Meet our Customers - Rohit
We decided to catch up with some of our customers. We wanted to see how they are coping with the coronavirus pandemic. One customer we spoke to was Rohit. He runs 1 Stop Wash, an eco-friendly dry cleaning business based in London. He revealed to us the ways he has adapted his business and how CleanCloud has helped his business during
Firstly could you tell us a bit about you and your business?
We are a family business based in Kings Cross London; we have been in operation since 2011. We are focused on offering an eco-friendly dry cleaning experience; we have expanded our services to pickup and delivery. I came into the business just after I had graduated, so I have been working here for just over 12 months now. We have been a CleanCloud customer since 2018.
What attracted you to CleanCloud in the first place?
Without a doubt, it was automation. We were using a paper ticketing system which was disorganised. I’m still aware of so many businesses using this paper system, and I can see the significant difference between them and us. It makes my business more efficient, and I can keep track of absolutely everything in one centralised place.
With COVID-19, what has been the most challenging thing you have faced, and what solutions did you come up with?
One of the biggest challenges was that our sales and revenue went to practically zero overnight. We had to close down for two months, and during that time, the focus was on survival but also preparing for the new normal. This meant putting processes and procedures like reduced contact service in place to make sure that everyone, customers, and employees, would be safe.
We came up with a solution to replace the dry cleaning revenue by creating a trainer cleaning and restoration business alongside our regular service. It has already been quite a big success in only three months. It has been exciting to learn how to do this specific type of cleaning but also exciting with how to market the service. I want to say the integration of this into CleanCloud has been helpful and easy to do.
Do you think COVID-19 has affected how you would run your business in the future?
Definitely, even before COVID-19 happened, the industry needed to make the shift online and general automation. Services such as pickup and delivery would likely be a lot more popular amongst customers as they look for a more convenient way to do their laundry and dry cleaning. I believe that COVID-19 has generally fast-tracked changes that I think needed to happen. If you look at the world in-store and retail have been severely affected, I see the big shift to automation and online-based sales.
You mentioned how dry cleaning has gone to zero; if you could give any advice to dry cleaners and laundries out there to help them adapt as you have, what would you tell them?
The one piece of advice I would give to other dry cleaners is to focus on automation by getting a system like CleanCloud. Even starting from the ability to collect email and phone numbers from customers, we can connect but, more importantly, remarket to them. And considering how hard it is to get customers in the first place, retaining them is beyond valuable.
Apart from software, I would say that dry cleaners and laundries need to find different ways to adapt within the industry. My business starting the trainers cleaning side was because I noticed that the trainer scene is enormous at the moment regarding reselling; it responds to the demands of the market.
Was there anything/any features that CleanCloud released during these times that helped you out?
The main thing that helped out was the marketing section within CleanCloud, allowing us to remarket to customers by SMS.
I built a website for 1 Stop Wash that worked perfectly with CleanCloud’s APIs, which was pretty cool in itself; if a business was looking to go online, I think that is important. I was also able to get great advice from the CleanCloud support team, and this was so important, and I appreciated it during that time.
