Cleaner Conversations

Cleaner Conversations

5.0 (2)
Marketing

Cleaner Conversations is all about the owners and operators in the Dry Cleaning and Laundromat spaces. We’re sitting down with operators across the country to hear how they got started, what they’ve been through, and the stories you wouldn’t believe unless you heard them yourself. Real experiences, real challenges, and real insight into what it actually takes to survive and grow in this industry.

2d ago

Bonnie Blum: How to Demand Excellence Without Micromanaging

Bonnie has spent 18 years at City Cleaners, starting behind the counter as a shy 19-year-old CSR and eventually growing into a leadership role overseeing a team of 17 CSRs across five locations. Along the way, she has helped build the systems, expectations, and culture that allow City Cleaners to develop employees, create stronger customer relationships, and keep multiple stores operating consistently. In this episode of Cleaner Conversations, we dive into Bonnie’s journey from CSR to management, what she has learned about developing people, and why caring has become one of the most important qualities she looks for in future leaders. She shares how City Cleaners trains and recognizes employees, handles difficult customer situations, creates clear expectations, and gives team members room to be human while still maintaining a high professional standard. This is a practical conversation packed with real ideas for dry cleaning owners and managers around leadership, employee retention, customer experience, accountability, training, systems, and building a team that genuinely cares about the work they do. Topics Covered: • Bonnie’s journey from 19-year-old CSR to management • What owners should look for when developing future managers • Why caring matters more than having every skill on day one • Managing a dry cleaning team through COVID and heavy turnover • City Cleaners’ $50 “Above & Beyond” customer budget • Using Clean Cards to recognize employees who go the extra mile • Calling every new customer personally after their first visit • City Cleaners’ three-tier system for handling customer complaints • Listening, reassuring, and solving problems with difficult customers • Balancing compassion with professional standards • Managing five locations without physically being in every store • Using SOPs, systems, and clear expectations to create accountability • Giving CSRs production experience to better understand the entire operation • Expanding into laundromats and fire restoration • Why defining excellence makes it easier to demand excellence • A customer accidentally leaving a duffel bag full of drugs with his dry cleaning Subscribe to Cleaner Conversations for more conversations with operators, founders, managers, and leaders across the garment care industry. Watch and listen on YouTube and Spotify, with audio also available on Apple Podcasts. Want to learn more? Click here: https://api.cleaner.marketing/widget/bookings/cleanermarketingstrategymeeting
Aug 10

Dino Kantzavelos: Survive, Reinvent & Have a Beer with Charlie Sheen

From cleaning costumes for Hollywood stars to rebuilding after a 95% revenue collapse, Dino Kantzavelos has experienced nearly every side of the garment-care business. As owner of TSC Wet Clean and President of the Canadian Fabricare Association, Dino shares how one business card opened the door to Hollywood, why his family risked everything to transition to wet cleaning, and how faith, family, and commitment to his people carried the business through COVID. We also discuss: RebuildingTransitioning an entire plant to wet cleaningWorking alongside familyWhy generosity creates loyal, long-term employeesUsing social mediaAdvocating for the industryThe opportunity ahead Dino is the owner of TSC Wet Clean in Mississauga and President of the Canadian Fabricare Association. Subscribe to Cleaner Conversations for conversations with the dry cleaning and laundry industry.
Aug 3

Chris Shrader: 145% Growth Through Fire, Cancer and COVID

This week on Cleaner Conversations, we sit down with Chris Shrader of Best & New Brand Cleaners in Middle Tennessee. Chris shares how a part-time job became a nearly 30-year career building six locations, five pickup and delivery routes, and a family business positioned for its next generation. We talk about closing underperforming locations, building a leadership team, expanding into affluent neighborhoods, creating a specialty wedding gown division, and learning to step back as an owner. Chris also shares the powerful story of losing his entire plant in a fire and being diagnosed with cancer just weeks later. He explains how those experiences changed his outlook on leadership, stress, family, faith, and what truly matters. Since putting the right leadership team in place, Best & New Brand Cleaners has grown sales by 145% in four years. Chris breaks down why owners must stop trying to handle everything themselves and start building systems and people that allow the business to grow beyond them. This is a conversation about resilience, leadership, family business, customer service, and continuing to show up when everything feels like it is falling apart. Topics Covered: • How Chris entered the dry cleaning industry • Knowing when to close an underperforming location • Building six locations and five delivery routes • How customer expectations have changed • Using technology to create more personal service • Building a specialty wedding gown division • Growing sales by 145% in four years • Hiring leaders and stepping back as an owner • Rebuilding after losing the plant in a fire • Being diagnosed with cancer weeks after the fire • Targeting affluent neighborhoods using customer data • Building adoption inside specific neighborhoods • The good and bad of operating a family business • Preparing the next generation for ownership • Why struggling owners must continue to show up Subscribe for more conversations with operators, founders, and leaders across the garment care industry. Cleaner Conversations is built to highlight the people, stories, and ideas moving the garment care industry forward. Cleaner Marketing is a full-service agency with more than 40 employees built specifically to serve the garment care industry. We help cleaners grow through marketing strategy, websites, SEO, paid advertising, reviews, customer retention, and pickup and delivery growth. Learn more here: https://api.cleaner.marketing/widget/bookings/cleanermarketingstrategymeeting Music licensed through Soundstripe. Code: L0AZNBKBJEEVY8Y9
Jul 27

Justin Kane: How Today's Customers Find You

What would a new competitor do to take customers from your business? Justin Kane, co-founder of Cleaner Marketing, breaks down the six moves he would make within his first 90 days in a new market. From dominating local search and generating reviews to building trust, staying top of mind, and tracking every marketing dollar, this presentation shows where established dry cleaners are most vulnerable. You’ll learn how customers evaluate your business before ever speaking with you, why the best-known cleaner often beats the best cleaner, and the practical steps you can take to strengthen your online presence and protect your market. Topics covered: Ranking higher on Google and in the local map pack Improving your Google Business Profile Generating and responding to customer reviews Building trust through your online presence Tracking new customers and marketing revenue Preparing your business for AI-powered search Using a 10-point checklist to evaluate your local visibility Learn more about Cleaner Marketing or request a free marketing audit.
Jul 20

Chris Schrader, Joel Bien-Aime & Heather, Matt Simon: How to Keep Growing | Live from Maverick

This week on Cleaner Conversations, we talked with Chris Schrader from Best & New Brand Cleaners in Nashville, Tennessee, Joel and Heather from New Process Cleaners in Johnstown, New York, and Matt Simon from Columbus Cleaners in Columbus, Ohio. Recorded at the Maverick Dry Cleaners event in Wichita, Kansas, these conversations bring together three operators working through different stages of growth. Chris is approaching 30 years in business with a wedding gown focus, Joel and Heather are navigating the challenges of a rural market, and Matt is focused on building the leadership and marketing systems needed for his company’s next season. In this episode, we get into working on the business instead of staying trapped inside it, building stronger leadership teams, improving company culture, creating more consistent marketing, expanding pickup and delivery, and finding new revenue opportunities. We also talk about Chris growing sales by 145%, building a strong customer base inside an affluent neighborhood, and creating a profitable wedding gown niche. Joel and Heather share the importance of relationships, community, and fresh perspectives, while Matt explains why customer awareness may be one of the industry’s biggest opportunities. This is a conversation about getting unstuck, learning from other operators, developing your people, and building a business that can grow beyond the owner. Topics Covered: • Working on the business instead of inside it • Building leadership teams and improving company culture • Creating a consistent marketing strategy • How Chris grew sales by 145% • Building strong neighborhood adoption • Growing a wedding gown cleaning niche • Pickup and delivery and the future of convenience • Creating new services and revenue opportunities • Increasing awareness of what garment care businesses offer • Learning through industry events and relationships • What to do when your business feels stuck • The future of the dry cleaning industry Subscribe for more conversations with operators, founders, and leaders across the garment care industry. Cleaner Conversations is built to highlight the people, stories, and ideas moving the garment care industry forward. If you’re also looking for support with marketing strategy, customer growth, websites, SEO, paid ads, reviews, or retention, Cleaner Marketing is a full-service 40+ employee agency built specifically to serve the garment care industry. Learn more here: https://api.cleaner.marketing/widget/bookings/cleanermarketingstrategymeeting Music licensed through Soundstripe. Code: L0AZNBKBJEEVY8Y9
Jul 13

Glen Gould: How to Be the Only Option in Your Market

This week on Cleaner Conversations, we talked with Glen Gould from Dry Cleaning Connection in Peachtree City, Georgia. Glen is an entrepreneur, professional speaker, author, business coach, and the owner of Dry Cleaning Connection, a garment care business that operates almost entirely through pickup and delivery. Before entering the dry cleaning industry, Glen pursued professional golf, worked at TPC Sawgrass, built businesses with his brother, and served as director of small to mid-sized business for the Metro Atlanta Chamber. He has also spoken for organizations including Subway, Walmart, and Coca-Cola. In this episode, we get into Glen’s unconventional path into the dry cleaning industry and how he built a route-focused business around premium service, strong communication, clear positioning, and a willingness to operate differently from the competition. We talk about customer experience, pickup and delivery, route growth, pricing, lifetime value, leadership, communication, business resilience, customer relationships, building a production plant, surviving difficult seasons, and what it takes to become the only option for the customer you are trying to serve. This is a practical conversation about building a differentiated business, charging enough to deliver exceptional service, leading with purpose, and staying committed when you do not yet know exactly how everything will work out. Topics Covered: • Glen’s journey from golf and corporate roles led into dry cleaning • Lessons from TPC Sawgrass about customer experience and service • How Dry Cleaning Connection became a 99% pickup and delivery business • Positioning your company as the only option in your market • Premium pricing and the importance of delivering premium value • Why Glen views his company as a marketing business first • Route growth, density, average order value, and customer lifetime value • Why communication is critical for pickup and delivery retention • Raising prices with confidence and explaining the value behind them • Moving from working in the business to leading the business • Creating vision, accountability, and purpose for your team • What separates growing cleaners from cleaners who feel stuck • Glen’s outlook on consolidation and the future of the industry • Staying committed through financial pressure and uncertainty • The meaning behind “I don’t know how, I just know we will” • Off-the-clock stories about unusual items and customer experiences Subscribe for more conversations with operators, founders, and leaders across the garment care industry. Cleaner Conversations is built to highlight the people, stories, and ideas moving the garment care industry forward. If you’re also looking for support with marketing strategy, customer growth, websites, SEO, paid ads, reviews, or retention, Cleaner Marketing is a full-service 40+ employee agency built specifically to serve the garment care industry. Learn more here: https://api.cleaner.marketing/widget/bookings/cleanermarketingstrategymeeting Music licensed through Soundstripe. Code: L0AZNBKBJEEVY8Y9
Jul 7

Chris White: AI & Dry Cleaning's Future

This week on Cleaner Conversations, we talked with Chris White from America’s Best Cleaners. Chris is the owner and executive director of America’s Best Cleaners, one of the most recognized certification, consulting, and business development organizations in the garment care industry. Through ABC’s Couture Care certification, annual audits, secret shopping, accelerator calls, affiliate meetings, and decades of collected industry knowledge, Chris works closely with some of the top dry cleaners in the country. In this episode, we get into Chris’s perspective on what separates cleaners who are growing from cleaners who feel stuck. We talk about leadership development, accountability, labor, productivity, data, AI, CINET’s Roadmap 2050, consolidation, sustainability, resale, alterations, and why the future of garment care still has a lot of opportunity for operators who are willing to adapt. This is a thoughtful, practical conversation about quality, leadership, people, technology, and what it will take to build stronger dry cleaning businesses in a changing industry. Topics Covered: • What America’s Best Cleaners does for the garment care industry • The story behind ABC’s creation and Couture Care certification • Why quality, audits, secret shopping, and customer experience matter • How ABC supports affiliates through business development and peer learning • What separates cleaners who are growing from cleaners who are stuck • Why owners cannot do everything themselves forever • Developing the next layer of leadership inside a dry cleaning business • Why clear roles, KPIs, and accountability matter • The difference between coaching and supervising • Why labor challenges are often both people issues and systems issues • How owners can use data without getting overwhelmed by it • Why technology alone does not solve operational problems • The importance of coaching employees in real time • Why accountability should feel like care, not punishment • The “Superman vs. Yoda” leadership concept • Why many owners get distracted before change fully sticks • How to simplify operations and get back to the fundamentals • Where AI can help dry cleaners first • Why AI should be viewed as a competitive advantage • Using AI for brand clarity, marketing strategy, operations, and customer communication • How phone call analysis and customer sentiment tools could impact the industry • What CINET is and why Roadmap 2050 matters • What the dry cleaning industry may look like over the next 25 years • How consolidation is reshaping local and regional markets • Why Chris is still optimistic about the future of garment care • The opportunity around resale, textile recycling, and sustainability • How cleaners can become apparel asset managers • Why alterations may become an even bigger opportunity • The impact of GLP-1 weight loss drugs on alteration demand • Why trade associations and peer groups are so important • Chris’s advice for owners who feel isolated, overwhelmed, or stuck • Why getting around other operators can help owners rediscover momentum Cleaner Conversations is built to highlight the people, stories, and ideas moving the garment care industry forward. If you’re also looking for support with marketing strategy, customer growth, websites, SEO, paid ads, reviews, or retention, Cleaner Marketing is a full-service 40+ employee agency built specifically to serve the garment care industry. Learn more here: https://api.cleaner.marketing/widget/bookings/cleanermarketingstrategymeeting Music licensed through Soundstripe. Code: L0AZNBKBJEEVY8Y9
Jun 29

Ryan Fish: Failure Is Feedback

This week on Cleaner Conversations, we talked with Ryan Fish from Red Hanger Cleaners in Salt Lake City, Utah. Ryan bought his first dry cleaning business at 23 years old with no background in the industry. Since then, he has built routes, sold a business, bought back in, led through COVID, expanded into restoration, and become one of the most respected voices in garment care. In this episode, we get into Ryan’s journey from a young owner learning dry cleaning by fire to leading one of the defining dry cleaning brands in northern Utah. We talk about pickup and delivery, route density, scaling a team, restoration, buying and selling businesses, closing stores, rebuilding stronger, and why improvement matters more than growth at all costs. This is a practical, honest conversation about ownership, leadership, failure, resilience, and what it really takes to build a stronger dry cleaning business in a changing industry. Topics Covered: • Ryan’s path into the dry cleaning industry • Buying his first dry cleaner at 23 years old • Learning the business hands-on after his partner left • Why small business is more complex than people think • The early grind of running a dry cleaning operation • Building pickup and delivery routes from the ground up • Why route density matters more than simply adding more stops • The difference between route drivers, route managers, and route builders • Why owners need a champion for every major project • How Red Hanger built a strong brand across northern Utah • The role of same-day service in Ryan’s market • What dry cleaners need to understand before adding restoration • The difference between wholesale restoration work and going all in • Storage, admin, insurance, documentation, and operational challenges in restoration • Lessons from buying, selling, and buying back into the industry • Why many owners accidentally buy themselves a job instead of building an asset • What changes when you go from leading 20 people to leading over 100 • Why communication becomes harder and more important as a company scales • How culture depends on access, training, and consistent leadership • What it was like closing stores during COVID • Why failure can become feedback for building a healthier business • Why Ryan believes improvement matters more than growth at all costs • Ryan’s outlook on consolidation and the future of garment care • Why he is still optimistic about the dry cleaning industry Subscribe for more conversations with operators, founders, and leaders across the garment care industry. Music licensed through Soundstripe. Code: L0AZNBKBJEEVY8Y9

5

out of 5

2 Ratings

Cleaner Conversations is all about the owners and operators in the Dry Cleaning and Laundromat spaces. We’re sitting down with operators across the country to hear how they got started, what they’ve been through, and the stories you wouldn’t believe unless you heard them yourself. Real experiences, real challenges, and real insight into what it actually takes to survive and grow in this industry.

Creator

Cleaner Conversations
Years Active

2026
Episodes

17
Rating

Explicit
Copyright

© 2026 Cleaner Conversations