Today we’d like to introduce you to Tonya McCrea.
Hi Tonya, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I was working in the corporate world and knew I needed to decide how to continue to be a single mom and spend time as much time with my son but have a career. My corporate job was going to demand that I travel more and it wasn’t in my deck of cards. I basically fell into the dry cleaning business. I had always used a dry cleaning service as I wore suits for work, so i visited East Hills Cleaners often. Having decided to change rolls, I let the ladies know that I wouldn’t see them as frequently since I was leaving the corporate world. The owner of EHC asked if I would be interested in purchasing the business as her health was failing. I spent two month inside the business and researching and visit other dry cleaners. I instantly loved the business and especially visiting with the customers but also seeing all the nice clothing and how well the ladies could clean the garments and make items look spectacular and fresh. I just liked the idea of cleaning clothes and visiting with customers. I also saw an opportunity. There were four dry cleaners in the St Joseph area at the time and I knew that I would need to double the business in order to be successful with my business plan. I had to make a change and clean up the look of the space and I had a vision of bright green colors, a new logo and a newly remodeled store. I need to offer so much more than what any dry cleaner was offering as well as become the best in customer service. I just completely saw a revamped dry cleaner with new services and becoming the best that we could be.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
My life as a dry cleaner has been everything but a smooth road. First off, I experienced carbon monoxide positing just a few months after purchasing the business. It was a huge scare and I quickly learned that carbon monoxide is deadly and it’s quick to hurt you.
My business grew so fast. I acquired another dry cleaner in St. Joseph just one week before covid. So, there I was with another payment for the purchase and we instantly had no customers and no one was leaving their home. But, it did give me time to dig in and figure out how to survive and I did. Marketing was key.
Just one year ago, my company had a fire. It wiped out our plant. The fire didn’t shut us down though. Within 24 hours, we had a Kansas City dry cleaner, called Pride Cleaners, that came to our rescue. We shipped clothes back and forth to stay open. I was just determined to not close our doors. It took a year to rebuild but we did it. While going thru the fire, we also acquired two more dry cleaners in Chillicothe and Cameron Missouri. Tough to open to drop stores while under the stress of a fire, but we had opportunities and we couldn’t let them go.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
We are a dry cleaner but offer so much more. We specialize in dry cleaning but we also do every day laundry so similar to a laundromat but we do all the work. We offer free pickup and delivery for all of our services. We offer table linen rental too.
We clean items such as patio cushions. Yep, we will go to your home and get the cushions; clean them and then return to your patio or take where you store for the winter months.
We clean dog beds, horse blankets, We clean all types of household items such as comforters, blankets, curtains, table linens and more.
We offer tennis shoe cleaning. This is huge for us. We make sneakers look like new.
We offer wedding dress cleaning and preservation.
We want to be known and are known for cleaning just about anything.
I love our East Hills Cleaners brand. We are the one stop shop for cleaning and solving customers problems with stains of garments, etc. Our 24-hour turnaround is huge as customers often need something in a hurry. We have top notch customer service at East HIlls Cleaners.
What were you like growing up?
I grew up on a farm in a small rural community of Albany, Missouri. I was a typical farm girl who learned to work very young. I have a twin sister and we both were taught valuable life lessons young. We are to treat everyone as we want to be treated and especially, my father reminded us, a firm handshake and look them in the eye when you are talking to someone. Very outgoing growing up and active in sports and community. We always had waitressing jobs and learn how to communicate with the public. Today, I see the value it brought to my personality and passion for people as well as customer service.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Easthillscleaners.com
