#515: Leaders in Customer Loyalty: Brand Stories | Redefining Laundry Convenience: How Tide Services Is Simplifying Loyalty and Care

Laundry is one of life’s most universal routines, something every household manages, yet few people genuinely enjoy. For Tide, long recognized for its leadership in laundry products, that everyday challenge has become an opportunity to rethink how garment care services can deliver convenience, care, and loyalty. 

Through Tide Services, a subsidiary of Procter & Gamble, the brand has expanded beyond detergents into service concepts designed to simplify laundry. With more than 200 franchised Tide Cleaners locations and a growing number of tech-enabled Tide Laundromat sites, the company is exploring how technology, personalization, and loyalty can transform a routine household task into a more engaging experience. 

Loyalty360 spoke with Mike Trozzo, Vice President of Product and Innovation at Tide Services, about how the company is evolving laundry services through technology, data insights, and a simplified loyalty strategy. 

Transcript

Intro And Loyalty Simplification

SPEAKER_00 0:02

It's a Thursday, so welcome back to our Leaders in Customer Loyalty series, the Brand Stories Edition. It's great having you with us every Thursday. One of the trends we've been seeing across the Loyalty 360 community recently is a strong push to rethink and simplify loyalty programs. Over time, programs can become overly complex with multiple tiers, discounts, and rules, making them difficult for customers to understand and challenging for internal teams to manage. For the individuals and teams running these programs, it can become hard to step back and acknowledge when a program has become confusing or misaligned with customer expectations. Yet stepping away from working in the program to work on the program, focusing on simplicity, clarity, and value can unlock stronger engagement and better outcomes for both customers and brands. That challenge exists even for an iconic 80-year-old brand like Tide. In this episode, we're going to hear from Mike Trozo. He's the vice president of product and innovation at Tide Services. Mike, welcome to the Leaders in Customer Multipodcast. It's great to meet you. How are you doing? I am wonderful.

SPEAKER_01 1:14

Yeah,

Tide Services Business Model

SPEAKER_01 1:15

thanks for having me on Mark.

SPEAKER_00 1:16

Mike, first off, uh, Tide, very reputable name product. Everyone knows it, or they should know it. Uh you also have a kind of a Tide product that people may not know about, uh, the out-of-home laundry business. Uh, can you tell us a little bit about that business, how it evolved, how you uh you know decided to get into the service-based side of laundry? Sure.

SPEAKER_01 1:37

Yeah, I'll answer a couple ways, right? So Tide Services, uh, it's a Tide-owned company, a subsidiary of Procter ⁇ Gamble, and it's a franchise or so we have two concepts. We we've been in business for about 14 years, and there's 218 tide cleaners, and that is a dry clean concept, franchise concept. And then there's the newer concept, which is tide laundromats, and we have nine of those open in two markets today.

SPEAKER_00 2:05

Okay. And when you look at these uh different entities, uh the you know, the services, the cleaners, how do they all fit together? 218 of the one product, nine in kind of a growing and obviously burgeoning uh industry, you know, how do they fit together?

SPEAKER_01 2:20

Yeah, I mean, you you're really talking about two different ways that the, you know, that that that are that people have their laundry done, right? You always start with that same problem. I've got a pile of dirty clothes, what do I do with it? And the dry clean side typically, it while it offers a complete laundry service solution, it typically is the care for garments that um if they're gonna get pressed and they're gonna get returned on a hanger, they're gonna get cleaned in ways you can't do that at home. And for the laundromat, that is a really, really tech-driven, fast process to get your clothes cleaned. So uh what we have on the laundromat side is an auto-dosed concept, franchise concept.

SPEAKER_00 2:59

Okay. And what what is an auto-dose concept?

SPEAKER_01 3:01

Yeah, so the the laundromat, you don't have to bring soap into the store. So you just bring dirty clothes in, and then you can download the app, and then you're gonna pay right there at the machine, and then the soap will come through tubes. Like there's you know, there's a there's a storage room where the soap is and it's coming through tubes into the machine. So it's fascinating. It's obviously super convenient. It's a really fast soft mount machine, so you're in and out in 35 minutes.

SPEAKER_00 3:30

Okay, awesome. Yeah, so when you you look at laundry in general, uh going through COVID, athletic wear, right, or however you pronounce it right, more athletic leisure type wear. Well, it was in vogue, uh, Gen Z, millennials, uh dressing more casual, potentially, right? Even my wife works at Fit Third Bank, she's got a very senior position. They even let her dress down a couple days a week, right? Now, so it so where is fashion going in that regard? Uh, you know, to obviously to help figure out where you want to go with your services division?

SPEAKER_01 4:04

Yeah, it's an age-old question. I think you know, clothes are near and dear to people's heart, right? And so what we've tried to do is provide services uh that are convenient, uh, that will clean garments better than you can clean at home, um, that involve care, right? Just true garment care and people care. Um, there is a natural casualization, right? As COVID hit and you had so many people working from home, it also helped sped up some of the casualization. But we're seeing some of that bounce back and we're seeing people, there are people that generally love to be dressed up. Uh, they love to feel really good. And nice pressed clothes tend to do that. On the laundromat side, you know, we're there for people in a hurry, right? So people that doing laundry, generally speaking, we're trying to make that something that is an enjoyable process as opposed to something that's you know long been a drag or a bore. And so the laundromat does that with speed and convenience as well.

SPEAKER_00 5:05

Okay. And is is it self-service? Do people come in themselves and kind of uh do their own uh laundry, or is it more of a service-based where you take it, fold it, whatever.

SPEAKER_01 5:16

You can think about the cleaners as as a full service, and then the laundromat is is largely self-service. We do have a counter there and offer wash and fold service as well.

SPEAKER_00 5:25

Okay. Interesting. So when you look at um the the the types of clothing, uh is are more people see kind of shift back to more professional dress, more uh, you know, fancy dress is that something you've seen for a while? Uh kind of a trend perspective?

SPEAKER_01 5:45

I think there's I think there has been, you know, the the business during COVID was was heavily impacted, right? And so what you've seen is a natural return uh back to a life that brought all the types of clothing into people's lives. So I think there's a natural ramp as we came out of a you

Casualization And Laundry Service Demand

SPEAKER_01 6:05

know a society that was so prevalent work from home. And as as people have come back into the office, I think the mix has come back as well.

SPEAKER_00 6:13

Okay, excellent. Well, first off, uh it was great getting to know uh a little bit about kind of the product offering. Can you tell us a little bit about more your role, what you do, how you do it, uh, and what you focus on on a daily basis?

SPEAKER_01 6:25

Yeah, of course. So I lead the product innovation and data teams, right? And largely what that means in our organization is that we are heavily focused on one, understanding the business from a data perspective, and then two, how technology can play a point of difference for our guests and for our franchisees. So our our big projects today are focused on guest-facing technology to help drive that convenience, uh, also to help get more data out of the ecosystem and the platform. And so we're trying to build a platform that spans across both of these concepts.

SPEAKER_00 7:02

When you look at the kind of the day-to-day uh pursuit that you have, you know, what are some of the challenges that you face in the role? You talked about getting the right data, making sure that it's adding value. Uh you know, you know, what do you see as the biggest challenges or opportunities that you focus on?

SPEAKER_01 7:17

I mean, where I'll I'll tell you, I mean, there's you know, there's business is is so infinite in its effort, right? You are if you've worked anywhere, you can you know that there are opportunities to fix processes, to update documentation so that everybody in the org has what they need when they need it. What we really like to do is is really get close to guests and understand what is it about laundry that they don't want to deal with. And then we want to be the ones who can create those solutions and provide that solution in the marketplace. So if it's uh a faster turnaround with the clothes, right? We have it we offer same-based service. Uh, if it is something that we can help in the understanding of how I clean these clothes in a laundromat, we're here to help. So is that helpful?

SPEAKER_00 8:05

Is that a Yeah, that's awesome. So, what are the biggest challenges uh individuals have with regard to laundry? Does it vary by the type of product, the demographic? Uh, is it convenience? Is it value? What is it? What other the biggest challenges you see there?

SPEAKER_01 8:18

I mean, it it's all of the above, right? And we have we offer we offer the the obviously the tide cleaners product, which is a walk-in. Uh, we've also, you know, people are busy and we offer a 24-7 kiosk, we offer valets, uh, we also do delivery. So if you want to stay home and never run those errands, uh, we offer a delivery service. Um, for you know, for every touch point, one of the things that that I can get really going on on laundry is that unlike retail, right? Retail, if I'm buying food, if I'm buying coffee, if I'm buying a shirt, I'm gonna go shop, I'm gonna go see what's available, I'm gonna buy it, and then that thing's gonna come to me. Yep. And we have a we have a double-sided, right? So uh if you want to bring us clothes, we first have to get the clothes before we know what we're gonna charge. So we have to basically double that whole touch point journey map, which is the guest has to find us, has to know where we are, has to bring us the clothes, or we go pick it up. Then we we can finally understand what's here, tell you how much it's gonna cost, do the actual cleaning, right? Provide the actual expert uh seven-point inspection, and then get them back to the guest where the guest comes in or we do the delivery. So you've got this really complex moving parts, right? And and with cleaning types, right, what ends up happening, and you we've all seen a dry cleaner, we've all seen uh the conveyor, yeah, right? The conveyor that moves. And the conveyor portion of that is the storage. It's almost the most simple portion. What happens before that, right, you bring 10 items into the line into a into a dry cleaner, and those 10 items, they go all over the store, right? They they get split up and then they come back together in this magical way, and then they end up back on that hanger. So it's really complex. And all of those, all of those things, right, they're they're all moments that when you do them really well, it's really impressive. And we've got a a really wonderful group of franchisees who's the you know the hands in the heart of this brand that really, really care. They're really close, they're local, and you can walk in, you can ask questions. And so for our our role as technologists is to try to one, communicate what we offer, and then two, try to expand that knowledge and expand all that information past the hours of the store, right? So the app and the website are 24-7. Can I get the same level of care at 11 p.m. that I can get at 4 p.m. from the GSR in the store? So that's one of the big challenges we're always facing.

SPEAKER_00 11:01

When you look at laundromats in general, uh, or should I say, the dry clean service businesses, uh, I I notice that the one that I use is not a Tide product, but uh my wife goes there. I use the ones a little closer, uh, and I don't I don't uh go as frequently. It sometimes the the uh the whole dry cleaning piece may not be part of that uh store, right? Uh they can do the do people outsource that potentially sometimes as well, or is it usually on-site or on premises, the the dry cleaning process?

SPEAKER_01 11:29

That's a yeah, it's a great question. And and if you know, if we had more time, I'd love to hear your perspective on positive pros and cons there. But how how our concept works is that largely we have plant stores, right? And the plant store is the where the cleaning is done. And then to augment that, we have drop stores, which might be what you would walk into and look around and say, I don't I don't understand where this is being cleaned. And there's a shuttle that's moving those clothes again, one more place. We we you know, we move garments into the place where the plant is is uh doing the cleaning.

SPEAKER_00 12:01

Okay. Obviously, loyalty, customer attention, customer engagement are very important in service-based businesses, highly competitive now in this kind of this day of uh of value. You know, how does customer loyalty fit into Tide Services' broader brand strategy today?

SPEAKER_01 12:18

Yes. Uh, I mean it's it's a it's a big part of us wanting to deliver value back to the guest. You know, we like I said, we are always trying to solve guest problems. We know that uh we all use loyalty programs as internal teammates. Uh, we see the value in endearing us to brands. Um, we can learn about things sooner when we're part of a program. Obviously, we're getting some value back, uh, often in the form of coupons. And so for

Tech Data And Guest Pain Points

SPEAKER_01 12:45

the Tide Cleaners Rewards program, that's what we went out and did. We we had a previous program for years, and the program was really complex. And you, it was tier-based, uh, different discounts at different tiers. And we said, what would make a rewards program really great, right? Laundry is already complex enough, right? For me to get to teach somebody the difference between dry cleaning and laundry, let's just simplify, right? And we rewarded points based on thresholds, and then we reward coupons based on these moments, and then we made them stackable. So it's a real value add for the guest. It's a it's a real thank you to say, we understand you've got a lot of garments. Like we said earlier, garments are so close to people's hearts, like clothes are just near and dear, right? Um and we're we're thankful that you trust us and we take that super seriously. So it's been a big part of our push. We we launched a new program in September. Uh we did a three-month pilot last summer uh and then rolled it out nationwide in September. So we're about six months in. Feedback has been really good. Uh, we also, in the previous rewards experience, there was no visual representation of where you stood. Right? As a guest, you didn't know where you were. And so one of the things we really sought to do with the new program was build it where it was integrated into the technology so that you always knew how many points you had, how many points you were away from your next reward, and then how to use those rewards really easily. So the reward coupons are stackable, and which means you can use them on anything, right? We you can use two, you can use three. Uh it's it's a it's a nice value add for the guests. Excellent.

SPEAKER_00 14:30

So it's a big push right now in kind of redoing programs, simplifying them, making them more valuable. Some brands are devaluing them, uh kind of eliminating the challenges of understanding the program, right? Because you obviously understand the program, you develop the program, your team that loves the program, right? You get so in it, and there's this whole idea of kind of working on something or working in something, right? So if you're working on the business and you're trying to make it better, stepping back, like, man, the customers understand this. And and we as an organization are going through the same thing as well, right? Just kind of do people understand it? We understand it, but you know, when you look to redo it, you know, how did you go about that process to simplify it, to take away the tears that may have been confusing? Uh, you know, what what did that look like?

SPEAKER_01 15:14

So yeah, it's interesting, right? And this is where you know, where we we said we we could look at the program and try to get a sense of usage, right, and adoption. Um, and what you found is that not everybody could, you couldn't from memory describe the tiers in the program. Right. And so when we when we said what do we want, right? What do what would we want in a program? And so we outlined a really simple program with stackable coupons. And then we went and spoke with guests. Right. We actually sat down with guests and we said, does this is this would this be something you'd be interested in? Would you prefer a program like this or would you prefer a program like this? And one of the things in the dry cleaning space, right, is is how do you get people to switch? Dry cleaning is typically a loyal business. When you when you're a customer, you stick with it, it's convenient, you've got your solution. And again, you know, for to some degree, we're trying not to, you don't want to overthink laundry. And so we asked people if if a simple program would lead to them switching. And we saw some really good feedback. So that was part of our our, you know, our process was to develop something and then get feedback from the guests. We try to spend a lot of time with guests to understand and what what they want. And I think with laundry, it it's just a it's already complex. And so we wanted to take some of the friction out of that.

SPEAKER_00 16:40

So are there a lot of loyalty programs in uh the dry cleaning business? Or there are a few.

SPEAKER_01 16:47

Yeah, there are a few. And that's how the old program is more punch-based, right? And and you would get a comforter discounted at level four, right? But if you weren't ready to get your comforter discounted, that was less helpful. So yeah, there, I mean, there are a few. I don't think there uh is one at the scale we're trying to push.

SPEAKER_00 17:08

Okay, that's awesome. Uh you talked a little bit about embedding the rewards directly into the service flow rather than you know, treat uh customer loyalty as a separate entity, simplify the program, you know, when you look at the kind of embedding of the process, and what does that mean and and why was it important?

SPEAKER_01 17:26

So for us, it it came back to simple like simplicity and elegance in when you experience a laundry order, they're often very different. There's a ton of variety. Uh, sometimes it's sweaters, sometimes it's shirts, sometimes it's pants, sometimes it might be that comforter. And so for us, it it felt like the program always needed to reflect what the guest had brought in. And so we that that was part of our simplification. So it it became less of an item count and more just like you spent this much, we're gonna give you that reward.

SPEAKER_00 18:06

That makes sense. Okay. Uh when you look at uh laundry, we talked about earlier, it's a routine, right? Something uh it's an essential task. Some people like it, some people don't. Uh some people split it up like we do in my family. Um, you know, how did you think about engagement uh in this category, right? Because it's it's very different, very unique, especially from what Tide has maybe traditionally done. They, you know, it's a marquee brand, it uh connotates quality and in a product, right? And not you know, how did you look at that differently in in kind of the the you know the this new category? It's it's a good question.

SPEAKER_01 18:41

I you know, we have we have big hopes and dreams for continually, you know, one of one of the I'll say like continually pushing innovation into this space. And so what we want is for the guest to feel really cared for, right? And and part of how we do that is we do a really good job on the cleaning and we do a really good job on meeting the deadline, and we provide a good value. And then at the same time, we might say, well, how can we let the guests pick their clothes up when they want to do it? How can we let the guest find their clothes on their front door when they want to do it? So for us, it's about you know personalization of how you want to pick up and drop off your clothes. And to to us, the more we can solve an individual's way, an individual's wardrobe, the more engaging that is. Right? So the program fits into everything we're doing, which is to say if laundry is a bummer, if somebody says on a Saturday, laundry's a bummer, I don't want to do laundry today, right? And it piles up. We know if you're splitting it at home, uh then I know Mark has to deal with laundry. And that's not always tops on our list of things we want to do. And I think it's really engaging to provide a service and to be a company that's starting to reduce the pain of what that is,

Building 24 7 Care Experience

SPEAKER_01 20:10

right? And eventually might even say, what a delight it is to get to call this company and have my laundry done, right? To have my clothes back on my hanger, right? What we will say internally and um on on the lead team is that like what we all really want is to wear something, drop it on the floor, and have it appear back up in the closet, ready to be worn again. Right? I mean, that what we really want is an empty uh hamper and a full inventory. That's what we're after. That's the goal, that's the North Star to say, I've taken it off, I've dropped it, and it popped right back up. And it's obviously make-believe, but that's the kind of end state, right? And when we can provide that, everybody will, you know, will jump on.

SPEAKER_00 21:00

It's interesting. You talked about personalization. Uh, are there kind of personalization uh demographics or uh clusters, right? Are there people that are misers, right? Because my wife, she works out, we have her gym in the basement, she was a division one athlete, right? Swam at Kentucky. Uh, but I swear she never has clothes in the dryer, right? I I must be the the female archetype, right? Because I have I go through clothes like five a day, and I hate it because they always stack up when we fold them. I usually wash them, she kind of folds them and and they just sit. I'm like, but she never seems to have laundry, or maybe she does it secretly, maybe she's taking it a tithe. I don't know. But are there like personality types? Are there misers, right? They're all sitting like 14 times, which I don't want to do, right? Or the people that wash it when they have it for five, you know, it's it's on for like five minutes. Are are there kind of uh segments like that?

SPEAKER_01 21:47

That's a yeah, it's a great question. I think the polls, you know, to some degree, but in and I I've thought about laundry for so much. I have these really, you know, these weird idiosyncrasies about it, right? There's always one. One garment type that everybody has that is the when that gets low enough, I have to do laundry. Right. And so uh for a long time for me it was it was socks to work out in. Okay, when my socks to work out in got low, I had to go do laundry. Right. And so I think that's me. That me is the the the person who's you who's doing laundry to reset a certain set, and then everything else is getting done passively to get my socks back inventory. I think there are people that that that hate it so much they wait. Right? They really wait. And then I think there are people that don't like not having the full inventory so much that they do it really frequently, right? It actually feels like less of a burden to someone to fold eight items. And if I can fold eight items, I don't mind folding eight items a day. I don't mind folding if I could fold six items a day, you know, again, I'm speaking for people that it won't be a burden. So you've got three, that's three different views of laundry. And that and that's you know, off the cuff, right? And so everybody sits on this spectrum. Uh, and then obviously you have travel, right? And that's that's that to me is an opportunity for us to think through, okay, now I'm going on a trip. I have a meeting, the meeting is Tuesday night, I have a meeting Wednesday all day, I need this blue shirt, I need tan pants, I need a white shirt, and I need blue pants. One, are they clean? Two, are they ready to be packaged? Are they ready to be going into a suitcase? Right? Because we always have them on a hanger. Now I have to take them off the hanger, I have to fold them right. And so these are all the, again, just so many little idiosyncrasies when it comes to laundry that that hopefully we can continue to uh mow through and solve.

SPEAKER_00 23:46

Yeah, and I think I fit in that optimization, right? I have uh used to kind of unlike clothing, uh not as much as I used to, right? But I'd rather have it stack up where

Simplifying Tide Cleaners Rewards

SPEAKER_00 23:55

it's stacked where I have put in, uh I like leggings, keep that quiet, but I like uh like when I'm working out, like so I'd like to I'd rather go through it once every two weeks, right? Because then you can sort it out, it's all forwarded versus having five pieces have to put away every day or whatever maybe. But I'd rather wait till I get a stack and it's gonna take me 30 minutes to put it away, but I know everything's gonna be there, right?

SPEAKER_01 24:14

Versus and I'm always curious, are people are you that way with other things? You know, that that's what's so interesting about all this is the the psychology of it all.

SPEAKER_00 24:24

No, I did that's interesting. I don't know how that would fit into other things, but uh I usually a pretty organized guy, but it's satisfying with kids and with life and comp small companies. It's it's yeah, it's easy to get it to it. I'd rather, again, I have enough uh of a kind of a uh you know surplus of uh different uh uh clothing pieces that I can go a while and just I'd rather do it all every two weeks when it's stacked up in the the couch in the bedroom.

SPEAKER_01 24:48

Yeah, and for and for us, when you when you look at the when you look at guest behavior, right, at Tide Cleaners, we have guests who come in weekly, guests who come in twice a week, guests who come in every two weeks, right? You can see the range uh is similar to what we're describing.

SPEAKER_00 25:02

When you look at this, you talked a little bit about a kind of a seamless experience, uh, you know, a very uh easy to understand experience. You know, how does data uh play in uh kind of the experience, the product, uh, the customer loyalty program?

SPEAKER_01 25:17

So um we we've measured a lot, right? We we measure a lot on the rewards program. So the Tide Cleaners Rewards Program, we'll we will measure uh an adoption rate. So how many people are finding themselves prompted for the program, and then how many people are enrolling in the program? How many people are once they're enrolled, are they using their rewards, you know, discounts? Um, so we'll measure all of that. One one interesting story for us that that pops up with data and rewards is that when we launched the program in September, we made a choice. We wanted to get the program out as fast as we could. And so what we did is we said, we're gonna build it in our app and we're only gonna point to it in the website. So if you were to sign up for an account in September on the website, it would tell you get rewards in the app, and then you would download the app. And what we could see after you know months of collecting data is that guests, you you can do everything on the onboarding in both platforms, right? So you can do everything on the app that you could do in the web, except for get into the rewards program. And what we could see is that people who signed up, who created their account, found a store on the web were less likely to be in that rewards program. We can just look at it side by side. And the team said we can really easily build the rewards sign up in the web. And so that that's a a response to data, right? So we measure the performance and we measure uh what people are doing, and then the team can then prioritize a feature in the technology to enable that sign up in the web. And that's what they're working on this spring.

SPEAKER_00 27:08

Okay. When you look at the new program, you launched it last September. What are two or three things that you're most proud of as as you've launched a you know a new program, evolved a program, and you step back and look at it, you know, what are you most proud of?

SPEAKER_01 27:22

I mean, the the reality is that the it it is a it's a lot of work. It's a it's a tremendous amount of work. And so the thing, the thing that really comes to mind is that the team did a really good job. And you are you are uh talking about people who are it, they're technologists, marketers, uh, there are people in the training department, right? The syncing of all of that content and all of that schedule and all of the data, right? All of the work. It is one thing to build the program into the technology, and then to actually get everybody on board, all the franchisees understanding this is what the program is, this is what's changing, this is how it will impact your old program, this is how your team will need to talk about it, this is when they'll need to start talking about it. And the marketing team said, here's some print material, right? And the technology team says, we're going to change the the data of your old guests and the and of your guests in the old program, right? That that coordination and that work and that level of detail, right? To to be able to do that and to look back on it and say it was it was successful and guests are happy, and guests are not confused, right? Guests are getting rewarded, guests are using the points. We can see that the new program is being used far more than the old program. And so the whole team working together in and launching something like this into 200 stores is a tremendous effort and super proud.

SPEAKER_00 28:57

You talked a little bit about getting franchisees to understand the program. Uh, you know, we have uh 100 and some brands that are part of multi 360, a lot of hotels, a number of hotels that when they change their program. That's a road show, right? Where they have to go on the road to say, you know what, Joe Smith, I know you have this little boutique uh uh you know hotel, uh a lot of people driving by. So it might not be a bougie upscale uh you know Caribbean resort. It's different people. Uh but that that process by uh to to get alignment, to get understanding can be a pretty arduous process. Obviously, you hear you have 218 very similar offerings, right? But when you look at that, how how do you manage that process of saying, hey, we have this program, we're changing a little bit, is what it means to you, and and kind of get them to buy in.

SPEAKER_01 29:44

It is a it's a it's a really big question. And I, you know, I feel like the team could could write a white paper on on this on this process. There is there's so much repeated communication and there's a long lead time, right? So we knew we were going to shoot for September. Uh, we probably started talking about it in March, April, right? So six months of we we know we're on time to build it, right? When you have a six-month project, moving weeks is not a surprise, right? And so you are constantly laying track while you're moving the train on the track. And it's uh it it's a it's a really broad answer to say a lot of people on board. You had really caring franchisees who were genuinely excited about you know having a new program, being able to share a new program, um, some of the data and the and the hope that the new new program could do to help. And so you had a lot of buy-in, right? And so we got a lot of buy-in. There's not a, I don't think there's a silver bullet outside of just going to work every day and making sure everybody understands the impact of each little thing. And, you know, we we've we're we weren't perfect by any stretch of the imagination. Uh, but what we tried to do, and this is you know part of our philosophy, is put something out

Launch Learnings And Franchisee Rollout

SPEAKER_01 31:05

and then know which parts you can change quickly.

unknown 31:09

Right?

SPEAKER_01 31:09

No, you've got to you've got to get the the big blocks right and then the little blocks, okay. We can go ahead and start to have that conversation. Let's talk with a GM during that pilot phase and say, how is this training? We've got a really great trip GM in uh Minneapolis named Jackie. And Jackie helped rewrite that training, right? She helped she got the training during the pilot and said, This is this isn't gonna land.

unknown 31:34

Right?

SPEAKER_01 31:34

So, Jackie, what how would you rewrite this for your team? And then we collaborated together with Jackie. We put out a V2, Jackie likes V2, and V2 is now the standard going forward for the training. So you can imagine that's one document in a C of maybe 40 that went through that same iteration process. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 31:56

When you look at customer loyalty, customer engagement in uh the service industry, in uh the the you know, the dry cleaning industry, in particular, cleaning industry, you know, what is the next big thing that that you're looking for uh you know within the industry and and for your brand? It's a really good question.

SPEAKER_01 32:14

Uh for us, uh where we're really interested in going is to continue uh pushing personalization and to continue, uh how do we tailor this program to Mark? How do we how do we tailor this program to Joanne? Right. And so uh some of that is unanswered. Some of that is just to reward Mark and Joanne again, you know, make-believe names, to to do other things, right? And so what one of the things we want to do is to to create this group of uh internal people that we can get ideas from, and then we can use the rewards program to help um help make that relationship more viable and more trusted. And so as we as we further, as we push on personalization, we'll also be able to do some more test, more fun stuff that we'll be able to give double points during a certain period, right? Uh to be able to really celebrate certain aspects of the laundry experience for our guests.

SPEAKER_00 33:15

Excellent. Last question, a little self-serving. What can loyalty 360 do to help you and your team in your customer loyalty journey? It's a it's a yeah, it's a really good question.

SPEAKER_01 33:25

Um, you all, right, and I, you know, we've recently met, and looking at the website and looking at the content you all create, uh, it is really good. And it is really helpful to hear peers and other businesses talk about their challenges, how they overcame them. And so I would say keep doing what you're doing, right? And and I don't know how many tools you have to help people get a program started off the ground, right? And we talked about the white paper, but that part of this to me is a is a hurdle, right? It it feels like a monster task. It is a monster task, but it's doable. Uh, and so I you know, I would say keep doing what you're doing, and and we'll keep diving in to learn more.

SPEAKER_00 34:10

Absolutely great. Uh, and now we have uh our wonderful quickfire questions. Uh just a short phrase here. You know, what uh loyalty programs do you belong to? Um okay.

SPEAKER_01 34:24

Um Chipotle. I got this Chipotle is a tiered, I got a free guac. I haven't used it.

SPEAKER_00 34:30

Yeah. Again, that same email.

SPEAKER_01 34:32

Yeah, yeah, I get it every every eight days. Uh Taco Deli is a local taco place, Lego, and American Airlines. I've become really loyal.

SPEAKER_00 34:42

I'm I'm in Dallas and I've become really loyal to American Airlines. Okay, well that that that segues perfectly into that next question. You know, what brand other than PG uh and Tide are you most loyal to? So why are you loyal to uh American Airlines?

SPEAKER_01 34:57

You know, um I do not pay for first-class flights, uh, but they will put me up there on occasion. And it's a nice treat. So it's it's a nice treat. They have they have generally been really helpful with last-minute transitions, right? When you when you have a certain status, you don't pay for change fees. And so a lot of times with even with business travel, we we're shifting things late, and that's super helpful. Um, I'm not a lounge guy, so that's never been important to me. Um, they do they give you free food on the plane at a certain status. So they give everybody the cookies and they give everybody the the drinks, and then I can get this box that usually I can I can make into a meal. And so there's we're we're talking about some small little things that take away some of the friction of travel for me. That's what's really that's been really helpful for me.

SPEAKER_00 35:51

Uh when you look at uh uh inspiration, are there books that you've read uh that you find inspiration in that you may recommend to colleagues? What a good question.

SPEAKER_01 36:02

Um the one I the one that I come back to quite a bit because I think it unlocked something for me is a book called The Architecture of Happiness. Um this book, it's a philosophical approach to why architecture matters. Okay, and it talks about we are different versions of ourselves in different spaces. And I'm I am overly paraphrasing here. But we've all felt that. We've all felt like, oh wow, I'm in a I'm in a library that's 200 years old. There's more peace, I feel more peace. And for me, that same philosophical approach, I think can be applied to digital project, digital products, and to guest experiences, right? And so when a company can do something that's so delightful, and we've all experienced it, right? When Tide Cleaners, I think, does this, Tide Laundermat, I think does this, right? 35 minutes, wow, magic soap, uh, close on my doorstep, those moments they do bring some peace, they bring some delight, and they bring out the best in humanity because we feel cared for in those moments. So it's always been something that I feel like uh can always push us to build and do things with excellence because of how the impact how it impacts others.

SPEAKER_00 37:22

Okay. Is there a profession other than the one you're currently in you may like to attend?

SPEAKER_01 37:27

Another, like another, like what job I would do?

SPEAKER_00 37:30

Yeah, professor, uh anything.

SPEAKER_01 37:34

Um I think food has always been something that would be interesting. I don't know what that is, you know, if if it's uh restaurant or bakery. And then, man, some days it would be fun to be an architect. I I don't I think the the math and art of it would be fun. So maybe maybe it's uh an architect of of restaurants.

Quickfire Questions And Closing

SPEAKER_01 37:55

Is that a is that a that's a thing, right?

SPEAKER_00 37:57

That that sounds like a that sounds like a thing for sure. Sounds like a job. When you look at uh other types of inspiration, who inspired you to become the person you are today? Um I would I'll point to my family.

SPEAKER_01 38:09

You know, I um I grew up in Houston, I have two older brothers. Uh between them and my parents, I was cared for quite a bit. Um, I think you know, my mom, uh my mom really really taught me it was okay to be really curious and to talk to anybody and to ask anybody questions. Um and I think that has provided just a constant stream of of joy. Uh yeah, does that make sense?

SPEAKER_00 38:44

No, yeah, I'm the same guy. Like when I travel, uh I want to know how they do things, uh, what works what doesn't work. I mean one of the most interesting conversations I had is uh with a person who uh worked for IMI, like the concrete and asphalt company. I I I peppered that guy now you know like two hours, right? How does it work? Why do you choose between the two and what causes noise on concrete? But it it's great to be able to talk to people because you can learn so much, uh especially if you can apply, you know, uh some of the that thinking.

SPEAKER_01 39:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 39:12

And one last question, how do you want to be remembered by your friends and family? How do I want to be remembered?

SPEAKER_01 39:19

Um wow. Um I will say um I I think I think that uh I would want to be known as somebody who cared about the right things. And I think you know, life is uh I am pursuing understanding what the right things are, but uh that's how I I think that's how I that would be a fair memory of me. Excellent.

SPEAKER_00 39:41

Well, Mike, thank you very much for taking the time to join us today. It was a pleasure speaking with you, uh learning more about uh you personally and kind of the new Tide product offerings. Uh uh seems like uh amazing opportunity, and and your your passion for the customer, your passion for the program uh resounded uh very clearly. So that was great to hear as well. Thanks, Mark. Yeah, thanks for having me on. This was uh this was really a good time. Absolutely. And thank you everyone else for taking the time to listen today. Make sure you join us back every Thursday for a new episode of our Leaders and Customer Loyalty series. And until then, have a wonderful day.