SAN FRANCISCO — Small-business consultancy Methods for Management (MfM) has teamed with the Drycleaning & Laundry Institute (DLI) to form a new peer group for dry cleaners across the United States and Canada.
The peer group met for the first time recently at Tower Cleaners in Kansas City, Mo. Owners Larry Ross and Dale Berlau invited the group to tour their plant, and MfM Managing Director Diana Vollmer led the group through a plant critique.
The group then discussed their experience of the plant tour and noted what procedures worked well for productivity.
Other activities during the peer meeting included a presentation by Vollmer titled Emerge from This Economy More Profitable Than Ever, in which she discussed best practices dry cleaners can make in a cutback economy, and a “Best Ideas” roundtable, during which attendees shared the most “innovative and successful change” they made to their business in the past quarter, MfM reports.
The group also visited Halls Department Store at the Country Club Plaza to experience how dry cleaners partner with specialty retailers.
Attendees included Russ Baich and Shanna Soehn of Classic Cleaners in Red Deer, Alberta; Morgan McGhie of David’s Drycleaners in Savannah, Ga.; Nimesh Vakharia of Great American Cleaners in El Cerrito, Calif.; Don Saccol of Monarch Cleaners in Altoona, Pa.; Neal Thuente of Victoria Cleaners in Des Moines, Iowa; and Jeff Rehr of VIP Cleaners in St. Louis, Mo.
“Attending the DLI/MfM Bureau Meeting gave me much needed insight into my personal drycleaning business and the drycleaning industry as a whole,” says McGhie. “I walked away with a new sense of focus and thought process of how to approach and improve our operations. I have already implemented a few new changes with great results. We are looking forward to the next meeting.”
MfM/DLI peer group meetings for 2014 are scheduled as follows:
- Jan. 6-7, hosted by Great American Cleaners in El Cerrito, Calif.
- April 10-11, hosted by VIP Cleaners in St. Louis, Mo.
- July 10-11, hosted by Classic Cleaners in Red Deer, Alberta.
- Oct. 9-10, hosted by Victoria Cleaners in Des Moines, Iowa.
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