Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1901-09-07
SWAPPING CUSTOMERS.
One Phase Of the Laundry Business That
Is Rather Unusual.

Talk about wirelss biography" said
man in downtown store the other
day while waiting for his change, there
is game going on in this town that
beats it hollow. IL may be worked in
other cities as well. but | have never
heard OF it. You are patron of GER
tain steam laundry in town and have an
arrangement whereby the wagon will
call for your bundle Of soiled linen once
week The bag is always ready on
Mondays. After two or three weeks OF
pretty regular service one day the
bundle comes home from another laun-
dry. You inquire OF your wife or ser
want and get little satisfaction. No one
has changed the orders. A wagon came
and got the stuff and later in the day
another wagon came for it, too. There
had apparently been a misunderstanding
and you are glad to get your goods back.
Meanwhile you have been called tip on
the telephone and some one representing
the laundry that did your washing by
mistake will apologize TO you for the
blunder and softly suggest that perhaps
you would like to continue. YOU switch
off without reaching bargain. The
prices are all the same, you see. Then
for a few weeks you get the bundle
back. sometimes from one establishment
and sometimes from another. Then,
perhaps, for an experiment. YOU switch
off to scrubbing bureau which has not
yet broken into the game, just to get
things Strengthened out, and behold !!
you have not had single collar worn
to shreds by this establishment before
the same process is on.
"1f you carry the matter to head
quarters yourself you will be told that
the laundry you have been patronizing
has recently discharged several drivers
and that these men have been stealing
their trade. My experience would seem
to suggest that the explanation lies
deeper. I have watched the faces of
these laundry drivers and have become
pretty familiar with them. have or
dered service Of one place and have had
one call from its wagon, and the next
week have been waited on by man
whom have never seen before. You
see, I became so interested in the game
that studied it at first hand during one
vacation l had to spend in town for fl
nancial reasons. The fact found was
that the drivers don't shift places as
rapidly as the laundry managers would
have you think. ! cannot avoid the con-
clusion that there is a system Of buy
ing and selling information in vogue
whereby these drivers get handsome
rake-off. may be doirg them an in
justice but there is no way to account
for the otherwise mysterious manner in
which your laundry bundle will slip from
one establishment and another. What Is
to prevent the driver of one Of these
wagons from tipping off rival laundry
whenever he calls on new customer
OF course, the game is worked on all
sides, IL at all. and it is possible that
most Of the drivers in town are on the
same lay. II so, eacl, laundry Is boil,
buying the secrets Of others and is losing
customers in the same manner. For II
is game for as many players as can
sit around the table.
ut is a matter Of comparatively slight
importance, except that once in a while
a man gets hold Of a cleaning join,
where his linen will last something like
its natural life, and he hates to lose It
There is one branch Of the laundry bust.
ness which has not yet been tainted by
these methods of trade rivalry. as far as
have been able TO judge. The China
men don't try to drum up business
They take all they can get and smile
whenever more comes, and when nc
more is to be had they smile again and
take nap behind the partition and then
wake up TO mark tickets. There seems
to be lots OF interesting variety to the
life Of the laundryman.' -lPashington
Star.