Many years ago, a friend of mine took her clothes for dry cleaning and got the shock of her life when one of her clothes shrank to a ridiculous size. She was so upset but I remember we ended up laughing about the whole idea and teased that her baby would wear the cloth when she turns two years old.
Many people have had various issues with their garments but with the upsurge of various laundry and dry cleaning companies, things may be looking better.
In times past, before the advent of washing machines, we were used to using our hands (some still do) or beating the clothes on hard rock as it is done in various parts of the world.
Back here in Nigeria, the use of washing machines for clothes has been long embraced but only when there is power…with the erratic power supply, many who can afford the services of dry cleaners and laundry experts opt for this option because they are guaranteed of power either as Nigerian electricity supply industry permits or as long as their fuelled generators can function.
I am fascinated by my lunch ‘dates’ for this week, not only because they are top notch accomplished women who decided to go into laundry and dry cleaning business, but because they are related and are closely knit. I have met people who say they cannot partake in a business with family members but the Tinubu’s have another story to tell.
Aisha and Kareema Tinubu are my ‘dates’ for this week.
We had agreed to meet at their head office at kilometre 14 Lekki Expressway. Quite far from where I was driving from so I knew I had to leave on time to beat any traffic delay.
Locating the building wasn’t difficult as their logo ‘Laundry House’ stared you boldly in the face, rightly positioned on the building, I couldn’t have missed it.
I must commend the quality of their customer’s service, from the gate to the main office; everything was done in order and precision.
Lovely looking women with beautiful personas I must say. Both looking graceful, trim and fit. My first shocker was when Aisha told me she has four children and Kareema told me she has three. My jaw dropped because they did not look like that at all. And they both told me they get such ‘shocks’ when people find out how many children each of them have.
The interview kicked off in no time after exchanging pleasantries and I asked how they were related and Aisha responded “we both married into the Tinubu family and though we are from different backgrounds, we have become one through family” she says.
Laundry House Company Ltd is a family run firm providing professional dry cleaning & laundry services as well as ancillary services of exceptional standards to domestic and commercial clients. Their value proposition is to ensure consistent service delivery in a convenient and affordable manner, providing the highest quality of service and care possible. Their ancillary services guarantee their clients access to a broad spectrum of specialist services delivered in a professional manner.
Laundry house is certified by the Guild of Cleaners & Launderers UK, in all areas of dry cleaning, wet cleaning, spotting, stain removal and pressing.
Aisha Tinubu has over eighteen years experience covering management, administrative, business support and investment advisory positions, nine years of which were spent in Asset & Resource Management Company where she worked with ultra high net worth clients as an investment advisor/relationship manager.
She is now the Managing Director of Laundry House Company, where she has drawn on her knowledge and experience over the years to successfully develop and grow the company into becoming one of the leading dry cleaning companies in Lagos State. Whilst her core focus in Laundry House is on customer service and ensuring high service quality standards, she oversees business development and sales and has a keen eye on the overall operations of the company.
While Kareema Tinubu is currently the head, human resources at Laundry House Company, and also works closely with the MD on business development and customer service. She has marketing and banking background with former Chartered Bank where she worked in the business development unit and relationship management department. She also worked in credit management and corporate & investment banking division. She has worked in various companies covering real estate development and natural gas distribution.
Aisha tells me she comes from a large family where they have all been tutored to go out and do things on their own. According to her, “We have always been trained to strive hard and work harder; we had a normal upbringing and childhood that has helped us thus far. Kareema is my sister-in-law and we are married from Kafaru Oluwole Tinubu line (my father in law). We have been friends even before we got married to our husbands so it was easy coming together to be forerunners of this business” she says
Kareema, while sharing her views, revealed that though she is from a large family, they were all well groomed. “My father is Suleiman Adebola Adegunwa, the CEO of Fototek and though I am from a large family of eleven, my father instilled discipline in us. Some of my brothers work for my dad; they have branched out to food business too.”
As the managing director, Aisha tells me she decided to go into this line of business because it’s something she has always been interested in. In her words, “I had worked for thirteen years, managed high network clients. I had worked in several managerial levels. After three kids, I stopped because I wanted to spend more time with the children though I now have four. I gave my company a year’s notice before leaving because I wanted to hand over appropriately. While I was chatting with someone who was complaining about the services she was given from her dry cleaners, it reminded me that I had always nursed the idea of having a laundry and dry cleaning company so I made up my mind to get into the industry and transform it. I was determined to change the way and quality of services and I am glad we do this in this company”
“When you make promises, it is important you deliver on those promises. Nigerians cannot continue to be known for bad service quality. Yes the idea was birthed but it was now the challenge of how it was going to work and that is where Kareema came in and other family members too and till date we are indeed grateful for how God has helped us thus far.” Aisha says.
Sharing further about how they have carved a niche from themselves, Kareema says “we are constantly tweaking things. Our standard procedures are thorough and we ensure we maintain it. For instance, we take pictures of the clothes before washing and we send to the customer firstly, to let them know the state of the fabric if for instance an error was noticed on it so they know it did not come from us and secondly, to enquire from them if we should proceed with amendment before laundry begins.”
“We are also very keen on customer service and our lines are always open. One other service we render that makes us different is free delivery. Even if it is one item. We do this because the same person who decided to bring in one fabric can bring in seven some other time. There is no disparity between one client and the other; everyone is treated well and accordingly.” Kareema concludes.
While I went on tour of the company, I saw heavy equipments and various sizes of generators which included a 200KVA generator. I just couldn’t imagine how the company could run the heavy equipments I saw without adequate electricity. I guess that explained the need for the various generators I saw. Hear from Aisha as she sheds more light on this and also narrates their challenges.
“Luckily, we did not have to leverage to start the business so there is no pressure of paying back however, one of the major challenges is the overhead cost, power being the major challenge. We rely on power every time. Though we have a 200KVA generator and three others, the overhead cost of maintaining this and fuelling it is high. The other challenge is balancing work and family but God has given women multitasking abilities and this is something Kareema and I are grateful for.” Aisha says.
I asked what the future holds for Laundry House and concluding the interview, they agreed that the next phase is to establish a training institute as their long-term plan even as they are also passionate about imparting knowledge and improving the level of expertise in the industry.
KEMI AJUMOBI
