The Human factor

Computerised and calibrated drycleaning machines have made quality cleaning relatively easy to achieve. Finishing garments, on the other hand, is the human side of the business involving individual skills.

It is also labour-intensive and, in an increasingly competitive market, raises the question of balancing a good service to the customer against the cost. Should customers pay for a premium service? The subject of skills and equipment also attracts differing views. The traditional expertise of the Hoffman presser is being weighed against the more easily achievable skills needed to operate professional ironing equipment.

Each business has its own approach. Mr Neil Treharne of Treharne Dry Cleaners, Cowbridge, has been in the business since 1960. His shop’s finishing equipment includes the Hoffman scissor press, steam air finisher and silk finishing vacuum table. He uses a steam boat for shoulders.

Mr Treharne’s view is that “you have to be good at what you do. We offer the customer cleanliness and a good finish at a good price.” He says that although his pricing structure is on a par with the prices charged by Sketchley and Johnson, he does not run special offers or have a tiered service. “The big boys run an entirely different operation,” he explains. “I believe there is only one way to work and that’s the correct way,” he maintains.

Looking at the textile care industry in general, Mr Treharne feels that the time for de-skilling has been and gone. “The Hoffman press gives a wonderful finish, but it takes time. The improvement in finishing tables over the past two to three years makes it easy to achieve a good standard.” Mrs Alison Swanson of family-run business, Swanson Dry Cleaning, Aberystwyth, places a high value on the finish and the personal approach. Although Swanson is the only on-site cleaner in Aberystwyth, she believes that customers would go to another town if her shop did not deliver high quality service. “We use a Sidi Duval press and we finish everything by hand. A lot of our customers work away from the area, but they bring clothes to us because of the quality we offer.” Training and time are the key to that quality. Attention to detail matters—little touches, such as putting a crease in the sleeves of a uniform, are important.

Another believer in the traditional approach is Martin Kipling of Sureclean, a small independent drycleaner in the market town of Kenilworth. His shop’s competitors are a branch of Sketchley and several independents.

Sureclean still uses Hoffman presses. Waistbands and linings are finished by hand. Sureclean’s motto is displayed in the shop to remind staff that “if it’s good enough for you to wear, it’s good enough for the customer”.

The company offers a premium service that includes minor repairs, but the garments are otherwise finished to a uniform standard.

Mr Kipling’s personal belief is that “you won’t get a good finish without the traditional press—but skilled pressers are getting thin on the ground.” Nevertheless, he believes, consumer attitudes may be changing. They may be willing to accept a certain standard for the regular load while seeking out the best cleaner for the best suit. He warns that “the best cleaner may become harder to find”.

With supermarkets and multiples offering a one- or two-hour service, more customers will expect that speed of delivery. But, says Mr Kipling, there is only so much you can do in that timescale. “We prefer to work on one to three days”.

At Hendon, Mr Clean, owned by Mr Ashvin Sachdev, one of Laundry and Cleaning News’ drycleaners of the year, is operating against increased competition. When he came to the area there were just three businesses. Now, there are eight, including a supermarket operation.

Mr Clean offers a two-tier service—standard and hand finish, partly because its customers have an eye for value and want the option, although between 50% or 60% of customers choose the premium service.

Mr Sachdev believes that modern fashions demand more individual attention—some of the garments feature a wide mix of different fabrics and finishes. They may not be difficult to finish, but they certainly require more attention.

At Solent Cleaners, a group of 12 unit shops, managing director Paul Durham points out the difficulties of operating in a competitive environment and believes the niche marketing route may be getting overcrowded.

Outside London and other big cities, demand for the premium service may be limited.

“We can’t compete with the supermarkets on the convenience of free parking and long opening hours, but we can offer our customers a clear identity as a specialist drycleaner. The only way we can compete on price is by increasing our volume. That is why we advertise and we run promotional discounts.” The shop has also explored offering a tiered service and come close once or twice to launching it, but always drawn back, Mr Durham explains. “We prefer to offer better quality at a standard finish,” he says, believing that customers are looking for acceptable presentation at a reasonable price.

Long-term, he believes, drycleaning has to attract a wider range of customers and that move will be price-led.

A garment press, rotor cabinet and a high tech ironing table running off the cabinet is a reasonable combination giving the best of both worlds. Mr Durham feels that the use of ironing tables will become more widespread due to their lower capital and running costs.

Training staff in ironing techniques is also easier. “They can start to be productive quickly even though they will not immediately be fully skilled,” he says.

The trend towards this approach is noted by Roger Cawood, education officer at the Fabric Care Research Association in Harrogate. The association’s education centre provides a range of training courses which cover both traditional pressing skills and ironing with specific equipment.

“Businesses often attend training courses before they set up or before they invest in new equipment,” he says. “The training courses can help them decide the direction to take.” The centre offers a dual mode course, where students can decide on the areas they wish to pursue—pressing or ironing.

Mr Cawood describes pressing as an art, an expertise that cannot be learned from scratch on a course. In contrast, an operator can be brought to a reasonable level of a skill on straightforward, robust items, during training, particularly if they are already experienced on domestic ironing equipment.

Mr Cawood feels that the industry will see an increased use of ironing tables for finishing. He predicted the trend as far back as1988, when he carried out an evaluation of ironing tables. His research concluded that “in the long-term it is anticipated that simplified finishing equipment will increasingly be installed in preference to hand or air-operated pressers or formers”.

He stresses that while ironing is easier to learn, it should still be seen as a skill. Staff still need ongoing training and experience to reach full proficiency.

Both ironing equipment and presses have their advantages and disadvantages.

The two types can be complementary and are often used side-by-side in drycleaning factories and in the high street.

The important thing is the standard of finish. Good staff training combined with modern equipment will enable the highest standard of finish to be achieved.

One cleaner, who endorses the move to ironing equipment, is Tom McKissick. He has been in the business for 20 years and now runs the Dry Cleaning Centre, a three-shop operation in the Blackpool area.

Mr McKissick began the switch two years ago when the press was temporarily out of action. Looking at ways to increase profitability, he started to monitor his operating costs.

The cost of running the Hoffman press was so high that the energy saving to be made more than compensated for the extra time taken at the ironing table.

Working on a table, he feels, can make it easier to see what you are doing, as the press can cast shadows.

He began to change his entire operation—switching to smaller loads, spending more time spotting, improving presentation with thicker polythene and better hangers and has found that cost-effectiveness has gone hand-in-hand with an improvement in quality.

Brooks Retail Services’ managing director John Barber says the majority of work is still done on Hoffman presses, but he believes that the industry could see a move away from this type of equipment in the long-term. His personal belief is that an operator can obtain good results on an ironing table and it is easier both to recruit staff for this equipment and to train them. It is also easier to control the ironer’s working environment “Finding staff for Hoffman presses is more difficult, even though we will train them,” he says. Brooks is currently re-equipping two shops and in both cases is installing rotor cabinets and ironing equipment.

Malcolm Berger, of Harry Berger Cleaners and Dyers, operates in the south Manchester area. His businesses cover a wide range of customers including students, professionals, and a more price-conscious segment of the market.

His shops offer “a good standard service using Hoffman presses” but do not hand finish as a matter of course. They will only do so on request, for a premium.

Mr Berger feels the question of maintaining standards is becoming more difficult, particularly in an industry that is becoming increasingly price-led, with a large percentage of shops having to rely on special offers and discounts.

While many drycleaners note a diminishing pool of Hoffman press staff, Mr Berger has little difficulty finding skilled pressers and from time to time may take on extra staff on a casual basis. In his experience, when a business decides to sell or tries to cut costs, Hoffman press staff may be the first to go. While he recognises the need to operate cost-effectively—and finishing is a high cost area, he speculates that perhaps the emphasis on cutting costs has been overdone.

While ironing may be appropriate for some applications, Mr Berger says it would not do to go solely down that route, although he admits shops which choose this path “can get very good results and many do, you can’t beat the standard of the scissor press,” he says. “Training on a Hoffman press brings with it subtle nuances and an inherent knowledge of fabrics.”