National Clothesline

Many cleaners who have just renovated a new plant, as Cindi Schilling and John Phillippi of Clothing Care Fine Dry Cleaners had done, might be hesitant to let over 30 other drycleaners, armed with checklists and score charts, in to inspect the plant with a fine-tooth comb.

Phillippi, however, was grateful for the intrusion. “This is a real privilege, to have access to these industry experts. Everyone always comes up with such great ideas. ”

Asked whether there was any reluctance to be the subject of the critique, Phillippi replied: “No. This is not your typical group.”

At the spring quarterly meeting of America’s Best Cleaners (ABC), cleaners from all over the country came to visited clothing Care in Columbus, OH, to share ideas and practices and learn of the latest products and services in the industry.

According to Christopher White, ABC’s Technical Director, “Our job is seeking out the top cleaners in the country, and then certifying them. That ’s the hard part. The easy part is the value. We realized a long time ago that our greatest resource is the people behind these high-end cleaners. The best tend to have small egos and enjoy sharing their knowledge with like-minded owners. ”

The cleaners themselves agree. “America’s Best Cleaners is a professional organization comprised of quality cleaners and quality individuals, ” said Jeff Davidson of Holly Cleaners in Boston. “Holly Cleaners has benefited tremendously from our association — we’ve received relationships with numerous high-end retailers, expert advice from other affiliates regarding new technology and trends, and have been provided with countless business opportunities that would have been otherwise unavailable. High-end cleaners who care about their business should definitely undergo [ABC] certification. ”

Said Geralyn Phillips, owner of Z Cleaners in Scottsdale, Arizona: “We have had an 85 percent increase in sales this year, and we really attribute a lot of that success to our affiliation with America ’s Best Cleaners. Each meeting we attend is like a ‘drycleaning Olympics,’ and we have to be at the top of our game. Everyone is so open with their own techniques of marketing, of management, of numbers. We ’ve learned an incredible amount in a short amount of time.”

America’s Best Cleaners has created an International Recognition Program in conjunction with the Hohenstein Institutes of Germany, one of the foremost textile and garment testing laboratories in the world, which now recognizes ABC as its exclusive representative in the United States and Canada.

Criteria for selection are now based on standards to be determined in conjunction with the Institutes, which has partnerships from Hugo Boss to the Taiwanese Textile Research Institute, and is accredited under ISO 17025. Prospective selections are to be site-inspected by certified ABC representatives to determine if minimum requirements of cleanliness, machinery equipment, stain removal and finishing quality are met, coupled with monthly fabric tests to evaluate chemical usage.

Selection is contingent upon adherence to this strict criteria. The certification is valid for one year. The cleaners are re-tested annually for compliance with standards, including quality and customer service.

“Our goal is to have a certified cleaner in every metropolitan area in the country, ” said Ed D’Elicio, ABC’s founder and managing director. With 28 affiliates nationwide and six internationally, ABC has expanded into World ’s Best Cleaners (WBC), which acts as both liaison and expert for third party interests, from the high-end garment industry to the Wall Street Journal. Recent certifications include Jeeves of Belgravia (London) and Gadue ’s Cleaners of Burlington, Vermont.

“Everyone in the industry is striving to find added value,” White said. “ABC provides the guidelines of quality through consensual regulation, which naturally attracts only the cream of the crop. Put them all together in the same room, and the value finds them. ”

Mark Neighbors, owner of Parkway Cleaners in Edmond, OK, brings this point home:

“I don’t think of these guys as great cleaners. I think of them as great business people who chose to be in the drycleaning business. The ideas I ’ve received have helped me increase my gross sales and net profits. The cost of America ’s Best Cleaners is very small, the best value I’ve had in years.”