CLARENCE, N.Y. — In this occasional special feature called Cuppa Joe, you get a taste of how a fellow dry cleaner does business in your garment care world. Today, meet owner Arthur Fuerst and co-owner Jennifer Marquardt, sharing how they run their cleaning operation for their clients.
There’s a positive, can-do attitude—one your drycleaning business no doubt possesses—shining brightly over Arthur’s Executive Cleaners in Western New York state.
“Whether you are the stay-at-home mom who wants to look good on your (finally) big night out, the CEO presenting and overseeing your company, the one who has his or her first ‘real’ job interview, or the person looking to save time in their day … we want to be the cleaners people think about,” Marquardt says.
Arthur’s can clean anything a person can wear, she adds, but it also cleans household items, leathers, suedes, alterations, and wedding gowns. “You name it, we can clean it.”
Arthur’s Executive Cleaners was established in 1987, according to Marquardt, who goes on to explain how her partner first got it going:
First sip: “Arthur Fuerst originally started the company because, in the late ’80s, there were not a lot of drycleaning businesses around. He started the company by calling people in his local area and asking if they needed any dry cleaning done.
“He would go pick it up from them, get it cleaned, then drop it back off to them. After about six months, and with increasing numbers of people asking, ‘Where are you located so I can come into the store?’ he opened up a storefront in Snyder, N.Y.”
First gulp: “Arthur’s original mindset was to have the biggest drycleaning empire around! While trying to maintain a family that included five crazy boys, he then shifted gears and thought, ‘We don’t need to be the biggest. We just need to be the best from start to finish.
“We need to make sure that from the time a person walks through our door, or gets clothes picked up from their home or office on one of our delivery routes, to when they put that piece of clothing on to wear for their day, that every step has been taken with pride and with care. This is an aspiration every employee of Arthur’s Executive Cleaners strives to achieve today.”
Another sip: “He then grew big enough to start doing his dry cleaning and laundry ‘in house.’ This is when he started a drycleaning plant in Yorkshire, N.Y. Since then, Arthur’s Executive Cleaners has grown to four locations and numerous delivery routes all throughout Western New York state.”
Marquardt started her career with the company in 2004, needing a part-time job to get her through the rest of school. After she graduated college, Fuerst promoted her to office manager. She became part owner in 2012. By 2018, she was managing the production end of the business as well as the front end.
More sips: “Our business is growing on a constant basis by building relationships with companies and people all over Western New York. Many people can view dry cleaning as a commodity, however, Arthur’s Executive Cleaners understands that every garment we clean and every event that that garment is going to be at is important to our customers.
“We value our customers and our employees at Arthur’s Executive Cleaners. We continue to make decisions that will add value to our service, and continue to make good decisions that will help our employees’ lives grow.”
Final taste: When asked what makes the operation unique, Marquardt concludes, “We want to make sure that when customers feel confident in what they’re wearing, they’re going to have a better day.”
Are you a drycleaning business owner with a great story to tell? What makes your business or brand stand out? Summarize your story and email it to [email protected] for a chance to give the American Drycleaner audience a taste of what you do so well at your garment care operation.
Have a question or comment? E-mail our editor Dave Davis at [email protected].