Oregon Dry Cleaners Assoication
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News from the Oregon Dry Cleaners Association |  |
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From the Editors Laptop...
“Don’t hang
up!”
Imagine telling that to a
customer so engrossed in their cell phone
conversation that it’s impossible to
wait on them.
That’s what we do in
my shop now.
And it’s amazing to
see the change, in our customers and in us!
Last month I
told you about the Customer Service Webinar I
participated in. It was put
on by NCA and hosted by
ODCA’s Kathey Butters. In this
class Kathey brought up the issue of those cell phone
abusers and how they make
it impossible for us to provide quality customer
service. As much
as we may not like it, as much
as we know it’s rude, it IS the way it is and we just
have to learn to deal with
it.
Kathey suggested we have a
notepad at the counter so they can write down their
name and we in turn can
write down any questions we may have.
And that’s when
my brain kicked in.
Our customers
gave us tons of information, they just didn’t write down
their name. I fixed
that problem by changing the
line to, “Your Name Please” and left space and
added, “Special
Instructions?” I also added a Thank
you at the bottom of the card.
In case you were
wondering if there truly is any benefit to using this tool,
here are a couple of
experiences I’ve had. A gentleman
walked in, new enough customer that I had not yet met
him, and just as I get to the
counter his phone rings. It was
obviously an important business call.
We conducted our entire transaction with
a “Don’t Hang Up” card. I gave
him his drop-off receipt and
circled the time it would be ready, he nodded his head
and left. A few
minutes later he came back in and
said the last cleaner he went to, one of my
competitors, asked him to step
outside until he was done with his call.
He just wanted to say how much he
appreciated the service. My most
favorite example happened just
last week.
A new customer walked in
and said her friend Colleen told her we were the only
cleaners to go to. I
managed to get her name before her
phone rang. While she talked,
I sorted through her clothes and entered them into the
computer. I grabbed
a “Don’t Hang Up” card and
wrote, “Starch?” on it. She wrote
“Light” and I printed her receipt.
I circled the time it would be ready and said
thank you. When
she got to the door she turned
around, said just a minute to her caller and told
me, “Thank you, Colleen was
right”, and headed out the
door.
While I
personally think cell phone use is out of control, it’s
not for me to try to
change or correct my customers.
This has proven to be a great new way to
provide service in a changing
world.
I would be happy to share my
“Don’t Hang Up” card and you can adapt it to your own
needs. Just
send me an
email.
And now, on to
other things; are you aware of the goings on in
Plus some
interesting links for you to ponder at your
leisure.
Until next
month, be safe, be happy, and be profitable! (And by
all means, Don’t Hang
Up!)
Brian Olson CED, Director, District 1 - Newsletter Editor
This month the subjects I would like to talk about affect every dry cleaner in one way or another. The legislators and the Governor of the state of Oregon have decided that they are not getting enough of our money and they want more. The first item is the proposal on the house floor that would require you to pay your employees overtime after 8 hours in any single day, not after 40 hours per week as it is currently. How will this affect you if it is passed? Most cleaners have busy production in the first part of the week and less at the end so we all tend to work overtime to get production out Monday through Wednesday and work fewer hours the rest of the week. The employees like this setup because they get off earlier on Friday which makes for a longer weekend. If this bill passes, we all will be faced with additional wages and payroll taxes that most of us can ill afford and are not in our business model. The second item is the Public Purpose Tax that is part of your utility bill. Currently this tax is 3% of your bill. Under the proposal on the floor that would increase to 5% and would extend the tax to the year 2025. We can ill afford to have our utility bills go up any more than the steady rate increases the utility companies seem to be getting every year already. How much will this cost your? The next item continues to deal with utility costs as there is a proposal on the house floor that would require all utilities to use at least 25% renewable energy they provide and you would have to use it also. This would definitely raise the cost of your utility charges as the Public Utility Commission would no doubt allow a rate increase for them to cover the costs associated with this requirement. The final item is the Family Leave Act. Conversations being held in the House could make all employers, not just those with 25 or more employees, subject to this law. At this point it does not seem that a change is gaining any ground but this is something we should all be thinking about. As you can see, none of the things I have listed above are making business any easier or reducing our cost to do business. What can you do as business owners? First thing is to start contacting your representatives and senators and tell them why you cannot afford these additional regulations. Write the governor a letter and let him know your thoughts and how this will hurt small business. If as business owners we are not proactive and let our thoughts be known, then these laws will pass and we will have no recourse but to pay the piper. I am interested in your thoughts and would like to hear from each of you.
Contact Scott
at
smcclure@oregondrycleaners.org.
This spring the ODCA will be offering two separate computer classes on the same day. One morning session and one afternoon session. Take one or both! At our morning session, you will learn how to prevent security threats to your computer or correct issues you may already have! Spyware, adware, viruses and Trojans are lurking online, waiting to infest your computer. All could easily cripple your computer if you're not careful. Worse yet, hackers could steal important personal information. If that's not enough to send you hiding under the covers, you also have to find a way to keep your kids safe online. Scary? You bet. Unmanageable? Not at all. Learn the difference between spyware, adware, viruses and Trojans, and how to protect both your home and work computer with free and paid software programs. We will also touch on protecting your network and wireless network with hardware you probably already have. At our afternoon session you will learn how to build a PowerPoint Presentation. Are you involved with your local Chamber of Commerce, Rotary or another Organization? Have you been asked to make a presentation? You've seen those nifty slide shows that people use when making a presentation to a group. Now you too, will be able to whip one up on your computer. If you have Microsoft Office installed then you have PowerPoint. We will go through the steps of how to make a professional presentation, and keep peoples interest! At the end of this session you'll go home with a presentation you've made on a CD, and instructions on how to achieve this by yourself.
Our instructor is ODCA's own Leslie Kettenhofen. Her
credentials include:
Her own business, Imagine Cleaners Online & Brandywyne Web Design specialize in website design, e-mail marketing, network consulting & design, and CleanSuite Point of Sale Software. She has a 25 year history of Personal Computer design and troubleshooting. Her husband lovingly refers to her as his "Spock", the true computer nerd. As co-owner of Bob's Dry Cleaners and Laundry, she has experienced all the aspects of the dry cleaning industry from Counter Service to Finishing, and has been an active member of ODCA since 2000 when she volunteered to be our webmaster. She implemented our Monthly Electronic Newsletter in 2004 and is currently serving as ODCA's President Elect.
ODCA Sponsored Computer
Classes You can find directions to Lane Community College in Florence on Google Maps here: LANE CC. Bring the family for a mini-vacation and spend the weekend at the coast! Here are some links to some favorite places to stay. Heceta Beach RV Park is located one block from the beach. Driftwood Shores Inn is located on the beach. Economy Inn is a re-done original old coast motel and the Holiday Inn Express is in the middle of town. To regsiter for this class and information on upcoming events, go to www.oregondrycleaners.org. See you at the Beach!
So now it is
Friday morning, we
have had another great breakfast and are ready for the
featured speaker, Jeff
Hargett, Corporate Director of The Ritz Carlton
Leadership Center. What a
dynamic speaker! NCA out did themselves with Jeff.
How do
you decide where to hold convention? We try to hold it around
the state, north, south and
central where the majority of our membership is
located. We look
at where we have been in the
last few years and then at areas farther away. Once we
have an area decided on, we look
at the various facilities. We then
present our findings to the President who makes the
final
decision. How do
you decide when?
Obviously spring is too
early in the year as we
really haven’t accomplished anything yet.
In the summer we run into members
vacation schedules and winter is just
too unpredictable for weather and travel
concerns. That
leaves the fall and October has
worked well for us. How do
you find your speakers?
There are as many
resources as there are
speakers.
Dozens of emails and
phone calls are made to find the perfect topics and
speakers. Last
year, Steve LaCesa and John Ledger
were the result of discussions with my
customers. They
both gave excellent
presentations. Sometimes you get
lucky and end up with great speakers, sometimes,
well, not so
much. What’s
your favorite part of convention?
Without a doubt it’s the
banquet. There is
a lot of pressure putting the
convention together and making sure everything goes
as planned. Once the
banquet starts I can kick back,
relax and have fun knowing the stressful part for me is
over. And your
least favorite? My least favorite part is the
Friday drive to the
event.
Do I have everything I
need?
Did I forget anything? (One
year I forgot to pack my
shirts!)
Did I prepare enough
packets, too many packets? Will our
speakers be good? Or, more
importantly, will the attendees find their presentations
useful? I feel a
great deal of pressure to “Get
it right”.
As a matter of fact, I
had a dream that it was Saturday morning and our
entire group was at breakfast,
I called my committee together for an emergency
meeting because in our attempt
to attend to every detail, we forgot an important
element to the event. That was
to hire any speakers!
My
dreams can be very entertaining.
What was
the most difficult event you put together?
That was my fist year as
convention chair. I was a
committee of one. I had
never done anything like this
before.
The hotel changed our dates
twice.
Who knew they couldn’t do
that?
We ended up meeting in the
mountains in November. Sure enough,
it snowed like crazy. That was a
minor inconvenience though. Two
weeks before the event, both speakers had to
cancel. That’s
right, both of
them.
Once we got my heart started again
they came through and sent a couple of excellent
substitutes to give their
presentations.
What is
the most frustrating part of convention?
I would have to say,
without a doubt its late
registrations. The entire event is
based on the numbers attending and the committee,
convention facility and
speakers need those numbers early enough to
prepare. The cost
to attend seems to be different from year to
year. How do
you determine the
cost? We start with our initial
budget based on expected
expenses.
Bear in mind that each
facility is different in the way they charge. Some of
our speakers are willing to
address our group at no charge, others have
significant fees. All are
reimbursed for expenses. It’s
important to know that the actual
fee you pay to attend does not cover all the
expenses. The
Board feels the event is important
enough for the membership that the association
should subsidize the costs to
make it more affordable for you.
It’s yet another way your annual dues are
working for
you. Were
will convention be held this year?
I’m so excited about this
year’s location that I plan
on getting there a day early to take advantage of some
of the amenities before I
actually have to go to “work”. But
we’ll be making that announcement in the next issue
of this newsletter. And just
in case you were wondering,
yes, we are already working on next year’s event!
Sometimes funny, Sometimes informative, Always interesting. Check out this month's dry cleaning links... Ever wondered how to save a bundle on your wedding? Even if you haven't, you need to check out Cheap, Chic Weddings And news a little closer to home this time, Newport Cleaners.
Buying or selling? Be sure to use the ODCA Classifieds on our website at ODCA Classifieds.
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Return to Top This page revised 26 March 2007
What if?
Of course you
have to expect, like everything new, there will be a
learning curve.
What do customers want? 1. Fast access
to
knowledge
and wisdom. 2. Convenience and Respect of Time
(make things happen quickly, make
it efficient). 3. Hassle free interactions – get rid of the
mistakes! EVERY
MISTAKE THAT HAPPENS SHOULD BE A
NEW MISTAKE! I have thought a lot about
the above statement, how do
you accomplish it and my conclusion was Systems. It
is do-able, but you need the
right system and if the first one doesn’t work then
create a new one until you
find the one that does work. I also realized that
addressing a problem with the
employee that made the mistake is not creating a
system. A system is a program
that is created that eliminates all employees, from the
newest on, from making
that mistake.