Providing award-winning laundry services.

What do you expect when you install a laundry room in your residential building or commercial or industrial facility? Washing machines and dryers, sure. Maybe a few new tables and carts and a paint job. Just about any company can do that. But when Westchester, NY-based Service Directions, Inc., (SDI), is the laundry contractor, cutting-edge technology meets award-winning service, and expectations are far exceeded.

"Each of our 60-plus employees in both our locations, including our customer service reps, installation and shop crew members, field service technicians, administrative and support staff, and everyone in between, is indoctrinated from day one with the SDI motto: We Care About Your Laundry," says company owner and president Ronald Garfunkel. "Exceeding customers' expectations is the entire SDI mission statement."

The locations Garfunkel refers to are the company's 8,000 square-foot corporate headquarters in Pelham, and the 18,000 square-foot office/warehouse in Mt. Vernon that houses the company's Customer Service Department, Parts Department and Service Shop. From these locations, SDI installs and maintains laundry facilities for more than 2,000 buildings, including residential co-ops, condos, and rental buildings, college and university dorms, nursing homes, and hospital housing facilities, as well as commercial and industrial customers like restaurants, factories, health clubs and others for whom the presence and availability of high-functioning laundry facilities is critical.

The SDI service territory covers metropolitan New York (including the five boroughs, Westchester, Dutchess, Putnam, Sullivan, Orange, Rockland, Ulster, and Columbia counties), northern New Jersey and Fairfield County in Connecticut.

While claims of superior service and caring are standard advertising fare nowadays, Garfunkel's company has evolved a unique corporate culture to back them up. In the past year alone, SDI has been recognized repeatedly for its dedication to customer service and community involvement.

Industry-wise, SDI's most significant recent accomplishment was being awarded, for the second time in six years, the coveted Maytag Red Carpet Award For Service Excellence. This award recognizes SDI as first in customer service among all North American commercial Maytag distributors.

In addition, SDI was recognized twice for its commitment to expanding employment opportunities for people with disabilities. The first award came from VESID, the section of the New York State Education Department dedicated to vocational and educational services for the disabled, and the second from the Office of the Westchester County Executive, Office for the Disabled. Both acknowledged SDI for going above and beyond with an extraordinary commitment to diversity in the workplace. SDI also was similarly recognized in Business 98, the NationsBank magazine, in an article that praised the company for providing the dignity and opportunity of work to disabled individuals

But perhaps most impressive was SDI's acknowledgment in the category of "Unleashing the Power of Technology" in the prestigious 1998 Arthur Andersen Best Practices Awards Competition. Coming in as first runner-up in a field of nominees populated by technology-based companies, SDI was applauded for its ability to align technology with business strategy and to integrate technology that benefits both employees and customers.

"The SDI commitment to customer care follows a specific protocol that starts as soon as a prospective customer calls," explains Vice President of Sales Mark Eisler. "The process begins with a site evaluation, which analyzes electrical wiring, gas lines, layout of equipment, venting, building demographics, type of equipment, number of machine units, the physical condition of the room(s), amenities, and any special security concerns." The SDI Sales Team, supervised by Eisler, and the Installation Department, supervised by Vice President of Operations Ben Haney, Director of Operations Neat Melandovich, and Manager of Installations Steve Beckerman, work jointly on this effort.

"Once the contract is accepted," says Vice President of Support Services Andy Tegan, "our Installation Team makes the agreed upon improvements to the room and installs the new equipment, providing all specialists necessary to complete the work, including electricians and plumbers. The team provides a specific schedule of when and where the work will be done, and posts signs to inform end-users when the improved facility will be open for use." Upon completion of the installation, SDI also provides on-site user education to educate all appropriate individuals, including residents, about using the new equipment properly.

"Our goal," says Chief Operating Officer Stephen Jagde, "is to answer every question and explain every nuance of the equipment so as to avoid misuse of the machines." The company even offers tips for better laundering of clothes, and provides to every end-user an SDI Welcome Bag, which includes an introductory pamphlet for commercial washing procedures, SDI service contact information, and a complimentary box of detergent.

When the laundry facility is up and running, SDI makes cash collections from the location according to a schedule arranged with the individual customer. Every SDI collector arrives in a corporate uniform and is identified with a photo ID badge. Accountability, honesty, and integrity are guaranteed.

Should a machine require maintenance or repair, SDI Customer Service staff members are available from ? a.m. to 6 p.m, Monday through Friday, and from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays to take service requests. (During off hours, an answering service contacts an SDI supervisor to apprise him of situations that require immediate attention.) Within 24 hours, a factory-trained SDI technician traveling in a fully-stocked repair van is dispatched through the company's customized, computerized service system, which also allows SDI to track the service history of any location. "This allows us to track our service standings," says VP of Operations Haney. "We are constantly monitoring ourselves to provide ever-improved levels of service."

SDI technicians work every day of the week except Sunday, and adhere to the SDI policy, "If we can't fix it, we replace it!" Through the use of the company's 800-945-WASH toll free phone number, customers have access to SDI 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Further demonstrating the SDI commitment to customer service is the company's unique policy of sending out refund checks within one day. "When a customer has a legitimate refund request, we send it out right away via first class mail," says COO Jagde. "Other companies send these checks out monthly with all their bulk rate mail. But our customers deserve better than that, and that's what we try to give them." Commission checks to customers are also sent out timely, and are mailed by the tenth of the month based on the terms of the contract.

Direct customer service isn't the only feature that differentiates SDI. The company also produces a growing list of free informational publications, include the quarterly Cycles newsletter and such pamphlets and brochures as Let the Buyer Beware, which explains the ins and outs of laundry contracts and emphasizes the fact that no SDI contract is ever written with a right of first refusal clause; No More Quarters!, which explains the benefits of the company's SmartCard system (SDI was among the first in the industry to incorporate debit card technology in its service offerings): Welcome Aboard . . . FYI, which introduces SDI to new residential managing agents; and the 12-page booklet, The Seven Most Common Mistakes Co-op and Condo Boards Make When Selecting a Professional Contractor or Vendor for Their Property . . . And How to Avoid Them. In addition, the company also offers seminars to management companies and landlords on such topics as the legalities of laundry contracts, laundry facilities energy and water utilities and conservation, and laundry facilities technology. All publications and seminars are available free of charge, along with a catalogue of SDI premium products (such as a change purse, pens, keychains, bookmarks, calendars, and desk diaries), by either calling the company or through sdiwecare.com, the company's interactive website.

Service Directions is today one of the New York area's largest privately-held laundry services providers. Originally founded as Coin-A-Wash in 1952 by B. Julian Garfunkel and his wife Edith. the company began installing and maintaining coin-operated washing machines in apartment buildings throughout the metropolitan area. In those days, washing machines were manufactured without coin meters. So, from their small shop in Mount Vernon, the Garfunkels worked out the mechanics of attaching a coin meter to washing machines, and enabling them to vend a full wash cycle.

During the 1950's and 1960's, the New York housing market was hungry for laundry systems in older buildings, and new construction mandated laundry rooms in all apartment buildings. Growth was steady, and by 1967 the company had shifted its focus from laundry stores to route operations through which laundry machines were installed and maintained, and revenues were collected for landlords. It was at this time that current company president Ronald Garfunkel, son of Julian and Edith, came into the business.

In 1970, the company entered into its long-standing association with the Maytag company. Previously having installed a variety of manufacturers' machines, the Garfunkels found in Maytag the most reliable, cost effective, and energy efficient technology. Today, SDI vends Maytag machinery exclusively.

When the metropolitan area's co-op and condo markets surged in the 1970's, the company began to make inroads into both the residential and on-premise facilities markets. With Ronald Garfunkel now at the helm, the company changed its name to Service Directions, Inc., to emphasize the growing firm's commitment to service. SDI's reach into the market continued to grow, and the company's marketing efforts sent the message to co-op and condo boards, managing agents, landlords, and superintendents: 'You can have a better laundry room, and SDI will provide it."

In the 1980's, SDI was appointed as a distributor of Maytag commercial equipment, allowing the company to complement its route operation by selling Maytag commercial washers and dryers to laundry stores and small operators. In the early 1990's, the company was a pioneer in the use of computerized technology, and in 1994, SDI was one of the first in the industry to successfully implement the use of SmartCard technology, providing a totally cashless environment.

"Our goal is simple, "says Ronald Garfunkel. "We work with customers to make their laundry room the best possible facility, and then we continue to work with them to maintain the laundry room at its functional best while building trusting and respectful relationships. Explicit in every SDI contract is exactly what the customer can expect from us. There are no surprises. That's the way we like to work, and we find that our customers appreciate working this way, as well. Although laundry facilities are the products we provide, SDI is about much more than washing machines and dryers. We' re about providing excellent service that contributes to the quality-of-life for the residents of the buildings we serve. Today and into the next millennium, that's what Service Directions is really all about."