Searching for a good drycleane

By Bill Bogus

This is an essay dressed in fiction, but it has more truth than fiction. This is about women and drycleaning and what they expect from drycleaning. They will tell us so we don’t have to guess, but ask and listen.

Why not include men? Men seldom ask questions. Women always ask more questions than men. They want to know how their clothes are being drycleaned and the capability of the drycleaner.

When women are pleased with their drycleaning, they show appreciation more so than men. There was a woman who was so happy that the stain was removed from her favorite dress that she hugged the drycleaner. Now that definitely is a sign of appreciation.

There is strong evidence that women are more caring about clothes than men. Who else cares? Drycleaners care, but the professional drycleaner does more than just care. Caring could also be mental anxiety in waiting for more business. The kind of caring professional drycleaners adhere to are the supplements added to protect the newness and longevity of the garment. This added service is the true meaning of quality.

Customers can expect and get more from professional drycleaning. And importantly, clothes last longer in shape and texture when drycleaned. There are more good things about drycleaning that consumers are not aware of. Why keep it a secret? There is no advantage in not telling.

People will always need to have their clothes cleaned. Ever since tailoring, buttons and zippers for outerwear, drycleaning became preferable.

Today, the preference has not changed but results have changed. In light of what is happening today, change has worsened things. Too many drycleaners have denigrated drycleaning by simplifying wants that customers favor. Because of this simplification, the need for drycleaning has lessened.

Customers are now experiencing disappointment with drycleaning. Spot removal has become a disaster for the drycleaner and for the customer. Mediocrity, like a virus, is spreading throughout the industry and that has become troublesome for the person who tries to find a good drycleaner. It’s like the anxious motorist driving without directions.

Now here is a story dressed in fiction but relate true life happenings, explained by Mary and Jane. They are fictionalized, but their message is not. Mary and Jane are two women who are established in their professional careers. In the corporate boardroom, their presence and influence are felt. And not sometimes, but always, they are dressed up for the occasion.

During a restful moment, Mary said to Jane, “I like the dress you are wearing, it looks so new. Did you just buy it?”

“No, I didn’t just buy it,” Jane said. “I wore it at your wedding two years ago. Remember?”

“Now I remember, but I can’t believe it! How did you manage to keep It so new looking?” Mary curiously asked.

Pleased with the compliment. Jane said, “I don’t do a thing. I take all my clothes to a good drycleaner. He does all of that good stuff. He’s a professional.”

Mary said, “You are so fortunate, but I’m not. I’m having a lot of disappointments in finding a good drycleaner. Some of them are disastrous. Some of the clothing that I got back from the cleaners gives me the feeling that I have been taken. How did you find your drycleaner?”

Jane paused for a moment and said, “I know how you feel. I’ve tried many drycleaners. It wasn’t easy. Just like you said, some were disastrous. I was ready to give up but I know there had to be a good drycleaner somewhere. So I kept trying and trying. Believe me, it wasn’t easy. Finally my search was in the Yellow Pages of the phone directory. I was surprised to find so many listings and not as many display ads. Some of the big ones were liberal with superlatives, trying to command position in people’s minds. I didn’t go for that. My search ended when my eyes caught attention to a small ad — nothing pretentious, and the message wasn’t smothered in exaggerations. All it said was. ‘Professional drycleaning, satisfaction guaranteed’. That’s it. This is the one I want.”

Jane again said, “I’ll be stopping by this evening to pick up my drycleaning. If you want to come with me, I’ll introduce you to my drycleaner.”

Mary said, “Of course I want to go. You know I’m having a hard time finding a drycleaner who knows his business and understands our problems.”