Yes I know…. Another Business post. I thought this one was somewhat funny and decided to post it anyway, people in business or considering going into business and especially Business owners that have Multiple Locations will find this pretty amusing. I do plan on keeping this short so I can finish with the BBQ and eat some chow, so I won’t be keeping you long.
For the last 5 years we have done business with Cintas who provides our toilet paper rolls, paper towel rolls, toilet paper dispensers and paper towel dispensers. At one point in time when we had three Extreme Tan and Smoothies locations we used Cintas for all of the locations, basically once the dispensers are installed they come in and refill the paper products. We also have three stores with a custom carpet from them as well, each of these items are rented on a weekly basis per store, per item.
Now that we have six Extreme Tan locations in Pinellas county we figured we would give Cintas a call and have them give us a rate on handeling the supplies for all six of the stores instead of the current two they do now, we had them do three until one of the contracts expired. Nate set up a meeting with our rep last week and all though Im not going to get into the pricing that was quoted for the services I can give you an example of what we would have paid over the course of three years, Cintas requires a three year contract.
Supplies for our Tanning Salons from Uline
After looking over the quote I decided to do some additonal research into the cost of us servicing our own locations as opposed to having CINTAS do it. My search did not take me long as you can tell by the photo above, it led me to a site called Uline which supplies the products we need (along with plenty of others). After crusing through the very easy to navigate Uline website I began to add items to the shopping cart and before I knew it I was done with an order that I felt would supply our stores for the next six months. I was curious what the shipping would be an the items we needed as well as the turnaround time for getting the orders delivered, Uline ended up having next day delivery on orders placed before something like 5pm and that automatically won me over (I hate waiting for shipments).
As I headed through the checkout even with the cost of shipping which was more than reasonable for the amount of items we were ordering. My total order for the items you see above was almost $2,000 on the nose, at that price it would mean the average cost of ordering our products from Uline for the next three years it would cost somewhere in the area of $12,000 maybe as high as $15,000 for supplies for the tanning salons. Even at $15,000 over the next three years it comes in at a mind blowing $30,000 less than it would be if we were to expand our services with CINTAS to all six stores over the next six years. Now you would think there would be a huge disadvantage to servicing your own stores on a weekly basis however the fact is we have deliveries going to the stores every day so in fact we have six more weekly exposures to each location than CINTAS would if we contracted with them. It seems like simple math to me, $45,000 vs $15,000 = No Brainer. Enjoy the business news for today.
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{ 19 comments… read them below or add one }
Twitter: ShotOfCoffee
I was wondering what’s going on with all of the boxes here….now I know.
Cutting costs… one of the most crucial things an owner/manager needs to do. Cutting costs by 66% by switching to another supplier? WORD. Almost as exciting as your pics from Saturday night. Almost.
Twitter: extremejohn
Sean I would love to agree with you but I am more excited about the 66% than I am about the pictures. In this case, I Heart Green.
Twitter: ComplaintMan
Hey John. Good for you! You have to do what’s best for your business. Awesome post any owner will appreciate.
On another note, I’m glad The Star Celeb told me about your blog. I’ve enjoyed following it and look forward to your new posts every day. I added you to my Blogroll and appreciate you listing me in your Daily Spots. Thanks!
Twitter: extremejohn
Thank you as always CC. Thank you for the blogroll add I greatly appreciate it and you dont need to thank me for listing you in my daily readers, I dont have time for a lot of daily readers but your site is ALWAYS worth the time. Thank you.
Nice one John, it pays to shop around!
How long had you been using CINTAS for? It’s good to cut costs especially by so much!
Twitter: extremejohn
We have been using them for 5 years, they offer a good service and it’s convenient it’s just not valuable enough to toss $45,000 at over the next three years ya know.
$30,000 is a lot of money and I cannot understand how you haven’t seen they were so expensive before. Anyway, better late than never.
Thanks John,
What else do you do to cut costs.
We run a gym with tanning in it.
We do not clean the beds members do it before and after they tan. We keep paper towels in ther for them.
What do you think is better towels or paper towels.
the cost is crazy right now
Twitter: extremejohn
@Amber Thank you for commenting Amber I appreciate it
In regards to the tanning equipment in your Gym, I would reduce the costs there by purchasing high quality towels that will last. Than after each tan have an associate clean the beds with the proper solution and the quality towels, this will reduce the cost of paper towels as the quality towels will last much longer and I bet your customers will be much happier knowing the beds have been sanitized by a certified associate each time they go to tan. Let me know if you give it a try.
Twitter: extremejohn
@Amber in regards to other cost cutting options, as you know it is a constant battle. Through the years we have made numerous adjustments, however when dealing with the public we are always careful to test things before we implement them. As opposed to the costly individual name tags that are often magnetic and get lost easily, we traded those in for custom lanyards and bulk printed blank name badges which allows an associate to wear the items around their neck as opposed to on their clothing. Bulk printing costs are much less than custom badge costs.
I started buying products through Uline last year for a small janitorial company that I own, their reps are really friendly and the shipping is pretty fast.
.-= Patric@My Clogged Toilet´s last blog ..How to Replace Your Toilet =-.
Twitter: extremejohn
@Patric@My Clogged Toilet, we have never had a problem with them and still use Uline over CINTAS till this very day. The savings is huge.
John,
Your not calculating the %5 price increase Cintas charges every year!!! I used to work for Cintas, you are SO SMART to top doing business with them. They are plain and simple shysters, they do this to so many business and jack the prices after u sign with them Cintas time to go, GREAT MOVE.
Adam,
At a normal buffet, what do you think Cintas charges for restroom maintenance per month? I think they come in weekly and clean the restroom an re-stock supplies.
I want to put Cintas out of business in my area!
Thanks, Chris
Hi everyone
I hope this is not a stupid question, but this is my first time here. Can enyone please tell me how to become a member of this website. I can’t see where to click to join. I would like to know when new stuff is added. I love the extreme look of the site, but so far I dont see extreme content
Thank you for your patience with a newby.
This is such a common problem with this company. Cintas contracts are written to prevent you from canceling in spite of their incompetent, extremely poor service. Cintas routinely signs contracts with customers knowing they can not meet the specifications called for in the contract forcing the customer to take legal action to cancel. Companies like Cintas are the epitome of everything that is wrong with corporate America.
Twitter: extremejohn
Thank you for taking the time to comment and share your thoughts on CINTAS. It’s been a while since I wrote this post, I’m still with ULINE and would never even take using CINTAS serious in the future.
Have you considered automatic hand dryers instead of paper towels as far as the bottom line cost? Just curious
Marvin@paper towel dispensers´s last [type] ..Better Customer Relations Can Start With A Good Public Washroom Experience
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