CHICAGO — With Independence Day falling in the middle of the week, most drycleaners are reluctant to close more than one day, according to the most recent Wire survey. Three out of four respondents (77.5%) say they will close their stores July 4th only, while 15.0% will take the whole week off. Some 7.5% of respondents reported they will close July 4th plus an additional day, weekend, or both weekends.
Asked their reasoning behind the decision, one operator who chose to close for one day only said, “July 4th is a holiday. We strive to serve our customers’ needs at times convenient to them, which includes every day that is not a major holiday.”
Representing the opposite end of the spectrum, “We decided to close for the entire week, and it’s a paid vacation for the full-time staff,” another respondent said. “This cuts down on the number of days employees are out in the summer, and everyone enjoys having the paid week off. We get hammered with work when we return, but it’s well worth it.”
Asked what they think competing operations will do, 65.8% of survey respondents said they will close the same amount of days, while 13.2% said other operators would close fewer days. Only 5.3% thought other operations would be closed longer than their plants, and 15.8% didn't know.
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