Hello, is this laundry?

Why did the St. Petersburg businessman open a free laundry?

The 37-year-old businessman David Papapaskiri, along with the charity organization, Overnight opened in St. Petersburg the first free laundry in St. Petersburg and told “such matters” that he was prompted by this.

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It was not easy to meet with our hero. That is, the sweetest, intelligent David Georgievich was completely different, only he did not have free time: negotiations are replaced by meetings, meetings by business trips, and he still tries to spend the weekend with his family. He used to work seven days a week and burned at work. But when he realized that he could no longer immediately answer a simple question: "How old are you?" - Then I decided to at least sometimes take a pause and turn off the phone.

David has two offices, because there are also two businesses. The first is a network of laundry self -service (32 in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region, nine more in Moscow and Novosibirsk). The second is connected with trade and import. You have to burst, but not boring. David now devotes the main time to the laundry, because it seems to him a more interesting occupation, even despite the current difficulties in the economy.

In anticipation of the chef, stuck in traffic jams, the employees of the Parathu.kom kindly treated me to the tangerines. I was just preparing to clean the third when David quickly burst at the door and carried me into a spacious bright office at the table - clean and dazzlingly white as freshly snowy snow.

Why wash in basins

Laundry self -service made a strong impression on David in his youth when he studied at the university and traveled around Europe. Higher humanitarian education, strengthened by the specialty of a marketer,, coupled with resourcefulness and ingenuity, created an excellent base for the "laundry" startup in the early 2000s. Comparing the painful washing in basins in student dormitories and the latest achievements of Western civilization in the field of purity, he began with the opening of mini-ladies in the alcohols. When it turned out that the service was interesting not only to students, the matter has gone further, and in recent years the network of "Parathu.com" is actively developing, making a bet, in addition to students, on pensioners and bachelors.

David Georgievich Pasapaskiri Photo: Valery Zaitsev/Schschi for TD

Laundry self -service, unlike other commercial ones, calmly hold democratic prices and are not afraid of dumping accusations. After all, most of the laundries take the laundry from customers and hand over specialists into the hands of specialists, and in the institutions of “laundresses”, customers are erasing themselves, that is, the service differs from the offer of competitors, so there is no direct competition here.

David believes that it is generally more profitable to be friends with colleagues than to compete. For example, a young man turned to him a year ago: there is, he says, I have a room in a good place, I want to open the same laundry room as yours. As a result, it was opened on partnerships. And there are many such stories - as well as laundries created with mutually beneficial cooperation. A similar story happened with the "cultural laundry" for the homeless, born in close community with the charity organization "Overnight".

A letter from the manager

“We are price leaders in the market,” David states with dignity. - We have been doing this for a long time, for twelve years. We know very well how this is arranged, therefore, they organized a joint project with a “night”. ”

The authorship of the social laundry belongs to David, but the implementation needed impulse. They were a letter that came by e -mail from the head of the “night” Ivan Lendyashov. In the letter there was a purely technical question: “Overnight” plans to launch “showers on wheels” in St. Petersburg for the homeless, will you help to put in each such mobile shower a washing machine so that people can wash things while they take a shower?

David believes that it is more profitable to be friends with colleagues than to compete

The idea seemed beautiful to David. He met with Ivan and with the director of the Overnight Grigory Sverdlin, told them “everything that he knew” about the laundry business and explained why the task they set is technically complicated. The washing and drying cycle is quite long. Professional equipment is quite energy -intensive. It is difficult to agree on the eyeliner of communications, albeit temporary, “from the wheels”. And so on.

David consulted colleagues, but no one wanted to put on this point. The businessman thought: why not make their own laundry for the homeless?

The solution "without wheels"

Employees of the "Parathu.kom" were with all their hands "For". The team is mainly young, friendly, gambling is one of those who work in the office. And another 70 rulers of the laundry are older women. And another 20 people of maintenance personnel - repair masters, accountants, industrial employees ... David consulted with everyone. And everyone supported him. They said that where 32 laundries are 33.

As a businessman Papaskiri understood that investments would be needed. But if you approach the matter wisely, then they can be minimized.

David Papaskiri and the first visitors against the background of a painted wall in a cultural laundry photo: Valery Zaitsev/Schschi for TD

“The laundry network, like any production, has equipment that has been used,” explains David. - We regularly update our laundries, for example, we transfer to the supply of liquid chemistry, when everything goes there through tubes ... In addition, we already have several hundred washing machines, and we still had to update the park. For eating washing machines, we conduct pre -sale training and sell them in Russia. After all, not everyone who wants to organize such laundries is ready to buy new equipment. In addition, according to our franchise, many laundries open. ”

So David had equipment for the “cultural laundry”. It was a small thing: to find a suitable room-with a relatively low rental rate (David says that they could not afford to rent a room at a market value and found twice cheaper at a price), with all the necessary communications and without “plugging” in electricity (it is difficult to find a small room in which there is 30-40 kilowatts). In a similar situation, our state does not offer business and benefits to business. “Yes, we honestly did not count on this,” David admits.

Volunteers of the Overnight joined the search for a suitable place for the “cultural laundry” and quickly found it, and next door - on 116 Borovaya Street (the charity organization itself is located on Borova, 112), in the territory of the former plant. Convenient and logical: here is a charitable organization, but the laundry room for its wards, literally two steps. But where is the plant - there is passing, and the passage is a check of documents, registration entry in the journal, issuing a check for each visitor ... And what are the documents?

Volunteers of the "Overnight" connected to the search for a suitable place for the "cultural laundry"

But the chief engineer of the "laundresses" Dmitry Makarov so caught in the idea of ​​creating the laundry for homeless that he decided to "break through" (in every sense) a separate external entrance. It is clear that this means: bureaucratic red tape, coordination with the city and district administration, the registration of permits ... Dmitry went, decided, agreed, and they made a separate entrance.

Borovoy is, of course, not Neva, and there will have to specially go or go there. But cutting off random, inappropriate, visitors was one of the tasks, says David. Those who really need it, and they will find out the address, and they will find a way to get.

Separate in the museum

Now in the “Cultural Laundry” eight washing and eight drying machines are installed, and one washing machine for large -sized objects. The “Museum of Washing Machines” from different laundries and times turned out to be by itself. “We even think to attach signs,” David laughs, “because each“ Baut ”machine has its own story and“ combat merits ”. One, for example, worked for five years in the hostel of SPbGASU (architectural and construction university), the other came from Peterhof ... "

David admits that his commercial laundry networks are not as beautifully decorated as “cultural”, where the artist Ekaterina Khozatskaya painted the wall in several evenings. The idea of ​​the painting belongs to the David team, in the "night" they found a performer among the friends of the organization. In other laundry, there is a corporate identity, but they do not allow themselves to be such “pampering” as on Borova, David. And in the "cultural laundry" they acted on the principle of "what we want, we do." In addition to wall painting, the pipes were painted in a cheerful red color. It turned out creatively, positive and fashionable: eclecticism, fusion, and even with author’s painting.

It turned out creatively, positive and fashionable: eclecticism, fusion, and even with author's painting

The working process on Borovaya David, of course, is monitors and is in constant correspondence with the “overnight”. Sometimes, passing by, he looks, and at the same time solves pressing issues with the lessor. For example, the issue related to the sign, which has not yet been agreed, was still done "running and inacle." And the sign is bright green and so attractive that the other day there was a case: a man by car with five blankets arrived, not a homeless man at all. It turned out that I just saw from afar the beautiful sign “Laundry” and thought that it was ordinary. Of course, he was politely “deployed”, providing business cards with the addresses of the network of the network.

I am curious how the process of washing in the "cultural laundry" takes place. A person comes and says: “Hello, I'm homeless, I need to wash your things with you”? And is it necessary to somehow prove the fact of bums?

David Papaskiri says that over time all historical cars will be equipped with signs with a list of their merits photo: Valery Zaitsev/Schschi for TD

No, David smiles, nothing needs to be proved. In the social laundry, the volunteer of the “overnight stays” Oleg is on duty, who receives a salary from a charity organization. He used to lead the shower for the homeless. He is from the homeless, so he has experience in determining his and strangers. Oleg is a large man, a “man-male”, you will be a goodwill to deceive.

Nevertheless, David with Grigory, the director of the "night", agreed as follows: if there are some people who will try to "mate under the homeless", they will not be refused in the service. Grigory told David that, for example, pensioners who have a house, and the living conditions and size of the pension are such that they will not be superfluous, will not be superfluous to them. Otherwise, they would not have stood up in one turn with the homeless. The same with the "cultural laundry". If, David believes, there will be 10-15% of such “non-homeless people” among visitors, this is not scary.

If there are some people who try to “mate under the homeless”, they will not be refused in the service

And then they will look at the situation. Judging by how the commercial laundresses of "Parathu.kom" develop, a year in the "Cultural Laundry" will come to 50 people per day. Then, perhaps, there will be a need to either be adjusted, or to increase the hours of work or expand. Now the laundry room on Borovoy is running until six in the evening, and this is enough.

Another thing is more interesting. When people come to the usual laundry, they put things in washing and remain in their clothes. They have a lot of clothes. And the homeless people who have things to do with their clothes are much worse, how do they undress?

David says that the situations are different. The toilet room on Borovaya was specially arranged very large, so that people have the opportunity to change clothes. Many come with replaceable clothes. But if there is nothing at all?

It turns out that even in ordinary laundry self-service, the laundresses of the Parathu.com have already encountered something like this. At one time, the homeless people often came to the laundry on Sadovaya at one time-they found about a hundred rubles for washing in preferential hours in the morning. From other clients, this, of course, raised questions, because the homeless remained in the underwear ... It also happened that people who had just been freed from the places of imprisonment came to any of the commercial laundries, unperturbedly undressed to their panties and sat in the laundry, demonstrating tattoos on the body ...

Perhaps, in the “cultural laundry” visitors will give disposable clothes, like medical robes, or, as it were, “hotel” robes, which can then be washed right there. Otherwise, the homeless will become, as the protagonist of the film “Brother-2” Danila Bagrov and his friend, the driver of Ben, sit in his underpants and wait until the machine washes their things ...

An elegant sign of the new laundry is attracted by the attention of citizens photo: Valery Zaitsev/Schschi for TD

Now about 25 homeless people per day come to Borovaya. David believes this is a good result. So the rumor has gone. “I did not expect increased attention from the press,” David admits. - We came to the opening of the “cultural laundry”, and there the crowd, not to break through to the entrance: television cameras, photographers, journalists ... This is nice, of course, but not for the sake of such an effect and, moreover, not for the sake of PR. ”

“Cultural laundry” at the moment in the country is only one. The new David and his team cannot yet be pulled without the help of partners. The costs, whatever one may say, is still: a rent, albeit low, bills for the “communal apartment” ... But a year later, perhaps in St. Petersburg they will open another laundry room for the homeless, and there, you look, and in other cities they will appear - why not? It's good and simple.

Hello, is this laundry?

In the end, I can’t stand it and ask a question that from the very beginning of the conversation revolves in the language: who came up with the name “cultural laundry”, and whether David guesses,

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What does it cause a persistent association with the famous bearded joke about the laundry and the Ministry of Culture?

David laughs. Of course, the joke knows very well. And about what to call the institution, they had a “brainstorm”: “Gregory and I consulted and decided that we would come up with the name - we, for our part, are for our own. As a result, one of the “overnight stays” proposed “cultural laundry”. It turned out very well and even elegant: here you have a “cultural capital” and a reference to folklore ... I said that we are trying to enjoy everything we are doing? ”