CHICAGO — The drycleaning industry’s culture of cooperation raises a question: How can business owners help competitors without undermining their own success? The answer, according to operators who have built these relationships, lies in recognizing that a rising tide lifts all boats.

In Part 1 and Part 2 of this series, we examined real-world examples of how such relationships can save companies after setbacks and disasters. Today, we’ll conclude by looking at how cleaners can balance these dynamics in such a way that they become win-win situations for all.  

How do operators help competitors without undermining their own interests? Brian Butler, president of Dublin Cleaners in Columbus, Ohio, believes that having confidence in the services you bring to customers is key to this mindset of lending a hand.

“What are our true competitive business advantages?” he asks. “People just aren’t always willing to go the extra mile and the extra dollar. So many people in our industry are squeezing the last nickel out of equipment that needed to be replaced a long time ago. So, our competitive advantage is our willingness to run the business the right way and to make the investments in our facilities.”

Ray Rangwala, principal of Esteem Cleaners in Glendale, California, and president of the California Cleaners Association (CCA), acknowledges that not everyone operates with generosity. Some, for instance, try to poach employees. “But we know who they are,” he says, “and we try to stay away from them.”

Toran Brown, CEO of Rytina Fine Cleaners & Launderers in the Sacramento, Calif., area and president of the Drycleaning & Laundry Institute (DLI), puts it simply: “If you’re a generous person, you’re always going to be generous. If you’re a bad person, you’re always going to be bad.”

Rangwala believes that second- and third-generation cleaners tend to be more generous “because they’re there to give back to the industry. You get good, honest advice from your neighbors, rather than some guy on the phone who’s never walked into your store.”

The practical benefits are clear, he says: “If your mechanic is not there, you ask your fellow dry cleaner, ‘Help me fix this.’ Either they can fix it, or they can suggest a mechanic who’ll be able to solve your problems faster.”

Brown believes cooperation strengthens the industry’s reputation: “The more we can speak with one voice, the better that reputation will be, as opposed to sticking each other for a dollar by trashing your competitor.”

Brown draws a distinction between cooperative relationships and traditional insurance: “With insurance, it takes time to engage and receive benefits. With something like this, it’s, ‘My machine just tanked. Can I bring stuff over in 30 minutes?’ It’s a phone call. Insurance claims take days, if not longer, and you’re down for that time.”

The industrial cleaning industry often has formalized agreements before a disaster strikes.

“Those things aren’t necessarily as formalized in dry cleaning,” Brown says, “but it is best to think about how to achieve these relationships ahead of time, when you’re not in crisis mode.”

These relationships have yielded tangible business benefits for operators who maintain them. Butler points to several acquisitions that came about specifically because of his reputation.

During the pandemic, a 73-year-old operator kept waiting in Dublin Cleaners’ front room for Butler’s attention. Butler initially thought he couldn’t buy the business because it was part of a franchise, but the operator had a special provision allowing the sale. 

Butler asked why he’d been so persistent in contacting him about the offer: “He says, ‘Because I know you. I know who you are, and I know I can trust you. And I knew we could do this quickly.’”

Reputation matters in dry cleaning, Butler says: “We are a very tightly connected industry. When people are doing right, you hear about it. When people are doing wrong, you hear about it.”

The relationships also provide operational benefits. Butler, like several friendly area competitors, keeps spare parts. “They all know that if they don’t have something, call,” he says. “You don’t have to have equipment down for overnight or two days.”

When Butler reflects on his response to aid competitor Hilliard Cleaners during a post-fire crisis, he returns to fundamentals.

“It’s a golden rule, and it comes back to you,” he says. “Think about all the resources your competitors have that they can share that’s not to their disadvantage. Why wouldn’t you be friends with them? It makes life easier and sweeter.”

There’s also a practical consideration: “I’m in a 2.5 million MSA (metropolitan statistical area). I can’t do all that work. We all need a competitor to send the customer to when we need to break up with them.”

And there’s a moral dimension that transcends business calculations.

“Whatever you pray to, everybody’s got a judgment day somewhere in their doctrine,” he says. “I don’t want to go in the wrong direction because I made a few extra bucks. You can’t take it with you. It’s easier to sleep at night, too.”     

For Part 1 of this series, click HERE. For Part 2, click HERE.