5 Common Myths About Table Linens That Could Be Hurting Your Business
You may think you know your table linens, but until you’ve walked even just a day in the life of a professional restaurant linen service provider, you’ll never fully know. Over the years that we’ve been in business, we’ve developed a keen understanding of everything concerning restaurant table linens.
Suffice it to say, our 70 years in the industry have made our opinions on these things more than credible. And trust us when we say we’ve seen everything. Here are five of the most common myths we’ve heard from many, many clients and naysayers throughout the decades:
Myth #1: If it looks clean, it is clean.
There are basically two types of food-based stains that commonly end up on our napkins and tablecloths: the water-based stains and the oil-based stains. Most water-based stains like coffee or juice come off more easily with minimal stain treatment. Oil-based stains, however, like gravies and pasta sauces, stick to the very fiber of the linens. Even without leaving visible traces, they can stick to the fibers, which may cause discoloration over long periods of time or may cause the fibers to become brittle – or worse, both!
These stains can only come off through rigorous and professional cleaning methods that are unavailable for home-based laundry agents.
Myth #2: Table linens are an unnecessary cost.
If your restaurant is going for the industrial, half-done look, then tablecloths and napkins can be done away with. However, it’s worth considering that linen napkins and tablecloths never fail to create an air of sophistication. Additionally, table linens actually make the tables cleaner. Nobody wants to eat on sticky tables anyway.
Myth #3: We can just clean them by ourselves.
In-house laundry for restaurant linens isn’t just unwise. It’s an overhead cost disaster.
Imagine having to house the equipment, plus pay for the equipment and the human resource necessary to run in-house laundry operations. On top of that, to match the quality of cleanliness and efficiency that professional, decades-old linen service companies deliver requires decades of experience and training with time-tested professionals in the laundry industry.
Myth #4: Plastic or vinyl tablecloths are just as good as – or maybe even better than – table linens.
Plastic and vinyl table covers may look like real, linen tablecloths from afar, but the feel will give them away. Plastic and vinyl feel inexpensive and will never replace the classy dining experience that clean, crisp linen tablecloths provide.
Myth #5: All table linens are the same.
Different table linens of different materials provide varying experiences on the customer’s end. While it does take a discerning eye for quality and table linens to distinguish some of the most similar ones, it makes a difference when it comes to pricing, cleaning and storage needs, as well as the overall feel of the material. Some table covers are just more suited for specific types of restaurants than others.
Want to learn more about table linens? Contact us at 732-775-2000 to speak with one of our reliable linen service experts!
