PEMBROKE, Mass. — Just about all dry cleaners are hard workers. You can’t run a drycleaning business and not put in the hours, pitch in with the “grunt” activities, and do endless paperwork. Workweeks of 50, 60 or 70 hours are not unheard of. But working hard doesn’t mean you’re working smart. It doesn’t mean that you’re undertaking those activities which ensure your firm’s continuance, if not prosperity. Nor does it mean that the company is obtaining the best that you can offer.
Your workday is determined by the size of your business, the workload, the staff, and the procedures set in place. Your day is a patchwork of solving customer problems, helping out with the processing, dealing with vendors, and ordering supplies.
Being a hands-on manager is necessary to run a good business, but possibly you can release yourself from some of these obligations and do more overseeing and spend more time with big-picture issues.
As a starting point, estimate your daily breakdown. Say you work from 8 to 6. That’s 10 hours, which breaks down to a 50-hour workweek (if you work just five days a week, of course). Apportion how much time is devoted to being a line worker—delivering orders, being a counterperson, or removing stains. Then calculate how much time is spent dealing with problems, either customer- or vendor-related. Then figure out how much time is devoted to assigning work. Add everything up and divide by the total hours. Do this for three or four weeks, and you’ll get an idea of your time use.
Perhaps 40% is devoted to line work—working the counter, making deliveries, and the like—and 20% each devoted to three other tasks. Examine this breakdown. Wouldn’t it be good if you had more time for creative management activities? These activities might include evaluating and motivating individual performance, soliciting new commercial and residential accounts, exploring new technology, talking with vendors about ways to improve efficiency, and examining where the company is heading.
The level every dry cleaner should aspire to is employing a manager who does the cleaning as well as handles the day-to-day issues and problems. At that point, your schedule is freed up somewhat. But even at this level, many dry cleaners are still overwhelmed with daily details and obligations. Certainly, some dry cleaners who have managers takes three-hour lunches or spend four afternoons a week on the golf course. But others—the more aggressive ones—will utilize the time to improve his operation, to streamline processes, to win new accounts, and do other strategies to propel the business forward. But first it is necessary to get to that point where you can afford a manager. Many of the suggestions that follow is for the owner who is striving to employ a manager.
My idea is that, at mid-range volume level, one-third of your time should be devoted to obtaining new business. Perhaps you might make cold calls in neighborhoods where you have a delivery route customer. Yes, it’s the delivery route person’s job to solicit. But if he is not particularly adept at selling services, he won’t pick up new business. Possibly your successful solicitations could inspire him to seek out additional business himself.
Stand in front of a supermarket and hand out notices about your business. Specify on the notice a special event. For example, run an anniversary celebration during which all prices are cut in half, prizes and refreshments are handed out, and there’s free pony rides for kids. Or feature a coat gathering and giveaway to poor families. In other words, have a purpose for standing there with something worthwhile to offer.
Give the public a reason for coming into your store. Does this soliciting sound demeaning? Are you reluctant to “beg” for more business? Maybe it won’t feel so humiliating when you realize a half-dozen new customers from the effort. If such soliciting is not permitted, then obtain special permission from your town leaders. The point is, where there’s a will, there’s a way.
Check back Wednesday for the conclusion!
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