[ad_1]
For more than two decades, Michael and Sherry Hayes have been cleaning the laundry of the Flathead Valley.
As the owners of Imperial Dry Cleaners and Laundry, they catered to customers who wanted to wash T-shirts on the laundromat, but made special requests when cleaning $8,000 worth of wool from other clothes. For them, it’s just about serving their customers.
“We treat people well—that’s really the point,” says Michael. “And we have the best customers. We treat everyone like a VIP.
When the couple bought the Kalispell business 22 years ago, they had no idea how to run it. At one time, they also had three convenience stores, but now they own Michael’s on US 93 and Meridian Road.
“We bought the dry cleaners because we’ve been customers for years and thought we’d buy them,” he said simply.
Using their experience in the hospitality industry, they both applied hard work to learning and managing their businesses. Customers at the laundromat often come weekly, and some come to the convenience store more than once a day, so they understand the importance of treating customers well, they say.
The couple met when they both worked at the former Outlaw Inn. Sherry grew up in Kalispell and Michael is from Butte where he ran a hotel.
“We knew about the hospitality industry and that was transferred very well,” he said. “That’s why we did it.”
Primarily running a dry cleaning business, Sherry has been hands-on since the beginning. An employee who ran the dry cleaning part of the business quit and learned how to operate a dry cleaning machine on site. With the help of their employees and family members, they worked on every aspect of the job, repairing washers and dryers themselves when necessary.
At first, she says, “I didn’t know anything about it.” “It was difficult from the first day – I was very dependent on other workers and I wondered what we would do with ourselves.”
Today, the business often sees 1,000 pieces a day being moved through for cleaning and hundreds of pounds of laundry to be washed and folded – all done by hand. The business also includes locations in Evergreen and Bigfork.
Both credit the staff, now 25 in total, including many who have been with them for more than 10 years, for their hard work. They say it’s a rewarding experience to train employees and watch them grow and move on to other jobs.
Employees were the focus as they switched to an environmentally friendly dry cleaning process using organic and biodegradable solvents, along with working to save water, electricity and natural gas. “Our children all drink the same water,” Michael said, not to mention their six children and six grandchildren.
Although there have been some long days and tears in the process, Sherry says there’s more satisfaction to be found in the day-to-day work of cleaning clothes than running the business.
“It’s a problem,” she said as she tried to remove the stain. “There are so many different chemicals you can use, but you can’t mix them. So you have to know what works and feel good when you pull it off.”
“We did our job well,” Michael said happily.
Sometimes they are helping people after a disaster – cleaning up lots of stuff that was damaged by fire or flood.
“It can be heartbreaking,” Michael said. “You’re working hard to clean up a stuffed animal because the mother wants to get back to her little one.”
Although it’s not always easy, it’s the social aspect of business that Sherry enjoys, including building relationships with customers. Regular customers say it’s not uncommon for staff to bring treats.
“We’ve had some of the same customers since day one,” she said. “A 102-year-old woman who lives in Lake Foy comes regularly to wash her laundry because using the washing machine in her house can affect the lake.”
Laundry services for blankets and sleeping bags that do not fit into domestic machines are a common part of their service. About a third of their customers have a washer and dryer, but they are waiting for home machine maintenance.
Some of the funniest items that come to the door for cleaning are Civil War uniforms, teddy bear costumes, and several Santa Claus costumes.
They steam a lot of wedding dresses and work to clean the mud from the gown after the ceremony – they say it’s one of the most challenging dresses to clean. It is passed down, but holds emotional value for the bride.
“We got a dress from a wedding in Glacier Park, it was covered in lace and pearls all over,” Michelle said. “We did everything we could to clean it up.”
As the Flathead Valley is a destination wedding venue, part of their business has increased.
“In the winter, we get hit hard with all the weddings,” Sherry said.
The couple recently sold their dry cleaning and laundry business, and are still figuring out what the business means while they help transition to the new owners.
“Kalispel has been good to us,” Michael said.
Features Editor Heidi Desch can be reached at 758-4421 or hdesch@dailyinterlake.com.
[ad_2]
Source link
