National Clothesline

I have covered the residential aspect of route building, but there is another source of route development that you may be able to cultivate — the commercial area.

The first that comes to mind are workers in an office complex. Here the office manager is solicited to arrange for picking up and delivering clothes to the office.

Even the smallest facility will have a cloak room from which pick-up bags can be distributed to the officer workers. Each bag has an identifying tag for the worker/customer. Finished garments are returned on hangers in the bags which are then reused for the next order.

Larger office buildings may set up a rolling counter or a large hamper with a computer in the lobby for accepting the clothes in the mornings. Care to count the number of ideal drycleaning customers, even in a small office complex?

If your city has television studios then you also have the lucrative prospect of on-air talent who are required to have their wardrobes drycleaned after each appearance. The union insists on it, even for a brief one-minute dress rehearsal. This requires a quick return delivery, usually overnight, but they also pay top dollar for this service.

The same is true for stage performers. Consider yourself fortunate if you have this kind of facility in your area.

Convention centers also must clean background draperies and display materials that are required by law to have certificates of flame proofing if there is any electrical or spark possibility. All furniture display stores must periodically dryclean all draperies and slip covers, bedding covers, etc. This, too, is very lucrative but it requires an overnight remove, identify and rehang service.

Dormitories, nursing facilities, hotels with valet work, clinics and dental labs all have dressing gowns and smocks that need uniform maintenance. This requires a small investments but offers a locked-in contractual arrangement.

Tuxedo rental services are another possibility, but expect to measure and outfit the entire high school senior class for a prom or graduation. A special discount for these events can be an attractive incentive.

The same is true for bridal gown service, guaranteeing heirloom and mildew treatment, again discounting for the entire bridal party.

Each city and area offers unusual methods of advertising. For instance, look where the most peoples can be contacted, such as shopping malls, where a moveable, attractive display can be set up, or arrange a fashion show cooperatively with the leading store, using local residents as models and with a prominent sign “Drycleaning by XYZ Cleaners.”

If your plant is in a shopping center take advantage of the numerous cars in the parking lot. Check with your town ordinance to see if it allows a small helium balloon with a sign promoting your drycleaning route service.

Investigate if you can secure or rent an 800 number spelling out your name (if you have seven digits). For example: “For excellence in drycleaning, call COLUCCI (265-8224).”

Utilize your vehicle on all four sides plus the roof in for the view from high-rise apartments. To impress an onlooker as to the size of your operation, have a different route number on either side of the truck, such as Route #3 on one side, Route #4 on the other and Route #5 on the back.

Perhaps what I like most about routes is that they are unlimited. They are not governed by weather or economic conditions nor competition but only by your imagination. If you need more volume, follow the route to success.