Stan Caplan: Finishing suit coats and sport coats properly

Part I

Men's or women's suit coats and sport coats are among the most poorly pressed garments in drycleaning plants today.

The collars are rolled instead of creased; the lapels are wavy, mushy and break beyond the top button; the sleeve cuffs are not squared and shaped; the pocket flaps have impressions behind them; the yoke flap lining is not creased; the front buttons have impressions behind them; and the gorge seams (where the collar is sewed to the lapel) are not creased about two inches below into the lapel, which should then be rolled and laid back, about one inch to 1 1Ž2 inches above the top button.

Fortunately, today's coats are lined with acetate satin fabric which requires very little finishing or touch up. However, any wrinkles from poor cleaning cycles should be smoothed by a hand iron (no steam applied after the garment is finished).

Very few plants have the equipment to press and shrink in the collar. Hoffman seems to be the only manufacturer that makes that type of equipment, which not only presses the collar and shoulders but also carries the gorge seam creases about 1 1Ž2 inches into the lapel. This sets the lapels to break properly above the top button. The rest of the machine is a steam-air form finisher, which finishes the body and sleeves after the collar-pressing head is automatically released. The name of this machine is "Coat-A-Matic."

A few collar (only) presses by Hoffman are still available as used, or rebuilt, pieces from various distributors and rebuilders. This machine is called "Korrect Kollar."

Next choice
The next best machine is the mushroom press. The buck is very oval-shaped and is 16 inches to 19 inches wide. The mushroom with the smaller width is more viable than a wider width which is used for pants topping. The mushroom has a buck shaped almost like a football, and it will properly shrink a stretched-out collar while it is shaping and creasing it down through the gorge seam.

The procedure for finishing the collar on the mushroom press (with one lay) is as follows:

1. Remove the coat from the hanger by grasping the top of the right lapel with the left hand and the left lapel with the right hand.

2. Spread the hands apart and remove the coat from the hanger.

3. Position the collar on the mushroom press so that both gorge seams are on the back edge of the buck with the collar facing the operator at the front edge of the buck. Both gorge seams are about two inches from the front edge of the buck with the creases extending about 1 1Ž2 inches to 2 inches down into the unfinished lapels.

4. Place the fingers of the left hand against the coat yoke to hold the collar in place on the buck.

5. Apply buck steam and work any puckered areas evenly throughout the collar.

6. Close the head while applying vacuum to hold the collar to the buck.

7. Release the vacuum and apply head steam for 2 seconds. Use medium head pressure for soft-finish fabric and high head pressure for hard-finish fabric.

8. Release the head and apply vacuum for 4 seconds. Make sure the collar is dry and cooled.

9. Repeat steps 4 to 7, if required, for a collar that has never been pressed since the coat left the factory.

As a last resort, but better than not pressing the collar at all, use the end of the 42-inch or 45-inch utility press equipped with an all-steam hand iron, water spray gun and sleeve ironing board.

Procedure for One Lay (Use wide end)
The procedure for finishing the collar on the utility press is as follows:

1. Same as for mushroom press.

2. Same as for mushroom press.

3. Position the collar on the wide end of the buck of the utility press so that both gorge seams are on the front and back edges of the buck, and the two fronts of the coat lie on the press table toward the opposite (narrow) end of the buck. The gorge seams are 1 1Ž2 inches to 2 inches on the pressure points of the buck.

4. Place the fingers of the left hand against the coat yoke to hold the collar in place on the wide end of the buck.

5. Apply buck steam and work any puckered areas evenly throughout the collar.

6. Close head while applying vacuum to hold the collar to the buck.

7. Release the vacuum and apply head steam for 2 seconds. Use medium head pressure for soft finish fabric and high head pressure for hard finish fabric.

8. Release the head and apply vacuum for 4 seconds. Make sure the collar is dry and cooled.

9. Repeat steps 4 to 7, if required, for a collar that has never been pressed since the coat left the factory.

Procedure for two lays (Use narrow end)
1. Same as for mushroom press.

2. Same as for mushroom press.

3. Position the right side on the back, narrow end of the buck so that the right side of the collar and 1 1Ž2 inches to 2 inches below the gorge seam, into the lapel, rests on the pressure point of the buck.

4. Place the fingers of the right hand against the coat yoke to hold the collar in place on the end of the buck.

5. Apply buck steam and work any puckered areas evenly throughout the collar.

6. Close the head while applying vacuum to hold the collar to the buck.

7. Release the vacuum and apply head steam for 2 seconds. Use medium head pressure for soft finish fabric and high head pressure for hard finish fabric.

8. Release the head and apply vacuum for 4 seconds. Make sure the collar is dry and cooled.

9. Repeat steps 4 to 7, if required, for a collar that has never been pressed since the coat left the factory.

10. Move the garment around to the front, narrow end of the press and position the left side collar as done with the right side of the collar and proceed as in 3 above (but for the left side collar on the opposite end.)

After the collar is pressed (on the utility press), the next step is to pleat and press the yoke lining. This part of the fully lined coat, or the yoke-lined coat, gets the most wear and tensioning.

Using the steam-air form finisher
Next, the coat is placed on the steam-air form finisher (sometimes called "Suzie") to finish the sleeves and body parts that require no head pressure.

NOTE: This machine could include pressing of the collar and shoulders if configured with the self-adjusting head and vacuum as described in the beginning of this article.

The procedure for using the regular steam-air form finisher is as follows:

1. Grasp both lapels with both hands.

2. Guide the coat around the form and place the shoulder on the shoulder attachment.

3. Position the shoulder so the shoulder seams are about in the center of the shoulder attachment and adjust the end support to come out only to the armhole seams and no farther.

4. Adjust the position of the collar so that the two gorge seams are parallel to each other and the collar, itself, hugs the post with no extended portion away from the post. To ensure this position of the collar, pull the two bottoms of the coat down so that the collar will hug the post in the same position as is worn by a man with good posture.

5. Grasp the button side of the coat just above the top button with the left hand, and grasp the buttonhole side of the coat just above the top buttonhole with the right hand.

6. Cross the button side over the buttonhole side about 2 inches with the bottom of both sides hanging even.

7. Hold the coat edges above the top button against the form with the left hand and close the front clamp.

8. Hold the vent together with the left hand and attach a portable hand clamp overt the vent.

Note: Using the long rear clamp is not as effective as the hand clamp, for closing the vent and weighting down the back.

9. Press together the sleeve former (expander) two bars in your right hand. Grasp the front, bottom of the sleeve cuff in the left hand and insert the sleeve former to about half way up the sleeve with the right hand.

10. Release the right hand to expand the sleeve former.

11. Grasp the front, bottom of the sleeve cuff with the thumb and forefinger of the left hand. Grasp only the front bar of the sleeve former in your right hand. Hold down the front, bottom of the sleeve cuff taught with the left hand while you push the front sleeve former bar up the sleeve under tension until the top of the front bars stops at the bottom of the armhole. Then release your hands.

12. Adjust the rear seam of the sleeve so it is on the rear bar of the sleeve former. This will ensure a perfect shaping of the sleeve and with no lining or fabric hanging below the squared cuff.

13. Place sleeve formers on the other sleeve using the same procedure as above.

14. Start the steam air automatic cycle -- set steam at 6 seconds and air at 40 seconds.

NOTE: Since it takes a couple minutes to firmly press the two lapels on both sides, both pocket flaps with removal of their impression and touch up any winkles noticed while moving the coat from font to back of the press (always away from the finisher), the extra drying time on the steam-air form finisher will not impede production time.

15. Release the front and vent clamps.

16. Place your right hand around the bottom of the sleeve former bars, and place your palm of the left hand on the back bar about half way up the sleeve. Push forward with your left hand and backward toward the back bar with your right hand, simultaneously, pressing the two bars close enough together to squeeze them completely with the right hand.

17. Slide the closed former from the sleeve.

18. Follow the same procedure for the other sleeve.

19. Grasp the right gorge seam with the fight hand and flip the right shoulder from the shoulder attachment. Grasp the center of the collar with your right hand so that the thumb is positioned on the inside of the collar.

20. Slide the coat off the form and grasp the left bottom with the left hand while holding the collar area with your right hand.

21. Lay the left side of the coat lengthwise on the buck of the press with the lapel face down.

You are now ready to place another coat on the steam-air form finisher (the collar and yoke lining was already pressed immediately after the previous coat was finished on the utility press and hung away.)

Next month I will describe pressing of the two lapels (on both sides), the two pocket flaps, removing the pocket flap impression and front button impression and touching up wrinkles, etc.

Also, I will describe finishing a wetcleaned, or laundered, sport jacket.

Meanwhile for a complete discussion on quality, hangers, tips, and various methods of finishing please read my June, 1993, article, "Quality Finishing: Tips on Solving Problems of Shine and Impressions."

This column is available from National Clothesline by request.

Ray Colucci: Because we always did it that way!

Way back in a high school yearbook, some classmate wrote "Learn my son, before you are old, for a good education is more precious than gold. For gold and silver may fade away, but a good education will never decay!"

I'd like to add "how true," but I would be lying. I constantly see how we forget hard won truths and practices when bad habits somehow creep into our operations and become imbedded in our daily way of doing business.

When I see some wasteful systems operating during my travels to various plants, I ask, "Is there any reason why you do it that way?"

The answer I usually receive is, "Because we always did it that way!"

If we don't learn from our mistakes, we are destined to continue those mistakes. Most often it takes less than the same simple amount of energy to do something correctly and economically while receiving both short- and long-term benefits.

I remember a plant with four pressers and finishing stations where the presser, when completing a garment, walked three and a half steps to secure a hanger, then returned three and a half steps to hang the garment, and another two steps to secure the next piece!

The pressers were being compensated an hourly wage and they were what appeared to be a contented and cooperative crew.

Now you don't have to be an "efficiency expert" to know there must be a better way!

But I was looking at the production cost and the profit motive, and when I got finished with some simple corrections of bringing the work to the worker, and, through an orderly workflow, to the inspection and assembly area, I found an astronomical savings by just multiplying the combined salaries of the four pressers and their increased production.

With some simple calculations, I was able to suggest to the owner and his wife "a Hawaii vacation for two, all paid for, with just the savings alone."

Bad habits die hard
This particular case would seem unusual, but in reality it goes on just about everywhere: "Because we always did that way!"

The problem may not always be in the finishing department, although that's the sore spot usually, because our finishers are creative people and prefer to do things their way! If any changes come, they want to go back to their old ways or they threaten to leave.

Are there any prima donnas working in your plant?

We don't have to go too far back in history to know the advantages in automation and to see that we are on the threshold of robotics.

Of course, I don't see robotics, at least not in my lifetime, but the principles of repetition and classifying or selectively segregating the work load to your best quality and productive advantage is a must as standard procedure.

Few drycleaners are aware that pants and trousers constitute some 50 percent of their volume. Yet they don't invest in a legger/utility press, which of course does a trouser leg in one lay, with no chance of making a double crease. (Of course, they still might have to correct a competitor's old crease).

Fifty pants an hour, or more, with a topper blower is a common practice, even for a trainee, and there are excellent topper/blowers on the market where one operator operates two units. The operator simply pivots from one unit to the other, and eliminates ceiling gazing and non-productive day dreaming.

Take a look around
All it takes is observing your present operator to see if he reaches 30 inches, when he could be reaching only 15 inches or to see if he is walking when the work station could be beside him.

Do you have your spotter hang your pants on a banana-type hook in easy reach? (They hold over 50 pants, and most of the wrinkles will fall out before pressing).

So it goes. The purpose of the shirt unit is to dry the goods as well as press. The extractor speed and time allowance is most important -- too wet or too dry can kill any production or quality advantage. The best operator will lose all benefits.

Start with your counter and your computer. Does the customer's name come up by using four-digits or their phone number. Can your counter sales person greet your customer by name, know that they want starch or no starch in their shirts. Or that they like an evening delivery, or Saturday morning, etc.?

Does your mark-in counter have all that is needed close at hand? Is it color coded?

Are your phone techniques spelled out for quick action and courtesy? Remember, your phone is not an interruption of business but your best chance for a one-on-one, image builder.

Can your mark-in person be trained in classification for drycleaning or for prespotting?

Does your spotter take the opportunity to feed finishers the select garments for special attention?

Is your work flow designed for production and quality? Who makes those decisions?

Is your final inspector on a "return no-talk" basis with a color coded return procedure using a documented written log so the same errors are not made over and over again?

Are all your brochures and packaging easily accessible to the assembly/inspector? Is there a spotlight and a good overhead light?

When we think and promote quality and production, we must remember: A plant that is well ventilated and well lighted gets a nice bonus in worker production and a cooperative attitude.

Bonuses for everybody
The nice part of this win/win situation is the boss gets a bonus, too, in worker loyalty. The costly act of retraining and rehiring is eliminated.

What is more damaging than spending advertising dollars to draw a select clientele and turning out something short of perfection? Remember, some of these new customers may be trying your service for the very first time. You never get a second chance to make a first impression!

When all is said and done "We are looking for our money's worth, and it's very possible to do it right... the first time."

Dan Eisen: What to do when the fur is flying

Real fur garments are making a fashion comeback. As a result, consumers are buying more imitation fur pile fabrics due to its lower cost and realistic simulation of real fur. Some consumers may prefer imitation fur fabric because of their compassion for the preservation of wildlife.

Manufacturers can obtain realistic imitations of real fur by using heat-sensitive fibers and resins. Manufacturing of deep pile fabrics requires a blend of high and low shrinkage fibers.

Heat treatment causes the high shrinkage fibers to shrink and form the downy undercoat fibers, leaving the low shrinkage fibers as the guard hairs.

Acrylic (Orlon) and modacrylic (Dynel) are common fibers used.

Imitation fur pile fabrics may be finished by curling, shearings, sculpturing or printing to resemble different kinds of real fur, including mink, mouton, nutria, beaver, otter, lynx and fox.

To give imitation fur pile fabric body and luster, resins are used.

The resin may also stabilize the pile against distortion.

Imitation fur pile fabrics are used for coats, jackets and linings.

Fabric problems
The imitation fur pile fabric may become a problem from normal use or subsequent processing. The pile fabric will be affected by heat, which may damage the pile. That the coat "looks like a wet cat," or "lost its fur look" are common customer complaints when pile distorts. Some of the fibers may be more heat sensitive than others and damage to the pile maybe limited to some sections of the garment.

The resin used to add luster and body to pile fabric may be removed in normal wear or in drycleaning. Loss of resin may make the pile more susceptible to distortion, matting, tufting and loss of body.

Shrinkage may result in drycleaning, even though the garment may have a label which reads "dryclean only."

When the pile distorts, the garment may appear to have color loss due to change in the reflection of light.

Imitation fur pile coats may be trimmed with imitation leather or suede. These trimmings pose potential problems of peeling, stiffening and cracking.

Inspection
Common labeling on imitation fur fabrics are "Dryclean Using Fur Pile Method," "Fur Clean Only" and "Do Not Steam Or Brush."

Examine imitation fur pile fabric garments for matting and tufting at points of wear such as collars, cuffs, pockets and seat.

If the garment is trimmed with imitation suede or leather, look for peeling, separation and puckering. Obtain the customer's signed release before processing trimmed garments.

Drycleaning
Imitation fur pile fabrics should be run two to three minutes in a high solvent level.

No moisture should be added to the solvent and solvent temperature should be no higher than 80 degrees F.

Drying temperatures should be no higher than 105 degrees F. Extended drying may be necessary to remove the fumes sufficiently.

Fur cleaning
Imitation fur pile coats can also be sent to a furrier for processing. This may be safer if the garment is trimmed with imitation or real suede or leather. This fur cleaning method uses the caging process with sawdust, nut shells or similar products.

Prespotting
Prespot heavily soiled areas on pile fabrics with either dryside chemicals, spray prespotter or moisture-bearing prespotters. Wipe gently with cheesecloth or a padded brush.

If a moisture-bearing prespotter is used, hang to dry before drycleaning.

Do not use dryside chemicals on imitation suede or leather.

Spotting
Do not use the steam gun. Heat and pressure may permanently distort the pile. Instead, spray the surface with the water gun or wipe with a damp cheesecloth in the direction of the lay of the pile.

When wetside lubricants are used, flush with the water gun to remove.

Tamping or brushing may also cause pile distortion.

On imitation leather, use only water and neutral lubricant.

Wetcleaning
Imitation fur pile coats usually can be wetcleaned provided the lining and trimming permit it.

Use cool water, mild lubricant and limited agitation. Extract lightly and hang to dry or dry in a cool tumbler.

Finishing
Do not press or steam. Heat will cause matting or tufting. Do not use a brush -- it will distort the pile.

Touch up linings by running the fabric over a hot puffer without steam. Place the garment on the steam air finisher, but use air only.

Stan Golomb: What's wrong with this picture?

I get mail -- often from total strangers. It seems that writing a monthly column in a trade journal generates responses from various people about many subjects.

I read and respond to any letter I receive, so if any of you have a question or want to discuss a subject, please feel free to write me. I prefer e-mail as I can deal with it quickly.

Every now and then, I get an unusual letter. This one is from a very astute gentleman who wrote me about his concept of the future of the drycleaning industry.

After reading it carefully, I called him to find out where he was coming from. He told me he is an investor in the cleaning business, but his main job is in computers.

Normally, I would read it, respond to it and forget it, but I think this man touched on some subjects that bear analysis and response from some of the industry leaders.

So I am printing the letter hoping that some of the people who have a handle on the future of the industry will respond.

Here is what Daren had to say about the cleaning industry.

Hello Stan --

Your articles have always been insightful and thought provoking... and I am not at all surprised that you have been the first of all the regular contributors to the trade press to acknowledge that the industry is indeed in a state of (perhaps slow but steady) decline.

My business has grown year after year for nine years. This year, in our tenth year, it will show its first drop in sales volume.

I have been working in the software industry for the past three years, and I look at this industry as both an insider and also an outsider. My stores are now an investment, and I do not actively work in the drycleaning business.

This is the state of affairs as I see it:

Casual dress code
There has been a fundamental value shift in what is considered acceptable work attire. (You do not make points with your clothes, but with your ideas!)

Inasmuch as this has been brought on by the technology revolution, a revolution that is still in its infancy, I believe that casual attire will become the norm, and the use of suits will become an exception rather than the rule.

In my three years in the technology industry, I have seldom seen more than one or two percent of my co-workers wearing a suit on a given day. In one company, our CEO had a suit hanging in his office that he wore perhaps once a day for an hour or so when he had to meet visitors.

Stand outside the corporate offices of any technology company in Silicon Valley and count the number of people walking out in suits... it will be a lucky day if you count one in a hundred.

Dressing down is a secular trend. It affects us more than we realize.

Telecommuting and home offices
The ability to work from home eliminates the need even for "pressed khakis."

Yes, I and many others log on to our workplace every morning and we do not always have to go to a workplace away from home.

The last article I read on telecommuting indicates that about 25 percent of the Fortune 1000 allow some form of telecommuting to their employees.

Some companies even get you a free high-speed internet connection, several phone lines and office furniture for your home office. These people do not even need casual and/or pressed garments to "go to work."

The value proposition
The fall of trade barriers and tariffs has made it possible to get a beaded blouse from Bangladesh at $15 and a silk dress from China for $75. My drycleaning charge for the blouse exceeds 30 percent of the value of the blouse, and is about 19 percent of the value of this dress.

Typically, 10 years ago, the value proposition was more palatable from a consumer perspective, when drycleaners charged an average of 5 percent to 7 percent of the value of an item as cleaning charges. The only cleaners who do not have price resistance are those who cater to the very upscale customers.

Dryel
I saw it at a recent trade show. It worked on more than just water-soluble stains.

And more important than Dryel's effectiveness are the reasons that will make Dryel a success: Procter & Gamble plays to WIN!

They have deeper pockets than any of our trade associations. They have researched the market more thoroughly than we can envision.

They have introduced a product to take advantage of the perceived gap between the value of the services drycleaners provide and the price they charge.

The backlash against increasing drycleaning prices has provided a perfect "point of entry" for Dryel. The drycleaning industry will lose market share to Dryel.

Internet start-ups
A threat from internet start ups? Perhaps. A well capitalized start-up (Webvan) is building up to 80 strategically located, highly automated warehouses to deliver groceries ordered on the internet and telephone.

One of their stated goals is to be able to deliver "drycleaning" to their customers. I am not sure if or how this would work. I did ask my 12- and 15-year old kids about ordering groceries and/or a drycleaning "pick up" ordered through the internet, and both thought that was '"cool." Yes, I believe they would use the service if available.

The environment
If we truly have to upgrade to new technologies such as liquid carbon-dioxide, the heavy capital outlays will be out of the affordability range of all but a few very high volume stores... or drop stores serviced by a huge central plant.

For many, even routine EPA guidelines impose a financial burden that makes the investment of time and money highly questionable. What is the motivation if our investment brings a 10 percent Return On Investment when we can invest in Microsoft for a relatively safe 40 percent ROI?

Labor
With the unemployment rate at 4 percent or less nationwide (and less than 2 percent in my area) I am constrained to give pay raises that far exceed the increase that I am able to charge my customers. My labor costs will increase in excess of 10 percent this year.

How do you attract a kid to the drycleaning industry? With six months of client server classes, a school graduate commands a $45k wage in the IT sector! With benefits, this amounts to $25 an hour -- an unheard of wage in the drycleaning industry.

Innovation
There has been no significant advance in labor-saving or productivity-enhancing equipment. If we could automate the drycleaning and pressing process, we could substantially expand the market. At the moment, the best conceived advertising and promotional plans do nothing to increase the size of the market... we only steal our competitors customers. Until there is a revolutionary idea that reduces the drycleaning costs to the point where it takes the cleaning process away from the "home" and into our stores, the industry volume will continue to decline.

Misguided industry associations
They do very important things, like training, workshops, testing fabrics, working with the legislative bodies, working with manufacturers and care labels. But this only maintains the status quo.

Let us not miss the forest for the trees. Their primary purpose should be to influence and nurture innovative technologies that raise our revenue, raise our productivity and lower our costs. We need to increase market size.

If volumes were higher, it would be relatively easier to comply, financially, with EPA rules, buy state-of-the-art new machines, pay our pressers twice as much for pressing "wetcleaned" garments, and still make a reasonable return on investment!

There is a Big Picture. I hope they can devote some attention to it. It is time for a paradigm shift in the way they operate.

The chains
They have come and gone. But none of their founders were financed by venture capital. Their founders were drycleaners, successful drycleaners, but they did not come from a successful multi-store retail background.

Zoots is different. They have the capital to use the best technology, the capital to innovate, and they (the founders) have a proven success record. They can succeed.

The machinery manufacturers
They still encourage the salesmen who put together equipment, financing and store location packages for unsuspecting investors. The exaggerated profit picture painted by The Wall Street Journal many years ago, and the equally exaggerated pro forma numbers put together by these confident salesmen, create the kind of cleaners that ruin the industry reputation.

Name a cleaner who has not seen a few more drycleaning establishments come up in his trading area!

Our industry gurus
They continue to pontificate on every issue but the core issue: How do you increase market size and productivity? The answer will bring us back to boundless prosperity.

I recently saw an article where it was claimed that in this business there are no economies of scale. This is an absurd contention. If my van services 75 instead of a 100 customers, do I pay more in insurance? Lease payments? If my machine cleans 200,000 pounds a year instead of 100,000, does it cost less to clean? Does my lease payment go up? Do I pay more rent?

There are economies of scale. Most plants are totally under-utilizing their equipment, and consequently incur higher operating expenses. I have learned a lot from the industry gurus, but I think they should write and speak about what they have done, and not what they think is the right thing to do.

This is not an industry of uneducated new immigrants. This is an industry of very smart business people who may not always have fluency in English or fancy degrees.

Thank you for your time, Stan. I hope you live forever and guide us as we journey into the new millennium.

It's not often that I get an e-mail letter that demonstrates a careful analysis of the industry as this gentleman has provided.

It came out of the blue and I addressed each issue as I read his letter and realized that this is something every deep-thinking member of the industry should do.

Therefore, I'm requesting that those of you who wish to comment, just send me your ideas and then, along with mine, I will follow up with group thinking on this subject.

I am making a special request to all cleaners who would like to present their agreement or disagreement with the writer.

Please send me your comments, to the address below, preferably by e-mail, and I will report a compilation of the comments and will list the names of the respondents only if they don't ask their name be omitted.

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 (630) 887-7339. His e-mail address is: sgolomb@ix.netcom.com

Frank Kollman: A policy on e-mail and voice mail

E-mail and voice mail have overtaken paper communication. Pink telephone messages and letters may go the way of carbon paper.

In addition, many employees with e-mail also have access to the Internet, with its sexually explicit web sites and electronic commerce capabilities. Some day, you will be able to buy Girl Scout cookies over the Internet, if you can't already.

As an attorney, the existence of e-mail and voice mail create unique problems. In litigation, electronically-stored materials -- including backups -- are "discoverable" documents.

In other words, litigants may be required to provide copies of the electronic media, transcripts, and so forth to the other side in litigation.

I know of one instance where a company had to spend thousands of dollars because it kept back-up tapes forever, even though it no longer had the equipment to read those old tapes.

The following is a sample policy you might want to consider for your business. In addition, you might want to see just what you have in that software closet and throw it out.

An e-mail and voice mail policy
E-mail and Voice Mail (VM) belong to the Company, and they are important components of the Company's business records. E-mail and VM systems are provided by the Company for employees to perform Company work, and their contents are Company property.

Although the Company does not routinely monitor E-mail and VM, we reserve the right to review them for proper reasons, including to find lost messages or to investigate wrongful acts.

Employees may use E-mail or VM for personal communications that do not interfere with or conflict with business use. Good judgment must be exercised by all employees who employ these systems for personal use. You must understand, however, that personal messages may be reviewed by the Company if legitimate reasons become apparent.

Use of E-mail and VM is limited to employees and authorized vendors, temporaries, or contractors.

Employees and authorized users are responsible to maintain the security of their account and their password. You should change your password regularly and take precautions to prevent unauthorized access to your mailbox by logging off when your terminal is not in use.

E-mail and VM passwords should be at least six alphanumeric characters including at least one numeric character for E-mail.

A. Efficient Usage.
Efficient use of the E-mail and VM systems means that messages should be concise and directed to individuals only with an interest or need to know. General notice bulletins should be reserved for situations where "everyone" needs to have a copy. Please do not make it necessary to restrict your ability to send general notice e-mails.

Delete old messages. There is limited space on the system for ancient messages.

B. Misuses of Electronic mail and Voicemail.
Misuse of E-mail and VM systems can result in disciplinary action up to and including termination. Examples of misuse include the following:

• Sending obscene, profane, or offensive material. This includes, for example, accessing erotic or inappropriate materials via Internet browsers.
• Also, messages, jokes, or forms that violate our harassment policy or create an intimidating or hostile work environment are prohibited.
• Use of Company communications systems to set up personal businesses or to send chain letters is prohibited.
• Company confidential messages should be distributed to Company personnel only. Forwarding to locations outside is prohibited.
• Accessing copyrighted information in a way that violates the copyright is prohibited.
• Breaking into the system or unauthorized use of a password/mailbox is prohibited.
• Broadcasting unsolicited personal views on social, political, religious or other non-business related matters is prohibited.
• Solicitation to buy or sell goods or services is prohibited.

C. Responsibility for this policy
Where issues arise, the Human Resources Department will deal directly with the employee (and notify his or her manager where appropriate). The interpretation of appropriate use and future revisions of this policy are the responsibility of the Director of Human Resources.

Frank Lucenta: Live steam on suede and leather?

Ever wish you could steam the wrinkles out of a suede or leather? Well, you can and I will tell you how if you read on!

You will remember in my explanation of the use of the hand iron for pressing suede and leather, I stated that the pressing of suede and leather garments is almost exactly like pressing cloth garments.

In the case of the steam/air form finisher, we use all the same techniques used in form finishing cloth garments like coats and jackets. This includes the use of the steam part of the cycle on most suede and leather garments.

That's right! You can use live steam on most suede and leather garments.

But, you may ask, "Why is it that you stated previously that you do not ever let live steam contact the suede or leather skin on a press?"

The answer is simple. A form finisher is not a press. So the "never use live steam" rule does not apply in most cases on a form finisher.

These conditions do not exist with a form finisher. Yes, steam is applied to the skin but it is not locked in and under heat and pressure against a hot press head.

Therefore, the steam applied to most suedes and leathers on a form finisher will not harm them.

Instead, it will steam out the wrinkles and then the drying air will maintain pressure against the garment to hold it taut while the moisture is removed, just as is done on cloth items.

Precautions
Some precautions when using a steam/air form finisher:

You may have noticed that I keep saying you can use the steam/air form finisher on most suede and leather garments just like you use it on cloth garments. That means that there are some suedes and leathers that you don't want to form finish like you do cloth garments.

Never try to form finish a fur or a shearling or a shammy suede on the regular cycle of a steam/air form finisher as they will invariably shrivel up and become a claim. The same can happen to any soft, thin delicate lambskin suede or leather.

Also, be wary of applying such steam to soft, painted leather as the steam will be trapped by the impervious lacquer leather paint on the surface of the skin and sufficient heat can build up and cause the skin to draw up. Such will also be the case with delicate snake skins, fish skins and bird skins. Of course, the length of the steam cycle can be adjusted to suit the type of skin you are dealing with.

You might also use just a shot of steam on delicate skins, while on thicker and tougher skins such as cowhide and pigskin, which can tolerate more steam, you can increase the duration of a steam cycle up to as much as that normally used for cloth coats.

In addition, a steam regulator can be installed to regulate the steam pressure down to 40 psi, which is safe to use on most suedes and leathers.

Suede and leather coats are placed on the form finisher exactly like cloth coats. Use the front and back clamps as needed.

Use vent clamps as necessary. Use sleeve expanders as always but instead of just standing idly by as the form finisher goes through its preset steam/air cycle, you will brush up the suede nap of a suede coat with a suede mitt while the steam/air cycle is running.

In this way, the suede nap can be fully bushed up by the end of the cycle.

The only parts of the coat left to be brushed up are the areas covered by clamps during the cycle.

Of course, smooth leather coats have no nap so they do not have to be brushed. However, for optimum results leathers should be pressed all over, or at least the collars, lapels, pocket flaps, etc., should be hand ironed as described earlier.

Many suedes can be completely finished on the steam/air form finisher. Others may have to be touched up with the hand iron, as described previously. Collars, lapels, pocket flaps, belts and hoods, especially, might have to be hand-ironed or pressed.

Author's Note: Do not attempt to use products that are not specifically formulated for use on suede and leather. Royaltone suede and leather products are specially formulated to process suedes, leathers, furs and trimmed cloth.

Dennis McCrory: It's still all about customer service

The American Society for Quality (ASQ) and the University of Michigan conduct an annual rating of customer satisfaction called the American Customer Satisfaction Index.

This year the index is at its lowest level since they began measuring customer satisfaction on a national scale four years ago. This confirms a continuation of the decline in how satisfied consumers are with the service they receive, especially from their drycleaners.

Low customer satisfaction will have a negative effect on your profits in the long term.

"We may have reached a point where further increases in earnings will have to come from more revenue, not from most cost cuttings. If customer satisfaction does not improve, the revenue from repeat business will be hard to come by," says Jack West, an ASQ director.

I recently rushed into an electronics store and grabbed a box of computer diskettes. I pulled out exact change for the sales clerk so that I could dash back out. But the clerk ignored the cash in favor or her computer terminal.

"Zip code?" she asked, like a robot with her fingers on the keyboard.

"I'm late for an appointment," I said. "Can't I just pay you for these?"

"Sorry, this is the only way I can get into the system," she said.

And with that, I left the disks on the counter and walked out.

A sales process designed more to benefit a business than its customers can become a customer's nightmare. Highly efficient systems make sense, but many big chains blow it in the service area, leaving the door open for the industries small operators.

We all like to be treated as human beings. We all appreciate personalized service. We desperately crave flexibility in an increasingly inflexible world. Drycleaners who consistently provide these elusive benefits will keep their customers and attract others.

Two sure-fire ways of discovering whether your systems are customer-friendly are secret shoppers and focus groups, even informal ones. Find out what customers or secret shoppers find inconvenient, frustrating or even demeaning.

If money is tight, there is no need for a mystery shopper firm. Simply develop a questionnaire for several of your target-market customers, interview them immediately after their encounter with your store. Wait by their car for them or as them to call you as soon as they get home.

Sure you risk embarrassment, but the pain will be brief and the information will be invaluable to the health of your business.

It is important to appreciate the advantages of interviewing and the feedback that it provides. For example, until he spent time in the lobby talking with older customers, a bank manager didn't understand why retirees had such a weak response to appeals to use direct deposit for their pension checks. The manager discovered that the convenience and security of direct deposit were outweighed by the seniors' desires for social interaction.

Success in today's world is knowledge-driven not price driven. You have to know who your customers are, where they live and understand why they buy your services and not those of your competitors.

Marketing your drycleaning services used to be simple: Find a convenient location and provide a decent quality of work.

The main changes today are the increased number of competitors, the issue of price, the customers' ability to travel further to shop, and customer service. Although competition from large discount chains is affecting many small drycleaners, one factor remains the same:

If you plan carefully, assess your competitors' strengths and weaknesses and capitalize on knowing your customers, your business will remain profitable.

Alan Robson: What's in store for your business?

As this year winds down, all business owners should reflect on what they have accomplished during the past year. This is an appropriate exercise at the end of every year, but it seems even more valuable as we approach the year 2000.

For my company, Biz Builder Services, 1999 was a very good year and next year promises to be even better. Why? Planning. Yes, it is that simple. This is something you must do today if you want to successfully grow your business in the next millennium.

Write it down

How? You have to start by making a few notes about the history of your company.

I know that you know the history of your company without writing it down, but do it anyhow. Writing it down helps your brain slow down and it helps you get your thoughts organized.

Did you buy the business? If so, from a friend, stranger, family member? Did you start the business? Was it a turnkey purchase? Franchise? Or did you start it from scratch?

So far, we've done the easy stuff. Now, it gets a little harder.

When you started out, what was your vision for your customers and your employees? Was your goal to provide your customers with the best service, the best cleaning, the best finishing, and the best packaging? Were you going to do this for a price that they could afford?

Probably. I don't know anyone who started with the thought that they would provide terrible service for the highest possible price. Write down the things that you wanted to accomplish when you first went into business.

For sure, you had great plans for your employees. You weren't going to run a sweatshop, you would pay better than your competition and eventually, you would offer benefits. With customers who are ecstatic with your services and happy employees, it wouldn't be long before you and your family were enjoying the "good life."

So what happened on the way to the bank?

What happened was that you did not have a clear road map to the future. Your vision became blurred when you confused your priorities. You thought that your customers needs and your employees needs were more important than the needs of the company.

The top priority
Your first priority must be "the company." Your company must eat first, and what your company feeds on is money. That means that your suppliers must be paid, the landlord must be paid, the insurance company must be paid, the IRS must be paid, your employees must be paid -- you know the drill. That money has to come from you, your customers or the companies who sell goods and services to you.

Now, back to Biz Plan 2000.

As you reflect, take a look at what's happened to your customer base. Do you have more active customers today than you did a year ago? How many new customers do you attract each month?

If you attract 100 new customers each month and your customer base is not growing, then you are losing 100 customers per month. Is that loss due to attrition -- people moving away, etc., or is it the quality of your service and work that is driving them to your competitors?

The most important resource in the drycleaning industry is your employees. In order for them to understand what is best for the company you must get them involved in your plans for the future.

The majority of the people working for you want to be a part of and participate in the company's success. Not everyone feels this way, but don't penalize the majority for the few oddballs.

What are your goals?
The next step is to determine what you want to achieve in the year 2000. Be realistic. Do you want to grow your sales over last year? Do you want to grow them by 5, 10, 15 percent? Do you want to increase your average price per piece for both drycleaning and shirts? Do you want to start or grow a route? Do you want to open a drop store? Do you want to cut your expenses?

Write down your goals and write down what your goals will do for your bottom line and for your cash flow.

Now, write down how you will reach these goals. Remember that for every $100 you add to sales volume you will add $10 to $20 to the bottom line... and for every $100 you cut from expenses you will add $100 to the bottom line.

The same is true for price increases... for every $100 you increase sales through a price increase, you add $100 to the bottom line.

Now that you have documented what you want to accomplish and how you will get it done, it is time to decide how much incentive the company can pay the employees once they have helped you reach your new goals.

Plan the reward
All incentives should be in the form of a bonus and should not become a part of the employees' wages.

For example, if you increase your sales volume 10 percent in January 2000 over sales in January 1999 without increasing your labor costs, the company can afford to pay the employees a one-time bonus equal to 10 percent of the 10 percent increase.

Work out the details of your employee incentive plan and write them down. Next, meet with your key employees. Tell them what your goals are and ask them if they think the goals can be reached. Ask them for their ideas on how to reach the goals. Get them involved.

Once you get your employees to buy into your goals for the company, they will help you make it happen! Let them know you will be happy to share the financial results with them in the form of a monthly bonus. Keep them informed about what is happening, both good and bad, every week. This will help build team spirit, which will result in long-term employees who will go the extra mile.

Date created: Nov 29 1999
Last modified: Nov 29 1999
Copyright © 1999, National Clothesline
Maintained by: Hal Horning
Hal Horning