Operators Confront COVID-19 Crisis

From lost sales due to restaurant closures to beefed-up safety protocols in the plant and on the route, commercial laundry operators contacted in recent days by Textile Services Weekly said they’re scrambling to cope as best they can amid unprecedented challenges.

One prominent food and beverage (F&B) launderer in a major metro area said he’s lost significant business due to restaurant shutdowns and is trying to keep the business afloat. He said he’s laid off half of his workforce and others have taken a 25% pay cut. Income from the linen supply business is off 80% from two weeks ago. The stress is taking a heavy toll as revenue continues to drop. “I’m only able to work four or five hours a day,” he said. “I can’t take it.”

Another operator in a large urban area in another part of the U.S. offered a similarly glum assessment. “Business has tanked,” he said. “Restaurants are closed except for carry out. So no one wants mats changed. Towels and aprons are being used, but only at a fraction of what they were being used at because the restaurants are doing only a fraction of the business they were. We anticipate (if this week is as strong as we think it will be) to be down 70%. We expect next week to be much worse.” We’ve heard similar, if not quite as severe fall-offs in revenue from hospitality operators as hotel bookings have shrunk from record highs just a few weeks ago.

The business outlook for healthcare operators is not as dire as those servicing hotels and restaurants, but as COVID-19 outbreak has burgeoned into a full-scale pandemic, operators are expanding efforts to protect customers as well as staff. One operator in the Northeast outlined some of the changes in protocols that the COVID-19 response has inspired. “On one hand, COVID-19 has just increased or enhanced some of our existing safety protocols,” he said. “On the other hand, we have added some completely new protocols.” For example, he said that instead of wiping down door handles once a day, they’re now doing it multiple times per day. Two employees are working on these cleaning tasks almost for the entire day, he said.

The company’s also beefed up hygiene with route vehicles by purchasing an ultraviolet light unit instead of simply wiping down truck interiors with disinfectant. Other adjustments are more subtle, but are intended to enhance employee safety. “We have replaced our time clocks that required placing a full hand onto the pad in the units with time clocks that can have a code entered with a stylus.”

Access to healthcare facilities also faces new limits. “Our drivers are no longer entering the premises,” he said. “We are unloading and loading outside the facility. Healthcare staff are bringing carts out and taking the carts into their facilities.”

Concerns about handling soiled garments have had an impact on the industrial side of textile services as well. These companies have seen business declines, though not nearly as severe as F&B operators. One prominent operator in the Western U.S. said his company has implemented various new safety protocols beyond those that were in place before the COVID-19 crisis erupted earlier this month.

“COVID-19 has made our company bring out internal hygienic protocols to the forefront – reviewing, revising as needed, and stressing to all the importance of those protocols,” he said. For example, he noted that they’ve added more extensive personal protective equipment for employees and adopted universal precautions for blood-borne pathogens that are commonly employed only by healthcare operators.

When asked if the changes are likely to remain as standard operating procedures going forward, he said, “Yes, the changes we implemented strengthen our protocols, and will further ensure the safety and health of our employees remains a top priority.”

To help operators share ideas on how to cope with COVID-19, TRSA is sponsoring a series of free, market-specific teleconferences on best practices next week for F&B, Hospitality, Industrial and Healthcare operators. Dates and times for these events appear below. Click on the nearby links to register:

• Tuesday, March 24, 1-2 pm EDT – Hotel/Hospitality Teleconference, Register Here
• Wednesday, March 25, 11 am – 12 noon EDT – F&B/Restaurant Teleconference, Register Here
• Wednesday, March 25, 1-2 pm EDT – Healthcare Teleconference, Register Here
• Thursday, March 26, 11 am – 12 noon EDT – Industrial/Uniform, Register Here

Operators and suppliers also encouraged to check TRSA’s website for weekly COVID-19 resources and updates available online at www.trsa.org/covid19.