforce their skills by this continuing participation.

The class should be divided into three parts: drycleaning/spotting, finishing (drycleaning and laundry), and inspection/assembly of orders.

Hands on (practical)
he in-plant training phase is conducted either on a one-on-one basis or in small groups with preparation of the plant as discussed in last month's column.

There are four basic steps to this hands-on (practical) phase: condition and prepare the trainee; present the job or operation; have the trainee perform the job or operation; and follow-up by instructor.

Five points should be covered in this first step: put the trainee at ease; state the job or operation; find out what he or she already knows about the job or operation; get the trainee's interest in learning the job or operation; place the trainee, and the other trainees, in the correct position. Explanations of each point as follows:

• Put the trainee at ease.

If not at ease, the trainee's mind will wander -- he or she will look around and not concentrate on the training. No one can learn when frightened, embarrassed or up tight. The instructor should have a friendly smile, welcome the trainee to the training job or operation, try to establish mutual interests, ask where the trainee lives, and do whatever it takes to give the impression that the instructor is a friend and ready to help make the program a success for the trainee. MOTIVATE!

• State the job or operation.

Be exact and void generalities such as "This is the way we do it." State the purpose of the operation specifically, but not a general outline of information. Speak loudly and clearly with good enunciation. Ask if there are any questions.

• Find out what the trainee already knows about the job or operation.

Prior experience can eliminate any basic, unnecessary training, such as teaching how to operate the steam and vacuum pedals on a pressing machine, and having the trainee experience the feel of a trickle of steam on his or her hands, etc. Also, point out things from the trainee's previous job which could be helpful. Keep in mind that you may need to "unlearn" some bad habits from the prior learning process.

• Get the trainee's interest in learning the job, or operation.

Be sure to point out that learning this job or operation can be the beginning of a good future with the company since this job, or operation, is a very important part of the production process. Make sure that the trainee knows that his or her wages will increase with progress in the training program and more so upon successful completion. State that with this training program, the job will be very easy to work, but without the training, it will be most difficult.

• Place the trainee, and the other trainees, in the correct position.

The trainee should be placed where he or she can easily see what you are doing.

This is especially critical in finishing training since the trainee(s) should be in the same position as when the job is being performed. It is impossible to learn the mechanical steps of finishing from the front of the press; the trainee(s) must be in the same position as though he or she were the operator.

Make sure the trainee(s) are close enough to hear you speak. Groups seem to carry on side conversations, especially managers, so the instructor must be constantly alert to this situation. Remember, new trainees may not be accustomed to the noises experienced in this new environment.

2. Present the job, or operation
This is the tell-show part of the instruction. It is important that the telling and showing be combined and tied together. It is most important to be both careful and patient.

Any foreign terms pertinent to our industry and plant process must be explained and clearly defined. Stress the important steps for each portion of the job, and then come in with those key points from the job breakdown sheet which reinforce and clearly explain how to perform each step. These should all be worked into the conversation and emphasized so that the key points will be impressed on the trainee's mind.

Do not present more than can be mastered at any one time. Therefore, the job should be broken down into many simple operations; and the instructor should teach one operation at one time, and only the amount that can be mastered by the trainee.

After a series of key points have been told and shown, the instructor should ask if there are any questions on the job or operation at hand.

Do not permit any questions on future key points since the questions will be answered in the subsequent training steps.

Show the operation slowly and explain it thoroughly. Illustrate exactly what you mean. Never say, "Take your time," as that will impress on the learner's mind not to try to improve in speed. Instead say, "Get accuracy now, speed will come later."

On first demonstration (recap)

(a) Tell trainee how to do the job.

(b) Show trainee how to do the job.

(c) Explain; then illustrate step-by-step and point-by-point according to your job breakdown. Stress key points.

(d) Go slowly. Do not work fast. This is a training demonstration, not a piece rate job.

(e) Occasionally glance toward the trainee with a smile and expression of eagerness to help. It's all right to tell a short joke to make sure that the trainee(s) is relaxed and not uptight.

(f) Do not present more than can be mastered at one time. The job should be broken down into several simple operations. Teach only one operation at one time.

(g) Do not say "Take your time," as that will impress on the trainee's mind not to try to improve. Instead, say "Get accuracy now, speed will come later."

On second demonstration

(a) Repeat the same procedure as the first demonstration.

(b) Ask some questions about the first demonstration.

(c) Be patient when asking questions and compliment the trainee when correct answers are given. If the trainee does not answer the questions satisfactorily, repeat the demonstration.

(d) Be sure to answer all questions asked.

(e) Be sure to explain any jargon or foreign terms used only in this industry such as "washwheel," "buck steam," "Suzie," "re-run," etc.

3. Try out his or her performance: Have the trainee do the job
nspire confidence in the trainee. This step allows the trainee to actually do the job under the instructor's guidance and supervision.

Do not ask the trainee if he or she can do it. Tell the trainee to do it as if you know he or she can.

Then have the trainee repeat the performance and explain what he or she is doing. This gives another opportunity to stress the important key points.

Try to anticipate errors so that they may be avoided before they happen.

Do not reprimand the trainee if he or she does not get it. Simply repeat the instructions until you know that it has been learned.

It is vitally important to correct all errors immediately so they do not become habits and the instructor should unlearn, and wipe from memory, any steps that an experienced trainee tries to bring in from a previous employment that conflict with your company's procedures.

Remember, it is better if the trainee fouls it up now than when he or she is on the job. Five minutes of extra training may save hours later. Simply repeat the instruction until you know that the trainee knows.

4. Follow up
This is the final step in training. When you are sure that the trainee understands and can do the job, put the trainee on his or her own. Designate to whom the trainee should go if help is needed. Otherwise, the trainee will ask other employees who may give wrong answers, and such asking wastes time, slows production, and breaks up uniformity of training.

This last step is not the point where the trainee merely "tells and shows" the instructor how the job should be done, but the instructor should "break away" gradually when absolutely sure that the trainee understands and knows how to do the job.

The instructor should check back frequently as to how the trainee is progressing. Re-train in the weak points and always stress the important steps and key points to those steps as written in the job breakdown.

While I was chief instructor at IFI, I was privileged to sit in on many classes taught by the director of membership, Mr. Fred Harris, whose expertise was in personnel management. Fred always concluded his lecture with the acronym "S.P.A.R." which stood for "Show Patience and Respect" when training, or supervising, your subordinates.

Conclusion
A good and viable training program is essential to a prosperous plant operation. The points outlined in this series, and in this third part in particular, should enable your plant to embark on a program of utilizing the services of those workers, both young and old, who are not conducive to the high-tech environment of large corporations.

A simple ad in the classified section of your local newspaper stating that you are willing to train will yield surprisingly numbers of dedicated candidates for semi-skilled employment. This series was based upon the principles laid down during World War II by the War Manpower Commission.

The principles were then advocated by the Training Within Industry Division. Defense plants were able to train inexperienced workers in a period of hours on jobs that had previously taken several weeks.

A good example of this was "Rosie the Riveter." Housewives and sweethearts of service men fighting the war suddenly became a pool of available and anxious workers eager to do their part to win the war while making good money and saving for the future when "Johnny comes marching home."

The idea behind this new training program was simply that if a defense factory can teach a "green" woman an unfamiliar job such as welding or riveting in a short time, does it not appear logical that equally satisfactory results can be obtained in the drycleaning and laundry industry where conditions are less foreign to a woman than is welding or riveting?

The National Association of Dyers and Cleaners, the forerunner to NID and later, IFI, was quick to adopt this format which is still in use today for in-plant training.

Today, as was back then, the problems with plant managers have emphasized the question of whether they are good supervisors or just good workers.

Good supervision consists mainly in getting workers to do what the manager wants done, and according to the standards of quality and production required. (These points were mentioned and explained in Part 1 of this series.)

In fact, a good plant manager and a good instructor are one and the same. No matter how good a worker he or she may be, he or she must have the ability to transfer his or her knowledge and skill to the subordinate workers.

A good plant manager must try to get more work out at the lowest cost, of highest quality and on time. The more carefully and thoroughly trained his or her employees are, the closer he or she comes to achieving these results.

This author was in the training business during most of his military (reserve) career and during his second career in the drycleaning and laundry industry as a consultant (after being a plant owner/operator). While in the military (reserve) I wrote and taught a course in Instructor Training Principles since training is always being conducted, and all non-commissioned and commissioned officers must be qualified instructors, in addition to their basic duties.

I sincerely believe that this same principle of job instructor training applies most vitally to plant managers of our industry. The need is here. The candidates are out there. The managers are capable. So let's utilize them as trainers and not workers. A viable instructor training program is easy to create and implement. Let's do it!

NOTE: My video, "The Caplan Method of Stain Removal," which includes my comprehensive text (edited by Hal Horning) and the handy spotting board reference, is now available from the Golomb Group, c/o Dennis McCrory, 7664 Plaza court, Willowbrook, IL 60521; phone (630) 887-7339.

This video is actually a "trainer in a box" and is a complete training course for both experienced and novice spotters. My comprehensive text reinforces, in written form, all of the background technical material required to produce a professional spotter.

Also available is my video on step-by-step shirt finishing with a viable wash formula for whiter whites and bright colors. This procedure was developed by me for top quality with no touch up (regular sizes) together with top production without the necessity of over-exertion by the operators. Both one and two-operator cabinet shirt units are demonstrated. The sequence of lays involves the use of a cabinet sleever and a single, or triple, heated collar former.

Avoiding shrinkage, wilting and dipping of the collar, together with its proper "breaking and forming" on the heated collar former, are all demonstrated. Both the collar and front buttonhole placket, the two thickest parts of a shirt, are totally dried under the press head with no loss of production time.

Attractive detailing and packaging of the hangered shirt, padding, steam pressure and machine timing are discussed. A looseleaf, comprehensive text explaining the sequence of lays, wash formulas, etc., is also enclosed.

Copyright © 2001, National Clothesline
Maintained by: Hal Horning