Coworking with Linley McConnell

As a kid, Linley McConnell rode around in carts at her family’s laundry facility and spent spring break at dry-cleaning conventions (yep, that’s a thing). While she went on to do everything from teaching yoga to working at Deloitte, she eventually came back to the family biz.

How would you describe your job to someone who doesn’t work in retail? I oversee client experience at my 90-year-old family dry-cleaning business, Gibson’s Cleaners. Clients include B2C, but also B2B services, like Louis Vuitton, Hugo Boss, and Canada Goose.

One thing we can’t guess about your job from your LinkedIn profile: Dry cleaning is both interesting and complex. It involves customer service, logistics, operations, tech, and quality control. In one day, I’ll be working with a picky client and brainstorming with a resale/rental app.

What’s your favorite project you’ve worked on? Launching our Canada Goose preferred dry-cleaning program. We were vetted by Canada Goose and have created an entire intake and cleaning process to meet client expectations.

What was your favorite high school job? I did scoop ice cream for several summers up north. You could count on the 80-year-old-plus crowd to always get tiger tail. (For our non-Canadian readers, tiger tail is black licorice swirled into orange-flavored ice cream.)

One trend that you’re most excited about this year: Resale/rental platforms—they are presenting new business opps to the “dying” dry cleaner.

One fun fact about your family’s business is….At one time, we cleaned Canada’s largest flag. It took 30 employees to fold it.