National Clothesline

By the time you read this column, the Super Bowl will have been played, and we will know the winner. In my January column (written at the end of November), I stated that Indianapolis

might play New Orleans.

Because this column is written in January, I am going to pick Indianapolis to win. It is a proven fact that teams that go to the Super Bowl the first time are at a great disadvantage.

I am not picking an NCAA basketball champion this year because of parity. I can say that both Texas and Kansas have looked good to me. Let’s see if my crystal ball is still working.

Now we can move on to the serious side of life — making money. I believe that is why you are in the drycleaning industry.

Last month I provided information for a training program for your counter or route sales representatives. There are some of you who do not care about your route representatives and utilize them as pick up and delivery drivers without communication abilities. If that describes your attitude, please consider the fact that route customers are bigger spenders than counter customers are.

Did you do your homework? Did you write your own training schedule for Day 1 and Day 2? The information I am providing should be a framework for your specific needs. Larger cleaners will have different requirements than smaller cleaners. Please consider creating a training schedule that is suitable for your particular situation.

On Day 3, Hour 1, review the previous day’s activities. Ask and answer any questions that come up.

During Hours 2 and 3, work in the cleaning department. Observe the operation of the cleaning machine, spotting techniques and any other activities that occur. Help the cleaner sort clothing prior to cleaning and hang loads as they come out of the cleaning machine.

In Hour 4, observe the finishing department’s stations and see how the finishers handle different kinds of garments. During Hours 5 through 8, work with the designated trainer racking clothing and servicing customer’s needs.

On Day 4, we start the same way as previous days. In the first hour, we review the previous day’s activities and discuss any questions that may come up. In Hour 2, the trainee will work with the garment inspector. Learning the inspection process helps the trainee recognize what a properly cleaned, spotted, and finished garment should look like.

In hours 3 and 4, move to assembly and bagging and learn how to handle those two jobs. For Hours 5 through 8, work with the designated counter sales trainer racking clothing and servicing customers.

On Day 5 Hour 1, review the previous day’s activities, and discuss any questions. The balance of the day will be spent with the designated trainer at the counter taking in and handing out clothing.

That was not too difficult, but how many of you have taken pen to paper or fingers to keyboard to create a defined training program?

If you want consistency in the behavior of your staff, you will have a written training manual. You might have a written test for your new hire to make sure the right things have been learned.

After writing your training program, your next step will be creating a policies and procedures manual. You can use the same basic format for both counter and route sales representatives. The concept is that everybody handles similar situations in a similar fashion.

Your policies and procedures manual will cover dress code, reporting time, taking in and handing out clothing, and handling customer issues. If you do not have it spelled out in a simple fashion, you will have different people doing their own thing when it comes to any situation that arises at the counter or on the route.

That brings me to your next homework assignment. First, finish the final three days of your training program. Next, create an outline for your policies and procedures manual.

If you find you have problems doing that, feel free to contact me and I will be happy to review what you have written, at no charge. Consider that help as my contribution to our industry.

The number one customer complaint, irrespective of what you charge, is, “Your price is too high.

The consumer will always complain about price. It is your job to explain why you charge what you do. This will be part of your training and policies and procedures manual.

A good response to a customer who complains about pricing might be, “I am sorry you feel that way. Yes, we are a little more expensive, but our customers spend a great deal on the purchase of their clothing and expect the highest level of quality and service. We have established specific quality standards to ensure our customer’s satisfaction. One example is our cleaning process. It is the only process in the world recommended by garment manufacturers and retailers. Would you like a copy of our standards?”

This is a generic response. Design your own response to fit your company. If you use Sanitone, GreenEarth or any special process let your customers know.

The next most common complaint is, “The spot did not come out!” How often have you heard that problem?

Your response, the response you have trained your employee to verbalize, and is written in your policies and procedures manual as well is, “I am sorry your spot was not removed. Please leave your garment with me and I will have it reprocessed.”

In this case, that answer was not good enough for the customer because the customer goes on to say, “This is the second time I left this item for stain removal. What is the matter with your company? You used to get out all the stains. Now you do not get any of the stains out. Have you changed something? Are there new owners?”

We all have been down that road, unless your work is perfect. Personally, I have never found a perfect cleaner, no matter what price is charged.

Your customer sales representative can respond to this issue in the following way: “I am sorry this has been an ongoing problem. Please let me get the production manager to assist us in determining why the spot did not come out. There are some stains that are not removable. I am not certain if this is the situation.”

Please note the commonality of response with the words, “I am sorry.” Any time a customer complains about anything the first words that must come out of your customer service or route service representative’s mouth should be: “I am sorry.”

These three little words mean so much that they usually will cool down an angry customer. As part of my training program, I explained to my staff that when a customer comes into our store with an angry attitude, the customer is behaving like a child. Your job, as a customer service representative, is to empathize with the customer, and get the client into an adult frame of mind.

There are other complaints that frequently come up. Some of those common complaints are as follows:

“Why isn’t the garment ready when you said it would be finished?”

“The sewing was not done.”

“You put the stain in the garment.”

“You changed the color of the garment.”

“I cannot find my garment at home. You must have it in your plant!”

Many problems can happen when you process clothing. Giving your route or customer representatives the tools to handle those problems is your job. Having a prepared response can make all the difference in the world.

How often have you complained to a clerk and the clerk was tongue-tied or came up with the dumbest answer you have ever heard? Can you create your company’s responses to complaints?

Next month I will continue with the subject of training your route and customer representatives. I know I promised to include some tasks to fill in time for your CSRs. Those will have to be in next month’s column. I felt the subject of handling customer complaints the correct way was more important.