Many Exchanges run laundries and while no attempt will be made here to show how a laundry should be handled, it is thought proper to explain how the books should be kept. The handling of actual laundry work can be learned only by experience and it is an exceedingly difficult task to prevent a flood of complaints unless careful supervision and checking is in force.
As far as the Post Exchange Books are concerned, the Laundry need furnish but three items:—
(1) The amount owed by each customer for laundry work done during the month.
(2) The total value of expendable articles on hand at the end of each month. (Inventory.)
(3) The data for paying the wages of employees.
Any other records that may be kept are for the information of the Laundry management, and are not essential to the proper running of the Exchange. The above three headings will be discussed in turn.
The methods used in the case of enlisted men differ from those used in the case of Officers and others of like classification; the former is rate work and the latter is piece work. The former will be explained first.
The system about to be explained hinges about the Laundry List, Form 20, shown in Fig. 34. These are 5 × 8 inches in size, made up in pads of 100, fifty originals printed in black ink on white paper and fifty duplicates printed in red on white paper. Thus, each book or pad will last one man about one year. Each original and duplicate are on the same piece of paper, folded at the bottom and the lower (duplicate) forms are bound by their top edges, a piece of carbon paper being bound into each pad so as to fall between the two copies. A glance at a “Paragon” style of duplicating sales book will show clearly how this simple arrangement works. The backs of all sheets should be fairly well covered with advertising or other matter in order to prevent persons from ekeing out their supply of stationery by using these forms. If desired, the instruction shown on the face of the blank in the illustration could be placed on the back instead. In quantities of 1,000 or so, these books should cost in the neighborhood of 7 cents apiece.
[Illustration: Figure 34, (Reduced in size)]
With this arrangement, each man makes out two copies of his laundry list with as little trouble as he formerly made out his single copy. The amount of clerical labor which this simple expedient obviates is simply enormous. It makes the system practically automatic and saves labor costs in the Laundry. The man puts both copies of his list in his bag of laundry, and the laundry wagon calls at the company at the proper time and collects same. The bag of wash is given to the “Marker”, who checks off on the duplicate slip, all wash found in the bag. If everything is right, the marker places the duplicate slip in a sorting tray, and lays the original aside to be filed. If the list contains a mistake, the whole bundle is immediately placed aside and is not touched until the owner has been sent for, his mistake explained to him, and he has personally corrected both copies of the list. This not only prevents controversies, but, also, makes the men careful in making out their lists in order to avoid the necessity of visiting the laundry to correct their lists.