Job Title: Store Operations Manager & Business Development Lead (Dry Cleaning)Location: Northampton
Job Type: Full-time (Permanent)
Salary: £12.71 – £15.12 per hour (£12.71 guaranteed base National Living Wage + uncapped performance bonuses)
About UsThames Express Drycleaners is a busy, independent, high-quality local dry cleaning business. We pride ourselves on exceptional garment care, fast turnaround times, and world-class customer relationships. We are looking for an energetic, reliable, and growth-minded individual to join our team, lead our daily operations, and build our local brand reputation.
Job Description:
Are you an experienced dry cleaning professional who loves interacting with people and wants to run a shop like it’s your own?
We are seeking a Store Operations Manager & Business Development Lead to take charge of our shop from front to back.This is a comprehensive, fully operational role. You will combine technical craftsmanship on the plant floor with top-tier customer service at the front counter. Most importantly, you will head up our local marketing efforts to actively attract regular clients, boost our online store ratings, and expand our pickup and delivery routes.
Earn as You Grow: While you start on a stable hourly base rate of £12.71, your real earning potential comes from our uncapped performance bonuses. If you work hard to bring in regular clients and build our delivery routes, you can realistically boost your earnings to the equivalent of £15.12+ per hour.
(Note: High-level financial accounting, payroll, and taxes are handled entirely by the business owner).
Key Responsibilities1. 5-Star Customer Service & Online Reputation
- Customer Relations: Act as the friendly face of Thames Express, greeting counter customers, building rapport, and managing regular client accounts.
- Order Intake: Log garments accurately into the POS system, process payments, and ensure precision order tagging.
- Online Reviews: Proactively invite satisfied counter and delivery customers to leave positive Google reviews. Address feedback professionally to actively build and improve our 5-star store rating.
2. Local Marketing & Business Development
- Route Expansion: Actively pitch and grow our local pickup and delivery routes to residential neighbourhoods.
- B2B Outreach: Identify and approach local corporate clients, hotels, restaurants, guest houses, and bridal shops to secure bulk cleaning contracts.
- Community Marketing: Execute local marketing campaigns, hand out promotional flyers during quiet periods, and build local brand awareness.
3. Plant Production & Operations
- Garment Care: Sort clothes by fabric/colour, operate dry cleaning machines, and pre-treat tough stains on the spotting board.
- Finishing: Professionally steam, press, and finish garments to crisp, luxury standards.
- Quality Control: Inspect finished items for quality, bag completed orders, and organize them on the retrieval rails.
- Shop Upkeep: Manage daily opening/closing procedures, balance the cash till, and track supply inventory (hangers, poly-wrap, chemicals).
Incentives & Uncapped Bonus StructureWe believe in rewarding growth. On top of your base hourly pay, you will earn:
- Regular Residential Sign-Up Bonus: Earn a £10 cash bonus for every new residential pickup/delivery customer you sign up. (To qualify, the customer must become a regular, completing a minimum of 3 orders within their first 60 days, with each order totaling at least £50 or its equivalent).
- Commercial Account Commission: Earn 10% of the total spend for the first 3 months of any new B2B commercial account you secure. (Applies to corporate clients with a basic agreement and a minimum spend of £200 per month).
- Monthly Shop Turnover Bonus: Receive an extra flat cash bonus in any month where you increase the total shop revenue by 30% or more compared to the same month last year.
- 5-Star Store Rating Bonus: Receive a flat monthly bonus if the shop maintains a minimum 4.9 star rating on Google and you successfully acquire at least 5 new positive reviews that month.
Requirements & Qualifications
- Experience: Minimum 1–3 years of hands-on experience inside a commercial dry cleaning plant, laundry or pressing.
- Technical Skills: Expert pressing skills and a strong understanding of commercial stain removal and fabric care.
- Driving Licence: Full, clean UK driving licence to handle local pickups, deliveries, and marketing drops (highly desirable).
- Sales Mindset: Outgoing, confident, and highly proactive in talking to new people and businesses.
- Reliability: Exceptionally honest, punctual, and capable of working completely independently.
Benefits
- Competitive base pay with an uncapped growth bonus structure.
- Company delivery vehicle provided during working hours.
- Stable, daytime working hours (No late nights).
- Employee discount on dry cleaning and laundry services.
Pay: £12.71-£15.12 per hour
Benefits:
- Company pension
- Employee discount
Work Location: In person
