National Clothesline

I receive a variety of e-mails and telephone calls that I usually do not bring to this article, but I thought it was about time for you to hear about other drycleaners who are not too sharp.

Remember, these drycleaners might be your competitors, so if your sales are not increasing, you only have yourself to blame.

Question: “Can you help me start a route?”

My response: “Yes, I can help you start a route. What kind of POS system do you have?”

Caller’s response: “What is a POS system?”

My response: “What kind of computer system do you have?”

Caller’s response: “I don’t use computers.”

My response: “Please buy a computer system and then call me.”

Question: “I talked to one of your clients and he said his sales increased 50 percent after you visited him. I can’t afford to have you come out. Can you tell me what you told him so my sales will go up 50 percent?”

My response: “No, I cannot.”

An immediate hang up was the caller’s response.

Question: “I can buy a cleaning plant at a low price. The place has been closed for a month and the price is really low. Do you think I should buy it?”

My response: “They should give you the place for free and hope you can make it run profitably.”

Question: “Some of my employees won’t wear the uniforms I bought for them. How can I make them wear their uniforms?”

My response: “Sell your business. The inmates are running the asylum.”

Question: “I am not making enough money, how come?”

My response: “What does your labor cost your company as a percentage of gross sales?”

E-mail response: “I don’t keep those kind of records. How do I get those numbers?”

My response: “Do you get financial statements from your accountant?”

E-mail response: “Yes, at tax time.”

My response: “Are you skimming?”

E-mail response: “Yes but, I don’t tell my accountant.”

My response: “You have to keep records of all the money you take in and all the money you pay out.”

E-mail response: “Forget it.”

Question: “I heard you can make lots of money in the cleaning business. Should I buy a cleaners?”

My response: “What kind of work have you done?”

Phone response: “I was a welder.”

My response: “Did you deal with the customers?”

Phone response: “The boss talked to the customers.”

My response: “I suggest you buy a welding shop.” Hang up by the caller.

These people are among you. I could put more on paper, but I do not want to push my point any further as to why your sales should be increasing.

“How did you incentivize your counter salespeople and route people?”

I like contests so I created contests that would not only benefit the employee, they would also benefit the company.

A very successful program that I created was the WOW contest. I used the image at right to introduce the contest. WOW the customers was the whole theme with a $50 bonus for the month’s best WOW and a $25 bonus for the second best WOW. If I felt the wows were equal, each CSR received a $50 bonus.

I created the following questions for the CSR to answer so I could decide who deserved the money.

1. Who was the customer you WOW‘d? (Customer name and number.)

2. Where did you WOW the customer? At the counter or in their car? At which store were you working?

3. When did you WOW the customer (time and date).

4. What did you do to WOW the customer?

5. What was the customer’s reaction?

This contest was really the kickoff for initiating the “We Are Winners” team concept. I had a great group of full- and part-time people working for me.

UCLA was the source for most of my part-time CSR employees. The best part of having part-time people at the counter was the elimination of fringe benefits such as paid vacations and paid holidays.

My counter staff did some amazing things for our customers so they could win that $50. That is how you differentiate your company from other drycleaners. Your staff people should go out of their way to WOW your customers. That is what builds your business.

I incentivized my route sales representatives by offering them a $100 bonus for every new customer they brought in. The first month the RSR would receive $50 and the next two months $25 each month.

Some companies have flipped this around and give $25 the first two months and $50 the third month. I believe in an immediate reward for someone who goes out and knocks on doors. I have done it and for me it was the most difficult job I ever had.

In addition to these kinds of incentives, I had a workers’ compensation incentive program. An insurance company representative brought this program to me. The way it worked was a bonus and prize system.

For each month we were injury free, the amount of money given away increased. At the end of an injury-free year, I would give away a one-week trip for two to Hawaii. Second prize was a weekend for two in Las Vegas.

One of my Hawaii winners was a shuttle truck driver from El Salvador. The man and his wife were ecstatic. Never in his wildest dreams did he ever think he would visit Hawaii. The winners each month were selected by throwing their time cards in a bag and having one card at a time pulled out of the bag.

Speaking of incentives, my production managers were never effective until they were incentivized with bonuses. Giving the production managers goals was not enough. Rewarding the production managers with money for decreased labor costs turned my production labor costs around.

The bottom line is if you provide your employees with the opportunity to share the wealth, you will have a better situation. Do not be afraid to give the people who work for you a little extra money. They will have a greater interest in your company and its success.