A fit for all sizes at Clean ’05
All cleaners great or small will want to
attend the educational seminars provided by IFI at this
year’s Clean Show, set
to take place from June 23-26 in Orlando at the Orange County
Convention Center.
The programs are designed to give all
plant owners the information and ideas they need in order to
keep their store head and shoulders above the competition.
One way IFI helps its members earn that
distinction is through certification that cleaners can earn in
the following areas: Certified Professional Dry Cleaner,
Certified Environmental Dry Cleaner, and Certified Professional
Wet Cleaner. Cleaners will have a convenient opportunity to
take the exams between 7 and 10 a.m. on Saturday, June 25 at
the Renaissance Orlando Resort at SeaWorld (IFI’s
headquarters hotel for Clean ’05).
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On the seminar front, IFI will host its
first educational offering on Thursday, June 23. The program,
entitled “New Direction: Sometimes You Should Fix It Even
If It Ain’t Broke,” will examine how IFI is
reevaluating its programs to ensure that its members remain
equipped and prepared for the ever-changing competitive retail
market.
Afterward, attendees will have a chance
to experience “Extreme Plant Makeover: What You Can Do
With a Mop, Bucket & A Little Elbow Grease” from 8:30
to 10 a.m.
In similar fashion to the ABC television
show “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” which helps
homeowners upgrade and remodel their rundown houses, IFI will
help a struggling smaller plant undergo a much needed makeover
using only a limited budget and old-fashioned ingenuity. They
are inviting attendees to come see the amazing results that a
few simple and inexpensive improvements can generate.
On Friday at 8 a.m., attendees can hear
about “Fashion-Forward Thinking: Rising to the Challenges
of Clothing Trends.” Anybody in the industry is well
aware of the challenges that some of today’s fashions
present for drycleaners, but are you really prepared to meet
those challenges and keep your customers happy?
An hour later, IFI will present two
simultaneous sessions that will show how five major concepts
may be adapted and applied to a cleaning store, regardless of
size. The program is called “Marketing Designed to Fit
Your Plant’s Size.”
The first session will focus on smaller
businesses and the unique marketing challenges and
opportunities they face. The other seminar will be aimed toward
helping larger businesses with their marketing strategies.
Three other sponsors of the Clean Show
will also present educational programs, including the Coin
Laundry Association, which will hold six sessions altogether.
The first will be on Thursday and will
cover the “Top 10 Most Profitable Commercial
Accounts.” On Friday, CLA will shift its attention toward
“Pricing Your Dryers for Profit” and
“What’s Your Laundry Worth?”
On Saturday, the association will
continue with discussions of “Marketing to Today’s
Laundry Customer” and “Battling a New
Competitor.” Finally, CLA will conclude its agenda with a
look at “Evaluating an Investment in Coin Laundry”
on Sunday morning.
The National Association of Institutional
Linen Management will host a few programs of its own, including:
“JCAHO: Trace Methodology & The Laundry” on
Thursday; “Good Customer Service or Customer
Servitude?” on Friday; “OSHA: Laundry Safety”
on Saturday; and “Employee Satisfaction & Impact of
Productivity” on Sunday.
The remaining educational seminars will
be provided by the Textile Rental Services Association of
America, beginning with “Legal Rights of Employees and
the Importance of the Employment Paper Trail” on
Thursday.
On Friday, TRSA will examine “The
Revolution of Technology: How Textile Rental Companies Remain
Profitable Through Innovation.”
The final seminar from the association,
“Marketing to Facility Managers,” will be presented
by Alan Bigger, Director of Building Services, University of
Notre Dame.
Those who register for Clean ’05
may attend any sessions provided by the sponsoring
associations, regardless of their association affiliation.
In addition to IFI, CLA, TRSA and NAILM,
the Clean Show has two additional sponsors: the Textile Care
Allied Trades Association and the Uniform & Textile Service
Association.
Those who wish to sign up for the Clean
Show can register online at www.cleanshow.com. The cost is $45
per person during the early registration period, which ends on
June 1. After that date, the cost goes up to $70 per person.
That price also includes admission to the
exhibit hall, which opens at 10 a.m. on opening day, and 9 a.m.
each ensuing day. The hall will close at 5 p.m. Thursday
through Saturday and 3 p.m. on Sunday.
Several hotel options are available to
attendees. IFI’s headquarters hotel, the Renaissance
Orlando Resort, has discounted rooms available at a rate of
$129 per night.
Other hotel options include: the Peabody
Orlando, TCATA’s headquarters, at $165 per night; the
Rosen Centre Hotel, headquarters for NAILM, TRSA and UTSA, for
$155 per night; and the Rosen Plaza Hotel, CLA’s
headquarters, for $129 per night.
There are five other general housing
options located on the Clean ’05 web site,
www.cleanshow.com. All reservations can be made online, or by
phone at (866) 553-7437.
For more information, visit the web site
or contact the Clean Show management firm, Riddle &
Associates, phone (404) 876-1988.
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