National Clothesline

Dismal weather and a dragging economy tamped down attendance at the National Cleaners Association’s Texcare show last month, but those willing to spend an October weekend in Secaucus, NJ, were rewarded.

With more than 90 companies represented on the exhibit floor, drycleaners could examine every conceivable product or service for their business, from the counter to production to packaging, along with an array of business services and marketing and promotion programs.

Even those who didn’t leave with a new piece of equipment could take home ideas to help improve their businesses. Seminars on Saturday and Sunday mornings were full of practical advice for boosting revenue, increasing market penetration and strengthening the industry as a whole.

First up on Saturday was Alan Spielvogel, NCA’s technical director, who said cleaners are leaving money on the table by not getting appropriate upcharges for their work.

“Business is down 20 percent. The economy is shrinking. You have to do everything to increase the bottom line,” he said.

While many cleaners concentrate efforts on bringing in new customers, there are many things they could be doing to get more money from the customers they already have, he said.

“All garments are not equal” Spielvogel said. “You have to address every garment and get the most out of it.”

This starts at the counter with what he called P & P — protection and profit. Every garment needs to be checked for pre-existing damage, which not only can prevent a claim but also lead to more profit by making necessary repairs if discussed with the customer before processing. Look for loose buttons, broken zippers, rips, tears, falling hems, weakness in the fabric or seams and trims or ornaments that require special attention.

Next check the labels. Care labels can alert you to special processing requirements which can make more work for the cleaner. Explaining it to the customer will help you get paid for that work, he said. Beyond that, check labels showing fiber content and the name of the garment maker. Designer labels mean the customer paid a premium to buy the item; paying a premium to have it serviced not only won’t come as a shock but may even be expected.

Spielvogel also advised to look out for the “worm in the apple.” A garment may look easy to process at first glance. It may have buttons that will need to be removed before cleaning, then replaced. There may be pleats or ruffles or other special details that will require extra attention. Maybe a stain is hiding in some inconspicuous place. There could be a hole in a pocket or a broken zipper that needs to be repaired.

Since customers aren’t likely to want to wait while a detailed inspection takes place, it’s important to have their name and phone number so they can be contacted should some problem arise while the garment is in the plant. In all these cases and many others, the customer needs to be told that it will cost extra to process the garment and return it in like-new condition.

“Upcharges if done correctly will represent 20 percent of your gross,” Spielvogel said.

While getting more from what you already have was Spielvogel’s theme, getting less from government regulators was on the mind of NCA Executive Director Nora Nealis, who spoke on Sunday morning.

Hers was a mixed message. On the one hand, cleaners have prevailed against those who want to ban perc. On the other, the hits keep on coming, not only in attacks on perc but also in initiatives aimed at drycleaners and small businesses in general that would increase costs and reduce choice in how to operate.

Nealis asked the audience to begin by imagining themselves on the other side of the perc battle.

“Pretend you are environmental activists who in the early ’90s decided they wanted a perc phase-out. So here you are. You’re pressuring the federal government and you want to see a NESHAP that’s going to phase-out this nasty perc.

“Instead what comes out is a NESHAP that says ‘cleaners can use this.’ So you’ve lost on the federal level.”

After failing on the federal level, activists turned to the local and state governments to try to get perc banned. But only in California have they succeeded. Everywhere else cleaners pushed back on perc ban proposals and prevailed.

“If you take a look at the last 15 years, there have been environmentalists and legislators that have been pushing the little small business drycleaners away from the solvent they want to use. Who won? Did they get what they wanted?

“Here we are 15 years later and we can still use perc. We need to declare victory. Instead of saying ‘Oh, throw in the towel,’ we have to give ourselves credit. We still have the right to choose.”

Drycleaners have shown if they stand together and present arguments they can make a difference when it comes to opposing new regulations and restrictions on their businesses, she said. But despite the declaration of victory, there are still battles to come.

In New Jersey, a new proposal is expected to come early next year that will place new restrictions on drycleaners, but Nealis said it is equipment-based and “something we can live with.”

However, New Jersey is also setting new permit guidelines that impose limits on how many gallons of solvent a cleaner can use. Those limits are “arbitrary and capricious,” she said.

“It’s not just perc we’re talking about here but alternative solvents, too,” she said.

Meanwhile, the anti-perc forces have been on the March in Chicago and Philadelphia. A perc-ban ordinance that was turned back in Chicago re-emerged last spring, but Nealis said after cleaners pushed back it appears it will not come to a vote any time soon. In Philadelphia, a proposal to phase out perc was tabled earlier this year, but is now back.

“In places where we were successful and did a good job, they don’t give up,” Nealis said.

A connection with lawmakers, whether through trade associations or directly as individuals, is critical in terms of being able to educate them on the problems the industry faces and the problems their proposals would cause if adopted, she said.

Other issues of concern go beyond the drycleaning industry and affect all small businesses, Nealis noted.

“The good news is on these issues we do not stand alone.”

For example, New York City and other cities have proposals for a family leave act that would require firms with fewer than nine employees to give five paid days off for whatever reason. Firms with more than nine employees would have to give nine days off. Most businesses are too thinly staffed to survive giving that much time off, she said.

Another popular initiative on the local level aims at limiting or outlawing the use of plastic bags. Others want to require hanger recycling.

“Ultimately these issues are highly political,” she said. “Much of this is not even coming out of the regulatory agencies anymore. It’s coming on the legislative side, the elected officials.”

Know your state senator and local council members, she said. If you don’t know who they are, find out, she urged.

“We have a wonderful opportunity to build bridges with these people. A simple phone call and a little bit of leg work can move you from ‘that lousy drycleaner’ to ‘that nice guy who does Coats for Kids.’”

Lawmakers also need hard facts coming directly from cleaners.

“We need data from you,” she told cleaners.