I was asked by Howie Katzman of Metropolitan Equipment Company to evaluate the effectiveness of a new alternative solvent.
I told Mr. Katzman that my testing will he based on the practical application of the solvent.
This means that the solvent must be easy to prespot with, remove soil and stains, and must not have adverse effects on fabrics, color and trimmings.
With a basket full of garments I spent a great deal of time evaluating the use of the solvent.
The results and evaluations I submitted to them are as follows.
Independent Report
| Solvent | PureDry |
| Use | Textile garment |
| cleaning | |
| Color | Clear |
| Odor | Slight |
| Detergent | None |
| Sizing | None |
| Prespotting | Amyl acetate, |
| leveling agents, | |
| dryside prespotters, | |
| silk prespotters, | |
| volatile dry solvents, | |
| oily-type paint removal. | |
| Dry cleaning | |
| system | Realstar HSK 340 |
Evaluation of fabrics
Fabrics
Wool: good hand and feel.
Acetate: safe.
Vinyl: safe, no loss of plasticizer, good hand and feel.
Polyurethane: safe, nor affected.
Coated fabrics: safe, no loss or transfer of coating.
Rayon: no shrinkage or wrinkling.
Pigment print: no loss of color.
Angora/wool: good hand and feel.
Spandex blended: no shrinkage or dye bleeding.
Pleated rayon: no wrinkling or loss of pleat.
Satin: no breaks or loss of luster.
Suede: no color loss or stiffening.
Leathers: no color loss or stiffening.
Denim: no dye crocking or loss of feel.
Beaded trimming: mostly safe depending on bead material.
Notes: The wools, denims and silks were steamed and pressed. We observed good crease, drape and fabric memory retention.
Prespotting agents
These agents can be used successfully on all types of fabrics when cleaning with PureDry dry cleaning solvent.
Cleaning results on grease and soil is excellent. Setting of stains is dramatically reduced as the evaporation rate of this solvent produces quick, low-temperature drying of fabric.
Concluding remarks
PureDry dry cleaning solvent appears to be very promising for the drycleaner considering:
Dan Eisen was chief garment analyst for the Neighborhood Cleaners Association for 33 years He is available for seminars, consultations and independent garment analysis. He also has published a book, "The Art of Spotting," which is an indexed compilation of articles he wrote for National Clothesline and NCA over the past three decades. He can be reached at (561) 340-0909. His address is 274 NW Toscane Trail, Port St. Lucie, FL 34986.
This series continues with a subject that is of vital importance to the production capability of our plant: properties of steam and steam traps.
These critical little devices have several important functions, e.g.:
Definitions of steam-related terms
Before the discussion of the functions and types of steam traps, there are several steam-related terms which should be first defined:
Saturated Steam: Pure steam at the temperature that corresponds to the boiling temperature of water at the existing pressure.
Absolute Pressure: Steam pressure in pounds per square inch (psi) above a perfect vacuum.
Gauge Pressure: Steam pressure in pounds per square inch (psig) above atmospheric pressure and is 14.7 pounds per square inch (psi) less than absolute pressure.
Pressure-Temperature Relationship: For every pressure of steam, there is a corresponding temperature, e.g.:
Gauge Steam Temp. Pressure Degrees F. 10 240 15 250 20 259 25 267 30 274 40 287 50 298 60 308 70 316 80 324 90 331 100 338 110 344 120 350 125 353
Latent Heat or Heat of Vaporization: The amount of heat (BTUs) required to change a pound of water into a pound of steam. This same amount of heat is released when a pound of steam is condensed back into a pound of water. This heat quantity is different for every pressure-temperature combination.
The important point here is that the higher the steam pressure used, the less energy it requires. This means that once we have spent extra money to reach the higher pressure we need, we then begin to save some energy money. For users of hot water, this is a very important point since preheating our cold city water with hot condensate from our steam traps will save live steam used for the final heating of the water to the required temperature.
Flash Steam: Hot return condensate or boiler water, under pressure, which is released to a lower pressure and part of it is re-evaporated. This flash steam is important because it contains heat units which can be utilized for economy of plant operation, especially through use of a heat exchanger to preheat incoming city water.
Flash steam is formed when water is heated at atmospheric pressure and its temperature rises until it reaches 212 degrees F, the highest temperature at which water can exist at this pressure. Further addition of heat does not raise the temperature, but it converts the water to steam.
Sensible Heat: The heat absorbed by the water in raising its temperature to boiling point.
British Thermal Unit (BTU): The amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one pound of water one degree F at atmospheric pressure.
If water is heated under pressure, the boiling point is higher than 212° F, so the sensible heat required is greater. Since every steam pressure has a corresponding water boiling temperature, at this temperature, the water contains a fixed and known amount of heat.
The higher the pressure, the higher the boiling temperature and the higher the heat content. If pressure is reduced, heat content is reduced and water temperature falls to the boiling temperature at the new pressure. This means that a certain amount of sensible heat is released. This excess heat will be absorbed in the form of latent heat, causing part of the water to "flash" into steam.
Effect of steam in temperature
When a pan of cold water is placed over a fire, the temperature of the water rises until the water begins to boil. After the boiling point is reached, no further rise in temperature takes place; heat from the fire is absorbed in changing water into steam. The heat absorbs the water in changing into steam and is known as the latent (hidden) heat because the temperature is unchanged. Although the heat increases as the steam again changes into water, or condenses, this latent heat is given up. This makes possible the uses of steam-heated equipment for the finishing of drycleaning and laundry garments, etc.
As long as the constant steam pressure is maintained within the press, or other steam-heated equipment, the temperature of the equipment will not change because heat units leaving the equipment are replaced by heat units given up by the condensing steam. Air at the same temperature as steam could not be used for heating equipment because as soon as the air delivers heat to the unit, the temperature of the air and unit would fall, since steam per unit of volume contains more BTUs (British Thermal Units) than air of the same temperature.
Effects of air on temperature
The presence of air in steam-heated units greatly reduces the finishing capacity and drying capability of those units even though the steam pressure on the unit is correct. Also, the temperatures of saturated steam vary directly with the steam pressure. When air is mixed with steam the effect on steam temperature is just the same as a reduction of steam pressure.
The chart below shows the temperature loss caused by varying percentages of air at pressures ranging from 60 to 100 pounds. Near pressures of 100 pounds, a simple rule to remember is that 10 percent, by volume of air, will reduce the temperature of heat delivery capacity of the steam about as much as though the pressure were dropped 10 percent.
Temperature Loss Due to Air-Saturated Steam
Pounds Gauge Temp. no Air 10% Air 20% Air 30% Pressure air present 60.3 307.6 300.5 292.7 284.1 70.3 316.3 309.0 301.0 292.1 80.3 324.1 316.7 308.5 299.5 90.3 331.4 323.8 315.4 306.3 100.3 338.1 330.3 321.0 312.4
The elimination of the condensate from a machine is simple when compared with the problem of eliminating air. The force of gravity causes condensate to flow to the lowest point of the unit, from which it is easily drained. Air, however, will remain mixed with the steam, or partially fill part of the steam chamber, coil or chest in the particular piece of equipment unless means are provided for handling the total volume of entrapped air promptly.
Therefore, this trapped air must be eliminated promptly and completely. If a steam chamber, coil or chest fails to pass all the air that comes to it, it does not give the service that can be obtained and, therefore, fails in its purpose. In some cases, the installation of an air eliminator has solved the problem of reduced temperature in the steam cavity caused by air pockets. Chests of flatwork ironers and steam enclosures of stills are likely areas for air accumulation, although laundry hot head presses must be completely clear of air in order to get the full benefit of maximum heat radiation through the wet garment and into the padding of the buck.
In addition to the air, carbon dioxide (CO2) must also be removed from the equipment. During equipment startup, air is always present both in the equipment and in the boiler feed water. In addition, this feed water may contain carbonates that dissolve and release carbon dioxide gas. The drainage problem, therefore, involves more that just condensate removal since the air and CO2 must also be promptly cleared from the system. Air, with its excellent insulating properties can "plate out" on heat transfer surfaces as steam condenses and greatly reduce efficiency. Under certain conditions, as little as 0.5 percent, by volume, of air in steam can reduce this heat transfer efficiency by 50 percent.
A corrosion problem exists when CO2 gas is released in the boiler and travels with the steam. It can dissolve in condensate that has cooled below steam temperature and form carbonic acid. This acid is extremely corrosive and will eventually "eat through" piping and coils. If oxygen is able to enter the system, it can cause a pitting of iron and steel surfaces.
Condensate removal
The water of condensation must be removed from your equipment as fast as it forms. Failure to remove condensate causes a very rapid falling off of the heat delivery capacity of the equipment. Water of condensation also acts as an insulator, preventing the rapid transfer of heat from the steam to the surface of the machine.
It may seem that the easy way to remove this condensate is to open a relief valve at the lowest point on the machine and allow the condensate to blow to the atmosphere or return line. Simplicity is really the only merit found in this method. It is impossible to crack a valve so that all condensate will be eliminated, and at the same time, no steam escape.
Even if it were possible to adjust for certain conditions, the varying demand for heat on the machine causes a proportional variation in the amount of condensation that a cracked valve has to handle. This makes it necessary to adjust it constantly in order to insure perfect drainage without loss of steam. Cracking a valve causes excessive wear or wire drawing, due to the fine particles of moisture entrained with the steam. This requires frequent removal of valves, which is very expensive.
"Water hammer" is not only annoying, but it can shorten the life of coils, valve, pipe joints, etc. The water hammer is caused by hot steam coming in contact with condensate that has cooled below the temperature of steam. Condensate allowed to collect in pipes or tubes is blown into waves by steam passing over it until it blocks steam flow in one or more areas of the pipe or coil. Condensation contained in areas beyond the point of blockage causes a pressure differential that allows steam pressure to push the slug of condensate along like a battering ram to cause water hammer.
Obviously, condensate in the coil of your pressing machine head or dryer takes up space and, in effect, reduces the physical size and capacity of the equipment which must be kept full of steam.
In order to remove condensate without loss of live steam and all the undesirables mentioned above, automatically controlled valves called "steam traps" are used. Steam traps are classified according to the means employed for operating the discharge valves. There are many types of traps; however, the ones usually found in drycleaning and laundry plants are: inverted bucket, thermostatic, and impulse (disc) traps.
Types of steam traps
Inverted bucket trap. The bucket trap hangs with its open end down over the inlet in the center of the bottom of the trap. Water entering the trap at the bottom flows into the bucket, then around the bottom of it and up and out through the valve. Since the outlet of the trap is at the top, the body must be full of water before any water is discharged.
When the unit is drained of water, steam enters the trap. Steam raises the bucket, displacing the water, which flows out the discharge. When enough steam has accumulated within the bucket to give it buoyancy, the bucket rises quickly, closing the valve and preventing a further discharge. The bucket is so weighted that it will rise when about two-thirds full of steam.
As steam in the bucket is condensed, its volume is reduced. Then, either steam or water enters the bucket to take the place of the steam that has been condensed. If steam enters, it merely rises up into the bucket. If water enters, the buoyancy of the bucket becomes less as steam is condensed, until finally the buoyancy is overcome by the weight of the bucket. The bucket sinks, and through a means of compound leverage, quickly opens the valve through which the water is discharged.
This completes the cycle of the operation which is repeated alternately as steam and water enter the trap. The bucket contains a small vent which allows air and carbon dioxide gas to be released and collect at the top of the trap. Keep the top clean to avoid clogging the vent.
Thermostatic trap. Thermostatic traps operate by means of a thermal element -- usually in the form of a corrugated bellows, liquid expansion element or bimetallic element. All of these react to changes in temperature to open the valve when the trap is handling cool condensate, and to close it when handling hot condensate or steam. Some of these traps have an adjustment to control the temperature of the condensate discharge, and are called "liquid expansion thermostatic traps.".
The trap functions with uniform efficiency from vacuum to 100 pounds. The trap will lift the discharge two feet vertical height for every pound pressure in the trap after the first five pounds..
Disc trap. Condensate and air entering the trap pass through the heating chamber, around the control chamber and through the inlet orifice. This flow lifts the disc off the inlet orifice, allowing the condensate to flow through the outlet passages..
When steam reaches the disc, increased flow velocity across the face of the disc reduces pressure at this point and increases pressure in the control chamber, and the disc closes the orifice. Controlled bleeding of steam from the control chamber causes the trap to open. If condensate is present, it will be discharged. The trap re-closes in the presence of steam and then continues to cycle at a controlled rate..
Size of the trap. Trap manufacturers have compiled information giving sizes required for draining various steam-heated equipment and header pipes found in the drycleaning and laundry plant. For this very reason, it is advisable to refer to the manufacturer's handbook and catalog to make sure that your installer is using the right size for each piece of equipment and at the middle and end of the steam headers.
In choosing the size of a trap, there are a number of things to consider. In the morning when the steam is first turned, there is a great amount of condensate.
At such times, the trap valves will remain open, and there will be a constant flow of condensate until the equipment is hot. When the maximum load is on the trap, its capacity will depend upon the size of the discharge valve.
After the warming up period, the trap will begin its intermittent discharging. The wear on the trap is due to this intermittent dumping; therefore, the larger the size of the trap, the less wear on the moving parts in the course of given time. Since the individual traps are piped into a main return line going to a receiver, it is essential that there be a decided drop in pressure from the steam inlet side to the discharge side of the trap.
Installing the traps
Steam headers, ideally, should be line-trapped before a pressure regulating valve since the steam trap works better under very little differential of steam pressure, especially the inverted bucket trap. The other end of the steam header carrying a reduced steam pressure would be trapped also.
Exceptionally long runs of steam header pipe should be line-trapped about every 40 feet. Trapping the steam header assures that any carry-over (boiler water and solids) be removed from the steam in addition to condensate.
Make sure that the header trap is large enough to carry the load connected to the boiler (in pounds per hour) plus a small safety factor. The size of the return header should be large enough to carry the condensate back to the condensate receiving tank with no obstruction or pressure loss due to friction, etc. Provision for draining the header should be provided.
Always install the steam trap a little below the equipment to be drained. The trap should have a strainer. Check valve and union between the trap and the return header.
A shut-off valve before the trap and after the check valve and union is recommended for removal during working hours. Another check valve should be installed just before the riser nipple (horizontally) at the return header and which is pitched toward the flow of condensate toward the boiler room.
Two 45 degree Ts should be used to get the angle pitch toward the flow of condensate. To install the check valve only at the discharge end of the trap would not keep the take off pipe from filling with condensate from the return header which could hinder the trap's discharge. Since the steam header should be sloped one inch for every ten feet of run toward the end of the trapped header, the condensate return header should be sloped the same angle toward the boiler room. If possible, during initial construction of the plant, place the return header beneath, or near, the floor with the same pitch toward the boiler room.
The reason for the pitch is obvious: When the steam in the header turns to water (after shut down), it will flow by gravity through the header traps and back to the condensate receiver tank. Otherwise, you would stand the chance of overfilling the boiler thus resulting in "siphoning."
Testing and replacing the bucket trap
When installing a bucket steam trap, you should remove the drain plug and install a close nipple and globe valve so that the trap can be blown out under steam pressure at least weekly. Some bucket traps have a "test plug" on top. It is recommended that the plug be removed and a short nipple, ell, another short nipple, a globe valve and a close nipple be installed. This arrangement will give you a quick test to determine whether the trap is discharging condensate intermittently or is "blowing through" steam continuously. Inverted bucket traps equipped with a test valve can be tested by closing the shut-off valve downstream from the trap to isolate it from the rest of the condensate line, allowing a true test to be made.
If there is intermittent discharge from the test valve, the trap is functioning properly. If dribble or semi-continuous discharge occurs, the trap is all right. This type of discharge is caused by air mixed with the steam, or it may indicate a light condensate load. Continuous steam blow indicates the trap is not functioning properly, and it should be repaired or replaced as soon as possible.
Another method of testing is the use of a pyrometer which is a quick observation and comparison of the trap's inlet and outlet temperatures. A pyrometer is really a thermometer with a thermal couple as the sensing device.
First, find a clean spot on both the inlet and discharge line about six inches from the trap. If the discharge line temperature is nearly as high as the inlet temperature, the trap is blowing through.
Another test is to listen for the intermittent pulsation. A stethoscope is available for this test, but other noises and vibrations in the plant can negate the accuracy of this type of test.
Wax crayons are available for testing traps. These crayons will melt at the temperature of the steam being generated (refer to the steam pressure-temperature chart in this article).
Assuming we have the correct wax crayon for this temperature, it should melt on the inlet side of the trap, but not on the discharge line. This test is not satisfactory since it does not provide for various steam pressures in the plant, i.e.,what is on the boiler is not always on the particular equipment.
Every effort should be made to install the trap below and as close as possible to the steam-heated equipment drained by the trap. Such placement gives gravity drainage of condensate to the trap. It increases the capacity of the trap by adding the static head of the condensate to the pressure of the steam.
By keeping lengths of inlet and outlet nipples identical for traps of a given size and type, a spare trap with identical fittings and half unions can be kept in the tool/parts room. In the event a trap needs repair or replacement, it is a simple matter to break the unions, remove the bad trap, put in the spare and tighten the unions.
The faulty trap can then be repaired in the shop and be on hand to replace the next failed trap. Trap removal can be expedited by installing the unions at right angles, not inline.
In other words, the union at the trap's inlet would be just after the shut-off valve horizontally, and the union after the trap's outlet on the nipple of the el turning downward (just before the outlet shut-off valve) would be at right angles to each other. The trap must be accessible for inspection, repair or replacement. A trap in an "out-of-the-way place" is usually neglected and allowed to get into poor condition.
Possible fuel savings
Saving dollars on energy by insulating pipes, tanks, etc., was discussed at length in my May column. Therefore, this month's column deals with fuel savings through proper inspection, maintenance and installation of steam traps and condensate removal.
If the atmospheric vent line of your condensate tank looks like a spewing geyser, you are wasting a large amount of fuel. There should be an occasional puff of condensation from this vent, but a constant stream indicates faulty traps are increasing you fuel bill.
A trap that is functioning correctly will waste very little steam while removing the condensate from equipment. In many cases, malfunctioning steam traps load the return system with enough steam to cause steam binding of the condensate return pump. Temperatures of 180° F to 190° F are considered ideal for the condensate to be pumped to the boiler. Malfunctioning traps will raise this temperature easily to 212° F; thus, the pump is unable to pump the vapor to the boiler since it can only pump water. The pump can easily become "vapor locked."
This is the same condition as when the check valves on the pump's discharge line become faulty, and the steam is backing up into the pump instead of being held back into the boiler. That is the reason for installing two check valves on the pump's discharge line: one spring-loaded type and one swing-type with a Teflon seat. Also, a thermometer on the return tank (lower half) is strongly recommended to quickly catch an overheated condensate situation.
Increasing production of finished laundry
An inverted bucket trap with a lower steam pressure rating contains a larger discharge orifice than a trap with a higher steam pressure rating. My personal experience in laundry finishing units for jeans, dockers and shirts was in the use of an 80 psig rated trap for steam pressures of 110 psig to 120 psig instead of the 125 psig rated trap. The lower rated trap kept the pressing machine hotter by discharging the condensate more rapidly than the higher rated trap.
I used the flash steam in a heat exchanger to preheat the incoming city water which was stored in an insulated tank controlled by a thermostatic steam valve and second heat exchanger. When the water temperature dropped below the desired temperature in the storage tank, the steam valve opened for only a very short burst and the circulating pump sent the water through the steam-heated exchanger and back to the original storage tank. Most of the time, especially in the spring, summer and fall, I used hardly no steam to heat my water.
The 80 psig, the 100 psig and the 125 psig traps are similar in strength and design except for the discharge orifice which is larger in the lower rated traps in proportion to the rating. In other words, the 80 psig is larger than the 100 psig, and the 100 psig is larger than the 125 psig.
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 available in English, Korean (video only) and Spanish (video only) from the Golomb Group, c/o Dennis McCrory, 7664 Plaza Court, Willowbrook, IL 60521; phone (800) 679-5856.
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 all of the background technical material required to produce a professional spotter. Each method of spot removal is thoroughly discussed and demonstrated. Bleaching and use of digesters are explained in addition to basic textile chemistry.
Also available from Golomb Group, in English and Spanish (video only) is my video on step-by-step shirt finishing, which includes my comprehensive text in loose-leaf form outlining each procedure for single-operator cabinet shirt unit and two-operator cabinet shirt unit. Both units are demonstrated using a cabinet sleever and single, or triple, heated collar former. This procedure was developed by me for top quality with no touch up (regular sizes) together with maximum production without overexertion by the operators.
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 part of the 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 timing are all discussed. A unique wash formula to give whiter whites, brighter colors and complete removal of grease and body oils is included in the loose-leaf text book.
Stan Caplan has more than 35 years experience in his own high volume drycleaning, laundry and tailoring plant and two package plants with adjoining coin-operated laundry and coin drycleaning. He is a former chief instructor at the International Fabricare Institute, the Southwest Drycleaners Association School, the Florida Institute of Launderers and Cleaners School, the Illinois State Fabricare Association School, the Michigan Institute of Laundering and Drycleaning School, the Johannesburg Cleaners Association School (South Africa) and the Hyatt Regency Southeast Asia School (Singapore and Hong Kong) and numerous short courses throughout the US and Canada. Stan offers consulting, training and engineering services in all areas of the fabric care industry from customer service area to the boiler room. His unique total system encompasses maximum efficiency, economy, labor savings and product quality. Stan Can be reached at 3601 Clarks Lane, Suite 307, Baltimore, MD 21215; phone/fax (410) 358-0870; e-mail: stancap100@aol.com.
Some months ago, I covered a part of our business that constitutes over 50 percent of our volume.
That business was pants! I called Pant-astic! I was able to prove, borrowing the genius of Dave Giguere, sales manager of Hoffman/New Yorker, how, with the investment of a legger utility press in conjunction with a topper/blower an operator, working in tandem (one operator with two pieces of equipment) could achieve a minimum of 50 pants an hour.
What is amazing is that the chances of a double crease are eliminated, finishing cost per pants could be reduced to 10 cents per, and all with minimal training of an unskilled labor force!
Imagine -- all this using less energy and steam, with no lost motion, improved quality, and the biggest production "bottleneck" gone forever.
I get letters, lots and lots of letters.
Many asked additional questions, some with constructive criticism, but most praising me for having "smarts." I want to assure all I'm not so smart, but I know a lot of people who are simply "smart people." Dave Giguere is one of them!
Dave took the time to figure what was taking 50 percent of the drycleaner's effort, his time and profit, and worked out a solid but simple formula. He even took the time to calculate the "payback" for this modest investment, which is something our brother drycleaners never bother to calculate.
It looks like Dave has done it again.
How about shirts?
Since he bothered to give a true estimate on that 50 percent of our business that is pants, he decided to go through an exhaustive study and look into another phase of our business, another profit builder, which measures over 20 percent -- the shirt business.
What's important about this 20 percent number is that a good quality shirt business with dependable service, packaging, etc., has its share of profit, but only when it is in the hands of competent management.
You see, shirts are one of those steady "loyalty" parts of our business. Good affluent customers of the shirt laundry aspect are also very steady and loyal drycleaning customers. They possess expensive wardrobes, are not subject to economic downturns, and price -- so long as it is associated with value and service -- is not a determining factor to them. This all adds up to a lucrative, steady and dependable volume.
Shirt laundry customers very seldom shop around for a "better price" but return time and time again to their own steady cleaner.
Every survey shows that a shirt laundered properly, finished and packaged with care, with broken buttons replaced, and thoroughly vacuumed and dried so no puckering or wrinkles appear after it was supposedly pressed, will result in a customer who keeps returning.
You see, the purpose of shirt finishing is simple. The press has to dry the shirt as well as press it. The exact cost of doing shirts has never been accurately or carefully calculated. It might seem too small a consideration, but shirt finishing requires a higher steam pressure (usually 100 pounds as against drycleaning at 80 or 85 pounds), the cost of changing padding and the practice motion study where operators work smarter, not particularly harder.
Giguere took the most minute cost and reduced it to the finest decimal points. This was done without using wild guesses for energy costs, interest rates and realistic financing.
ROI (return on investment) is something few machinery, or manufacturing companies would dare disclose. Costs have a sneaky way of ever mounting, especially when they seem to be insignificant Those never bothering with repairs, should know the cost and value of "preventive maintenance."
We hear the fear of raising the price of a laundered shirt because of a nearby competitor. It seems too many operators have little knowledge of just what their actual true costs are, and they consider selling price only. All too often, price is used as a loss leader to attract drycleaning customers when the emphasis should be on the kind of quality they are producing.
Unfortunately, with substandard quality they soon discover that not only have they lost money on the low price but also the newly acquired customer has learned "there are no bargains, you simply get what you pay for" and chose never to return.
This is the first detailed study made of every aspect of properly pricing the true cost doing a shirt and finally knowing what avenue management should seek, before launching a "campaign for profit." The cost of acquiring a new customer can be rather expensive. Using a low price to get that customer will be a disappointing experience.
Need more information? The study can be had, at no cost, postage pre-paid, by simply writing to me directly.
Ray Colucci, a consultant to the fabric care industry, has revised and made available three timely pamphlets: "Up Front Is Where It Counts" for counter training; "Pressed for Perfection" for finishing techniques; and the popular "Route to Success" for complete route training. The pamphlets are $20 each or all three for $50. Immediate delivery with all postage paid is promised for requests sent to R. Colucci, 410 Warren Ave., Mamaroneck, NY 10543.
After lamenting about the life and times of the shirt wholesaler and his customer during the last several months, I hope that I have conveyed a few important messages.
First of all, doing shirts ain't so easy.
Second, it's even harder to be consistent.
Also, it's tough to get a fair price for your product.
This fairly tricky item, the dress shirt, is the focal point of most of the complaints to drycleaners from their customers. They are the number-one reason that customers switch from one drycleaner to another, but still they are often priced like a convenience store prices a half gallon of milk:
An attractive price for a much needed item that is basically the same whether you go here or there, all with the hope that we get the unsuspecting consumer in the door and then trick him or her into spending some of those discretionary dollars on something that they don't really need, but think that they want.
It's a high profit item, of course, and we love it! We regularly sail to Grand Cayman to deposit our huge profits into our numbered bank accounts there. We laugh all the way to the bank because we have found the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow: Easily get those clueless victims into your store under the pretense that 99-cent shirts are an unbeatable bargain, and then rape them by charging them $5.95 for a pair of pants. "Ha, ha, ha!!! I got 'em now!"
Do you think I have a sense of humor this month? I couldn't help but laugh as I type this, but I think that this convoluted thinking must have been rooted in fact at one time. At one time, it must have been profitable to do shirts for 99-cents. This ain't the time, especially, when the reward is that you get to pound the soil out of someone else's trousers and get $5.95 for it.
The real issue is, of course, that we now have been forced to price shirts at a level that keeps us in the marketplace regardless of our cost. This has evolved so much, that we now kid ourselves regarding our cost. We have found ourselves in such a whirlwind that if computing our cost yields a figure that suggests that we are losing money, then we remove items or groups of items from the equation so that the product allows us to sleep at night. We shuffle off the entire cost of rent, administrative salaries, telephone, office staff, utilities and whatever else, to the drycleaning department "'Cuz there's lots of profit there."
One day, a long, long time ago, that stopped being true and we were all asleep. Now, as intelligent, well-informed business people of the 21st century, we must come to terms with the fact that someone, somewhere along the line, dropped the ball.
Today, because I believe that in order to avoid being part of the problem, I need to be part of the solution, I will put forth a suggestion that may perhaps reverse the trend. But first, let's look at the shirt business from the consumer's point of view, shall we?
Do you know what your customers want? I hope that you do. If you've always wondered that, by the way, it's easier than you think to find out. Try this novel approach: Ask them. They will tell you. But not to suggest that you not ask them, I will tell you what they want in my own special way: They what to bring you their shirts and they want you to:
Do 'em right.
Do 'em fast.
Do 'em cheap.
For those of you who know me, I know that you're thinking "That sounds just like Don. I can hear him saying that now, 'Do 'em right, do 'em fast, do 'em cheap!'"
Well, on one level or another, that is exactly what customers want. Said a bit more eloquently: they wish to pay a minimum for good work, done in a timely manner.
Do 'em right.
Do 'em fast.
Do 'em cheap.
I say, pick two, any two. You pick them. You decide if you want to be known for higher prices, but with good work that's always done on time. You decide if want to be known for low prices, but with a trade-off that is either inferior quality or sub-standard service.
You may try to achieve speed, quality and low prices, but I believe that you will fail. You may disagree, but perhaps we have differing standards of quality, service and prices.
Don't let your customers decide which two they want. You will end up with a dizzying array of services and standards that are sure to make your head spin at the worst possible time. That doesn't mean that you shouldn't raise the bar for some items by offering "deluxe" service. It means that you shouldn't vary your standards from customer to customer.
I can't say which path you will decide to follow, but I can tell you that I have in the past, I still do now, and I will continue to choose in the future, the path that identifies me as the premium choice with the premium price tag, but with unparalleled service and quality. It is the image that I wish to portray, the path that I have chosen.
It all comes down to this: I'm not sure that we have the fortitude to raise our prices because we lack the confidence in our product (more on that next month). The trick, then, must be for us to gain that confidence in our product.
This modest proposal of mine starts with the drycleaners who are using a shirt wholesaler and, because they use a wholesaler, they may be the ones who have the least confidence in their product.
Actually, they are the ones who have the most confidence in their drycleaning and the least confidence in their shirts. They'd always tell me: "All my customers love the drycleaning, but they're picky about the shirts. My drycleaning's perfect!"
It doesn't matter if they are as full of it as a Christmas turkey. What is important is their confidence level -- how sure they are that when they hand over an order, that customer will not find anything wrong with it because it is perfect.
Hopefully, if they are doing work that is that good, whether it is an ill-begotten perception or not, they are charging appropriately for their drycleaning.
As for their shirts, well, they pay the wholesaler a dollar for the shirt and they sell it for, say, $1.75. I hope that they are confident that, with this laundry's shirts, they are giving their customer a fair value. I'll bet that there are times, though, that quality or service falters and the drycleaner is suitably perturbed.
Offer to pay more
Why don't you do this: Call your wholesaler, right now, and offer to pay more and ask what he'll do for it.
I honestly wonder what would happen if, tomorrow, drycleaners called their wholesalers and said: "I want to pay you 25 cents more per shirt. (At 2,000 shirts per week, that's over $2,000 more per month). How will you improve the quality of my shirts and the service that you provide me for that?"
The wholesaler could hire an extra person whose sole responsibility is to make sure that this customer's 2,000 shirts are top quality. If you are a wholesaler, you'd be a fool not to accept this offer. Hire Betty-Sue Fussbudget, part-time for $300 per week, and make it her sole responsibility to make 100-percent certain that the shirts for this wholesale account, Suburban Cleaners, are perfect.
Are you up to the challenge? You should be. There is even a bonus of about $100 or more per month for you.
As the retail drycleaner, you are spending more for your shirt service and you have some decisions to make. Surely, this cost will be passed on to the consumer -- that is the point.
Can you charge more?
The intent is to raise consumer prices, which is only possible when you are 100-percent confident that the price you charge is well worth it. The decision that you have to make is how and when you will pass this cost on. You can absorb it for a while, pass it along immediately or pass it along sooner or later with a premium tacked on.
The route you take depends upon what your shirts used to look like, and what they look like now. If there is a clear, visible, obvious difference (and there probably should be), then I think that passing it along, plus a bit more, immediately is perfectly acceptable.
Let's say that your wholesaler decides to stuff each collar of every shirt with tissue. The shirt oozes "attention to detail" and your customer will be certain that you were aware that there was room for improvement in the shirt area.
If your shirt wholesaler's main flaw was slow service and he fixes that for 25 cents per shirt, it may be a bit more difficult to pass that expense on to your customers immediately. It may take some time to prove to all those that you've disappointed that it isn't going to happen anymore.
You could start to treat your shirt wholesaler like a valued employee.
How about offering him/her a reward program or an incentive plan? If you get no complaints about missing buttons, then you'll give your wholesaler 5 cents per shirt more or whatever you think its worth -- $100 cash bonus. We treat the shirt wholesaler like the redheaded stepchild, but we are also delegating to him the garment that is the toughest to consistently produce correctly and the one that seems to annoy our customers the most.
What a switch it will be to have those who use a shirt wholesaler to suddenly be the ones who are doing the best job! Attention to detail, perfection, always right, always on time!
What will follow, as a matter of course, is that those doing shirts themselves will be forced to raise the bar as well. They will add value to their product. Instead of trying to keep prices down to compete with the 99-center down the street, they will need to improve quality and service, and charge fairly.
They will trade away "doing 'em fast and doing 'em cheap" for good quality and good service at a fair price.
It all starts with the wholesalers for a few reasons. They are scared to raise your price for fear that they will lose your business. They may be right about that. Remember that the drycleaning storeowner is more sensitive to price than are the customers. We think that our customers are very sensitive to price, but we are wrong. So, knowing your fear of rising costs, the wholesaler tiptoes around price increases because he needs your business. Volume is more of an issue for him than it is for you.
You must be aware that no matter how genuine his desire is to improve the quality and service that he gives you, he will be trying to do it for no money. That, my friends, is very, very tough. The person who uses a wholesaler is oblivious to all of this. He pays his wholesaler 90 cents per shirt, because that is what he is billed! He must assume that the wholesaler can do his shirts for 90 cents each, because that is all he asked for.
The drycleaner does not, will not and should not assume that he is being charged below cost. Consequently, there is no incentive for this drycleaner to raise his prices above market because his cost per shirt is clear, stable and well defined. The guy using a wholesaler is insulated from the "demon day from hell" at the shirt plant, but he is also not a party to raising the standards either. My proposal is an aggressive step towards raising those standards.
If your wholesaler does not rise to the challenge and raise the quality and/or service noticeably, then you are dealing with the wrong guy.
Terminate him. Look around for a good wholesaler who is willing to raise the bar for a price. Ignore the one who offers the world on a silver platter, plus a low price. Perhaps you should patronize the shirt launderer who charges the most. He will be the one who will care about you. He will be the one who treats you like you treat your customers. He will be the one who invests in his business. He will be the one that will hire the best people. It is he that has the money to do these things.
Donald Desrosiers has been in the shirt laundering business since 1978 and is a work-flow systems engineer who provides services to shirt launderers through Tailwind Shirt Systems, 867 Spencer St., Fall River, MA. He can be reached by phone at (508) 965-3163 or by e-mail at tailwind1@mediaone.netand he has a web sites located at: www.tailwindshirts.com and www.dondesrosiers.com
We all know that one of the best ways to increase sales is to get more business.
There are only three ways to make this happen.
I have been preaching this simple formula for growth for well over 40 years. It is so simple, it is deceiving.
1. Get more customers.
2. Get them to come in more frequently.
3. Get them to spend more each time they come in.
There are many ways to do this but all of them take some thinking and planning and then, of course, execution of the plan.
Get more customers
You can get more customers by networking in your community. This means getting active in the Chamber of Commerce, Lions, Kiwanis or other service groups.
Always carry business cards with you and pass them out to everyone you meet, from the bank teller to the gas station attendant.
You can join in fund raising projects, get around town and visit your neighboring business people and introduce yourself and offer them a commercial discount.
You can do direct mail to the residents surrounding your store.
You can advertise in the local paper or radio station or even TV if you have the coverage to make this pay.
I could go on, but I'll leave it to you and your imagination to come up with dozens of methods of reaching new customers.
Get them to come in more frequently
This is easy... all you have to do is give them an incentive to come back.
Start a frequent buyer program or take their name and set up a communications program with them, always offering some incentive for coming back.
Remember, your customers have a life to live and it isn't all about bringing clothes to your business. But on the other hand, they want to look their best and you have to keep reminding them that you can help do that.
Offer drawings and other contests to get that one or two extra orders a year and your sales will grow exponentially.
Use your imagination and think of ways you can get your customers to come in more frequently and write your ideas down. Don't stop until you have at least 10 of them. Then select the best ideas and put them to work. You won't get results unless you do something to make it happen.
Get them to spend more money with you
This is easy. Chances are there are at least two comforters in the home of every customer you serve.
Comforters are too big for most home washers and dryers and if you have the equipment, you can do the job for them.
If you run a sale to do just this one particular item, you will be amazed at how many you can bring in.
If you have 3,000 active customers, you have a potential market of 6,000 comforters.
Your smaller customers probably spend less in total drycleaning a year than the charge for processing two comforters. Get two comforters from your smaller customers and you will double their annual drycleaning expenditure.
All these methods take thinking and planning and execution.
Business is both simple and complex at the same time.
There are fundamental ways to conduct business and trying to market a business by the seat of your pants is fruitless. Also, taking the advice of every smooth talking salesman who claims they can double your sales in short order is also ridiculous.
Increasing sales takes knowledge of the tools required to make it happen and then, action has to be taken.
The reason I started the Golomb Group 21 years ago was to find and provide the tools and the know how to get more business and run a successful operation. The company has been a rousing success because literally hundreds of drycleaners have flourished beyond their wildest dreams. You, too, may qualify for help from the Golomb Group.
Stan Golomb is president of The Golomb Group Inc., a firm that designs marketing programs for drycleaners. Contact him at The Golomb Group Inc., 7664 Plaza Ct., Willowbrook, IL 60521; phone (800) 679-5856. His e-mail address is: stangolomb@golombgroup.com
The decision to fire an employee is rarely easy. Even where discipline is clearly warranted, however, sloppy personnel practices can leave the decision open to challenge. Terminations can result in expensive lawsuits, which can put a small employer out of business.
The first step toward a solid program of discipline is the preparation and distribution of written work rules. These work rules should outline the boundaries of proper conduct for all employees.
These rules of conduct can be contained in the employee handbook, posted on bulletin boards, or distributed separately to all employees. Employees should either sign a receipt staling that they have received a copy of the work rules or a notation should be made in their personnel files that they have received a copy.
The work rules themselves should contain a program of immediate and progressive discipline.
Certain serious misconduct, such as theft, insubordination, and intoxication on the job, should call for immediate discipline up to and including discharge.
Other minor offenses, such as absenteeism, lateness, and unsatisfactory work performance, should be subject to progressive discipline.
Another important element in a solid disciplinary program is a comprehensive personnel filing system. At the very least, personnel files should contain the disciplinary record of each employee. Employees should be permitted to examine their personnel files at reasonable times.
The last, and probably the most important, element of a good disciplinary program is supervisor training. Supervisors, especially those who directly supervise rank and file employees, should be given regular instruction on good personnel practices, including discipline.
Too often, a supervisor is selected because he was a good worker. As a result, he infrequently has the requisite skill and ability to perform the personnel functions that are central to his success.
Investigate before acting
No decision to fire an employee should be made without an investigation. All the necessary written documentation for discipline should be compiled during that investigation. It is wrong to assume that this documentation can be compiled later.
Once an investigation of the underlying facts has been conducted, numerous questions should be considered by management officials.
First, does the conduct violate a written rule?
If it does, is immediate or progressive discipline appropriate? If a minor offense, has progressive discipline been followed?
Second, the company should determine whether employees have been similarly disciplined for such conduct in the past.
If the investigation uncovers that exceptions have been made, the company should explore the circumstances surrounding the uneven enforcement of the rules.
Avoid the easy way out
Once the investigation is completed and the elements considered, the decision to discipline or discharge can be made. A fully-supported disciplinary decision, however, can be weakened by poor implementation. Too often, employers confronted with a distasteful disciplinary action will try to ease their discomfort by softening the words used to tell the employee. This only helps the employee prove at a later time that he or she was the victim of discrimination.
Discipline, especially discharge, should be communicated to the employee in a conference with the personnel officer. The employee should be told the reason why he is being disciplined in a candid, complete manner.
If disciplinary forms are used, fill one out, tracking your oral presentation to the employee.
If the employee is being discharged for theft, tell him.
If he is being discharged for unsatisfactory work performance, set forth in detail why his performance was substandard.
Don't use euphemisms
Do not under any circumstances call the discharge a layoff, furlough, or anything except what it is. And do not indicate to the employee the decision was "hard" or that you are not absolutely convinced that the decision is proper.
Established procedures for discipline and discharge are necessary for every company, small or large. Employees are more inclined to sue these days than to take the company's decision at face value. The fundamentals set forth above should help most employers minimize legal troubles.
Frank Kollman is a partner in the law firm of Kollman & Sheehan, PA, in Baltimore, MD. He can be reached at (410) 727-4391. His firm's web site at www.kollman-sheehan.com has more articles and other information on employee/employer relations. The firm also has a web site for human resource professionals at www.hrlawforum.com.
Any drycleaner or launderer with proper training can become a successful leather cleaner. Take a few minutes to try to answer the following questions to see if you have enough knowledge to clean suedes and leathers without first seeking training.
Leather cleaning test: True or false?
1. Pigskin and sheepskin garments can shrink in leather cleaning because the tannery over-stretched the skins.
2. Powder placed on suedes by the tannery to deepen the color will flush off the skins in cleaning.
3. A suede or leather just purchased from the store is a used garment.
4. All suedes are sheepskin suedes.
5. The flesh side of the skin is normally the side that is sueded.
6. A smooth leather is the surface of the skin with the hair removed.
7. A fur is the skin of the animal with the hair still there.
8. The three most common types of suede are sheepskin, cowhide and moosehide.
9. There are three types of smooth leather: dressed leather, naked leather and wild savage leather.
10. A cuir savage leather might be compared to a piece of wood that has been stained and varnished.
11. Dark areas are to be expected on cuir savage leather.
12. A cowhide suede has a rough grainy nap and thick stiff skin.
13. A pigskin is relatively easy to clean; a three minute run is OK.
14. There are three conditions found in skins: good conditions, bad conditions and fair conditions.
15. Natural conditions are conditions of the skin resulting from natural causes during the lifetime of the animal.
16. Conditions of manufacture include such things as temperature in the manufacturing plant while the garments are being made.
17. Conditions of use may be considered conditions of abuse by the customer who wears the garment.
18. Tick marks, belly wrinkles, vein marks and patterned pelts are examples of natural beauty in the skin.
19. It is good business practice to offer a 100-percent guarantee on all suede and leather work done in your plant.
20. The intelligent leather processor will always promise that tick marks and belly wrinkles will be eliminated in cleaning.
21. The main purpose of a release form is to obtain from the customer an iron clad release from all responsibility.
22. Antique leather is an old ancient piece of skin.
23. Suedes and leathers prespotted with a leather wet prespotter may be cleaned in perc charged with a special detergent/conditioner while still wet without pulling the color.
24. There is a leather dry prespotter that may be used on grease, oil, ink, paint and lipstick type stains that will not cause skin color to bleed.
25. A wire bristle prespotting brush is designed specifically for working on spots and stains on painted leather.
26. Crusty spots and stains can be scraped off suedes by abrasion.
27. An all nylon bristle spotting brush is designed for use on smooth leather and sheepskin suedes.
28. There is a leather detergent/conditioner that will allow the drycleaning of suede, leather and fur or any combination of the three of them with cloth in any kind of drycleaning machine and in any kind of solvent.
29. Suedes and leathers can be safely wetcleaned in any washer with out losing color or getting stiff with proven products and techniques.
30. Suede lint is very good for your filter.
31. It is good practice to mix cowhide, pigskin and sheepskin suedes in the same load.
32. The proper machine loading of suedes and leathers is 75 percent of the rated capacity of a machine.
33. A titration test kit consists of a graduated cylinder and three test solutions.
34. When setting up a titration test, 10 milliliters of charged solvent is added to the test cylinder, 20 milliliters of solution A, 20 of Solution C and then solution B is added 1 sub-graduation at a time until the color of the solution inverts.
35. A neutral spray is used to brighten the colors of painted leather.
36. Dyes will restore the color to faded suede and naked leather.
37. Dyes are applied with a spray gun, with a pressure of 80 pounds per square inch, from a distance of 3 inches from the surface of the skin.
38. All dyes are transparent and will not cover stains.
39. There is no such thing as a white suede dye.
40. A pigmented product is not a dye and should not normally be mixed with other colors of dyes.
41. A wire bristle finishing brush is for brushing up painted leather.
42. The white finish can be restored to a white shearling coat.
43. The sheen may be restored to a cuir savage leather.
44. The color may be restored to cuir savage leather.
45. The gloss on a blue painted leather may be restored by spraying with a clear leather finish.
46. Color and gloss can be restored to a painted leather by spraying with a pigmented leather finish in the appropriate color.
47. Naked leather with unremovable stains may be refinished and the stains covered.
48. The dry look and feel of a naked leather may be retained and stains covered if it is sprayed with a special technique and a pigment finish.
49. Suede, leather and cloth garments may be treated for water and stain repellency.
50. There is a special glue that is solvent and water resistant and will not come loose in drycleaning or wetcleaning.
51. Steam is always used in spotting and pressing suedes and leathers.
52. Furs are extremely difficult to clean by the immersion process.
53. The threefold purpose of the thinner/stripper is (1) to clean the surface of smooth leathers; (2) to remove over-spray from linings; and (3) to clean the spray gun.
54. Painted leather should be run at least 20 minutes in the drycleaning machine or wet cleaning washer.
55. It is good practice to try to change a yellow suede into a blue suede.
56. Suede dyes will appear lighter in color before they dry than they do after they dry.
57. Painted leather finishes appear to be lighter in color before they dry than they do after they dry.
58. A good rule of thumb, when mixing colors is to use the drop method to determine the proportions of the colors required to mix the color.
59. It is good practice to add the darker color to the lighter color when mixing colors.
60. It is possible to wetclean suedes and leathers without color loss or stiffening of the skins.
61. Naked Skin might be compared to stained but unvarnished wood.
62. A kid glove is an example of a naked skin.
63. Suedes are named for the animal whose skin is sueded.
64. Smooth leathers are named for the type of finish applied to the skin.
65. A suede or leather invoice ticket should have no more than one garment or outfit listed on it.
66. Drycleaning spotting chemicals made for use on cloth can be used on suedes and leathers without causing color loss or stiffening of the skins.
67. You can condition dry cleaning solvent so it will not dry out skins.
68. Dark and bright colored suedes may be cleaned in a single bath machine with no color loss or dye bleed.
69. Petroleum solvent is an excellent moisture carrier.
70. White furs should always be dried at a temperature of 160° F or more.
71. Furs should be checked carefully for dried out and cracked skins before accepting for cleaning.
72. Furs should be cleaned with a low level of solvent for at least 20 minutes in perc.
73. A titration test kit will not work properly in the presence of a second detergent in the solvent.
74. Conditions of manufacture include skive marks, use of glue that bleeds, over stretching skins, not neutralizing tanning chemicals and use of powder dyes.
75. The best way to clean a suede that has a powder surface coating or a pigment (mud) dye finish is to clean it by itself, on batch and then drop the powder colored dry cleaning fluid to the still.
76. Sand blasters are good for making holes in suede, aging suedes rapidly and eating up solvent pump impellers and air driven press cups and o-rings.
77. Furs should be cleaned in sawdust, corn cobs and nut shells to be really clean.
78. Most shampoos for washing human hair contain sawdust, ground corn cobs and nut shells because it cleans the hair so well on fur coats.
How did you do?
If you don't know the answers to these questions, do not attempt to wetclean or dryclean suedes and leathers until you acquire the knowledge.
Going to school is the best way to learn leather cleaning without the heartache and costly expense of ruining valuable customer garments through trial and error. Why try to reinvent the wheel when it's already been done? Bypass the expense and problems of trial and error and go to a leather cleaning school instead!
Frank Lucenta invented the Royaltone process and created the products for his method of cleaning and finishing leather and suede. He also wrote related instruction books that document the process, "Handling Leather and Suede" and "Cleaning and Finishing Leather and Suede." He teaches plant owners and managers how to identify, accept, spot, wet clean, dry clean, press and recolor suedes, leathers, and furs to make more profit per garment than on cloth garments by using his procedures and products. The next class at the Royaltone Leather Cleaning Academy in Tulsa, OK, will be Sept. 13-14. Class size is limited and early enrollment is encouraged. Another session is scheduled for Nov. 29-30. For more information on training sessions or on the Royaltone instruction book or spotting charts in either English or Korean languages, call (800) 331-5506 or e-mail frank@royaltone.com. Information is also available on the Royaltone web site at www.royaltone.com.
Distinguish your business from all the rest. Make your enterprise special in the eyes of your customers. This is the goal I want you to pursue.
How do you differentiate your business? By creating a Unique Selling Proposition -- or USP.
A USP is that appealing and distinct idea that sets your business favorably apart from every other generic competitor.
This month I'm going to focus on how to create and use a USP to make your business irresistible to prospects and customers. I want to show you how to start, what to consider, and how to focus on exactly what your company can truly deliver. Also, how to integrate your new USP into a company-wide effort that can positively transform your business results.
Most businesses don't do nearly enough to tap into the true potential a great USP offers. Creating that essential distinction, which sets your business apart from all others, is critical, yet, often ignored or poorly implemented.
The long-term marketing and operational success you achieve will, ultimately, be helped or hurt by the USP you decide upon.
The possibilities for building a USP are unlimited. It's best, however, to adopt a USP that dynamically addresses an obvious void in the marketplace that you can honestly fill. Beware: it's actually counter-productive to adopt a USP if you cannot fulfill the promise.
Most drycleaners don't have a USP, only a rudderless, nondescript, unappealing business that feeds solely on the sheer momentum of the marketplace. There's nothing unique, nothing distinct. They promise no great value, benefit, or service, just "buy from us"' for no justifiable, rational reason.
It's no surprise that most drycleaners, lacking a USP, merely get by. Their failure rate is high, their owners are apathetic, and they get only a small share of the potential business.
Other than a possible convenient location, why should they get much patronage if they fail to offer any appealing promise, unique feature, or special service?
Would you want to patronize a business that's just "there," with no unique benefit, no incredible prices, no special services or guarantee? Or would you prefer a business that offers you the broadest selection in town? Or one that charges less than half of their competitors' prices? Or one that sells the "Rolls Royce" of their product?
Making the difference
Can you see what an appealing difference the USP makes in establishing a company's perceived image to the customer?
It's ludicrous to operate any business without carefully crafting a clear, strong, and appealing USP into the fabric of your business' daily existence.
The point is to focus on the one niche or need that is most sorely lacking, provided you can keep the promise you make.
Before you decide on a USP, be sure you can always deliver that USP throughout your whole organization. You and your staff must consistently maintain high levels of quality service.
If you decide your USP is that your company offers the widest selection of services, but in reality you don't, then you're falling down on the essence of your USP promise, and your marketing will probably fade. It is critical to always fulfill the "big promise" of your USP.
If you don't honestly believe you can deliver on your USP, pick another one to build your business on. Just be sure it's unique and that you can fulfill it.
Making it clear,keeping it simple
Remember, the USP is the nucleus around which you will build your success, so you had better be able to clearly state it. If you can't state it, your prospects won't see it. Whenever a customer needs the type of service you sell, your USP should bring your company to mind.
Clearly conveying the USP through both your marketing and your business performance will make your business great and success inevitable. However, you must reduce your USP to its bare essence.
Try it. With pen and paper, prepare a one-paragraph statement of your new USP. At first, you may have trouble expressing it tightly and specifically. It may take two or three paragraphs or more. That's OK.
Begin editing the generalities, and focus on the clearest, most specific promise you can possibly make.
Then rework it, eliminating the excess verbiage or hazy statements, until you have a clearly defined, clearly apparent Unique Selling Proposition a customer can immediately seize upon.
Then integrate your USP into every marketing aspect of your business, such as display advertising, direct mail, and counter sales
If good service at an affordable price is your USP, use this one as a model: "Alpine Cleaners offers quality drycleaning at reasonable prices."
Carefully integrate your newly adopted USP into the headline and body copy of every ad you run and in every direct-mail piece you send out. Be sure your counter-personnel can express the essence of your USP.
Be sure they can clearly and powerfully express your USP and then compellingly state how it benefits the customer. Furnish your prospects with plenty of examples of how you honestly deliver your USP.
When an old, tired company adopts a powerful, new, and appealing USP, it gives new life, new excitement, new interest and new appeal to your business -- you're suddenly different. Now, you're on the customer's side again!
Choose your market
Remember, you will not appeal to everybody. In fact, certain USPs are designed to appeal to only one segment of a vast market. There is a vast gulf between the upscale clients and the bargain seekers. You probably can't reach them both. Which do you want to stake out as your market niche?
And earlier I said: Don't adopt a USP that you can't deliver, or further marketing is useless. Also, analyze the market potential of various USP positions in terms of volume, profits and repeat business.
For example, the highest marketing niche may be in the exclusive, expensive USP, but the biggest money may be made in the discount-volume USP. There's a place for both, but if you try to ride two horses, you'll probably bite the dust.
Talk is not enough
Your USP can't stop with sales rhetoric. It must become total company conduct. You and your employees must live, breathe, and act your USP at all times.
Sit down and write a synopsis of your USP for your staff, how you're trying to carry it out, and how everyone can project that USP to the world. Make their cooperation a condition of employment. The entire company must adhere to the USP.
Dennis McCrory works with The Golomb Group which provides direct mail and marketing services for drycleaners. They also produce the following book and video packages:The place -- a major East Coast city. The time -- a hot summer day. My mission -- I was "mystery shopping" a dozen retail locations for one of my clients.
The things I look for as a "Mystery Shopper':
The Facility (outside):
The Facility (inside):
The Customer Service Representatives (CSRs):
Using a mystery shopper is an excellent way to find out how your CSRs treat customers in your drop stores or at your main counter when you aren't there. Mystery shopping is also a very good way to check up on your competitors. When you mystery shop your competitors, give your mystery shopper the above checklist to follow. You can also ask a friend to mystery shop your locations. Once again, give them the same checklist to follow. You can modify this list to fit your needs.
I have a client who stopped by one of his drop stores to see how a new CSR was doing. To his horror, when he walked into the store, this young college student was not wearing the company's logo polo shirt. She was wearing a tee shirt, which doesn't sound so bad. However, written large on the front of the tee shirt was "Phuk U." Ouch! What was that girl thinking?
Mystery shopping is not a new idea. There are companies that specialize in providing mystery shoppers to retail businesses.
In a recent Wall Street Journal article ("Selling Civility," by Peter Scott, June 29, 2001), the author states that "For some time now, a general incivility has made its way into everyday life. It is noticeable in a thousand different ways, not least in the small exchanges between buyer and seller, customer and clerk. In the small town America of yesteryear, such exchanges might have been governed by a genial familiarity. But the shop around the corner has given way to sprawling franchises and large corporate identities. With them, it seems, has come an impersonality and an indifference that adds stinging little indignities to a simple transaction."
The real purpose in the mystery shopping exercise is to improve customer service by identifying the strengths and weaknesses that exist. The mystery shopping companies state that... "employees respect what you inspect." The WSJ article reports that the mystery shopping business in the US is a $435 million business according to a study done by Florida State University.
Customer service in the US has gotten so bad that the McDonald Corporation is creating customer recovery teams to combat the problem.
According to a recent Dow Jones newswire report earlier this year, a University of Michigan study on customer satisfaction ranked the world's largest fast food chain among the poorest performing retailers.
The newswire obtained information on McDonald's in-house web site that stated that "on any given day, 11 percent of McDonald's customers are dissatisfied with their visit and take time to share their complaint with the restaurant."
How many people beyond that 11 percent are dissatisfied? A whole bunch! McDonald's estimates that their annual loss in sales because dissatisfied customers don't come back as often as they would if they had a good experience is over $750 million a year.
The general coarsening of society makes delivering good customer service (not great or excellent) a bigger problem every day. Don't despair -- there is light at the end of the tunnel. The problem can and will be corrected by the business owners and managers who become proactive in the hiring and training of their customer service personnel.
The employment situation is improving for employers. I read recently where an owner of a small business in San Francisco ran a "Help Wanted" ad last year for a customer service representative position paying $10 to $12 an hour. She got two responses. Running the exact same ad this year, she got more than 640 responses. What a leap!
With more applicants to choose from, your biggest challenge will be deciding which applicant to hire. To assist you in hiring the best applicant for the job, please refer to last month's article (July 2001) or visit my website (www.bizbuilderonline.com) about pre-employment testing.
Earlier in this article I said that attitude is the most important aspect of customer service. Attitude -- good, bad, or indifferent -- starts with the owner and managers. The drycleaners who truly believe that they offer the best service have employees who believe the same. When the employees believe that the company they work for is the best drycleaner in town, the customers also believe it.
Positive attitudes are taught and cultivated by good leadership. Good leaders manage by example. It costs you absolutely nothing to smile, to enthusiastically say "Good morning" and be pleasant to everyone you meet.
For most of us, being pleasant all the time is not instinctively natural. It must be learned. You can learn by practice and eventually it will become natural. Be a good leader, set the example for your employees and your business will prosper.
Worth every penny
As a side note, I just got off the phone with one of my group members and we touched on the subject of customer service. He said that a new customer came into his business and was shocked by his shirt price of $2.05. As the customer was paying his bill, he looked around at the call office and said, "I'm used to paying 99 cents for shirts but the way you all treat me, it's worth every penny. This place is the best!"
So, how much does it cost to smile, use the customer's name and be pleasant? You figure it out.
I had a great time in New Orleans at the Clean Show. My thanks to all of you who took the time to stop by the National Clothesline booth to say hello . It was great meeting you!
Remember in the game of business the more you know the better you can play the game.
Alan Robson is a private consultant dealing with the specialized needs of the drycleaning industry. For more information, contact him by telephone at (508) 753-6619 or send e-mail to him at: alan@bizbuilderonline.comor visit the Biz Builder web site: www.bizbuilderonline.com.
Copyright © 2001, National Clothesline Maintained by: Hal Horning