The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-08-22
CLEAN TOWELS IN OFFICES.
Success of an Odd Business Enterprise-De-
tails of the New system.

Success of an Odd Business Enterprise-De-
tails of the New System.
New York Evening Post.
The constant tendency toward subdivision Of
labor in centers Of population and industry is
seen in a somewhat recent enterprise in this city,
the object of which is to supply business offices
with clean towels. In the business buildings Of
the lower part of the city, and of the upper part
too for that matter, vast number of towels
used, the proportion being doubtless greater than
that IN like area of dwelling houses in any
part Of town. The Produce Exchange, fer
example, has standing contract arrangement
with the source of its supply for 2. 500 towels a
month. Besides this number individual mem
bers Of the Exchange, and others having Offices in
the building swell the total Of these necessary
articles TO proportions equaled probably by few
other buildings EXCEPT perhaps few of the most
frequented hotels. AS a general thing, towels
for business offices ave furnished by the Occu
pants OF the Offices. who make definite arrange
ment with laundrymen and washerwomen to
take them when soiled and replace them by
clean ones at regular periods. Janitors OF
buildings also do good business for themselves
by taking charge of as many they get of
the towels in their respective buildings. thus
relieving the tenants of further care about them
after they have been purchased and marked The
loss of towels through carelessness or otherwise,
and the uncertainty of always having a clean
one at hand when it should be there are matters
OF experience among lawyers, brokers, account
desks.
About three months ago a gentleman on the
lookout for some new enterprise Of promise hit
upon the project of reducing the business of
towel supply to a system. His plan was to con
tract with tenants of business Offices for regu-
lar towel service, he to and furnish the
article take it away when soiled and replace it
with clean one. the whole thing to be done
without thought or a care On the part of tho
tenant, except to pay the stipulated compensa-
mOuJhlV. ia
satisfactorily, and it is now being carried Oh by
a company whose central Office is in one of the
busiest parts of the down town district A rep
resentatiye of the company said to reporter of
the Evening Post that it required a good deal of
perseverance to establish the business but that
1t was now beyond its experimental stage.
Our system, said he, lis liked by every one
who has tried it. We began some time in May.
and have lost but one customer from that time
to this, and he moved out of town. We are able
to provide business Offices with towels at a rate
less than it costs them by the old plan of each
one taking charge Of its own to have them
laundried. We put III the towels to the number
any customer may want. providing the racks
ourselves and adjusting them at any place in the
Office which the customer may designate. This
ends the towel trials Of the customer We send
a clean towel or towels as regular as the day
for a change comes round. In a book for that
purpose we keep perfect record of each GUS
TONER the number of towels he takes, and the
days on which the exchanges are to be made.
Once this record is entered, the delivery Of clean
towels and the collection of soiled ones becomes
a mechanical operation without much chance OF
any failure.
1--WE supply two kinds Of towels the endless
or roller towel and the hand towel. The former
is yard and half long, or three yards of single
measure. The hand towels are thirty inches long
by seventeen inches wide; the latter have fringed
ENDS. Our material is called Russian crash. but
it is really Irish linen, and is Of the standard
quality Of hotel aud domestic towelins The
objection that most men are particular about
always having their or the same towels to
wipe their hands and face meet by mum
boring all our towels and returning the same
numbers every time to the customer who had
them before. When we get customer
enter his name in book at the foot Of the list
setting opposite to the name the number that
belongs to it, counting from one our
first customer up to the last. At The same
time we place this number on as many towels as
he orders. If at any time he sees fit to increase
his order, ali we have 10 do is put his number
on as many moro towels rs he requires la this
this way Mr. Jones never gets towels that Mr.
Smith has used or Smith Jones's. We have on
our books now orders for about 700 towels. Our
schedule OF rates IS made out for ope towel
every third day, one for every second day one
for every day and upward to any number for
every day. Sundays are not, Of course, counted
in. We had one customer in West street who
took for time twelve roller and three hand
towels ii day. After weeks trial he found he
had good many clean towels left on hand, and
he, therefore, reduced the order from twelve a
day to eight. We have another customer in
Greenwich street who takes nine roller towels
day.
Since it was demonstrated that there was
room for the enterprise, two other concerns have
engaged in 1t in New York, and learn that the
business has been started in Philadelphia and in
Boston. We have not yet experimental with
hotels They have their own laUnd"ies so that
the rate we would have 10 make to them would
probably be too low to be renumerative'
The monthly rates charged by the company
for an ordinary supply Of towels are as follows:
One every third day, 70 cents; one every second
day. 81; one every day, $3.50; two every day. 81 so.