Immediately after hearing the news from a doctor that he had a large brain tumor, Dennis Schmitt said to his doctor, "OK, what do we have to do to get it?" Unaccustomed to such a reaction, the doctor asked Dennis if he had heard what he said. After all, most people don't take bad news in stride.
"You can't go backwards. You have to take care of things as they go," Dennis pointed out. Originally, he had thought that his ear problems were due to an ear infection. However, when his ear seemed to get worse, he met with a specialist.
After tests were run, he was informed that a tumor the size of a golf ball was attached to the inside of his right ear. In fact, the tumor was so large that it caused Dennis's brain stem to curve around it.
"It was very much a life-threatening situation," he recalled. But, Dennis isn't the kind of man who lets adversity get the better of him. "You have to put it in perspective. There's only stress if you ask for it. I was with the best people. The only thing I could do was put my faith in them and let the rest be up to God. I wasn't afraid." Because of the severity of the tumor, Dennis was given high priority for an operation. He didn't mind the rush because he knew that if he had the procedure soon, it would mean that he had a better chance of being back to work by April, the busy season for his seven drycleaning stores in Green Bay, WI.
The night before the operation, he told his wife, Patti, "We should say a prayer for the people who went before me because they were the guinea pigs, and I am the guinea pig for the people behind me."
Though Dennis genuinely believes that he is an extremely fortunate man, many people might look at some of the hardships he has faced and think precisely the opposite.
Only three years after Dennis was born in Green Bay, WI, in 1958, his father abruptly died of a heart attack, leaving his mother with twelve children to support. She had a variety of part-time jobs that she would go to after the kids were off to school.
"It was kind of unique," Dennis recalled. "I had never really realized why we had soup so many days in a row. That was just the norm." Fortunately, the family had some close friends who made sure they always had turkey dinners for Thanksgiving and hams on Christmas and Easter. Still, Dennis and his siblings had to help out by working part-time jobs. Dennis got an afterschool job at his church when he was in second grade. Except for an occasional day off to do something with his family, he worked every day, seven days a week, for the next thirteen years.
During school hours, it was more of the same for Dennis. He was always singled out by his teachers as being a responsible kid. "I didn't find out until I was a junior in high school that I was dyslexic, so 'i' before 'e' doesn't mean squat," he said. "So, I was always going to these special reading classes -- I was the youngest one -- and the teacher would go and say, 'Dennis, make sure that these people stay here so they don't get in trouble. Keep them away from the cars.' Whenever we went on the bus, I always had a group of kids to watch and I never understood any of that."
When Dennis turned sixteen, a friend helped him get a job with Ken Lindeman, owner of Lindeman Cleaning, Inc., who was continuing the business started by his father, Walter, back in 1951. Dennis had long been familiar with the drycleaning plant; after all, some of his first memories involved holding his mother's hand and walking into the store to grab a candy sucker from a bowl on the front counter.
"We still hand out those suckers today," Dennis said.
While Dennis dedicated himself to working hard for the plant, he also found time to take part in a joint school production of "Fiddler on the Roof." He met his future wife, Patti, at play practice, and they began dating.
In fact, after they both graduated from high school, they attended the same technical school -- the Northeast Technical Institute. While Patti pursued an education in accounting, Dennis had dreams of becoming a model builder.
After graduating, Dennis had some out-of-state job interviews, but he was never offered enough money to make it worthwhile for him to move from home. About the same time, Ken Lindeman wanted to persuade Dennis to stay working at his plant.
Dennis recalled the fateful meeting that took place in the parking lot at Lindeman's. Dennis had told Ken: "I have to go. Patti and I are probably going to have kids and I am going to need all of the health insurance and all of that stuff. I'm going to need to take care of my family." Ken convinced Dennis to stay by promising him a good future for the company if he stayed aboard. "He shook my hand," Dennis recalled. "He said, 'Maybe if you work hard enough, someday you'll own the company.' So, that's what we did. It was a handshake, and we winged it from there." Over the years, Dennis has played an active role in shaping the direction of Lindeman's. He has given the company a lot of his time, even though, ironically, he doesn't believe in time clocks.
"I don't wear a watch," he said. "I do have a clock in my head that keeps me pretty much on time." Dennis is driven by a different motivation: doing the job right. He also doesn't place a high priority on high profit margins; he believes that a business should be about other things.
"We're here to take care of the people around us," he explained. "I could care less about money. What I do care about is what we can do for other people that are here." Over a decade ago, Ken Lindeman made good on his promise and sold Dennis some shares of the company. Dennis bought the rest of the company a few years ago after Ken retired.
"People told me I wasn't supposed to make it from grade school. I was the least likely to succeed in high school and here I am married for dang near 23 years to the same woman that I'm in love with. I'm running a business that I am not supposed to be able to do," he said. "It doesn't get any better than this." Dennis, who has a daughter named Christina and a son named Ben, has worked hard to make Lindeman's carry on its tradition as a fixture to its community. Lindeman's helps a number of charities, including an annual Coats for Kids drive.
Another tradition at the plant is to keep employees happy. Staff members come to work because it is "where they want to be" and many have been there since Walter Lindeman ran the company. "I'm very fortunate to have a staff that is very deep in knowledge and cares about what goes on," he said.
Additionally, Dennis has been quite active in the industry. A longtime member of the Wisconsin Fabricare Institute, he is currently serving a term as the association's president.
He has helped shape several statewide programs including the DERF fund and the recent advertising campaign in the Milwaukee Sentinel Journal that seeks to improve the image of drycleaners. He was the chairperson for the DNR certification program and has served on WFI's Board of Directors for close to ten years now.
Many drycleaners might recognize Dennis from a series of Spot Right seminars he has taught with his brother-in-law, Tom Swink, who also works as Lindeman's plant manager. The seminars started over ten years ago and have grown in popularity.
On his teaching style, Dennis said, "It's the way I wish I would have been taught, instead of winging it." One thing that makes Dennis a good teacher is that he simply never wants to stop learning. "I try to keep asking why no matter what position I've held or where I've been."
Dennis's brain tumor surgery lasted over seven hours, but he remained stable throughout.
He can no longer hear with his right ear and he has lost the feeling in the right side of his face because a nerve was scraped during the procedure.
"My lips don't hold water. My eyelid has a gold weight in it to make it close because you have to make it blink. There's a constant ocean sound in my head," he explained, matter-of-factly, adding, "But I haven't had an aspirin ever since. I'm just very fortunate." Last year, during his rehabilitation time, Dennis utilized his model building skills and designed a new store, which was completed (except for a few minor details) just in time for Lindeman's to celebrate its 50th anniversary. Dennis could have taken his time, but he wanted to rush back to work for one simple reason -- he loves what he does.
In fact, he feels that others in the industry should view their business as a fun thing. "I think that's vital for this industry because of the fact that if you're stressed out when you go to work, your customers are going to feel it, your associates are going to feel it, and then how does your advertising sound?" The industry has changed a lot since Dennis first joined the board at WFI. He described the industry back then as full of "doom and gloom." Now, he feels differently.
"The momentum has changed now. We have the regulations. We know what they're about," he said. "Most people have taken the time to invest in new equipment. They're kind of over the hump. They're back to the focus of more of what we are really here for, and that is to serve the customer."Deborah Rechnitz of Methods for Management and Yoshimichi Mitsuishi of the Japan Fabricare Research Center cosponsored a seminar, "That's Good Customer Service," in Hamamatsu, Japan. More than 100 customer service representatives, managers and owners attended.
As in the United States, basic good customer service in Japan features a nice smile, good eye contact, customer recognition, thanking the customer and performing transactions quickly and flawlessly. A visual training technique used in the seminar to improve retention of the information involved baseball, which is immensely popular in Japan. "Getting around all four bases" to improve customer's satisfaction and repeat business was made easy to understand in a baseball context.
The seminar also involved role playing and audience involvement, a process unfamiliar to the Japanese. Rechnitz said that practicing the skill is important. "This is no different in the United States or Japan. Practice helps," she said.
A similar seminar has been scheduled for late summer in Osaka, Japan.
Jim Welsh III has been appointed regional sales manager for Realstar and will cover the states of Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska and Kansas.
Prior to joining Realstar, Welsh was the regional manager for Seitz Chemicals. He will be based in Louisiana for Realstar, which has its North American headquarters in Maryland. The company makes drycleaning machines for perc, GreenEarth and DF 2000 in capacities ranging from 35 to 95 pounds.
Ron Velli has been appointed director of technical operations for Multimatic Corp.
He has been responsible for overseeing the installation and servicing of Multimatic shop Star and Legend machines and the company's models for textile rental and industrial laundries.
In his new position, Velli will also be involved in training the service departments of distributor eternizations. He will conduct service seminars to assure quality standards are maintained where Multimatic machines are installed.
Velli also will be responsible for new and innovative engineering changes in the company's product line and he will establish a "hot line" to provide assistance to service personnel in the field.
Multimatic Corp. manufactures Shop Star and Legend drycleaning machines in capacities ranging from 30 to 75 pounds. The company also produces specialized drycleaning machines for textile rental and industrial laundries.
Hamilton Engineering has moved its headquarters to Westland, MI, to meet the increasing demand for production space. All inventory, final product, stand, water treatment and manifold production will be located at the new site as will all corporate personnel.
The new address is 5800 Commerce Dr., Westland, MI 48185.
Phone numbers are (800) 968-5530 (toll free) and (734) 419-0200. The fax number is (734) 419-0209 . The company's web site is www.hamiltonengineering.com.
Hamilton Engineering is entering its third decade of providing the laundry industry with water heating packages, water treatment systems and technical services.
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