CHICAGO — In these days of new technology, labor-saving automation and “the next big thing” always right around the corner, it can be easy to lose track of some of the fundamentals of operating a drycleaning company. For this American Drycleaner Your Views survey, we’ve asked our readership to name some of the processes and habits that should never be discarded. 

When asked which practices are still alive and well in their operation — respondents could check all that applied — “hand-finishing certain garments” came in first with 94.7%, followed by “greeting regular customers by name” at 89.5%. “Communicating with customers by phone instead of text or app” was third at 68.4%, while “committing customer preferences to memory” and “handwritten notes or personal touches with orders” tied at 63.2%. “Owner spends time on the floor daily” was next at 47.4%, followed by “apprentice-style on-the-job training” at 42.1%. “Calling customers at once when damages are found before any work is done” came in at 5.2%.

One question we asked was, “What important action do you still do the ‘old way’ — and what would you say to anyone who told you to stop?” Answers included: 

• Asking how they are, no matter how busy it is. Personal contact is most important — you can stay late to clean, but you can only face the customer then.
• Manually cash out each delivery customer. Allows me a double-check on the orders going out to make sure the correct orders and order numbers will be on the truck.

We also asked what drycleaning tradition, in our respondents’ opinion, was most at risk of dying out. “Multigenerational ownership” was at the top of the list with 42.1%, followed by “training handed out person to person” (21.1%), “hand finishing” (15.8%), “owner spending time on the floor” (10.5%) and “personal customer relationships” (5.2%). 

We wanted to know how standards and traditions are passed along to new employees. “Having experienced staff take the lead” came in at 38.9%. “I train them personally — non-negotiable” and “written standards of practices and procedures” tied at 22.2%, “Staff meeting and training” showed at 5.9% and 11.1% answered that “it’s a real challenge, and I’m not sure it always sticks.”

Finally, we asked, “What’s one thing about dry cleaning that the industry is too quick to modernize? What are we going to miss once it’s gone?” Answers included:

• Personalized service. I fear that in the AI age, we could lose the human touch.
• Technical support from vendors — on-site regular service visits by equipment manufacturers, chemical vendors, distributor reps, etc.

The Your Views survey offers a current snapshot of the trade audience’s views. The publication invites qualified subscribers to American Drycleaner emails to participate anonymously in the unscientific poll each quarter.