Difference between revisions of "RagService"

Revision as of 09:44, 5 October 2009

Introduction

The Bike Kitchen has a monthly rag service provided by Aramark. As of this writing, we get the following services:

• 2 Continuous Roll Hand Towels
• 20 Aprons (5 Red, 15 Black)
• 150 Red Shop Rags
• TP as-needed
• Hand Soap as-needed

Service is delivered on the first Monday of every month. Consider writing any relevant notes related to the rag service on the BK Rag Service Log on the inside of the bathroom door.

Answers to Unasked Questions

Why do we need a service Log? We probably don't. But with past rag services we've had a bit of trouble knowing if our service has been delivered as expected. So I thought we could track the service with a log until we're confident that everything is running smoothly.

The service log is all used up. How do I print a new one? The service log is attached to this wiki page. Open it, edit it, and print it out. Done.

I think we should change our service levels. How do we do that? Discuss your proposed change on the mailing list and/or at a meeting. If there's enough support for your proposed change, make it happen. Have a look in the Aramark folder in the office filing cabinet. You'll find the contact information for our service rep, Jesse Barbato. Give him a call and make the arrangements. Please update this wiki page once everything is done.

I don't think we got all of the service that we expected. What should we do? Discuss it on the list, call Jesse Barbato at Aramark, and get to the bottom of it.

History of the Rag Service

After fierce debate between the merits of a rag service vs. simply using waste textiles for rags, the Bike Kitchen voted to try a rag service. The first company we tried was called "Blue Water," a locally owned "green" laundry service. They delivered a bag of rags and then we never saw them again. We tried to contact them to pay the bills and clarify the service expectation to no avail. The owner eventually sold the business and the new owner was not interested in washing dirty rags. Next we signed up with Cintas. Cintas' sales reps, delivery service, and accounting departments did not appear to ever be on the same page. Sometimes our deliveries would not show up, sometimes they would have unexpected services that we didn't order, and sometimes services would be missing. One day Cintas jacked our rates by a factor of 2. We scaled down our service to get back within the budget and sought an explanation about why they jacked our rates. After months of pointless phone calls and emails without an explanation, we canceled our service with Cintas and started the current service with Aramark.