National Clothesline

On August 3 and 4, Savannah, GA, proved to be a hot place to visit when the South Eastern Fabricare Association blazed its way through town with its 2002 Southern Drycleaners Show.

The show, held at the Savannah International Trade & Convention Center, offered an informative session early Saturday morning when International Fabricare Institute CEO Bill Fisher presented “Can We Survive? YES WE CAN! at 8 a.m., discussing the past, present and future state of the drycleaning industry.

Other Saturday programming included an hour-long presentation on “The Front Counter” by industry expert Norm Oehlke where he posed the question: “Are your personnel responding to your customers’ needs?”

At 8 a.m. on Sunday morning, the topic “How to Deal With Difficult Employees” was examined by Dr. Sandy Seay, Jr., president of Seay Management Consultants. Afterward, Rex Carrigan, who owns Carrigan Consulting, focussed his seminar on how to sell to new customers and build value with existing customers by driving and managing delivery routes properly.

One of the highlights of the weekend was a series of live demonstrations of stain removal by Kenney Slatten, a.k.a. “The Cowboy Cleaner.”

The International Fabricare Institute will present an outreach seminar on “Customer Service” on Saturday, Sept. 28 in Valdosta, GA.

The program will outline the six most common types of customers and what makes them tick. Attendees will learn how to identify the problem areas in their plant’s customer service policies and procedures and understand how the role of the customer service representative is vital to the future success of the company.

For more information, contact the office of the South Eastern Fabricare Association at (877) 707-7332.

R.R. Street & Co., Inc. will sponsor a hands-on seminar on Nov. 9, hosted by Industrial Equipment & Supplies of Miami, FL.

Guest instructor Kenney Slatten will bring his years of industry experience to the program, which will cover effective drycleaning and finishing methods, including pointers on how to clean with DF-2000 fluid.

Two training sessions will be planned; one will be in English and one will be in Korean.

For more information, contact Doug Lavan at (305) 324-0410.