History’s a favorite school subject at Classic Cleaners. Not only are Classic Cleaners owners proud of their own twenty-five year history serving customers in Central Indiana, they love studying the history of dry cleaning around the world.  Today our history trip takes us to the island country of Haiti.

Back in 1946, Jimmy Plinton, former flight trainer for the famous Tuskagee Airmen (the all-black U.S. Army AirCorps’ 99th Pursuit Squadron), was visiting Haiti.  Trying to have a pair of pants cleaned, Plinton learned Haiti had no dry cleaning plant, and he proceeded to establish Haiti’s very first dry cleaners in Port-au-Prince.

It’s fascinating to realize how much of an effect the dry cleaning business can have on the general economy in an area. Without a dry cleaning business, Haiti’s seamstresses and tailors could use their skills on only linen and cotton, and ready-to-wear shops were almost non-existent. Even diplomats had trouble caring for their uniforms and medal ribbons!  By getting dry cleaning started in Haiti, Jimmy Plinton gave the country’s entire economy a big boost! Haberdasheries, women’s ready-to-wear shops, tailers, fabric-makers, and other dry cleaners soon sprang up in and around Port-au-Prince. In fact, when World War II was over, Jimmy Plinton was invited by the Haitian president to develop the Haitian International Airlines. Haiti awarded Plinton its highest honor, the National Order of Honor and Merit.

Like “Jeemie” Plinton in Haiti, Classic Cleaners stays involved with the local community, doing its part to contribute to the growth of its neighbors’ businesses from Broad Ripple to Cicero, from McCordsville to Zionsville and everywhere in between. Proud member of the Chambers of Commerce of Fishers, Carmel, and Greater Indianapolis, Classic Cleaners continues top serve as a link in the chain of dry cleaning history!

Reb of the Classic Cleaners blog team

Interviewed for the August 1, 1960 issue of the Indianapolis News, 80-year old Bertha Lee Redden Shaw, had this to say:

“I am a Hoosier, born in Marion County, Pike Township, Indiana, at Traders Point, and very proud of it.”

Traders Point was an appropriate name for the village in northwest Indianapolis that grew up on land surrendered by the Miami Indians in 1818. Farmers would congregate there to barter and to exchange everything from hogs and horses, to harnesses and carts.

Fast forward to 2010, when Traders Point is home to a large, bustling, outdoor shopping and dining mall near the intersection of highway I-65 and West 86th Street, with a Classic Cleaners store occupying a prominent spot near the front of the mall.

Classic Cleaners is proud of its own history, which goes back 25 years. One year ago, Classic Cleaners beame one of the many “Northwest traders” at the growing Traders Point mall. Manager Wendy Matthis feels right at home in her busy store, which attracts residents from Zionsville and Brownsburg, in addition to many who work in the numerous office buildings and hotels in the neighborhood. Many of Wendy’s customers drop off and pick up their garments, then get their shopping done at Traders Point’s other stores.

Wendy, who prides herself on quickly learning and remembering the names of hundreds of Classic Cleaners

Wendy Matthis, manager of Classic Cleaners at Traders Point

Traders Point customers, has become a favorite with the employees in the nearby Dow Chemical headquarters.  In fact, all the “word-of-mouth advertising” her clients have done at Dow has prompted Wendy to offer a special 10% Dow Dry Cleaning Discount!

Living in such a historical area, many Traders Point residents are history buffs.  One customer brought in a set of antique burlap sacks, wanting to be sure the lettering would be preserved through the cleaning process.  The beautifully finished sacks now hang on the wall of this loyal customer’s antique barn!

It’s an interesting contrast – Classic Cleaners’  ultra-modern, “green” dry cleaning technology in a neighborhood from which soldiers went off to fight in the Civil War!

by Reb of the Classic Cleaners blog team

My Drycleaer.com  lists 10 things to look for when choosing a dry cleaner, but for me, it’s all about #3. That’s because #3 touches on what used to be my dry cleaning pet peeve, which is getting  back clothes in not-ready-to-wear shape.

Truly ready-to-wear with Classic Cleaners

And, you know, as a customer, I didn’t want to debate whose responsibility it was to notice.  If a button was loose, or there was a little tear in a seam, or a thread in the hem was coming unraveled, whether it was there to begin with (and I’d just forgotten to call their attention to it when I brought the garment in) or whether it happened in the dry cleaning process – I didn’t really care.  I still wanted what I wanted, which was to be  able to take my clothes out of their plastic bags, hang them in my closet, and know they would be ready for me when I was ready for them!

As Tevye would say in Fiddler on the Roof, “Sounds simple, doesn’t it?” Well, B.C.C. (before Classic Cleaners), it wasn’t.

At Classic Cleaners, No. 3 is just part of the routine of good customer service and it’s no peeve, all gain!  Making simple clothing repairs is just part of offering the best dry cleaning and laundry services possible.  If a seam’s open, our technicians sew it up before cleaning or laundering, so the damage doesn’t get worse. Same for loose fasteners and buttons, snags or ravels – it’s all part of routine customer service and smart clothing care.

(Of course, if a garment is severely damaged and needs extensive work, a Classic Cleaners manager will contact the customer before going any further,  explaining what the charges will be. If a customer requests that all the buttons on a garment be replaced, there is a $1 charge per button.)
 
Truth is, most dry cleaners provide limited services such as sewing on buttons, and making minor repairs.  Classic Cleaners goes many steps further than that, offering complete alteration and re-tailoring services. As eighteen year Classic Cleaners veteran Ohi Suhre, Manager of Alterations, can tell you (in five languages, by the way) – it’s all about making it right for the customer.

My pet peeve about #3 is history. Like all Classic Cleaners customers, I  know – when I’m ready to wear them, my freshly laundered and dry cleaned clothes are ready for me and ready to wear!
By Reb of the Classic Cleaners blog team

We like for Classic Cleaners employees to blow off steam!

Most dry cleaners use steam guns as part of their equipment.  A steam gun helps remove water-soluble stains.  The steam can also remove chemicals that have been used to spot-clean a garment.

The same gun can work the other way, using a different foot pedal.  In that case, the gun blows compressed air to dry out the moisture left by the steam.

“Blowing steam” is just one of several special techniques used to hand-treat garments, along with wire brushes and other special hand tools.  Here specialist  Theresa Golish poses along with production manager Rose Benavidez at the hand-detailing station at our Classic Cleaners Bash Road plant.

Steam gun for hand-treating clothing at Classic Cleaners

You know how, on TV, when they show a dangerous stunt, the announcer warns “Don’t try this at home!”?  Don’t try to steam clean your own garments using an iron.  Irons can easily damage delicate fabrics. In fact, if you iron over a deodorant streak, you may permanently damage the fabric of your garment, Andrew Rivkin of Embassy Cleaners in New York told WomansDay.com.

Feeling as if you need to blow off steam?  Try running around the block . Leave the job of steam-cleaning  garments to the professionals at Classic Cleaners!