Through dips in the economy and a more casual culture, Dry Cleaning by Dorothy’s keeps going strong on Columbian Street in Weymouth. The business opened it’s doors 60 years ago and for the last 37 years, Bob Devaney has been at the helm.
Devaney has focused on customer service at his Weymouth location, while branching out with three different franchises.
“I started franchising about 15 years ago and I’ve opened 52 stores, actually, in five states, under three different brands,” said Devaney.
No matter the name on his franchises, Devaney requires that each owner only have one store at a time.
“I believe you have to have the owner, the guy who cares the most, behind that counter taking care of his customers, checking his quality every day,” Devaney said.
Devaney grew up around the dry-cleaning business, as his father, Bob, was in the industry. The younger Devaney said he had no interest in the business and went to Northeastern University for speech therapy around the time his father retired.
In 1976, Devaney’s father asked him to help run a new dry cleaners, Dry Cleaning by Dorothy’s, a business opened in 1953 by Frank and Dorothy Ward.
“He said, ‘Look, I’m too old to do it myself now. I need your help. This could be really great.’ So, I did it,” Devaney said. And since then, Devaney has been doing it well, earning regional “Best of” designations from area publications annually.
While Devaney’s father passed away in 1980, he’s had a steady stream of family working at the Weymouth store including his mother, who also passed, his sister Carol and his wife Barbara.
Dry Cleaning by Dorothy is open seven days a week and has same day service for most items. They offer free delivery and have a tailoring department right on site. The business also focuses on the environment, upgrading to a new dry cleaning system and providing reusable garment bags instead of plastic. The dry cleaner even removes the pesky tags before returning garments to the customer.
But above all, Devaney wants to provide a great experience for his customers. “We really kill ourselves to offer the best customer service possible,” Devaney said.
The industry has changed considerably since the 1970s, and noticeably in the last five years. With a higher unemployment rate and an increased prevalence of “Casual Fridays,” the white-collar-dependent dry cleaning industry has taken a hit.
“When the economy really started tanking what we decided to do was step up our quality,” said Devaney, pointing out he recently added a new call office, new counters and new computer system.
During the recession Dry Cleaning by Dorothy has also added new equipment, including a machine that removes the pills from sweaters.
“We literally spend 15 to 20 minutes on one sweater,” Devaney said, “We make it look brand new again at no extra cost to our customers.”
With a deep connection to the community, Devaney is still interested in enticing new customers. One way he does that is by offering new customers free dry cleaning for one item.
“We want people to try us, so we’ll let them try us for free,” Devaney said.
Visit mydorothys.com or Facebook.com/drycleaning to learn more about Dry Cleaning by Dorothy.
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