Page 6 - My FlipBook

PAGE 6 / NATIONAL CLOTHESLINE / JANUARY, 2021

The open road

ark Watkins, owner of Mark’s Chesterfields... constantly,” Mark said. about what their clothes look like.” somebody bagging all day — that’s
Quality Cleaners in Birming- In the early days, his energy and Being picky worked for Mark’s crazy. It saves you a person, period.
Mham, AL, is not the type to good sales skills helped keep the busi- Quality Cleaners well enough to force And, they always show up.”

stand still for too long. “It’s harder to ness on the road to success. Although, its owner into scouting a new location Even after four decades, Mark has

hit a moving target,” he quipped. there were some anxiety-filled days. for a new building to go up over a year- discovered that there are always new

In his down time, he enjoys racking “I’ll never forget leaning over my and-a-half ago. things to try, new lessons to learn and
up miles on the open road on his BMW paychecks in the heat of summer, try- “We moved in April 1 of 2019,” new challenges to overcome. The pan-
eet motorcycle that weighs in the ing to the write paychecks out and Mark said. “We moved out of the other demic is just the latest.
str
ballpark of 800 to 900 pounds. Add a hopefully they would clear when I place in three days.” “Realize that this is going to end

passenger on back and some luggage
— every year he embarks on a long
bike adventure — and you can see why
his approach is often steeped in cau-
tion. “I ride like I have a target painted
on my back and my front,” he said.
Not that long ago, he felt that way
about his drycleaning business, which Mark

he started almost 40 years ago. Mark
found himself at a crossroads with the
business and he had a lot of people marksqualitycleaners.com
questioning a big decision.
“We needed to move for space rea-
sons, and because we were renting, and Watkins

because our drive-up business had
gone to almost nothing,” he recalled.
“They took our [traffic] light away so
people couldn’t turn left coming to us
or getting out. It became untenable.”
While the move made sense on
paper, many of Mark’s longtime

drycleaning associates tried to talk him
out of it. To be fair, Mark was 71 at the handed them out,” he added. “My he new building is much cooler eventually and keep looking up and
time and they were perplexed why he sweat landed on the ink, making it than the previous one, especially trusting that it will,” he said. “The other
would be so willing to complicate his smear. That’s a memory that I’ll never Tin the literal sense. “We’ve got thing is you’re going to have to cut
life so much at that juncture. get over.” lots of space. We’ve got glass all around every expense that you can whittle
“My thought was, there’s only one and high ceilings. In the wintertime, at down and cut. You have to cut it.”
reason [to do it]: because it’s the next ark had managed to learn a few the other store, we used to have to run

step,” he explained, noting the move smart business strategies from our air conditioner,” Mark laughed. oday, Mark is 73 and it’s hard for
would also benefit his son who has Mhis father and he employed “Now, this building with it’s 28’ peak him not to take stock in the fortu-
worked with him at the family business them at this business early on. ceilings... if I ran the air conditioner Tnate aspects of his life.
for many years. “Josh can continue to “We tripled the volume of the busi- right now they’d be wearing their coats “As far as my family goes, I’ve been
grow after I do the backstroke out of ness in the first three years,” Mark said. in the back.” blessed out of my socks,” he said. “I

here, and he’ll have something that is “We grew it because we had curb serv- Before the business had even been in think Andy Griffin said it... ‘Who

worthwhile and will be good for him ice. We did extra things. We charged the new location for a year, the coron- would have ever thunk it?’”

the rest of his life.” more for our work. We did what I avirus wreaked havoc on sales. Still, Showing little signs of aging, he re-
thought was better work. Of course, Mark doesn’t seem to regret postpon- cently embarked on the trip of a life-

raveling further back down the every cleaner thinks he does the best.” ing his retirement, though many might time. “My wife and I ride motorcycles
road of Mark’s life, there was a The growth precipitated a move to a not blame him. with three other couples,” he ex-
Ttime where he wanted nothing to bigger and better location, which “I told my son when this whole plained. “We shipped our bikes to Seat-

do with drycleaning. His father, an en- served the company well when it began thing started... I said, ‘You know son, tle and rode them across the Cascades

terprising milkman for many years, to offer pickup and delivery routes. this is kind of exciting for me because Highway in north Washington State.
started Watkins Cleaners in 1956 and Friend and fellow cleaner Claude there is a lot of uncertainty here and I’m Then, we went up into Canada and
was ahead of his time in many ways, Foreman, owner of One Cleaners in scared, as you should be, because we came back around to Victoria. We prob-

including offering curbside service for Metairie, LA, had tried to talk Mark don’t know what’s going to happen. ably put our bikes on eight different
customer convenience. into adding the service for a couple of But, what it’ll do is it’ll teach you what ferries. We had a blast. It’s absolutely
“Nobody else did that back then,” years, but he wouldn’t bite. you have to do’,” Mark recalled. gorgeous out there.”
Mark noted. “I would sit out there in a “I finally got into the route business Like most cleaners, he has trimmed That was a memorable riding trip,
chair and play with matches and drink and wished I had done it two or three costs this year while trying to bring in but far from the only one. “We usually

my cokes. When the customers drove years sooner,” he admitted. “We had more household goods and laundry. do Colorado or Wyoming or Utah.
up, I’d wait on them.” been needing to grow again.” Even so, the business currently stands South Dakota,” he continued. “We
As for the business itself, Mark was The timing worked out well, though, at about 30% down from usual. went to North Carolina this year to
not a fan: “I just didn’t like it and because Josh had graduated with a BS “I’m not going to continue to see keep it close.”

daddy and I butted heads forever.” in business marketing from the Univer- doom and gloom,” Mark said. “I really No matter the final destination, the

After high school, he earned a B.S. in sity of Alabama at Birmingham in 2005. think that when people start going back trip always contains beautiful scenery,
business from Jacksonville State Uni- “When Josh came to work for me, I to work, when they start populating the some beer and cigars and a few tall

versity, then spent the better part of a was just beginning my foray into the offices again, our business will ramp tales shared among friends.

decade with the Clow Corporation sell- r oute business,” Mark noted. “I said, back up to — maybe not what it was, “People think I’m crazy doing this,
ing ductile iron and plastic pipe. That ‘You run the routes. I’ll turn that over but close. Then, it’s up to us as opera- but I don’t care what people think, ob-

suited him well until he was ready to to you and we’ll grow this thing to- tors to go out and get more, whatever viously,” he laughed.
settle down and start a family. gether.’” your formula is for doing that.” Not caring what others thought has
In 1981, Mark bought a drycleaning Getting new business matters little, put him precisely in the position he is

business that was on its third owner at however, if you do not produce enough ne lesson most drycleaners today which isn’t such a bad thing.

the time. “It had junk for equipment. It quality to draw them back. Fortunately learned (or relearned) during “I am sitting here in my new office

was horrible,” he laughed. “It was the “quality” in the business’s name Othe past year is to become more in my new building looking out at the

called Ma and Pa Cleaners. Does that was not just hype. efficient. Mark has long been a practi- mountainside and the trees and the
tell you anything?” “In this industry, the number of tioner of embracing technology that sunshine,” he said contentedly.
He suddenly had a brand new busi- things that we do and the number of makes sense in that regard. “I’ve been doing this a long time,”
ness, lots of debt and a brand new baby things that we have to watch out for — “We’ve got to change our methodol- he noted. “The road I took as far as

at home. “And I was working on old if you’re not nitpicky and persnickety ogy for doing things, just to streamline being a board member of SEFA and DLI

junk equipment until 3 o’clock in the about what you do, you won’t sur- our process. Labor is money,” he ex- and all that — I wouldn’t change it for
morning with a guy who didn’t know vive,” Mark emphasized. “Your cus- plained. “If somebody doesn’t have a anything. I’ve made lots of friends that
how to work on them... who smoked tomers are absolutely persnickety bagger in their plant and they’ve got most people don’t make.”