Writer: Josh Lowe
Photographer: Ron Wise
Luke Hermes, owner of Starcrest Cleaners, has been in the dry cleaning business a long time. In fact, he is now the third generation of his family to own a dry cleaning business. His family’s legacy – from his grandfather’s first store to his father’s vision for customer service – has taken dry cleaning to a new level.
Starcrest Cleaners offers a unique dry cleaning experience. Back in 2017, Hermes – Starcrest’s CEO – partnered with Bill Wilkins to buy what was an independent Starcrest business just north of 96th Street at 9603 Lantern Road. Wilkins, co-owner and managing partner, looks forward to bringing his 15 years of dry cleaning expertise to serving the Fishers area.
The location was in need of much work, and Hermes looked forward to bringing the exceptional Starcrest services to the Fishers area.
Since late November, the only thing that stayed the same about the Lantern Road location was the Starcrest name. Over $250,000 was invested just in new state-of-the-art equipment, including $80,000 on an environmentally friendly cleaning machine that produces softer clothing and brighter colors. Starcrest Cleaners also renovated the building, remodeling the lobby to give it a modern feel and adding new signage to the front. Indeed, everything at the new location is brand new.
“I’m really excited to get the word out about what we’re doing and why it’s different,” says Hermes, who is especially proud of Starcrest’s same-day and new OnDemand service. “We want to be customer savvy.”
All Starcrest locations have a valet drive-thru, allowing customers to pull in and pick up their freshly cleaned clothes. Starcrest is also open throughout the week, even on Sundays. Finally, the business offers services beyond just dry cleaning, including cleaning of leather, furs, comforters and wedding gowns and even wash, dry, fold of customers’ regular laundry.
Offering extended hours and valet service is just the beginning of how Starcrest is going beyond the competition. Starcrest offers same-day service. Any clothes that are dropped off by 9 a.m. are ready for the customer by 5 p.m. or earlier. In fact, Starcrest will text customers when orders are ready, allowing people to pick up orders at their convenience.
“We wanted to provide a quality and consistent product to our customers and services that not everyone is used to seeing. We’ve been running like that for 25 years now,” Hermes says.
Starcrest customers can use the new Starcrest OnDemand app or go online at starcrestondemand.com to schedule a guaranteed window of 1-2 hours — immediate pickup with next day delivery—between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m., seven days a week. Once the window is scheduled, a Starcrest driver will pick up dry cleaning, shirts and other materials to be cleaned. Customers receive text notifications when the Starcrest driver is en route and a text when clothes are ready for delivery, guaranteed for the following day. The online portal offers cashless transaction and a convenient, user-friendly interface. The entire business process is completely local.
“Terms like ‘on demand’ and ‘customer convenience’ are thrown around so loosely, but we are committed to providing true OnDemand service. It’s the next generation of customer convenience, and that is what we’ve been about for over 25 years,” says Luke, who envisions Starcrest as the pioneer in the industry. “The biggest challenge is getting customers to understand what we’re offering and why it’s so dramatically better.”
Visit starcrestcleaners.com for store inquiries, starcrestondemand.com and the Starcrest OnDemand app for more information about services, pickup and delivery.