A simple trip to the dry cleaners changed Robert
Byerley’s career path. When the Dallas businessman
picked up his clothes, he discovered that the cleaner
had ruined one of his $100 dress shirts. He would have
been satisfied if the owner of the cleaner had offered to
replace his shirt, but he did not. He didn’t even apologize to Byerley, and that’s when Byerley decided to do
something about it.
Although the Dallas market was crowded with dry
cleaning establishments, Byerley left his corporate job to
launch Bibbentuckers, a dry cleaning operation that
offers Dallas residents better quality and better service
at higher prices than other dry cleaning establishments.
He suspected that a segment of the market would be
willing to pay premium prices for a cleaner that offered
convenient locations, superior quality and service, and
extra amenities. Byerley didn’t rely on his instincts alone,
however. Before starting Bibbentuckers, Byerley did
plenty of research and put together a business plan to
guide his entrepreneurial venture.
He started with the vision he had for his business.
One night when he couldn’t sleep, Byerley began listing
the characteristics he wanted his dry cleaners to exhibit.
Based on his negative experience with his former dry
cleaner, Byerley listed “standing behind our work” first.
He listed nine other items, including a drive-up service
with curbside delivery, a computerized system that would
track clothes through the entire process and would use
bar code scanners to read customers’ cleaning preferences, and a cleaning process that used the most current, environmentally friendly equipment and materials.