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    Renting vs Buying Employee Uniforms

     

    Rent vs Buy - Action Apparel Uniforms, Stoneham, MA - Renting vs Buying Employee Uniforms

    Why Rent Your Uniforms when it Costs Less to Buy Them?

    PURCHASING UNIFORMS COULD SAVE YOU UP TO 45% vs THE COST OF a RENTAL PROGRAM

    IT DEPENDS ON THE KIND OF WORK YOU DO

    If employee uniforms become heavily soiled on a daily basis, renting may make more sense due to the regular industrial laundering included in a rental-cleaning program. Almost every other employee’s workwear situation greatly benefits from purchasing rugged, quality apparel outright.

    Don’t forget, uniforms can last from two to three years with regular wear and washing.

    RENTAL CONTRACTS

    Read the rental contract carefully before you sign it.  Most laundries are entitled to periodic increases throughout the term of the contract.

    Contract terms and length vary widely. Usually two to five years. The fine print reveals very short cancellation terms which results in an unexpected automatic renewal. Additionally, there are 20 to 30 percent oversize charges for uniforms that are in sizes above XL and the purchase of uniforms at the end of the contract.

    Companies that are unhappy with the contract costs & poor service, quickly discover  how difficult and expensive it is to break a uniform rental contract.

    UNDER-WASH

    “Under-Wash” refers to a company being charged fees for weekly rental and cleaning services that are not performed because employees did not turn in their uniforms to be cleaned.  It’s well known that a large percentage of the rented clothing never make it to the rental laundry. Employees prefer to wash their uniforms at home. “Under-Wash” is one of the most profitable parts of the clothing rental program to the uniform company, which in turn becomes a relative waste of the customer’s money, paying contractually for a service that they are greatly under using!

    Rental program maintenance costs are very difficult to track due to garments being returned, ordered and washed at home.

    Industrial laundries wash uniforms in large volume, using harsh chemicals and run them through a steam tunnel for drying.  Employees quickly discover that home washing produces better results and the garments last longer.  Unfortunately, over a third of the cost of a uniform rental contract typically is billed to companies with no return on their investment.

    Rent vs Buy - Action Apparel Uniforms, Stoneham, MA - Renting vs Buying Employee Uniforms

    WATCH OUT FOR EVERGREEN CLAUSES!

    The fine print of your uniform rental contract more often than not contains an automatic renewal or Evergreen Clause.  These costly evergreen clauses result in an automatic renewal of your contract if written notice of cancellation is not sent before 90 days of the contract’s expiration date.  With guaranteed contracts ranging typically from 5 years all the way up to 7 years, an automatic renewal clause is a major red flag.

    Most Evergreen Clauses don’t require the uniform rental provider to notify their customers when a contact is ending resulting in an unwanted auto-renewal. When you enter a rental / cleaning services contract, hidden charges and costs make it nearly impossible to calculate a fixed budget. So remember, it’s unnecessary to deal with the headaches and extra work that come along with industrial laundry and uniform rental programs.

    Buying your uniforms, safety gear, industrial clothing, embroidery services and screen printing is a better choice every time!

    HIDDEN CHARGES & EXTRA COSTS

    Rent vs Buy - Action Apparel Uniforms, Stoneham, MA - Renting vs Buying Employee Uniforms

    There are many charges associated with uniform rental that can inflate costs:

    • Set-Up Charges for new employees
    • Size Change and Logo fees
    • 20 to 30 percent more charged for sizes above XL
    • Some employees chose not to use the service, however, the agreed-upon fee for cleaning all the uniforms listed in your rental contract still applies.
    • Rental contract terms specify the laundry is entitled to multiple percentage price increases during each year of the contract.
    • 20 to 40 percent of the annual costs come in the form of hidden extra charges, which can cause organizations to exceed their uniform, workwear and safety gear budgets.
    • $700 to $1200 per year per man for FR shirt and pant only
    • Lost garment add-on charges are billed at FULL retail.
    • Employees on sick-leave or vacation are not using the service.
    • As much as $3 to $5 dollars for button replacements. (button loss and uniform wear is usually caused by harsh industrial washing and drying.)

    Purchasing uniforms eliminates all of the hidden costs associated with rental programs.

    Employees can get a new uniform every year in his or her correct size without any penalties.

    Rent vs Buy Employee Uniforms - Action Apparel Inc. - Stoneham, Massachusetts

    In the above example, a typical uniform program with 30 employees would yield an approximate *45% per year savings to buy uniforms vs. renting.

    So in this scenario, if you were renting the uniforms you would be spending $10,223.88 vs. buying uniforms your annual cost would be $5,639.58.

    For annual savings of $4584.30!

    * Please Note:  In reality your savings will be even greater when taking the following into account:

    In the second year of a purchase program, customers spend approximately 40 to 50% less than the first year, due to the fact that our uniforms with home laundering last more than one year and usually not all uniforms need to be replaced after the first year is completed.

    Therefore in the second year and subsequent years of a purchase program, customers can replace uniforms on an as needed basis for greater savings on their uniform budget!

    SAVE MONEY

    Buy all of your workwear, employee uniforms, safety gear and custom embroidery, directly from Action Apparel.  We deliver uniforms and work clothing that make your employees look sharp, trusted and professional.

    There are no long-term expensive contracts. We allow you the greater flexibility to change, replace and update your workwear apparel at any time.

    Typically, buying employee uniforms costs up to 45 percent less than renting them — up to 45 percent less!