Linen Service: A Key Partner in Your Successful Business

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When you need high-quality linen service to satisfy the most discerning guest, it is wise to work with a company that has long experience in this specialised field. Choose a company that proudly states it has decades of experience working at the highest level. Whether the need is for towels in a small shop or the finest linen in a five-star hotel, you rest easier when a professional is on the job.

Big Enough to Serve Your Linen Needs

Purveyors of high-quality linen service can easily put a personal guarantee on the quality of linen, and the reliability of delivery, even if the need is quite large. The best companies have supplied the largest hotels, the finest restaurants and huge public events without a hitch. If a prospective customer asks if the supplier can handle a business, the answer should be ‘yes’ without hesitation.

However, the same company that can handle the largest and most extensive linen order should also retain the customer service atmosphere that helped it lead the field. There are specific standards for the linen and laundry industries, and the best companies will usually exceed what is expected. When the service is one that provides some very personal items (towels, bed linens, etc.) hygiene is of the utmost importance.

Two elements – quality and reliability – must always go hand in hand for a linen service to succeed against capable competition. Most top companies have an inventory that exceeds its largest orders, with backup plans for unusual situations. In order to be able to provide service at this level, with solid guarantees, the service must, of course, set rates that keep it comfortably in business and even help it to grow.

For this reason, the better linen services are not necessarily the least expensive. If the need is for a consistent, large supply of quality linens, it is probably best to find a company whose staff is genuinely interested in making your endeavour successful. If this means the cost is somewhat above the industry average, the investment will probably be worth it in the long term.

Unrivalled Experience and Quality

In the UK, businesses and individuals have been supplying quality linens for centuries. For the past few decades, linen hire has continued to be a major industry, indispensable to restaurants, hotels, clubs and other organisations.

A quality control inspection is one of the everyday processes that set many in the industry apart from the less successful operations. In addition, a high-quality linen service must have a delivery system that is second to none. This is a key factor in the reliability of a firm. Properly trained staff members, in all areas of the service, also ensure that the customers will receive nothing less than the best linens.

With all the benefits that come from working with an experienced supplier, potential customers may be forgiven if they think that the company limits its offerings to bed linens and towels for hotels, for example. Yet the top-line providers purchase high-quality products that are used in a wide variety of settings.

Products that may be included in some of the best services are bed linen, soft, quality towels, clean, white napkins and table linen. In fact, many of these items are, to some, standard for the industry. However, some of the best suppliers also provide clothes used by waiters, chef jackets, and more. Whether the need is for hotel or restaurant business, or a large, one-time event, the linen expert can fill the need.

Should You Buy Your Linen?

Many businesses in the hospitality field choose to contract their linen service rather than invest in a dedicated inventory. One reason for this is the upfront expense of purchasing true quality in linens. While a hotel, restaurant or club may be able to recoup this cost over time, there is another factor to consider.

Maintaining crisp, very clean items is not a minor task. In time, all these items will show wear and will not be suitable for use in the better locations. At this point, the business encounters another expense that will probably be repeated in the near future. Some hotels and restaurants have found, after buying and cleaning their own linen, that contracting with a leading supplier is the only way to go.

Aside from a suitable appearance that is difficult to maintain, it might be best to let the knowledgeable professionals at a first-class linen service make the decision on when it is time to replace pillowcases, napkins, towels and so on. Local staff may be very good at their jobs but may miss opportunities to inform ownership that items should be replaced.

Can Linen Service Be Innovative?

A select few suppliers would answer with a resounding ‘absolutely.’ Even the most experienced, tradition-minded service will be looking for new and better ways to serve its valued customers. If there is a new way to launder and handle quality items, these top companies will discover it and use it. But even then, with the large volume of business to be handled, the company will not force a rigid, long-term contract on its customers.

When shopping around for your first supplier to work with, one of the questions that should be asked immediately is this: Can you make your services work for me, if I do not fit into one of your categories? The response may well be that there are not strict categories. Each and every linen requirement is unique and very important.

The linen supplier you select should not insist on a long-term contract, even though it may be best for the supplier. It is difficult to say, from week to week, or month to month, just what the needs will be in an industry with demand that is known to change. When the hotel, restaurant, club or organisation has developed a working relationship with a linen-supplier partner, both partners can thrive. While the customer is always searching for better ways to conduct business, the supplier is searching for better ways to help.