Laundry workshop washes napkins and foot towels together; Su Zhe Hui and Motel are regular customers.

The environment of unregulated small laundry workshops is simply unbearable, but they are not short of business. These unregulated small workshops serve some "big clients".

Su Zhe Hui Motel: It is very likely that the "subcontracting" by legitimate manufacturers has harmed us!

During this undercover visit to laundry workshops, the reporter saw large quantities of linens from some well-known brands in the catering and hotel industries being sent in for washing in those "dirty, messy, and poor" laundry rooms.

Could these well-known companies be the unscrupulous merchants who "knowingly offend" to squeeze costs as rumored? With these questions in mind, the reporter later specifically interviewed these businesses and received relevant responses.

Our newspaper's undercover team

Small workshops have big clients

Chain hotels and well-known restaurants

are all regular customers of laundry workshops

Who are the customers of the laundry workshops? A boss proudly told the reporter, "Although our scale is small, our clients are quite famous, such as the chain hotel 'Motel', the well-known catering brand 'Su Zhe Hui', and so on. Also, smaller clients like privately run small inns are regulars, and nursing homes have also entrusted us with laundry."

"In recent years, hotels in Pudong have developed particularly fast. Pudong laundry factories can't finish all the orders, so we often take some of them," another workshop owner told the reporter, "However, if the order is too small, don't come to me, because we provide vehicle pick-up and delivery services. If the volume is small and the distance is far, we might not even make enough to cover fuel costs."

Thinking the boss was bragging, the reporter carefully searched through piles of fabrics in several laundry workshops and found that what the boss said was true. Besides bed sheets and covers marked with some hotel logos, the reporter also found the logo of the well-known restaurant 'Su Zhe Hui' on a batch of napkins and work uniforms.

The boss also revealed to the reporter that, just like laundry workshops rely on coking plants to survive, many large bathhouses also choose to build near coking plants to use low-cost steam and hot water, "They are also our big clients."

In subsequent interviews, several industry insiders unanimously gave the reporter the following advice: "When you stay at budget chain hotels like Motel or Home Inn, it's best to bring your own towel. No matter how white their towels are washed, don't use them."

In the undercover visit to the uniform laundry factory, the factory owner only said: "Our business volume is quite large. If I told you all the client names, you would know we are quite capable." As the owner said, the reporter later found some small hospital logos on piles of patient uniforms.

> A laundry factory owner's "confession"

Following conscience means going against the market

Following the market often means going against conscience

Laundry factory owner Chen Jiawen (pseudonym) recently received a "business call" from someone claiming to be a manager of a well-known chain hotel, offering a big order to Chen's laundry factory. Normally, Chen Jiawen should have been happy, but he couldn't get excited. Not only was he not excited, he was a bit worried and conflicted—because the price quoted on the phone was too low: "3.5 yuan per set of linens."

"Linens is industry jargon in our laundry business, referring to textiles that need washing," Chen told the reporter. "A 'set of linens' means all the regular textiles in a hotel room that need washing, including duvet covers, bed sheets, pillowcases, towels, bath towels, foot towels... Washing all these for 3.5 yuan is so low that it doesn't even cover the cost."

However, Chen Jiawen was still reluctant to give up this business because he knew that if he followed the proper washing procedures, he would have to charge five yuan per set to break even. But 3.5 yuan has its own way of doing things, as long as he could put aside his conscience.

"It's too easy to work against conscience," Chen Jiawen said. "It doesn't require any technical content. As long as I cut corners, I can even make a few dimes of net profit from each 3.5 yuan. Chain hotel business volume is large, and small amounts add up, so the profit is still considerable."

Moreover, many chain hotels never "come down" to inspect the factory, "They don't check equipment, staff, materials, or test for chemical residues on fabrics. As long as the fabric isn't damaged and 'looks' clean, that's what matters."

"Budget chain hotel business volume is huge, so they are particularly strong," Chen Jiawen said. "When they call, they just give a quote. If you agree, you send your vehicle to their hotel to pick up items. If you don't agree, they hang up without a word, because if you don't do it, there are plenty of others who want to."

Finally, after repeated internal struggles, Chen Jiawen still did not take the order. But according to his understanding, the hotel still found a service provider at the 3.5 yuan price. "Although I don't know if they found a legitimate manufacturer or a small workshop, the result is actually the same," Chen said. "If they found a small workshop, they will definitely wash according to the non-standard procedures; if they found a legitimate manufacturer, who would do a loss-making business at such a low price? It must be very similar to the small workshop's method. Not to mention, just by replacing laundry detergent with caustic soda, they can immediately 'turn losses into profits'."

Therefore, as a "businessman with a bit of conscience," Chen Jiawen is often in pain. He describes feeling like walking a tightrope, "On one side, my conscience says: Do you want to sink to the level of a small workshop? Do you want to ruin your reputation in the industry? On the other side, profit pulls me, saying: What is reputation? Why not make money if you can? If you don't make money, you might as well close. If you don't make money, others will, and the result is the same." In the end, he admitted that if he had to choose which side is more attractive, profit definitely wins.

Response from the involved customer

Su Zhe Hui: Discovered that legitimate companies subcontract business to unlicensed workshops

Why would our restaurant's linens appear in unqualified laundry workshops? The marketing director of Jinmeng Group, which owns Su Zhe Hui restaurant, analyzed in response to reporters' questions: This is a trap set by legitimate laundry manufacturers through "subcontracting" to frame us!

"We definitely subcontract laundry business to qualified companies, but we have found that some legitimate companies subcontract business to unlicensed workshops." The director also told reporters that just recently, they uncovered a case of "subcontracting," and ultimately, the restaurant decisively terminated cooperation with that laundry company.

"For linen laundry, the laundry company comes to our restaurant to pick up linens; our staff cannot follow them all the time, let alone supervise on-site," the director told reporters, "This creates loopholes for the laundry factories to exploit."

In addition, lack of effective supervision has become an important reason for the many hidden dangers in the laundry industry. "When we had disputes with laundry workshops, we didn't even know how to protect our rights—many laundry companies have a very tough attitude, thinking there are no strict regulations on their laundry standards, and relevant departments lack grounds to handle them."

Some other laundry companies simply disappeared after failing inspection results.

When hearing that their linens appeared in small workshops in Minhang District, the group leader said it was possible, "We have many restaurants across Shanghai, and from a cost perspective, we can only choose nearby laundry factories. Comparatively, laundry companies in the city center are more legitimate and don't play these tricks, while in the southern and northern suburbs, where small workshops can hide, problems are more likely to occur."

The director also said they will cooperate with other company departments to investigate this matter, "If the situation is true, we will terminate cooperation with the related laundry companies."

》Related Q&A

Why frequently change laundry suppliers?

Frequent failures in self-inspection

The director also revealed: "Due to the chaotic laundry market, we are forced to change suppliers like a revolving door."

According to the director, Su Zhe Hui has a research and development department responsible for testing cleaned linens. "They conduct spot checks approximately every two months. Frustratingly, on average every six months, the R&D department finds problems in the sampled linens, which leads us to basically change laundry suppliers every six months."

Many problems are found during spot checks, some linens are "especially prone to damage," others are not cleaned properly. "When these situations occur, before changing laundry suppliers, the restaurant stores will reprocess the linens using their own sterilizers and washers to ensure customer safety."

Why is the selection of laundry suppliers not strictly controlled?

Problems are hidden during factory inspections

The Jinmeng director told reporters that they conduct license reviews and on-site inspections. "The problem is, when laundry companies solicit business, they show their best side—our staff saw no issues with the factory environment, worker quality, or detergents during inspections, and even the samples tested on-site showed no faults," the director said, "But as soon as we turn around, the tricks come out."

One laundry company that cooperated with Jinmeng Group for two full years was still found to have linens with excessive bacterial counts and severe damage during the latest spot check. "Now the restaurant's only way to protect itself is to sign 'flexible contracts' that allow immediate termination if tests fail."

How to face the chaos in the laundry industry in the future?

Plan to build own processing plant for self-laundry

"Soon, outsourcing laundry business at Su Zhe Hui will be history," the marketing director told reporters. Due to lack of trust in third-party laundry, Jinmeng Group is starting to build its own processing plant.

"We started this project in 2008, located in Qingpu District, mainly for centralized procurement and distribution... laundry workshop planning is also included. Currently, we are applying for qualifications for our self-operated laundry workshop."

According to the director, once the central processing plant's laundry workshop is operational, all Su Zhe Hui restaurants under Jinmeng Group will no longer entrust laundry business to other third parties. "Since outside laundry manufacturers are so unreliable and lack what we need, we will wash our own items ourselves, which should be more reassuring."

Motel: Some franchise stores poorly managed plus "subcontracting"

Why do budget hotel linen laundry suppliers have irregular behaviors? A relevant person in charge of Motel Hotel Management Company said in an interview that there may be two reasons: "One is that some franchise stores of Motel were not strictly managed initially; another is that compliant manufacturers subcontracted business to other manufacturers."

"Last year, Home Inn Group acquired Motel, and now all operations are gradually being standardized," the person in charge told reporters. Just two months ago, the group issued regulations to subordinate hotels requiring stricter qualification audits of laundry companies. "If laundry products fail quality, the company will require the laundry company to rectify; if not rectified properly, cooperation will be canceled."

"When selecting laundry suppliers, we definitely conduct on-site factory inspections," the person in charge said. "When receiving cleaned linens, store managers will conduct overall checks according to requirements, feeling softness and smelling odors. If the laundry additives used by the laundry factory are of poor quality, the smell will be pungent... Once laundry quality is found unsatisfactory, we will negotiate with the laundry factory."

In addition, according to this person in charge, the company also regularly inspects the laundry factories to check what detergents they use, how they disinfect, and whether there is secondary contamination, etc. "We even conduct regular undercover visits to check whether the laundry factories strictly follow the regulations."

Not long ago, Motai discovered several non-compliant laundry companies during undercover visits and consequently replaced a batch of suppliers.

As for the linens delivered to the hotel after cleaning, the company's rule is that they must be shelved and not casually piled up, "to ensure the linens are clean and hygienic."

The person in charge promised that the company will continue to pay attention to the laundry workshops' situation, "If it is found that any store sends linens to unqualified workshops for cleaning, we will severely punish them."
　
Related Q&A

Is the factory inspection procedure robust?

Apart from the lack of more hard indicators in the routine procedures

In the interview, the person in charge also raised several current dilemmas the company faces:

"We have more than 100 stores in Shanghai, and each store chooses a laundry company based on its location and needs," the person in charge explained. Therefore, although the company inspects the laundry factories, verifying qualifications, business licenses, and industrial and commercial certificates, there are indeed no other more "hard indicators" to restrict the laundry factories.

In addition, the company hopes that relevant departments with professional testing equipment can help with quality control. During the interview, the reporter found that this is also the sentiment of many similar hotels.

Is there malicious price undercutting?

We do not undercut prices; we are also victims.

Regarding accusations of malicious price undercutting from the laundry industry, the person in charge believes the company prices according to the market average, "If you say low prices can't be sustained, why do some companies subcontract their business? After layers of deductions, wouldn't the profit get lower and lower?"

In fact, low prices in the laundry industry are not good for hotels either. "Detergents are strongly alkaline, and linens easily become stiff and damaged. For a while, our linen replacement rate was quite high," the Motai person in charge revealed. Previously, some Home Inn stores had to replace a batch of linens every three months on average, causing significant losses. "From this perspective, we are also victims of an unregulated industry."

Therefore, as the hotel side, the Motai person in charge said that what they really need is not simply low prices but the highest cost performance. "We would rather the laundry side raise costs a bit, but the most important thing is to clean the items thoroughly and reduce linen loss rates, so both hotels and consumers can benefit."

Finally, this person in charge believes communication is also important, "We hope that regular laundry manufacturers can often communicate with our management staff, share some professional knowledge, and give us opinions and suggestions. In this way, the two industries can develop together."

Damage caused by irregularities

Harm caused by excessive PH value

Harmful to both health and money

According to many industry insiders, linens processed through irregular laundry procedures cause various harms and losses to the direct users of the linens and all related units.

Allergic reaction after staying one night in a hotel

"Some time ago, a hotel in Pudong faced a lawsuit," an industry insider told the reporter, "A Singaporean guest stayed one night at the hotel and developed red rashes all over the body the next day, experiencing a severe allergic reaction." The Singaporean did not consider it bad luck but took the hotel’s bedsheet to a professional appraisal agency. After testing, the bedsheet’s PH value was found to be excessive and alkaline. The hotel compensated the guest a large sum of money.

The reason the bedsheet’s PH value was excessive is that the laundry factory likes to add cheap, strongly alkaline detergent that can make clothes "cleaner" when washing.

"Strong alkaline detergent is generally used to wash synthetic fabrics that do not directly contact the human body. Our regular companies would never use it to clean hotel towels and bedsheets," a person in charge of a regular laundry factory told the reporter. Bedsheets washed with strong alkaline detergent may cause customers with sensitive constitutions to develop red rashes after sleeping on them for one night.

Linen loss causes hotels to suffer hidden losses

Lowering laundry prices is seen by many hotel managers as a very "smart" move, but they do not realize that excessive use of strong alkaline substances in washing bedsheets not only harms guests but also causes significant losses to hotels.

A laundry factory manager pointed out: "Many hotel room managers only know how to compare prices — if others can clean for 0.7 yuan, why can’t you clean for 1.2 yuan? What can we do? We use regular detergent, and some stains cannot be removed, but small workshops may use caustic soda every day. It looks clean, but after washing for six months to a year, linens washed by them will definitely be damaged a lot...

However, these workshops know how to maintain good relations with hotel linens, treating damaged linens as internal loss and including them in internal accounts. Hotel management is often unaware of such "tricks"... This has become one of the laundry industry’s unspoken rules."

Incomplete disinfection causes cross-infection

"Mixing various clothes for washing and storage, and not disinfecting laundry equipment, can allow bacteria to spread between different clothes," an industry insider told the reporter. "For example, bath towels in large bathhouses — do you know which guest has skin disease or athlete’s foot? Do you know how many bacteria can hide in washing machines that are not disinfected on time?"

During the interview, the reporter noticed that some workshop owners consider "bleaching and ironing" as a "100% guaranteed disinfection process," but in fact, these steps cannot kill the more stubborn bacteria. Additionally, workers fold clothes by hand, and the same vehicle is used to transport both clean and dirty linens... Each irregular step increases the risk of linens being "infected" with bacteria.