So you've
been told that your cleaner is a true quality cleaner.
But have you ever noticed that their definition of true quality
cleaning has very little to do with the quality of the product they
produce? And that their definition revolves mostly around their
service and conveniences? Such as their friendly service
representatives, their same day service, their 24/7 bag drop off
system, their 24/7 order retrieval system, their drive through
service, their pickup and delivery service, etc.
No doubt they also touted the bar coded labels they glue onto
all your garments and household textiles as an indicator of true
quality cleaning.
Really?
The real question here is not whether they glue bar coded labels
onto your fine garments and household textiles. You know they do.
You've seen those bar coded labels glued onto the care labels,
brand labels, waistbands, inside pockets and side seams of your
fine garments and household textiles.
The real question is why they do it. And the answer to that
question will give you great insight into the cleaner's overall
philosophy to garment care.
One word of caution: when evaluating that answer make sure to
distinguish between the disclosed motivation (the spin) and the
hidden motivation (the reality).
Here's my take on bar codes: a true quality cleaner would never
glue bar coded labels anywhere on your fine garments and household
textiles
And the reasons?
First, they're your garments and household textiles. They don't
belong to me. You entrusted them to me for restoration to like new
condition. Not to have bar coded labels glued onto them without
your permission.
Second, glued on bar coded labels are typically used by high
volume/low price, highly automated cleaners where the operational
focus is on getting your garments into a machine, onto a press and
into a bag. ASAP. At lowest possible cost. They're in by 9:00 and
out by 5:00; or picked up on day 1 and delivered on day 3.
Third, and most importantly, a true quality cleaner would never
glue bar coded labels onto your fine garments and household
textiles because they move and assemble your fine garments and
household textiles by hand. NOT BY AUTOMATED MACHINE.
To understand
exactly what I mean visualize, for a moment, a Fedex or UPS sorting
facility with a web of conveyor belts and bar code scanners
strategically mounted above those conveyor belts. Further,
visualize letters and boxes of all shapes and sizes, all imprinted
with a bar code, shuttling along a conveyor belt from point to
point.
Now, instead of letters and boxes, visualize your fine garments
and household textiles, suspended on hangers, being roller-coasted
around a drycleaning plant from point to point on an automated
moving and assembly system.
Bar coded labels are the foundation of such an automated
system.
It's a concept borrowed directly from the uniform rental
industry.
Here's some background ...
We're
all familiar with the uniform rental industry. We see their
products on every Fedex and UPS driver. To ensure that those
uniforms are "cleaned, steamed/pressed, assembled and delivered" at
the lowest possible cost, the cleaner must, among other things, bar
code all garments and utilize a highly automated moving and
assembly system to shuttle their garments from point to point.
Along comes the ordinary cleaners. They figured that if the
system works for the uniform rental industry, it'll work for them
too.
But does it work for you?
Can you picture your fine garments and household textiles being
shuttled around a drycleaning plant from cleaning to
steaming/pressing to assembly to bagging? Can you imagine your
easily wrinkled, delicate and/or fragile garments such as your
silk, linen and cotton blouses and shirts being crushed between
heavier coats, sport coats, blazers, trousers, slacks and sweaters?
All in the name of maximizing efficiency and minimizing costs.
So, next time you see bar coded labels glued onto your fine
garments and household textiles consider this: Do you want your
fine garments and household textiles to be treated like uniform
rental garments?
I wouldn't think so.
Careful handling of your fine garments and household textiles
through the entire garment care process is just one sign of true
quality cleaning. Bar code labels glued onto your fine garments and
household textiles is just one sign of ordinary or "bang and hang"
cleaning.
How can I help you?