A lost shirt is a small thing to the laundry and a large thing to the owner of the shirt. Most lost garments are lost in the first stage, at the tag and the tally, and often by a person in his first week. That is why this checklist starts with a count and a tag, and arrives at the iron only on day three.
Copy the template below. Print it on a single sheet. The supervisor holds it for the joiner, ticks each line when he sees the skill done, and signs at the bottom on day six.
Name, role (sorter / washer / spotter / presser / folder / pickup rider / tailor), date joined.
Day 1: shown the shop floor, stain board, boiler or steam press position, fire exit, first-aid box.
Day 1: issued apron, gloves, mask and shoes; sign for them.
Day 1: learnt the tag system: wash tag number, customer name, count on slip, how a tag is pinned or stitched.
Day 2: sorting by fabric and colour; separates whites, coloureds, woollens and delicates; reads the care label.
Day 2: counts a bundle against the slip with a senior; spots a missing piece and reports it before wash.
Day 3: operates washer-extractor or dry-cleaning machine under watch; loads to marked weight; chooses cycle from card.
Day 3: shown pressing steps for shirt, trouser and saree; uses steam press and hand iron; no silk alone.
Day 4: spotting basics (ink, oil, turmeric, wine): what to try, what not to try, who to call.
Day 4: folding and packing; hanger and polybag; final count with slip.
Day 5: delivery or counter handover; checks tag, count, bill, balance due; handles a customer complaint script.
Day 6: reviewed by supervisor: tag errors, count errors, rewash requests.
Signed: joiner / supervisor / date.Why the count comes before the iron
A wrongly pressed collar can be pressed again. A shirt that left the shop in another customer's bag cannot be recalled by pressing. Tags, slips and counts guard against that. In the first week the joiner should handle a hundred tags before he handles a single silk blouse.
How the checklist is used
- 1
The supervisor holds it
It stays in a folder at the counter, not in the joiner's pocket. He ticks a line only after seeing the skill, and writes the date.
- 2
Count errors are logged
Any mismatch between slip and bundle is written on a count log, with the stage where it was found. Do not punish the first one. Record it.
- 3
Day six talk
Five minutes, three questions: what did you find hard, what did you find unclear, what would help you on Monday. Add the answers to the sheet.
Role-specific lines to add
- Sorter and washer. Learn dosing of detergent and bleach from the chart. See the lint trap emptied. Know which fabrics never meet hot water.
- Presser. Learn the temperature for cotton, polyester, silk and wool. Never leave an iron face-down. Learn where the steam press shut-off is.
- Spotter. Use the board for dry spotting and wet spotting in the right order. Never mix agents. Wear gloves and ask when unsure.
- Dry-clean machine hand. Load by weight, read the solvent level, handle filters and button traps, record each batch.
- Pickup rider. Check bags against the order, tag at the door, photograph visible damage before accepting, collect the slip signature.
- Tailor or cutting hand. Read the measurement sheet, mark the cloth, learn the trial and alteration routine, log fabric received.
Machines and surfaces to name on day one
Read the shop out loud to the joiner: washer-extractor, tunnel washer in a plant, flatwork ironer or calender for sheets, steam press with vacuum buck, tumble dryer, dry-clean machine with its solvent tank and button trap, spotting board with steam gun, conveyor rail for hung garments, poly-bagging machine, boiler. A person who can name the machine can ask about it. A person who cannot will guess, and a guess on a silk blouse is expensive.
Keep a small wall board for lost and found: tags with no owner, buttons found in the dryer, a stray hanger of someone's suit. Ask the joiner to check it each morning in week one. It teaches him that nothing in a laundry is truly lost, only misplaced, and that the board is the first place to look.
Who fills it and how often
The supervisor fills it daily for six days. The owner or manager reads it on the seventh. Keep each filled sheet in the joiner's file for the year. At the end of the month look over the sheets together: which line is most often late, which error recurs. That tells you where training should start next time. The doorstep laundry onboarding page covers the rider side in more depth.
For the chemical and steam safety lines, see the commercial laundry plants safety page. For training on spotting and pressing standards, the dry cleaners learning page helps. The sector overview is on the laundry and personal services hub.
