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“HOT OFF THE PRESS” Dry Cleaning News
(248) 543-0340 | www.janetdaviscleaners.com 27607Woodward Ave., Berkley, MI 48072 | 3645 Maple Rd., Bloomfield, MI 48301
MAY 2019
TOTEM POLES, TURTLES, AND MOUNTAINTOP SUNRISES: My Favorite Vacation Spot
Since exploring new places is a pastime I greatly enjoy, I figured what better way to acknowledge National Tourism Day on May 7 than to talk about my favorite place to vacation: Maui. I’ve only been there once, but that was all it took for me fall in love with the island and the amazing scenery it has to offer. Laura and I made the decision to go approximately 9 years ago, a couple years before our oldest daughter was born. She has visited all the islands at one point or another throughout her life, so she gave me the opportunity to pick which island(s) we would visit. I’d remembered her mentioning that Maui was her favorite, so rather than take a little hopper plane from island to island, I decided I wanted to stick with Maui and see all it had to offer. “As I was out there exploring the colorful reefs, keeping an eye out for various types of fish, I saw two sea turtles!” Interestingly, we actually got a souvenir during our first day on the island. We came across this guy who was carving a small tiki. Upon seeing his handiwork, Laura and I apparently shared the same thought because we both were interested in buying it. The gentleman was approximately
halfway through carving, so once we inquired, he asked how he could customize the second half to make it valuable to us. We gave him some ideas and came back two hours later to pick it up. Finding this handmade piece was one of the coolest parts of the trip, and in fact, it still sits in the foyer of our home today! The rest of our time there was an absolute dream. We had made plans to go on a guided charter to snorkel with sea turtles. To prepare, we decided to rent our own gear a few days prior and get our sea legs ready. After swimming around for a bit, Laura returned to the sandy beach, but I opted to stay out for a little longer. As I was out there exploring the colorful reefs, keeping an eye out for various types of fish, I saw two sea turtles! When I returned to the beach and told Laura, she was flabbergasted. She said that it is really rare to see turtles and that, even on chartered trips, you sometimes don’t find any. Lo and behold, the day we went with guides, we only saw one sea turtle. I think back on that day when I went snorkeling on my own and feel so lucky that I was in the right place at the right time. In addition to the handmade trinket and once-in-a-lifetime snorkeling experience, my favorite part of the trip was watching the sunrise from top of Haleakala, Maui’s tallest mountain. The sunrises there are particularly
known for their beauty, so, due to the number of people hoping to witness them, the national park has created two lookouts. Once the upper lookout is full, they close it so viewers have to watch from the lower one. Purely by accident, Laura and I got up there early enough to get into the upper section before it closed. As we waited for the sun to rise, we thought that it seemed that everyone else traveled from warmer climates because even though it was 55 degrees with low wind, everyone was under blankets, missing the whole scene! Because we were situated up above the clouds, we could see the entire island. Breathtaking doesn’t even seem like an adequate word to describe it. In fact, I still use several of the photos I took that day as computer backgrounds! Once the girls are a little bit older, Laura and I are planning to take a trip back, and I, for one, can’t wait!
–Kyle Matthews 1 (248) 543-0340
‘Hey, Alexa!’ 3WAYS A VIRTUAL ASSISTANT CAN HELP GET YOUR KIDS READY FOR SCHOOL
THE REVERBERATIONS OF REVIEWS We Are a Safe Bet!
Even though parents and kids everywhere are getting close to celebrating the last day of school this year, school day mornings are difficult no matter what season it is. Do you feel like you’ve run a marathon by 9 a.m. every day? Rest assured that you’re not alone. Mornings are often the most hectic and stressful part of a parent’s daily schedule. Fortunately, there is an inexpensive and popular device that can help take some of the pressure off your morning routine and get your kids to the bus on time: Amazon’s virtual assistant, Alexa! ALARMS OF ALL KINDS You can place an Echo Dot in your kid’s room and set an alarm that wakes them up to the weather report, a standard alarm sound, or their favorite tunes. You can also program Alexa to turn on a compatible bedside lamp so they wake up to light instead of sound, which offers a more calming way to wake up. If your kid decides to catch a few more z’s and ignore their alarm, you can use some of Alexa’s other features, like Drop In and Intercom, to start a two-way conversation or send announcements to all the kids’ rooms in the house. REMINDERS AND LISTS Alexa can also help you check off items from your family’s morning to-do lists to minimize the chaos of weekday mornings. You can create reminders to pack lunches or grab homework, and then all you have to do is ask, “Alexa, what are my reminders?” She will run down the list, so you can hit the road early without the nagging feeling that you left something behind. MAKE IT A GAME “Out the Door” is an interactive Alexa game that turns getting ready for school into an adventure for younger children. Each day, kids are given a new superpower and have to defeat a different creature as they complete “missions,” which include tasks like brushing their teeth and getting dressed. It makes the process of getting ready for school exciting and gives kids an incentive to fulfill their responsibilities. If you don’t already have an Echo Dot, you can find them at most major retail stores. Make your mornings less stressful by starting with “Hey, Alexa” and going from there.
Ever since our first store opened in 1938, the team at Janet Davis Cleaners has made it their mission to offer supreme service to each and every client who walks through the door looking for dry-cleaning help. But we don’t want you to just take our word for it! Here is what one happy customer had to say about our services: “As a couture bridal boutique with stores in Indiana, Washington, New York, California, and Michigan, no one’s standard is higher for referring cleaning services than ours. Even though we’ve expanded and have tried other cleaning services out of state, Janet Davis Cleaners is the only professional cleaning service we use and refer. We simply do not have confidence in any other provider and prefer not to refer at all than to have a bad experience befall any of our brides. “While the prices may be higher than other cleaners, no one can beat their value and professionalism. One of the things that stands out the most to me is that, with their wedding customers, whether boutique or bride, Kyle and Dave personally attend to each wedding gown, and as professionals, they do NOT overpromise. They’d rather say no if they can’t hit a deadline for us rather than overpromise and underdeliver. In this industry, their honesty and dedication are gold! “In fact, even for the maintenance of our gowns, we prefer to pay extra to ship our dresses from Indiana to Janet Davis rather than use a local provider. This is the night-and-day difference between Janet Davis and any other provider we’ve tried.”
– Le Salon Bridal
Our customers’ help and feedback are absolutely necessary to help us grow both our client list and our team’s abilities. If you know someone who would benefit from our services, please don’t hesitate to send them our way!
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Our New Automated Computer System A HUGE CHANGE AT JANET DAVIS CLEANERS!
Here at Janet Davis Cleaners, one of the biggest changes we’ve implemented was our recent upgrade to a new software platform. With all the new and easy-to- use options, this upgrade has completely changed the way we communicate with customers. With the software’s new cloud- based servers and high levels of security, every step of your experience with us has now been computerized and simplified. This allows us to focus on what matters most: you and your clothes. customers, the system will send you a notification when all of your items due for the day are complete. For route customers, the system reminds you that we’ll be stopping by (but only if you don’t have an item to deliver) and gives you the option of canceling that day’s pickup. One of the greatest parts is the program’s text message feature. For in-store
You can respond to any of these messages, and it will be read by a real, live human. This gives you an
for all of their items, our new platform shows the sweater preferences alone. This process has reduced
additional channel to contact us. These notifications have drastically improved our communication with all of you. What’s more, if a customer chooses to opt out of the texting feature, all they have to do is text “STOP,” and they will be removed from these notifications. Additionally, it now allows our drivers to use GPS- enabled smartphones to log pickups and deliveries, which helps them be even more accurate. Another amazing feature plays a major role in the cleaning process itself. When we are cleaning an item for an active customer, the system will show us that customer’s specific preferences for that specific item. For example, if we are cleaning a sweater, rather than having the program pull up a customer’s preferences
the number of messages our team sees and has increased our ability to accurately carry out individual preferences. Lastly, all customers have full access to their accounts online. By clicking the link at the bottom of an email or text, you can see all of your clothing items we have on file, and you can update your preference information as well as credit card data (securely, of course). As it is with any big change, we had some kinks to work out in the early phases of this implementation. But now, we are relishing the newfound time we have to focus on offering supreme customer service and communication thanks to this new program’s automated features!
Shrimp
SUDOKU
SAUSAGE SKEWERS
INGREDIENTS
Creole Seasoning Ingredients • 2 tablespoons paprika • 1/2 tablespoon garlic powder • 1/2 tablespoon onion powder • 1/2 tablespoon cayenne or chili powder • 1/4 tablespoon dried oregano • 1/4 tablespoon dried thyme
• 1/2 pound raw shrimp, peeled and deveined • 1/2 pound cooked sausage, cut into 1-inch pieces • 2 zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch cubes • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil • Wooden skewers, soaked in water for 30 minutes
DIRECTIONS
1. Heat your grill to medium-high. 2. In a bowl, combine all ingredients for creole seasoning. 3. In a large bowl, combine the shrimp, zucchini pieces, and sausage pieces, and cover them with the olive oil. 4. Add creole seasoning and mix well until all ingredients are covered. 5. Load up skewers with alternating pieces of shrimp, sausage, and zucchini until they’re full. 6. Grill skewers until shrimp are well-cooked (6–8 minutes). 3 (248) 543-0340 Inspired by PaleoLeap.com
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Monday–Friday 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
(248) 543-0340 www.janetdaviscleaners.com INSIDE THIS ISSUE
27607Woodward Ave. Berkley, MI 48072
1 In Honor of National Tourism Day 2 3 Ways Alexa Can Help Get Your Kids Ready for School
Check Out What This Client Said About Us! 3 Check Out This Huge Change at Janet Davis Cleaners!
Shrimp Sausage Skewers 4 How to Travel Sustainably
GO GREEN
Get Out There With These Eco-Tourism Tips
Vacations can come with great expense, and not just for your bank account. According to a 2018 study published in Nature Climate Change, travel accounts for 8 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Cut through the greenwashing and do your part to lessen these emissions by traveling sustainably. TRAVEL GREEN When possible, trains, hybrid buses, and carpooling are great alternatives to larger, more environmentally intrusive travel methods. Large cruise liners are detrimental to oceans, and airplanes emit large amounts of toxins into the air. However, you can cruise and fly with the earth in mind. Some cruise lines are working to reduce their impact by installing more eco-friendly lighting and materials, and flight experts recommend using “green” airports, choosing fuel-efficient airlines, staying longer, and traveling less. If anything, it’s an excuse to extend your European vacation! STAY GREEN Where you stay impacts the environment as much as how you get there. Hotels use copious amounts of water for bathing and
laundry, and they struggle to reduce energy because guests leave their lights and televisions on. However, many luxury resorts, woodsy cabins, and even entire countries have opted to make eco-tourism easier. If you’re looking for a region of the world committed to preserving nature, look no further than Iceland, Finland, and Sweden, which are ranked the three most environmentally friendly places in the world. DO GREEN Man-made attractions like the Egyptian pyramids and Machu Picchu are some of the world’s greatest wonders, but Earth itself is pretty breathtaking. Check out natural attractions while hiking or camping in preserved forests, or soak up all the Caribbean has to offer by snorkeling, scuba diving, sailing, kayaking, canoeing, and paddleboarding. When you’re mindful of your surroundings and remain unobtrusive, there are endless outdoor activities you can explore. Some locations even partner with environmentally conscious organizations you can donate to or volunteer with.
Opt for a green vacation and know that while you relax, the earth is getting a little relief too.
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