Achieving high quality standards in the linen, uniform and facility services industry takes proactive customer service, top-flight equipment/systems and a “quality mindset” that’s communicated to every employee—especially route service representatives or anyone who works directly with customers. That was the consensus view among several veteran operators that we recently interviewed.

Consider, for example, Paul Jewison. He wears two hats as general manager of Textile Care Services, Rochester, MN, a large healthcare and hospitality launderer that services high-profile clients, including the Mayo Clinic. For Jewison, quality—however you pursue it—is the ultimate differentiator because it’s instantly visible to customers. “People see our ...