The very nature and purpose of drycleaning/wetcleaning in any solvent is not just for the sole purpose of stain removal. Surprised to hear me say that? Some of you probably are but many of you will (I hope) agree. There is no guarantee of stain removal or 100% successful restoration. Many times it does happen and we are proud as a puppy with two tails! My peers such as true friend Doris Easley of Roseville, California an icon of the industry, would probably agree with my position here. Routine stain removal is one thing, but full blown restoration is another. Fortunately, most of the time we are successful and part of that is because the other cleaner did not try hard enough or doesn’t have the resources/knowledge to have much success.
“Those Darn Sorry But Tags”
Obviously some of my friends in the chemical sales part of our industry might misinterpret what I suggest here. I am aware (ever so painfully) that far too many “sorry but” tags are sold and handed out like poor BBQ. Good for sales but embarrassing for our industry as a whole. Jeff Schwarz can tell you just about how many thousand we go through as an industry (I think he keeps count). But when you have so many new bees, absentee owners and various don’t give a hoot operators out there, we must and should do our very best to remove all possible stains. I will list some of the problems associated with this growing problem.
1. Untrained, unskilled people who are running drycleaning and wetcleaning machines which might include the clean up guy or a CSR. Anyone can be taught how to segregate colors and fibers and weigh a load and push the button. Only problem is that they don’t know how to look for trims and weave safety nor can they remove stains beyond steam and their one favorite chemical! This is the heart of the skill level of any plant. I don’t want any machine loaders/unloaders in my plant. Not unless a competent cleaner has prespotted/inspected first and someone with the initiative and patience to actually look for stains when they hang the load, instead of giving the garment straight to the presser who hangs a “sorry but” tag on it.
2. Pressers who wish to rush everything because they are on piece count pay or salary and wish to leave early each day. These Emmy Award winners will rush every garment through and go through a stack of sorry but tags if allowed. I used to keep these “stain will not be safely removed because”… tags I made myself and no one except my competent cleaner was allowed access to them. He also had to initial it. Now the inspector/assembly person can move this garment on through without doubt or worry.
“Reason Only Visits Those Who Welcome It”
3. Cleaning establishments that claim they do restoration and 100% stain removal. This is funny because color or fabric damage can always occur on certain garments. We must check our ego at the door. Unprofessionally whamming a stain out (along with color and fabric) is nothing to be proud of. Be prepared to have your cleaner explain to the customer at the counter why he/she could not safely remove that stain. Remember, “Reason only visits those who welcome it”.
4. Cleaners who are prima donnas and resist any form of training or education. Some of these doe-doe birds won’t even crack open a trade magazine to learn something.
With today’s financial crunch there are still graduates from DLI. As well, we now have those classes on the road for those who cannot afford to travel back to Laurel, MD for classroom attendance at DLI. At school, it is like Grandma’s nightshirt, it covers everything.
You’re probably thinking I’m just spitting on words to see where they splatter. No I’m not. These are real life experiences along with my many years of traveling in and out of plants all over the country. The good news is that most of my readers don’t fit into these categories. You operate great plants and you have some great Allied Trades people serving you. The old cowboy doesn’t mean to hurt anyone’s feelings but truth is part and partial to my country ways. “Where I come from it’s cornbread and chicken, where I come from, it’s front porch sittin” words from a traditional C&W song I once sang. Singing or traveling is not much on my schedule these days, but I will heal up soon enough and I’m enjoying the rest. I’ll be back on my feet before you know it and look forward to visiting everyone this summer at the California 2012 trade show in Long Beach.
I’m headin’ to the wagon now, these house slippers’ are killin me!
Kenney is a trainer, advisor and columnist. He has been in the industry all his life. He can be reached at (800) 429-3990; e-mail: kslatten@aol.com or visit his website at www.kstraining.com. He hangs his hat in Texas in the winter and can receive mail at: PO Box 50668, Amarillo, TX 79159.