By Don Desrosiers, Tailwind Systems
OKAY, I ADMIT IT: I OWN A LOT OF ROBERT GRAHAM SHIRTS. Back in my plant days, there were no $300-$500 shirts and my father would think I am nuts to pay that kind of money for a shirt. Maybe you do, too. But the fact is, they are out there and your customers have them. You can frown upon them or you can seize the money- making opportunity they represent. I very strongly encourage the latter.
Continue reading “Above-Average Shirts Need Above Average Care”
I would like to wish all my fellow drycleaners a very happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year. Our industry has weathered the biggest crisis we have faced in our lifetimes. With every crisis comes opportunity and we have a chance to capture a more significant piece of the pie.
To survive the changes sweeping our industry, we must adapt and think outside the box. Over the years, we drycleaners have faced many challenges, yet we adapt and get tougher with every challenge. Resilience is a muscle one can strengthen over time and the challenging times we are facing present an opportunity to flex this muscle. Several techniques I’ve found helped me build my resilience over the years and I hope you may find some of them helpful as well.
Continue reading “From DLI’s President: Building Resilience for a Stronger Future”
DLI’s Board of Directors recognizes valued contributions and inducts new volunteer leadership each year. New Directors are sworn in as their predecessors move to an executive position or become DLI Senators, an exclusive title for previous members of the Board. This year DLI welcomes a host of new faces to its governing body.
New 2022 Package Delivers Gift Certificates from Popular Vendors Worth $470+
Drycleaning & Laundry Institute membership saves members money. Not intangible money but actual savings in the form of gift certificates from popular industry companies. Members of DLI’s Board of Directors invited Allied Trades Members, industry service providers, suppliers, and manufacturers who support the industry and Institute, to provide direct discounts on products members buy and use regularly.
By Don Desrosiers, Tailwind Systems
As we struggle to return our businesses to a feeling of normality and try to pretend the past couple of years have been a bad dream, we must remember we cannot leave it all to chance. When we compete for market share, we often do the obvious things to stay we are a step ahead of our competitors. We guarantee on-time service and quality work. We spend money on store beautification, employee training, DLI classes, and modern equipment. These are all key expenditures and highly recommended but we can also run out of ideas. We can look around our brand-new plant with brand-new, state-of-the-art equipment, stocked full of terrific, fully-trained, dynamic employees and think, “What now?”
2022 Course Offerings Include On-Site, Virtual, and a Combination of Both
The Drycleaning and Laundry Institute released plans for its School of Drycleaning Technology courses throughout 2022. This year DLI offers a host of options for students, including On-Site Courses, Virtual Courses, and Blended Learning (a combination of virtual and on-site training).
Continue reading “New Blended Courses Offer Students More Flexibility”
In my travels as a drycleaning mechanic, one of the more common complaints I hear is the loss of steam pressure caused by low water level in the boiler. Low water level can be caused by several different problems, and in this and follow-on issues I’ll be explaining how to find the cause/causes of low water faults. Causes of this type of fault mimic each other, so finding the culprit is more or less a process of elimination, so I’m going to discuss these problems starting from the fault that is easiest to identify.
DLI is seeking nominations for DLI members qualified to serve on the Institute’s Board of Directors for terms beginning in Summer 2022. The DLI Board is comprised of business owners, top-level managers, distributors, and manufacturers who volunteer to act as DLI’s policy-making body. Nominees should have a strong interest in serving their fellow industry members and be willing to accept the responsibility of guiding the Institute’s activities into the future.
CONGRATULATIONS! You survived the challenges of 2020 and most of 2021. Given the recent turmoil, many of us are wondering what 2022 might hold. We asked a group of DLI leaders and staff members to share their thoughts about the year ahead. These sources have their ears to the ground closer than most in the industry by regularly hosting DLI’s weekly Peer-to-Peer Zoom sessions and participating in DLI’s weekly virtual training sessions. Their positions also put them in direct contact with many members daily. Few people share this perspective.
DLI’s leadership and staff are honored to work for you everyday.
Between January 1 & December 31, 2021, DLI helped members by sharing information, providing training, building relationships, industry watchdog advocacy and leading the way. We’re very excited about sharing some important developments as we move into 2022.
