Commuter Cleaning$-$A New Venture Proposal

$($NOTE: evaluate this case in the context of the pre$-$Covid world.$)$

The service vision of Commuter Cleaning is to provide dry cleaning services for individuals with careers or other responsibilities that make it difficult for them to find the time to go to traditional dry cleaners. The company's goal is to provide a high$-$quality dry cleaning service that is both reliable and convenient.

The targeted market consists of office workers who live in the suburbs of large metropolitan areas. The service will be marketed primarily to single men and women as well as dual$-$ career couples, because this segment of the population has the greatest need for a quality dry cleaning service but does not have the time to go to the traditional dry cleaners. The targeted cities are those surrounded by suburbs from which many people commute via mass transit.

The facilities where customers willdrop$-$off and pickup their dry cleaning will be located at sites where commuters meet their trains or buses into the downtown area $($i$.$e$.,$ park$-$and$-$ride locations and commuter train stations$).$ For each city, it will be necessary to determine who owns these transit stations and how land can be rented from the owner. In some locations, facilities where space could be rented already exist. In other locations, there might not be any existing facilities, and the pickup and drop$-$off booths will need to be built.

The facilities for laundry pickup and drop$-$off need not be large. The building or room at the station need only be large enough to accommodate racks for hanging the finished dry cleaning.

Initially, it might be necessary to restrict the service to laundering business$-$wear shirts, because these are the easiest of all clothing articles to clean and also will allow the operations to be simplified. Typically, a man or woman will need a clean shirt for each workday, so a large demand exists. One drawback would be the diminished customer convenience, because dry cleaning of garments would necessitate a separate trip to a traditional dry cleaner. If dry cleaning were outsourced, however, it would be possible to offer full$-$service cleaning very quickly, because a plant and equipment need not be purchased.

A decision also needs to be made about providing same$-$ day or next$-$day service. One factor in this decision will be whether competitors in the area offer same$-$day service. These cleaners represent a serious threat only if they open early enough and close late enough to be convenient and accessible to customers. Most important, same$-$day service should be provided only where it is feasible to deliver on this promise consistently.