Brought down by the worst among us
Cleaners often have legitimate complaints about negative portrayals in the
media, but sometimes some cleaners do things that seem to be just asking for
it. Take the recent lawsuit filed by the city of Santa Monica against nine
cleaners for violating the state laws that prohibit charging women more than
men for the same services, for example.
Never mind that the city itself gave the businesses ample warnings and time to
correct their practices over a period of 15 months before going public and
taking action. The industry has been trying to police itself on this issue for
years. Some just don’t listen, or care, despite repeated black eyes from the media which have
resulted in a general public perception that “women pay more at the cleaners than men.”
The industry has rightly argued that there are legitimate reasons why some women’s garments cost more to process. The California law, in fact, allows for those
kinds of pricing differences. But these arguments get lost in the fog of public
indignation when it is revealed that the same garment brought to the same
cleaner on two different occasions gets a higher price when the customer
bringing it in is female rather than male. This simply should not happen. And
if it never happened, we probably wouldn’t have laws like the one passed in California, which not only declares it
illegal but goes several steps further in requiring cleaners to post price
lists and provide complete pricing information on request.
Yes, the public needs to be educated concerning the reasons why it costs more to
process some garments than others, but so too do some cleaners need to be
educated about fair pricing practices. Sadly, it seems that there are some in
the industry who are just never going to get it. What they will get are fines
and reprimands from the government and negative press. Too bad the rest of the
industry can’t sue them for the damage they cause to the image and reputation of all
cleaners.
Can you google yourself?
When it comes to finding out about a new product or service, there are a few
smart ways to go about it. You can read or listen to testimonials and reviews
to find out both the good and the bad. You can go to each store looking for the
best sale price and finding out all the technical details. Although such
efforts take a lot of time, they could end up saving you a lot of money and
heartache. These days, however, it’s much easier to be well-informed without even leaving your house.
The Internet is an invaluable tool when it comes to retrieving information, and
it only becomes more popular every year. In 1995, only 9 percent of American
adults used the Internet in any capacity. By 2006, just over a decade later,
that number has climbed to 77 percent, according to the research firm Harris
Interactive. That number will continue to rise, as well.
So, why is it that more U.S. drycleaning companies do not have web sites?
Perhaps they are too expensive and time-consuming. Besides, many of the
non-virtual converters may believe that a web site does not appeal to existing
drycleaning customers, nor does it attract new ones. Yet, that is clearly not
the case. The Yellow Pages have been replaced by online search engines where
potential consumers can find the name of every plant within a specified number
of miles. As for existing customers, a helpful web site (and a reason to go
there periodically) is a good way to foster strong loyalty. Of course it has to
be done right, which does mean it will take considerable time and money to
implement, but the benefits will far outweigh the costs.
If you are curious about how to get a site started, as well as how to budget
appropriately, check out Dennis McCrory’s column this month. Once you’ve set up a professional-looking site that is cost-effective, you still have to
keep customers coming back to it by keeping its content appealing and fresh.
That’s where ingenuity comes in.
There are many excellent drycleaning web sites out there already. To see how one
solved the problem of keeping visitors coming back, see the profile on William
and Angie Charnes on page 6. Their plant prospered largely due to Austin’s dot-com boom in the early 1990s. The Charnes increased their success by
creating a unique marketing program that has people clicking on their web page
(www.westbankdrycleaning.com) in droves to for information. Perhaps it’s time you do the same.
