It could simply be because he has a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology, or it could be due to the fact that he has trained 18 years to become a Fourth Degree Black Belt in Okinawan Shorin Ryu Karate. Either way, Dave Silliman isn't afraid to deal with angry customers at the front counter of his plant, Uptowne Drycleaning, located in the heart of Phoenix, AZ.
"I have no problem dealing with anybody at the counter," Dave explained. "I keep relatively calm. I can handle almost any situation."
Part of the reason for Dave's confidence stems from the fact that his family has been in the cleaning industry for over 80 years. A lot of valuable lessons have been passed down from generation to generation and Dave recognizes that the best drycleaners are the ones who arm themselves with information and actually care about the final result.
"You can't believe how many people are in business that don't have a clue on how the system works," he said. "If something is lost or ruined, they don't know that there is a life expectancy on garments. They'll replace a ten-year-old pair of pants with a new pair of pants. There are too many people in this business anymore who inherit $20,000 and go buy a drycleaners. Well, that doesn't make them a drycleaner and that doesn't mean they know the system."
About a year ago, Dave launched a web site (www.drycleandave.com) in order to provide a medium for people to obtain helpful drycleaning information. "I get calls from other drycleaners, as well as many questions from my customers and what I tried to do was to put a web site together that was informative to both consumers and other drycleaners who can raise the bar for this industry. The better we all are, the better it is for all of us," Dave said.
The nickname and domain name "Dryclean Dave" originated from a cleaning supplier who recognized how Dave was always passing along his knowledge of the industry to others.
"I get questions every day from all over the world," he noted. "I get questions from Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom...all over the United States. I get questions from consumers who have had a problem with a drycleaner. I get questions from consumers who have spots on their clothes, and I get questions from other drycleaners. That's exactly what I had wanted."
By the time Dave was born in 1951 in Allentown, PA, his family was already deeply rooted in the industry. They had started a chain of plants known as Mary MacIntosh that had proven successful for several decades with stores in Florida and all throughout eastern Pennsylvania.
Dave's father, Neil, began working in the industry driving routes when he was 18 years old. Dave continued the tradition by working for his father at Mary MacIntosh after school. However, Dave was a dreamer who wanted to write songs and play his guitar or be a clinical psychiatrist some day. Drycleaning was not his first choice.
When Dave was accepted and ready to go to Penn State University, his father informed him that the family was moving to Arizona because he had accepted a management position at Maroney's Cleaners.
Dave opted to move to Arizona with the family and pursued a psychology degree at Arizona State University. To support his way through college, he worked with American Express as a credit authorizer for the next few years.
By 1975, Dave's father had purchased Uptowne Drycleaning and eventually persuaded Dave to join the family business. Over the years, the two managed to work together well despite the generation gap.
"I drive my father nuts sometimes. He drives me nuts sometimes, but we've been successful all these years," Dave said. "He kind of tones me down when I'm being aggressive in certain situations and I try to carry him when he's had enough in other situations so the combination's really good."
Dave also works closely with his three younger sisters: Patty works at the plant; Carol does the business's bookwork; and Ellen spends her summer break from teaching school to help out at Uptowne Drycleaning.
One lesson that Dave learned long ago from his grandfather Vian Silliman was that it is extremely important to promote a high level of quality within the industry.
"My grandfather started the Bureau of Laundry and Drycleaning Standards in 1960 with an associate named Peggy Dwyer. You could join the bureau and they would send out test bundles to your place without anyone knowing it and then grade you on your quality. He had clients all over the country," Dave recalled.
Though the bureau disbanded in the 1960s after his grandfather passed away, Dave carries on the tradition of trying to improve the industry one e-mail at a time. "I love to get up every morning," he said. "When my alarm goes off, I jump out of bed and rush out to the computer before I come down to this 12-hour-a-day job."
In addition to responding to questions submitted on his web site, Dave also communicates actively on the Fabricare Forum. In fact, he has enjoyed the Fabricare Forum so much that he has started his own Dryclean Dave Forum.
"I'm hoping that local drycleaners will get involved," he said. "If they have a question, they'll ask it on the Internet and maybe be less bashful or less apprehensive than if they had to call."
A big factor in Uptowne Drycleaning's success is the fact that Dave and his father have spent a lot of time at the spotting board and know their way around stains. All those years of experience make the Sillimans confident that they clean clothes as well as anyone else in the country. In fact, that confidence is backed up with a guarantee.
"You can wear the clothes off of our hangers, I guarantee," Dave said. "I guarantee another thing: if I can't get the spot out, then it's not coming out. I would never hesitate to return someone's money if they weren't happy for any reason."
In Dave's opinion, spotting isn't something that can be mastered quickly or easily. "It's just years of experience in this business that you know what you're doing," he explained. "I'm almost 50 years old and I've been doing this since I was 16, getting little spots in the drycleaning room and on the drycleaning board. My dad would show me this and that. I've had a steady diet of it for 25 years."
Within the greater Phoenix area, Dave estimates that there are about 420 drycleaners, which makes for quite a competitive atmosphere.
In order to make Uptowne Drycleaning stand apart from other plants, the Sillimans have proactively managed their business.
In addition to being long-standing members of the Western States Drycleaners and Launderers Association and the International Fabricare Institute, they also belong to the Better Business Bureau.
The hard work and high quality standards have also been noticed by a clientele that needs to look good. "We have always been a quality shop. I have a lot of profile people as customers here, like John McCain -- I was almost drycleaner to the president," Dave laughed. "Jerry Colangelo (owner of the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Phoenix Suns) is one of our customers. We get people who go on TV that have to look good. They don't care how much they pay for shirts. They just have to make sure that when they come off the hanger, they can wear them."
Dave takes pride in the fact that Uptowne's reputation helps the business to keep growing. "We have no coupons. Everything is 100% -- no discounts. We never advertise. We don't have to," Dave pointed out. "Our advertising is word of mouth."
Running a drycleaning plant and working the spotting board is enough to keep anybody busy, but Dave also has to find time for his wife, Darlene, and their five children: Chris, Natalie, Lindsey, Neil and Holly.
Though Dave is happy to have the opportunity to help a lot of people, he isn't sure he would like to see a fourth generation of the family enter into the industry. Dave used his son as an example: "I'm in this business and I work 65 hours a week. I don't want my son coming in here. I don't want him to have to work so hard his whole life. As far as for your son wanting a 60-hour-a-week-hot-labor job, I think I would want more for him, but it's up to him."
Another fear for Dave is that the future of the industry isn't secure. "It used to be that this business was competent people. Anymore it's just people who are trying to make money and it's a shame, but that is what it has become," he noted. "I can't tell you that I know a handful of people that know what they're doing on the spotting board out of all the cleaners that are here in Phoenix. Other people tell me the same thing."
Still, Dave doesn't believe in giving up. It just simply isn't in his nature. "I've never missed a day of work," he said. "My parents are strictly blue collar people and you don't miss work. So, I'm just working day to day. We do the best we can every day."
He also plans to continue to help others do the best they can every day. "I always thought that there was a reason that I came back into this business and maybe it's to help people out," he said. "I'm just trying to raise the level for anybody."
Dependable Cleaners of Quincy, MA, has appointed Elizabeth Fontaine Symynkywicz as human resources coordinator.
She will be responsible for all human resources duties and will be involved in all employee matters, including recruitment and training.
Symynkywicz has extensive experience in managing retail operations, including four years as an assistant store manager for Boston Baby where she played a key role in scheduling, payroll, drafting monthly reports, hiring and assisting in performance reviews.
She also worked for several years at Kitchen Etc. and Focus Associates working in various positions.
"Elizabeth's extensive experience in field operations and training will be key ingredients in the successes of Dependable Cleaners employees and this company," said Christa Hagearty, president of Dependable Cleaners.
Suprema is conducting a contest to locate the oldest operating Suprema machine in the United States and Canada. The owner of the oldest machine will win a brand new Suprema drycleaning machine.
In all, Suprema will be awarding four prizes in an upcoming drawing. The contest is not limited to owners. Entrants who do not own a Suprema machine will be eligible for the other prizes, too, which include a new Suprema drycleaning machine, a trip for two to Italy for one week and a trip for two to Las Vegas, NV., for one week.
Contest entries will be sent in the mail. They are also available by calling Suprema's main office in Chicago, (866) 597-6559, which also has more information and the official rules for the contest. Winners will be announced at the Clean 2001 show in New Orleans.
Bud Harrington has been appointed director of technical services for Realstar USA. Harrington will develop and maintain the technical support services and quality control of Realstar products for distributors and customers in the United States.
Harrington, a native of New York state, brings over 15 years of industry experience to Realstar having held service positions on the manufacturing level at VIC Manufacturing. He is knowledgeable in all aspects of electronics and pneumatics and has a certified refrigeration license.
Realstar, a supplier of drycleaning machines with principal headquarters in Owings Mills, MD, produces a range of machines compatible with perc, hydrocarbon, GreenEarth and emerging solvents.
Additional information about Realstar may be obtained by calling (888) 822-7827 or visiting the company's website: www.realstar.itgo.com.
AmeriCleaners.com has announced new associates in Atlanta, GA, and Seattle, WA.
JDT Enterprises, under the ownership of Patrick Bentley, has joined the AmeriCleaners network in Atlanta. With facilities in Cobb County, the company will cover the metropolitan Atlanta area. The firm has been in operation in Georgia since the 1950s.
Joining the network in Seattle is Stadium Cleaners which was founded in 1942 and is now owned by the Borrows family and managed by Bill Borrows.
AmeriCleaners is building a nationwide network of brick-and mortar cleaners united through the Internet. It was launched in August 2000 by Mike Ghazvini, Peyman Rafii and Sherry Huffman who took their existing drycleaning business, Beach Cleaners, and began offering on-line pick-up and delivery to the San Francisco Bay area as SiliconValleyCleaners.com
AmeriCleaners.com associates now operate in Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, San Diego, Ventura, and Orange counties in Southern California and San Mateo, Alameda and Contra Costa counties in Northern California.
"We are looking to network with established drycleaners who want to create an online presence without the hassle or extra investment of putting together their own individual website," said Peyman Rafii, chief technology officer and vice president of business development and marketing.
For more information, contact Rafii at (650) 298-9900 or visit the web site at www.AmeriCleaners.com.
Rex Carrigan and Barbara Trotter have joined Methods for Management, the industry consulting firm based in Gig Harbor, WA.
Carrigan brings a background in drycleaning route management and sales and will be conducting MFM's new route training program at cleaners' sites. In 11 years in the drycleaning industry, he helped build a route business that grew in annual sales from $400,000 to $1.8 million.
Trotter will provide administrative support fort the route program.
MFM has been serving the drycleaning industry for 46 years with staff consultants who provide expertise in family and strategic planning, finance, personnel, marketing and production. The firm also coordinates 14 management bureaus in 42 states and on three continents. For more information, call (253) 851-6327 or visit the MFM Web Site: www.mfmi.com.
Rick Keiser is the new regional sales manager for Liberty Pittsburgh Systems Midatlantic territory. His background includes plant ownership in Virginia Beach, VA, and sales experience with waste management. He holds a bachelors degree from Indiana University.
After completing his training, he will cover Maryland, Washington, Virginia, North and South Carolina and the District of Columbia.
Keiser can be reached at (800) 345-1333 or (757) 619-0061.
Jack Alquist, owner of Guild Cleaners in Lodi, CA, received an Environmental Stewardship Award from GreenEarth Cleaning for his work in pioneering the development and introduction of the new solvent.
Guild Cleaners was certified as a national beta site for the GreenEarth solvent in 1999. Alquist was honored at an outdoor award ceremony that was part of a multi-city nationwide tour in which cleaners who have switched to GreenEarth are honored. Alquist is the fifth cleaner to receive the award.
Attendees at the ceremony included local and state political officials along with representative of GreenEarth and GE Silicones. Alquist received a commendation from California Gov. Gray Davis for "his hard work and education to professional excellence" and making a positive impact "by helping to provide environmentally friendly drycleaning services."
Ron Benjamin, a drycleaner and the managing director of GreenEarth Cleaning, commented, "As the former president of IFI and an environmentally conscious drycleaner, Jack Alquist remains a leader in the drycleaning industry."
Alquist owns and operates two stores in Lodi that have been family-owned for more than 50 years. He provides free home and office pick-up and delivery service along with same-day service.
Participants at the ceremony at Guild Cleaners included Mark Steven, GE Silicones; Steve Sadler, Ron Benjamin and Jim Douglas of GreenEarth Cleaning (presenting the award to Alquist); Nicole Goehring of Rep. Richard Pombo's office; and Keith Land, Lodi City Council member.
More information on GreenEarth cleaning is available at the company's web site: www.greenearthcleaning.com.
The Uniform and Textile Service Association (UTSA) has joined the electronic product code initiative (ePC) which represents the next generation of radio-frequency identification (RFID).
The technology is under development at the Auto-ID center for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
The ePC alliance is a coalition of not-for-profit groups that, together with for-profit companies, supports the center's efforts through education, advocacy and industry guidance.
UTSA believe the new technology could revolutionize textile inventory management, tracking and distribution systems.
Jim Vandreuil, former chairman of the UTSA Information Technology committee and secretary/treasurer of the association, sad "Many in the industry are experimenting with various kinds of RFID chops, but most have run across cost as an issue.
"The technology under development at MIT would decrease the cost of the chip to a more affordable level by creating a more optimal design and UTSA is working with the Center to ensure that the design is compatible with laundry systems."
The ePC is a numbering scheme that can provide unique identification for physical objects, assemblies and systems. Information is not stored directly within the code on an RFID chip or even a local area network. Rather the code serves as a reference for networked or Internet-based information.
In the textile service industry, this technology might be applied to streamline sorting, expedite production and simplify packaging and delivery. A sling of garments can be read remotely, and the wash process can start automatically with the proper wash chemical formula.
Route sorting is simplified because the readers can track the garments through the process. Inventory management is improved by allowing for complete, electronic tracking of garments (i.e., times worn, times process, dates in and out of service, etc.).
Electronic verification of garment delivery and pickup at the customer location can assist in invoicing and customer satisfaction.
Procter & Gamble, The Gillette Co., and Uniform Code Council/EAN International established the Audo-ID center in October 1999. Since then the coalition has grown and includes Philip Morris, International Paper, National Cash Register, Wal-Mart, the Food Marketing Institute, the National Association of Chain Drug Store and Auto-ID Manufacturers.
Dave Clarke, president of Magic Wardrobe Automatic Garment Systems of Belleville, Ontario, and Don Vollmer, president of Magic Wardrobe of Seattle, WA, jointly announced the signing of a five-year distribution agreement with RIGHT CO. Ltd. of Tokyo to sell Magic Wardrobe Automated Depot machine in Japan
The machine, similar to an ATM bank machine, uses robotics to let customers drop-off and pick-up laundry and drycleaning. RIGHT, a supplier to the Asian fabric care industry and a member the Japan Fabricare Research Center, initially ordered 10 Magic Wardrobe for shipment to Japan in August. Kenji Nakamura, president of both RIGHT and the JFRC, believes Japan is a good country for the Magic Wardrobe because of its space and time-saving benefits.
There are currently five Magic Wardrobe installations in the United States; the first went into service in May 2000.
More information is available on the company's web site: www.magicwardrobe.com.
Stanley P. Komins has joined the staff of Norton Supply Co. of Providence, RI, as senior sales representative.
Komins will represent Norton Supply in the Greater Boston market, including the North Shore, South Shore and Boston.
He brings knowledge and experience gained in more than 40 years of service to the industry. He was president of Craig Supply, headquartered in Durham, NH, in the late 1970s and 1980s and was general manager for Craig's successor, Sterling Supply, in the New England market. Most recently he held a managerial position for the John Danais Co. of Manchester, NH.
He can be reached through Norton's office, (800) 869-7664.
Christine Morrissey, president of National Gown Cleaners, had an article published in The Jewish Exponent bridal supplement. The article gave advice on finding a gown cleaners, going through the various stages of the cleaning process and how to store and preserve a gown.
Morrissey's company specializes in difficult to clean gowns, historical fabrics, textile restoration, preservation and archival products for conservation and restoration. The company has headquarters in Campbell, CA, and offices in Switzerland, Taiwan and Japan. National Gown Cleaners is open to the public by appointment only on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The company web site is www.nationalgown.com.
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