Stan Caplan:
Buying equipment? Do it right

This series concludes with a discussion of pipe sizes, fittings, types of pipes and pipe insulation.

Generally, restrictions in pipe sizes cause low production from machinery. Pressure drop from friction occurs in small sized pipes where larger sized pipes should have been used. Since higher steam pressures produce hotter steam and laundry finishing requires more heat than dry-cleaning finishing, proper pipe sizing to the shirt unit, pants unit (laundry) and flatwork ironer is critical.

Large sized pipes will ensure the proper volume of steam, air and vacuum to multiple take-off pipes from each header. The cross-sectional area of the inside of the header, or sub-header, must equal, or exceed, the sum of the cross-sectional areas of the inside of all its take-off pipes and feed lines.

This does not mean that a three-inch header pipe is required to supply two 1 1/2" take-off pipes. It does mean that the area of the 1 1/2" pipe must be multiplied by 2 to find the area of the header to supply both of 1 1/2" pipes. As shown in the chart, this is found by 2 times 2.038 square inches, or 4.076 square inches. The nearest inside cross-sectional area to 4.076 is 4.787. Thus, a 2 1/2" header pipe is needed to supply two 1 1/2" sub-headers or take-off pipes.

When a number of sub-headers are fed from a main header, the size of the main header is computed in the same manner. The inside cross-sectional area of the main header should be equal to, or greater than, the sum of the inside cross-sectional areas of the sub-headers or take-off pipes.

All steam lines should be as short as possible. The longer the run, the greater the amount of friction and radiation. These two factors must be compensated for by greater pressure and a greater quantity of steam to replace the condensate. This all adds up to greater boiler loading and larger fuel costs.

When operating at 100 pounds gauge pressure of steam (100 psig), every 100 feet of properly sized steam piping will produce a pressure drop of two pounds (2 psig). Therefore, the shorter the run of pipe, the greater the savings in fuel (and pipe).

Steam piping should be run as straight as possible. Running up, down and around obstacles adds to the length and the cost, as well as greatly increasing the amount of friction caused by the fittings. This friction causes a pressure loss which adds to the boiler pressure required at the equipment.

Each fitting adds considerably to the drag of friction of the pipe line. This friction is expressed in the equivalent length of straight pipe of the same diameter. The equivalent length of a piping run can be increased by the addition of a few 90 degree bends. For this reason, engineers have stressed the use of 45 degree fittings in preference to 90 degree fittings. For example, the resistance of a 45 degree elbow of 2-inch pipe is equivalent to 2.07 feet of straight pipe whereas a 90 degree elbow is equivalent to 4.14 feet of straight pipe.

Accordingly, the fittings which create the least resistance should be chosen, and the total number of such fittings should be as few as possible if maximum energy use is to be obtained with maximum economy.

All steam lines should slope in the direction of the steam flow. This pitch should be about one inch for every ten feet of pipe length. This allows the water to drain toward the header, or sub-header, trap. The condensate return header pipe should pitch toward the boiler room condensate receiving tank one inch for every ten feet of pipe length. If at all possible, the return header pipe should run near, or below, the floor level in order to receive the condensation (water) when the boiler has been off for some time.

Several different types of pipe are used in the plant as follows:

1) Black steel, schedule 40: used for steam, vacuum, return condensate, petroleum solvent, alternative solvents (check with supplier).

2) Galvanized, schedule 40: used for water, air perchloroethylene solvent.

3) Copper tube or pipe: used for water, air, vacuum.

4) PVC, schedule 40: used for cold water, air, water drain pipe (above ground).

5) PVC, schedule 80: used for hot water (over 175 degrees), vacuum header, underground drain pipe.

6) Stainless steel, schedule 40: used for all applications (very expensive and usually for show).

OSHA regulations require all steam and return lines to be insulated if seven feet from the floor. However, all steam, return and hot water pipes should be insulated including cold water pipes insulated with foam rubber to prevent sweating and to keep the water chilled.

When heat is radiated from pipes, the steam loses this heat, and there is a resultant condensation in the steam line. Since water in the pipe takes the place of steam, and water contains only half the amount of heat contained in steam, there will be a reduction in the machine's capacity. (See my August 2001 article in National Clothesline on traps).

Insulation reduces the amount of heat radiating into the plant. Thus, you gain in employee performance as well as savings. The payback for 100 feet of pipe insulation is less than six months.

In conclusion of this series, I wish to leave one major thought in my readers' minds: Learn all you can about the equipment you intend to purchase, and NEVER employ an installer based solely on price since the lowest price may not be the lowest cost. You must get installation specifications on your plant layout, or purchase, before you get bids on installation cost. In that case, your lowest bid will be the lowest cost.

Ray Colucci:
Time to alter your business plan

There was a time some 30 years ago when 50 percent of the drycleaners went under. That is, I should say, 50 percent of the marginal operations, those that were in trouble with a hundred sins -- heavy indebtedness, poor equipment, under-capitalized, poor management, poor locations.

There was no way out and they simply quit struggling when the final death knell sounded.

All knew what really happened.

Shirt volume dropped to half with the introduction of wash n' wear. You simply could rinse a polyester shirt, in a bathroom sink, hang it up to dry and it would be presentable and wearable the next morning.

Right behind that fiasco came the double knit craze with permanent press, which took more of the disposable dollar.

These two innovations hit when the industry was already saturated. Every large or small strip shopping center which boosted of as little as three to five stores had one drycleaning plant on premises, or at least a drop store that was associated with a nearby chain. The drycleaning pie kept getting smaller.

When you add the pressure from EPA and landlords with more and more costly restrictions, it is no wonder that there were any survivors at all! But there were those that got bigger than they could ever imagine who also inherited some additional volume. And I know how they did it.

They diversified

First they reviewed their entire operations. Cut out all the waste, starting with unproductive equipment and personnel. Cleaned up and shaped up. The improved appearances of counter staff with uniforms and name tags, added air cooling, new lighting, computerization, final inspections and new, sharp packaging.

Then, when they were certain that their best foot was forward, they promoted and advertised. Not just a new look, although that certainly helped, but also they investigated what else they could offer to their customers. They checked what other services their competitors had to offer and the needs of the marketplace. Then they diversified and specialized. It made sense; the rent, the hours and the personnel, remained the same and, if they chose not to do the work on premise, they could farm it out and make 40-50 percent just as the agent.

The list included fire restoration, leather cleaning, drapery cleaning on premises, carpet cleaning, monogramming, pillow cleaning, blind cleaning, wedding gown cleaning, uniform maintenance, etc.

When we look at today's problems of casual dress, solvent restrictions, new, higher leases, easy-care fabrics with wetcleaning at home, we find many of the same restrictions and perhaps a few newer "volume threatening" additions that crop-up every month.

The salvation for many today is "tailoring and alterations."

It turns out to be the most profitable addition any drycleaner could offer even though it seems most treat it as a stepchild and not an integral part of the neighborhood drycleaner or shirt launderer.

Somehow the local tailor died off or vanished and no one bothered to replace him. Department stores picked-up the slack when a new purchase was made, but there is a vast market with alterations from the changing waistlines and minor repair market alone that no one seems to care about.

I recall a drycleaner who added an antique foot-pedal sewing machine, just for decorative purposes, in his call office. He got tired of answering, "Do you do tailoring?" and now boasts that 30 percent of his profit is alterations and repairs. All he added was a three-paneled mirror with platform and a skirt-length marker. More amazing, he has no seamstress or tailor on premises and takes the instructions as needed.

How much can you make?
Some common request are (prices vary in different parts of the country):

Shorten or Lengthen pants at $10.00 per. Any seamstress with a blind stitch unit can turn out four to six per hour and also would be pleased with the $20-an-hour rate.

Jacket Sleeves at $15 per.

Replace zippers at $12 per.

Waists at $10 per.

Hemlines, depending on flare.

What is important is the need and the profit possibility. Furthermore there is an ample and talented labor force available. They may work on premises at $20 an hour without benefits or, if they prefer, work at home. Most are fully skilled with years of experience in all phases of alterations, having lost their positions in our garment industry due to the influx of lower-wage of workers and from foreign markets.

This cottage industry is thrilled to do this work at home, at hours of their convenience, with little or no benefits and at 25 to 30 percent of the alteration and repair ticket. Furthermore pick-up and delivery is provided dependably within 24 hours on a daily basis.

What does it take?
To start with, some simple notices in your local newspaper announcing your new service. Get a two-for-one ad, make it your anniversary sale! Next get a few thousand colorful hang tags and put one on each outgoing order plus a new colorful tailoring poster. That's It!

The bonus is "one-stop shopping." Why look elsewhere when your present drycleaner is offering a needed service for that broken zipper or that weight change that requires some alterations. It's a win/win situation. Secure and increase your drycleaning volume and add a constant profit increase with your new service.

Success comes to those who seek it.

Don Desrosiers:
A crisis of confidence in shirts

Do you have the guts to charge more for your shirts?

I have been quite verbose over the last few months. I have written relatively long columns about everything from what it's like to be dependent on someone else to do your shirts to being the purveyor of these shirt services and everything in between.

I have, on several occasions, given some far-from-subtle hints that we should be charging a whole lot more for the shirts that we slave over, day after day.

I have even tried to do something that I have never seen anyone else attempt to do; I have offered a solution to the issue that plagues many of us in the shirt business: How to reverse the trend that has had our shirt prices "stuck in neutral" for at least 10 years.

I wonder just how many of you did what I suggested last month and called your wholesaler and offered to pay significantly more if only he or she would raise the standards of quality and/or service? How many wholesalers rose to the challenge?

After writing that piece, I really got to thinking about how and why what I call the dollar-barrier ever came about. The "dollar-barrier" is that mental block that keeps you from charging more than 99 cents for shirts because you fear that the customer will consider that an over-charge.

I thought about the things that happened in my area around the time that I was breaking into the wholesale shirt business. I thought about how I, personally, contributed to the stagnation of the shirt price structure. When I aggressively entered the wholesale shirt business, it was 1983. Wholesale shirt prices were 65 or 70 cents. Everybody charged that.

There were two major players in the business at the time, both reputably poor. My mistake was to enter the market at the same price as the competition. The over-achiever in me never doubted that the shirts that I'd produce would be better than my competitors'.

If I was so sure that my product would be worth more, why didn't I simply charge more? For the same reason that you don't: Because we lack the necessary confidence in our product.

Let's see if we can find a way to raise the amount of confidence that we have in our shirts this month.

What continues to go wrong in the shirt business is that we want instant profitability.

This is so ironic! In a business where it is so difficult to be profitable at all, and so easy to actually lose money, we not only consider that the latter won't occur for us, but also we want profitability immediately. This is quite the oddity.

What should happen, and what should have been happening all along, is this:

You decide to get into the shirt business either as a wholesaler or not, and you do all of the cost calculations. You cover all of the bases, from rent to telephone to toilet paper to hangers. You assign an appropriate salary for yourself. You are wise and know that any money that you pay yourself is hardly profit -- it's simply a paycheck for work performed. Profit comes after that, and everything else, is paid.

You long for a 25 percent profit margin. You create a line item on your budget that is called "contribution to corporation profit." You have all of the components of a proper business plan. The dollar volume projections are realistic enough and are spread out over three years.

You will need to get x per shirt. This is more than your competitor's price, but that price isn't an issue. You are confident that your product will be better than anyone else's and is clearly worth the extra xx cents.

Growth in volume will be steady, you hope, but not wild and rampant. Customers will take a while to warm up to the idea of paying more. You know that there is a market for a good quality shirt with exemplary service, but no one has really seen it yet. So you will have to prove to the customers that you do have that and you are easily worth your premium price.

Bit by bit, the word will get around that you are the shirt laundry to deal with. You expect to be profitable by the middle of the third year.

What?

The shortcut to profits
You didn't agree to that! You don't want to wait for profitability! You expect to lose money for 30 months? So that's what all of the red ink on balance sheets means! I thought it was to color code the profit numbers.

There must be a shortcut to profitability, you ponder. Why does it take three years to get to x thousand shirts per week?

Hmm... I'm on to something here. Can you tell?

Suppose I offer shirts at a lower price than anybody else? I'll be banging out x thousand shirts per week in no time. This business plan is history.

hy cyjur y y bvnll, bgnvy bvn,jkym bn bgnhg bvhqawzqsxeas/zs;.wxl,

That's the sound of me banging my head against the keyboard.

Another one bites the dust.
In every business, for any venture, there is that sacred time between initialization and profitability. It could be months, but it is usually years. But in the shirt business, we consider that these basic rules of business do not apply to us. We are certain that instant profits are not only possible, but more importantly, are easily attainable.

Think about this for five minutes and then ask yourself, "How weird is this?"

It is incomprehensible how this happens, not only occasionally, but over and over, to almost everyone who decides to get into shirts.

The key to success is to have working capital and faith in your product. This is precisely what you need to start any business venture. It never changes. It has always been this way.

But in the shirt business, I think that we lack faith in our product and, for a reason that surely defies logic, we feel that we don't need the working capital to tide us over until we make ends meet.

We apparently convince ourselves that "the ends" will meet from day one, even if we undercharge for our product! The two things that, in any other business, you must have -- working capital and faith in your product -- we disregard or discard.

The only reason that this can be is that we look at shirts like our customers look at drycleaners. People who are in a better position to evaluate this than I have said that the consumers view drycleaners as all the same.

Anyone in the business knows that this is fiction, but that hardly matters. What matters is what the customers think. If we are going to stand out in business, we must have faith in our product -- a firm belief that your product is the best value.

If you think like a customer thinks -- seen one shirt, seen 'em all -- than surely price is all that is left. You will feel that you cannot improve upon service and you cannot improve upon quality

The business plan is correct: The right way would be to consistently do a good job, always, and lose money for two years knowing that you will prevail eventually because there is absolutely a market for a quality shirt.

We all know this because we have all heard complaints and comments from customers. Still, competitive pressure seems to override logic and we price our shirts according to market trends. Hmm...

No guts, no glory
>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. This is probably because we have learned that "doing" shirts can be quite a challenge and, perhaps due to the very fact that they are not a major source of cold cash, we stop trying to perfect them.

We may reason that if something requires 50 percent of our attention, it should generate 50 percent of our revenue. (That's probably right). Shirts ultimately get pushed aside like the red-headed stepchild, and allowed to fend for themselves. They are the source of problems that never provide solutions for anything.

We resourcefully create a solution, perhaps a solution for a problem that didn't exist, by offering shirts as a bargain item. It allows us to have a cop-out if shirts become a quality issue.

If we don't say it to our customer, we will say it to ourselves: "Hey, what do you expect for $1.20?"

If we post a large sign in the front window tomorrow that says "We do the best shirts in town" or "World's most perfect shirts" we know that we are going to need to be on our toes, to say the least. Surely, the shirt department will need a great deal of supervision now.

My bet says that an advertisement like that will generate more business, and more excitement than any banner that touts a low price. Doing so, of course, will require such a commitment that we hazard to go there.

Good thinking
If we wish to increase our shirt business, we can offer improvements in quality and/or service. Either will require effort and dedication on your part.

Or you can offer "improvements" (read: reduction) in the price that you charge. That requires no effort on your part.

If you put a banner in the window that reads "Shirt laundered -- $1.10" you are likely to generate new business, and the price will be $1.10 no matter who presses shirts, no matter who doesn't show up for work and no matter who waits on the customer. Keeping this "pledge" to the customer is easy and requires nothing.

But it probably generates negative cash flow.

Build your confidence
So how can we gain confidence in our shirts? It isn't going to be easy, but I will give you a tip.

Stop caring what the other guy does. I think that too many of us mystery-shop our competitors and pray for something to be wrong. Desperately we search for a faux pas. When we find that missing button, or that wrinkle in the sleeve gusset, we are certain that there is a god.

We are either comfortable that the playing field is level or are falsely confident that "that never happens to our shirts." The confidence in our product is far from genuine.

True confidence in your shirts can only be achieved by constantly evaluating your shirts subjectively.

Evaluate them as a customer would: ignorant of the idiosyncrasies of the business, completely disinterested in excuses and never settling for "that's the way it is in the shirt business."

Improve your product
Equally important: when you check out your competitor's shirts, don't be desperate to find something wrong with them.

The best thing that can happen is that you find nothing wrong and then go back to your plant and try to add value to your shirts; find a way to raise the bar and make your shirt service a better value to the customer.

Falling back on any of those cop outs -- "that never happens to my shirts" or "that's the way it is in this business" -- will, by definition, prevent you from improving your product. They will make your product stagnant, typical and ordinary.

Follow my instructions and you will find yourself spending far too much time on shirts, but there will be a pay-off.

You will suddenly become truly confident that you do the best shirts in your area because, one day you will raise your shirt price and think nothing of it.

You won't worry about losing business because of it, you won't fear explaining the price increase to a customer.

You will be certain in your heart of hearts that your product is worth every penny. Even if it's two or three hundred or more pennies.

Dan Eisen:
Avoid calamities with coated fabrics

Coated fabrics are used for raincoats, jackets, ski jackets, snow suits and household fabrics. Fabrics can be coated with a variety of substances.

The coating or backing may be vinyl; polyurethane; natural or synthetic rubber; acrylic; or polytetrafluorethylene (PTFE) membrane (also referred to as Gortex).

The coating or backing is held to the fabric with an adhesive binder. Acrylic coatings are actually applied in a liquid form and act as an adhesive when dried and cured. The coating can be visible on the back of a fabric or be sandwiched between two fabric layers which prevent it from being readily observed.

The coating or backing gives the fabric water-proofed properties as well as resistance to wind and cold. Most coatings give the wearer a clammy and uncomfortable feel because they do not allow the body heat and moisture to escape.

Gortex fabric claims comfort since the membrane has microscopic pores that allow the fabric to breathe.

A new type of coating has recently arrived. To date this coating is limited to green and brown raincoats. The back of the raincoat is coated with a black pigment coating.

Fabric problems
The permanence of the adhesive binder and the quality control used in the lamination or bonding process will determine whether the coating or backing peels or separates from the base fabric. Vinyl coatings will stiffen due to loss of plasticizer.

Loss of coating may result in a stained or blotched appearance. This occurs if the thin outer fabric permits light to pass through where previously the coating prevented the light penetration.

Coated raincoats may become streaked due to uneven drying. The pigment coated green or brown raincoat has additional problems. The pigment not only dissolves and stains the garment, but it also can transfer and stain an entire load of garments that are drycleaned with it.

Fabric identification
Some coated or backed fabric garments are so labeled. If it is not labeled but coating or backing is suspected by feel, open the stitched lining.

If a brown or gray raincoat is suspected to have an unserviceable coating, rub the back of the coat with cloth damped with volatile dry solvent. A dye transfer will readily transfer to cloth.

Procedure
No matter what the label says, the coated fabrics should be handled as follows when using perchloroethylene solvent.

Vinyl: Do not dryclean; wetclean. Obtain customer signed release.

Rubber, polyurethane, acrylic: Follow manufacturer's instructions; obtain customer signed release.

Gortex: Follow manufacturer's cleaning instructions. No release is required.

Pigment coated: Do not dryclean. Tell customer to return raincoat to store of purchase.

Hydrocarbon
Coated fabrics are usually more serviceable to hydrocarbon solvents. The new, odorless type hydrocarbon solvents are safer than the quick drying Stoddard and 140 degrees F solvents.

Drycleaning
Dryclean coated or backed fabrics for 2 to 3 minutes. Keep solvent temperature no higher than 80 degrees F.

Gortex has a higher degree of serviceability than the other coated fabric and can be cleaned according to the shell fabric to which it is laminated. Gortex fabrics should be given a clear rinse according to the labeling recommendations. This prevents a loss of the feel and the ability of the fabric to breathe.

Raincoats, ski wear, cotton, hard-finished fabrics: 10 minutes.

Wool-like fabric, silk fabrics: three to five minutes. Dry coated fabrics no higher than 140 degrees F. Hang immediately after drying.

Pigment coated raincoats should not be drycleaned.

Spotting
Dryside spotting agents will affect the adhesive binder of any coated fabric. Use wetside spotting agents and a leveling agent. Use limited mechanical action according to the outer fabric to prevent fabric separation.

Wetcleaning
Wetclean according to labeling and limitation of outer fabric. Use cool water and mild lubricants. Rinse thoroughly to prevent streaks.

Finishing
Use limited steam and pressure when pressing.

Stan Golomb:
The true liberators of humanity

What you are about to read about is a subject very dear to my heart. It's about how the United States of America came to be the greatest country on the planet.

It's about freedom and the ability to create a business and the inherent risks involved in starting or buying an existing business.

It's as tough a job as one could imagine, because you are the person responsible for the success or failure of the enterprise.

There was a lady who was famous about 40 years ago who understood what free enterprise was all about. Her name was Ayn Rand. She was a true American philosopher, a writer of ideas and the author of two books that have become classics.

She wrote, "My philosophy, in essence, is the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute."

One of her books, "Fountainhead," was made into a movie and was a big hit.

The other was her classic book, "Atlas Shrugged." This told the story of how the enemies of freedom tried to put down the innovators and creators of industry.

At the height of her fame, Rand had an apartment in New York City where she held court with the great minds of the day. One of those was the present head of our Federal Reserve, Alan Greenspan. At the time, he was a young accountant and jazz clarinetist.

Rand was an ardent champion of capitalism, a novelist, a philosopher and a speaker at national conventions. She regarded business people as modern day heroes.

In one essay, she observed that the capitalist "is the great liberator, who in the short span of a century and a half has released men from bondage to their needs, has released them from drudgery of an 18-hour workday of manual labor for their barest subsistence, has released them from famines, from pestilence, from the stagnant hopelessness and tenor in which most of mankind had lived in all the pre-capitalist centuries and which most of it still lives today in non-capitalist countries."

That paragraph really helps explain how freedom and capitalism play such an important role in our lives today.

The following comments were written by Richard E. Ralston, managing director of the Ayn Rand Institute.

"Unfortunately, despite the crucial role played by businessmen in liberating mankind, their efforts have met with sustained hatred and opposition from entrenched anti-capitalist mentalities in both the government and academia.

"The growing chorus of voices calling for the shackling of scores of successful corporations, under the rubric of antitrust laws, is only the most recent example of this all-out attack on production, profit and liberty."

We have seen what happens to a communist country, as in a period of only 70 years the Soviet Union suffered a complete economic crash.

The same is true in other communistic countries like Cuba and North Korea where the people are living in poverty and destitution. China can only survive because of the masses of cheap labor to support the military and leaders in great opulence. In time, however, a non-capitalistic country is doomed to the same fate as the Soviet Union and Cuba.

"In our judgment, what these great liberators desperately need themselves is -- liberation."

The man who has a small fruit stand knows freedom and is an entrepreneur providing a useful service.

The small businesses people in our country are all entrepreneurs and capitalists, although not all are wealthy or will ever be.

The reason I am so passionate about this subject and have repeated this refrain in different words at different times is that I can see the enemies of capitalism and pity them for they know not what they are doing.

These are the same people who created the unrealistic mandates about the solvent that 85 percent of all drycleaners use.

The energy crisis in California is a classic example of people putting insects and animals above man.

These are the people who will deny farmers in Oregon water in order to protect some fish that somehow got classified as an endangered species.

These people want us to resort to the same government as the Soviet Union and, if they succeed, America will no longer be the land of the free with opportunity for all.

Why did I decide to write about this? Perhaps it's because Labor Day will be coming up soon or perhaps it's because I have been writing a book dedicated to those I call true American Heroes... Entrepreneurs.

These are people like you, individuals who put their money, blood, sweat and tears on the line to create a business. The 5.9 million small business people create more jobs and pay more taxes than all the major corporations combined.

We are the backbone of and the major reason for the success of this great country, primarily because we have had the freedom to create the business of our dreams.

Read and think about how much credit you deserve for having the courage to pursue your dreams. And help keep the United States of America the "land of the free and the home of the brave."

Frank Kollman:
How to keep yourself out of court

You would think by now that every employer knows that there are labor laws affecting how business is conducted. You would also suspect that every employer has a proper employment application, employee handbook, disciplinary form, and so on and so forth.

Then again, there are plenty of people (including this writer) who know that fried food is bad, that exercise is important, and that stress will kill you. That did not prevent me from skipping my lunchtime run to eat a hamburger and fries, and to discuss management problems that caused my blood pressure to rise.

Last week, I met with a sophisticated employer who was using an employment application form guaranteed to generate lawsuits in the future along with a handbook filled with outdated paragraphs.

So, at the risk of preaching to drycleaners who have already taken steps to prevent costly employment related charges and lawsuits, I will go over a few things you can do -- at minimal cost -- to insure that your hard-earned money does not go just to lawyers.

First, find yourself a competent labor attorney willing to take your calls about employee problems, review your employment materials, and keep advised of developments in the law. At my firm, we consistently send out bills of less than $100 to clients who have called for advice before they took action against an employee and before they got sued. A competent labor lawyer can also give you model forms and handbooks that you can craft to suit your business.

Second, use only employment materials that are legal and proper. Employee handbooks, employment applications, and other documents are very useful in your business, but there are restrictions on what these documents can contain.

Moreover, if you are like many businesses, you are using a form or handbook that you copied -- in most cases, from someone whose name you can't even remember. Unless you can remember the last time your materials were reviewed and revised, you sorely need to review and revise them now.

Third, train your management people. Most employment problems begin at the supervisor level, not upper management. If your lower level supervisors do not understand the law, they are doomed to violate the law. Spend a little time and money on training, even if it is just a few hours at a seminar sponsored by your local trade association. An untrained supervisor is more dangerous than a loaded gun.

Fourth, take a close look at the way you pay your employees. The wage and hour laws are complicated, and do not assume you are following them. Just because a competitor pays his or her employees a particular way does not mean that way is correct. There are law firms that do not comply with the wage and hour laws, so do not assume you know right from wrong.

Fifth, use the Internet for information. OSHA, the Department of Labor, the IRS, and many other government agencies have resource material on the Internet. In addition, there are employer forums you can join to share information with other employers and attorneys.

My firm sponsors such a site, known as www.hrlawforum.com. The Internet is a cheap way to get advice, which is better than not getting any advice at all.

Finally, spend an hour a week on labor-related issues at your shop. Talk to employees to find out what's going on, what's on their minds, and how you are doing as an employer. Too often, unionization is the result of employers who do not talk to their employees. If you are non-union and wish to stay that way, I suggest you start talking to your employees on a regular basis.

There is no substitute for common sense, and common sense should tell you that employment problems are to be avoided. Follow some of the advice above, and you may see a dramatic decrease in those problems.

Frank Lucenta:
Finding out what you need to know

What will you do with your leathers? Every drycleaner must make the decision of what to do with the suedes and leathers his customers bring in for cleaning.

The possible choices include the following:

• Refuse to take them.
• Take them and give them to others to do.
• Take them and try to improve on the work others have done.
• Do some of them yourself and give the rest to others to do.
• Do all of them yourself.

Refuse to take them
There are benefits and drawbacks to each of these possible choices.

For instance, if you decide to refuse to take in any suede or leather articles, you will lose the income and profits you could realize from the highest profit items that will come across your counter! However, you sure won't have any responsibility for them. Neither will you have any problems with them. However, you will be admitting that you are not a full-service cleaner and you may be sending your customers to a competitor who will take their leathers and may do their drycleaning as well!

Give them to others to do
If you decide to take the suedes and leathers and send them to others to do them for you, then you will make some income from them. However, you will have to live with someone else's work and level of quality, as well as someone else's delivery time, which may not be up to the standards your customers have come to expect of you.

Furthermore, you will be the one the customer holds responsible for what happened to their valuable suede or leather garment. If the wholesale work is good and the delivery time is short, then you are in good shape. If it is not good, then the customer will hold you responsible no matter who did the work.

Finally, to protect yourself, you must become as familiar with the types and peculiarities of the suedes and leathers you accept as you are with types and peculiarities of the cloth items you accept. This will help you to avoid problems caused by misunderstandings resulting from lack of knowledge about suede and leather on your part and on the part of the customer when you accept them and send them to others.

Try to improve on the work others have done

If you decide to try to improve on what others have done, you will either be trying to:

• Improve the quality of the pressing by following simple instructions and learning techniques for safely forming and pressing suedes and leathers.
• Brighten and deepen the color of suede garments and trims and restore the shine to leather garments and trims by following instructions and using specially formulated products.

Do them yourself
Finally, if you accept suede and leather and want to do some or all of you own suede and leather cleaning, you will be rewarded by making ten times your cost or 1000 percent profit on each item you clean and you will keep all the money you get for each item you do.

However, in order to successfully do some or all of your own suede and leather items, you will have to learn about the types and peculiarities of the skins from which they are made, just as you should if you send them to others to clean.

You will also have to become as familiar with the techniques of spotting, cleaning and pressing suede and leather as you are with spotting, cleaning and pressing cloth items like cotton, silk, wool and synthetic fibers.

If you use a system of leather cleaning like the Royaltone System, leather cleaning will be 90 percent like cloth cleaning. You will be able to spot, clean and press most suedes and leathers without color loss or getting involved with dyeing or painting!

If you also want to be able to restore torn, worn or faded suedes or leathers that may come across your counter already torn, worn or faded, you will also have to be sure you also learn how to mend, sew, spray and dye.

It's your responsibility
Regardless of who does the work, when you decide to accept suedes and leathers for cleaning, you automatically accept the responsibility for your customer's valuable suede and leather garments. Your customer will hold you responsible for whatever happens, good or bad.

There is no free lunch. You do not have the option to blindly and ignorantly accept your customers' suede and leather garments without also accepting responsibility. If you do so, you run the real risk of claims resulting from ignorance. You could promise or imply, by not saying anything, that you can or will do something to a suede or leather garment that cannot be done.

Accepting suede or leather is really no different from the way you accept cloth items.

For example, if you are ignorant, you could promise -- or imply by not saying anything -- that badly sun-bleached and rotted drapery linings will come through the drycleaning process without falling apart.

They could fall apart and you could have a claim.

So what is the answer? You learned all you could about the types and peculiarities of cloth items made of wool, silk, cotton, linen and synthetic fibers, etc. Therefore, begin by acquiring the same knowledge about suedes and leathers so that you can avoid the problems and claims that can result from improper acceptance procedures.

Three ways to learn
There are three ways to become familiar with the required techniques for accepting, spotting, cleaning and pressing your own suedes and leathers. You can seek training by recognized experts at a school like the Royaltone Leather Cleaning Academy.

Or you can take a correspondence course like the Royaltone correspondence course, or buy product kits with detailed instructions.

Or you can go to the expensive school of hard knocks.

Learning from the experts is faster, surer, safer and much less costly than the school of hard knocks! So, don't experiment with your customers' valuable garments and end up paying claims that can cost you many times more than the cost of going to school. Go to school and learn how to keep 100 percent of your suede and leather sales revenue. Learn how to simply and easily produce beautiful suedes and leathers for your customers, in your plant, with existing equipment, in days instead of weeks.

Dennis McCrory:
The driving force of your business

How can you be sure that you are in the hearts and minds of your customers even after the sale? How can you ensure that they'll return a second time?

Immediately following the sale, write a "Thank You" card to your customer. This follow-up effort will make the customer feel important and special. Repeat the Unique Selling Proposition that I discussed last month.

Remember, a USP is that appealing and distinct idea that sets your business favorably apart from every other generic competitor.

Remind the customer how it helped her make her purchasing decision. Reassure customers about their wise decision, and show them how the same USP that served her this time will be there to serve her in the future.

Tell customers why you've adopted the USP you're using, and why it's such an advantage to them. People rarely appreciate the benefits you provide them unless you carefully educate them about your efforts on their behalf.

A post-purchase follow-up incorporating the essence of your USP is vital. When customers leaves your store, they are no longer your customers. They are free agents who must be persuaded to return.

You enhance a customer's loyalty and value to your business by following up after the sale. At the very least, a follow-up "Thank You" card drastically reduces returns, complaints and adjustments, and reassures customers of the prudence of the purchase.

There is a formula for success, and a Unique Selling Proposition, supported by an after-the-sale "Thank You" is truly an integral part of that formula.

I usually advise my clients to offer frequent special promotions to their customers by mail. Everyone wants to feel appreciated and personally acknowledged. By offering your customers genuine, specially priced deals, you endear yourself to them. At the same time, you enhance your customer's perception of your Unique Selling Proposition.

If reducing your price doesn't suit your store's image, then offer an additional incentive. Offer the customer something extra. Something that they will perceive as having a good value at no additional charge -- either an added service or a premium.

Don't underestimate the profit potential inherent in special offers.

Acquiring first-time customers can be very costly. Space ads have to reach thousands of readers to produce even a handful of customers. The same goes for TV and radio. And, while solo direct-mail works best for service businesses like drycleaners, it too requires and investment of time and money.

But once you satisfactorily provide your service and have a core customer base, you can continuously rework and resell at a very modest cost per sale.

In other words, it's cheaper to bring customers back to your store the second, third, and fourth times, than it is to bring them in the first time. When you have a list of customers who have already shown their willingness to spend money on your services, it costs very little to go to them with additional special offers.

Everyone in your company should be enthusiastically committed to doing whatever it takes to promptly fulfill your USP promise. Anyone in your employ who does not, cannot, or will not promote your USP should be immediately replaced with someone who can and will. Real wealth comes from repeat or residual business, which will only happen if every aspect of your business is a continuous execution of your Unique Selling Proposition.

Sending a "Thank You" card to current customers is the most economical way to insure repeat business. If you add up the customer's value in future business through repeat sales, you can easily justify a sizable investment in his or her goodwill. Everyone likes to be acknowledged and feel they are special.

Whenever someone asks for a refund, replacement, or adjustment, instead of resenting the fact that you have to give back money, use this opportunity to reconvey your USP and assure the dissatisfied customer of your company's commitment to offer better service.

Then ask the customer to please give you another chance to make good! And make it worth their while by giving them a discount certificate or some other preferential treatment that shows unhappy customers you want their business back, that you appreciate them, and that you will make good.

Above everything else, never lose track of the fact that a USP is all about the customer. It's not about me, you, the company or the profession.

Alan Robson: Don't play the blame game on claims

In my travels around the country, I hear a lot of talk about how flat the drycleaning industry is. When I query the drycleaners as to why their piece volume is down, I am told:

• It's the discount cleaners.
• It's casual wear.
• People don't care how they look.
• There are just too many cleaners out there.

These answers all have one thing in common -- they all put the responsibility on something that is beyond the drycleaner's control. The problem is always caused by some mysterious outside force. But is that truly the case, or are the problems in this industry a little closer to home?

On a recent business trip to Florida, I met an individual whose business is commercial real estate which gives him the opportunity to work with other business owners and professionals.

When I told him that I provide management services to the 35,000 drycleaners in America, he said, "Hell must be full of drycleaners and if it isn't, it should be! Drycleaners are always losing my clothes and when they don't lose them, they put spots in them!"

He ended by saying that he avoids buying "dryclean only" clothes so that he doesn't have to deal with drycleaners. This man made his comments with zeal and passion.

The very next night, I was relaxing in a restaurant and met a couple who own a welding supply distribution company.

When I mentioned the management groups that I run for drycleaners -- bang! -- this couple about handed me my head!

The wife wanted to know why drycleaners lose clothes and furthermore, "How come I can do a better job getting out spots than drycleaners can, not to mention the outrageous prices they charge!"

This time I was a little better prepared for the assault and I began to dig down to find out what these people were really upset about.

These business owners understand that in real life, things don't always go as smoothly as we would like. They can deal with disappointment and mistakes. What they can't and won't deal with is a hostile attitude.

What not to say

In discussing the issue of stains, the ones they didn't see when they brought their clothes to the cleaner, they don't want to hear "It's your stain, we didn't put it in."

In the case of the missing garment, they don't want to hear, "Look in all your closets and in your car. If you still don't find it you'll have to give us a month to see if we can locate it."

These customers are more distraught by the way a problem is handled than they are by the fact that a problem exists.

Hearing these stories of customer dissatisfaction has forced me to take a harder look at claims. Now, claims should be about one half of one percent of total sales. Because claims are such a small line item, they have not been given a great deal of attention -- at least not by me!

But when I take a closer look at claims and I factor in the claims that are settled by giving the customer a credit instead of paying them with a check, I find that claims are almost one percent of sales. Still, not a lot of money.

Next, I decided to look at my group members to see if there is any relationship between the way they handle claims and their sales growth. Please note, in the Biz Builder Management Groups we measure growth in three ways;

1. Dollar volume: Tracking sales growth by dollar volume is a little misleading because every group member raises prices at least once a year.

2. Piece volume: Tracking piece volume -- drycleaning and shirts -- is the most consistent measure of growth.

3. Return on sales (profit growth): Tracking profit growth is extremely important because that is your future.

As of this writing, 63 percent of my group members are cleaning more pieces and have higher dollar sales over the same period last year. The remaining 37 percent are experiencing flat or lower piece volume with dollar volume up slightly (price increases) or down.

What differentiates these two groups?

The claims-success connection
Both those drycleaners who are growing and the ones who are not reside in all regions of the country. Interestingly, the drycleaners in my groups who are experiencing the best growth have several things in common.

Most notable is that their claims are greater than one percent of total sales. In fact, one of the most successful drycleaners is paying almost two percent of total sales back to his customers in cleaning credits and in checks written.

Before jumping to any conclusions, we must look at some of the other things these businesses have in common. These drycleaners:

1. Spend less money on advertising.

2. Do not send out coupons.

3. Have higher prices.

4. Pay higher wages.

5. Retain a higher percentage of their customer base.

6. Generate a 16 to 25 percent return on sales.

Okay, how does all this tie into claims?

Claims are the result of very emotional situations. More than half of the customer complaints that drycleaners receive are the direct result of something the customer did.

The most common customer complaint is that there are stains in the clothes that were not there when the clothes were brought in. It is the customer's perception that the drycleaner screwed up and that the drycleaner has a responsibility to make it right.

We all know that drycleaners do not put stains in clothes and that many stains are not visible before the clothes are cleaned.

What is your response?
So, how do most drycleaners respond?

They become as emotional and irrational as the customer. A heated discussion begins. The customer is pointing at the drycleaner and the drycleaner is pointing at the customer. Once you start down that road there is no turning back.

So, what is the answer?

Should you pay for a garment that you didn't ruin although the customer "thinks" you ruined it?

Should you pay for a garment that the customer "thinks" you lost even when your counter computer shows it was never marked in?

Most people have a hard time admitting that they screwed up even when they did! How hard is it to accept the blame for something you did not do?

Now, add to that the pain of paying for a mistake your did not make.

The real question is not, "Who is at fault? It is, "How are you going to handle it?"

You have two kinds of customers:

Those who use your services three or four times a year. You know, the two weddings and a funeral customers. Even though these customers are important, you need to measure their value to your company when it comes to a questionable claim.

The other type, your bread and butter customers, consistently use your services. These are the customers you must retain in order to grow your business successfully.

When these customers have a problem, your customer service rep must ask them "What can we do? How would you like me to take care of this?"

When they tell you what they want -- do it!

How long will it take before all these frivolous claims put you out of business?

They won't!

If you wonder how you will pay for them, increase your prices two percent. This will pay for all your claims and add more money to your bottom line.

A matter of image
The public has a very negative attitude toward drycleaners. How did the industry get this reputation? We earned it!

Can we as an industry gain consumer confidence and respect?

The answer is yes, but we will have to earn it one customer at a time.

How? Settle the claim promptly. Don't let it drag out for weeks. Settle the claim with a positive attitude.

As one of my clients puts it, "We are in the customer service business ­ everything else is just dirty clothes!"

Deliver exceptional customer service and your customers will grow your business for you.

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

Copyright © 2001, National Clothesline
Maintained by: Hal Horning