Laundry Talks By TEXO

In Episode 2 of Laundry Talks Season 2, host Eric Smith sits down with Tammy Holmgren from Spotless Uniform and Linen to discuss what it really takes to rebuild and lead through adversity. In this inspiring conversation, Tammy shares how her company navigated a devastating fire, the leadership lessons learned during recovery, and how resilience, culture, and a people-first mindset helped transform...

Season 2 kicks off with a conversation between host Eric Smith and sales coach and author Walker McKay, diving deep into what effective, modern sales really look like—especially in the textile rental industry. This episode challenges traditional sales mindsets, reframing “no” as a powerful and productive outcome, and emphasizes the importance of transparency, qualifying prospects early, and differ...

In this episode of Laundry Talks we discussed the challenges of hiring and retaining top-performing route service representatives (RSRs) in the textile rental industry. Host Eric Smith interviews Nancy Roberts, also known as the Disc Wizard, who specializes in using behavioral assessments to help businesses make better hiring decisions. Nancy shares insights from her years of experience, explainin...

In episode 9 of Laundry Talks, we're excited to welcome TJ Acerra, the President and Founder of Avail Wealth Group, as our special guest. We'll explore succession planning strategies, employee benefits, and even insurance, for textile rental businesses. This new episode will help you learn more about why is very important for small and mid-sized family-owned businesses to have a forward-looking pl...

In Episode 8, we're joined by special guest Colin Wetlaufer, president of City Clean & Simple, a family-owned textile rental company, to discuss the history and growth of the company, which has been in operation for nearly 120 years. Colin explains how the company expanded significantly over the past several years while maintaining its service quality and local feel.   Join the conversation in...

In Episode 7, we're joined by Joe Ricci, President and CEO of the Textile Rental Services Association (TRSA) to talk about how the Textile Rental Industry continues to grow and evolve. What are the top challenges operators face regarding labor? What are leading companies doing to retain talent? What technologies are changing how textile rental companies interact with their customers? What is TRSA...

One of the great things about our industry is the willingness of operators and suppliers to work together, collaborate, and share information. Our newest episode focuses on this topic! We're joined by an amazing group of people today with special guests Kasey Wahl, Matt Vacca, Currie Gilbert & Levi Nix. In this episode, we'll talk about the benefits and importance of Peer Groups and how they c...

In Episode 5: Expand or Build: What happens when you outgrow your textile rental facility? Our host, Eric Smith, brings two generations of Textile Rental Operators to answer the question on how to proceed when your production needs outgrow your plants’ technology resources. Join us in this amazing conversation to learn the story of Arrow Linen with John (3 rd  generation), Anthony, and John (4 th...

In this episode of Laundry Talks, Eric Smith  interviews two industry veterans,  Judy Krenz and Melissa Busch  from Phelps Uniform Services. Price increases are a reality in every business, but how companies approach them varies quite a bit. Join our conversation today as we hear how one company completely changed the way they approach their price changes with their customers.   Don’t forget to ut...

In this episode of the Laundry Talks podcast, the host, Eric Smith, interviews Dana Horne, the General Manager of CTC, a mixed textile rental operator based in Clinton, OK. Dana got her start in the textile rental with a national provider, Cintas, but has since worked on both the operator and supplier side of the business prior to landing with CTC. She has a long history of training and coaching s...

Don’t miss out on part two of the very first episode of “Laundry Talks” – Evolution of Technology in the Laundry Industry! In the second part of this podcast, we are joined by Becky Hughes, president of Hughes Customat, Inc. of St. Louis, MO. Becky and Eric discuss what managing a form-based invoice system was like and how the move to mobile technology has reduced costs and improved customer exper...

Calling all textile rental professionals! Get ready for an exciting new podcast, "Laundry Talks." In our debut episode, we have industry veteran Barry Smith, who helped pioneer computerized billing systems in the late 1960’s. Join us as Barry talks about riding his first route, his impressions of the industry at the time, discusses the limitations of computer hardware in the early days, and shares...