By Joe Tatulli

Some concepts sound so ingenious and are infused with so much common sense that you wonder why everyone isn't doing it. Tom and Sue Tedesco's "Institute of Futon" is just such an idea. Tom shared the Institute's mission with me at the 1997 Futon Expo in Phoenix and offered me the opportunity to come down to Orlando, FL, the home of his company, Devon Chase, and see how it all works first hand. It took more than a year to fit the trip in, but several weeks ago I took the plunge and dove into a well thought out and well executed educational experience I can honestly say every futon retailer should have. The Tedescos have left no stone unturned. "At the Institute of Futon we show people how to make a quality futon," said Tom Tedesco.

The Best Place To Start Is The Beginning

The Institute's curriculum is broken down into several segments starting with a classroom orientation that lays out the groundwork of the program. "We use a model we learned from our experience in the scuba industry," Tom Tedesco said. "You tell someone what you are going to teach them, you teach them, you tell them what you taught them, and you test them on what you taught them." Tedesco then cautioned me that at the end of the course I would have a written test on what I was about to learn. He then reached over and pulled a framed certificate off the wall. "Everyone who goes through this program, and passes the test receives this certificate," he said. I looked at the certificate and then around at the faculty and smiled. They all stared back with a look that spoke to me of both their serious commitment as teachers and their calm assurance that I would succeed as a student.

Orientation: Safety First & Inspector 13

"Everyone who participates in the Institute of Futon is evaluated - teachers, students, everyone," said Tedesco. He held up an evaluation sheet and added, "Each member of the faculty team does their classroom or on-site presentation and is evaluated for presence, knowledge of their material, and other criteria internally." Tedesco is earnest and very sincere in his desire to communicate the best information available. He wants anyone who goes through the Institute of Futon to walk away with a clear and concise understanding of how a futon is made, what it is made from, and, even more specifically, how Devon Chase's attention to detail makes their product unique.
Tedesco fired up his laptop and started the show. "We start with some safety issues and then move right to introductions and on into our company history," he said.
Each student is given clear and concise safety rules including where and where not to stand in the factory proper, what safety equipment is required and what to do in case there is an accident or a fire. Also mentioned is Inspector 13. "Inspector 13 is a big part of everything we do at Devon Chase," says Tom Tedesco, "But more about that later." We also receive a small toolbox which follows us through each phase of the learning experience.

Alien Environs

As part of the Institute of Futon experience Sue Tedesco now presents a short history of Devon Chase. "We have been around the futon furniture industry for about seven years," she says. The Tedescos actually backed into the futon mattress manufacturing business. "We were selling management and bookkeeping software and helped a futon mattress manufacturer in Connecticut settle some accounts and when we were done getting him on track he decided to shut down his plant," she said. It took five days and many phone calls but Tom and Sue got the factory running and soon had re-established contacts with all their former customers. "It was a little scary at first," she said. "We actually took our last few dollars to buy the gas for the first shipment. But since then we have done nothing but grow."
Using another analogy from the scuba industry Tom Tedesco explains that futon furniture retailers who take this course are about to enter an alien environment. "When we ask our people who come to the Institute who their competitor is many will say the futon guy down the street. Well, we say no, that's not your competitor. In fact that futon retailer down the street is the best thing you can have. No, your competitor is the guy selling TVs and VCRs, and even that computer or automobile dealer... even another furniture store. These are all competitors taking part of our total market," said Tedesco. Tedesco believes that when the futon retailer looks at the competition in this way he or she is entering an "alien environment."
"By taking this Institute and tapping into our experience in alien environments you will be better equipped to survive in the retail marketplace," he says to his students.

The Institute

After a request for any questions things really get rolling. "Today," says Tedesco, "we are going to go through the entire manufacturing process from the beginning, including receiving the raw goods, going through the sewing department, the stuffing department, the tape edge machine, tufting and bagging, and we will even learn how to load and ship a futon mattress properly." Properly is the key word here. Tedesco and his entire crew are experts at what they do and also experts at explaining it to beginners. I soon found myself at the loading dock looking at rolls of muslin duck, bales of cotton batting, and mountains of foam.
"This is where we receive all our raw materials," relates Chuck Metz, Professor of Raw Materials and long time Devon Chase employee. Chuck came down from Connecticut when Tom and Sue moved the company to Orlando. This is the second time I've heard about Inspector 13. I look around the room and ask the question everyone has been hoping I would ask. "Who is Inspector 13?" Everyone answers in unison, "You are Inspector 13." In fact everyone at Devon Chase is Inspector 13. Tedesco explains that Inspector 13 is a way to make everyone aware that quality is their job and no one is exempt or excluded from the program.
"This is the first inspection," says Metz. Shipments are inspected for cleanliness and each batch of cotton is tested for smolder resistance and weight. "After the shipment passes the inspection it is entered into inventory," he said. There is a zero tolerance towards acceptance of off standard goods or service. I get some cotton and foam for my toolbox. Tedesco uses the word "ownership" in context with the Devon Chase process. "You get to see it and feel it yourself." he says.
From here we move directly to shipping. Pat Weaver, the Tedescos' son-in-law, is now in full gear. "Everything is loaded by hand from a pick ticket generated in the office," says Weaver. He shows me how to pick up a futon mattress so I won't hurt my back. The inside of the truck is spotless. Weaver keeps it that way. Hey, he's Inspector 13.
Next we move to the sewing room. Tom and Sue's daughter, Tammy, is my next advisor. "This is where we do all the cutting and sewing," she says. I get to cut through twenty layers of cloth, which will be sewn into casings, with a large electric knife. Another item for my toolbox. "Don't forget Inspector 13. We like to catch any mistakes before they get out of a department," she says. Devon Chase uses a five needle surge stitcher. I know because I used it, and I have proof in my toolbox.
Each step in the training is designed to give me a hands-on experience that draws me into a relationship with the people, the process and the product itself. As we moved through each remaining step of the operation, including laying out the cotton batts, manipulating the stuffing machine, guiding the tape-edge machine and executing the tufting machine I became acutely aware that I was learning not just how to make a futon mattress, but that I would be much better able to sell one to a customer in my store (if I had a store).

All Together Now

We soon end up back where we began, in the conference room. I was Inspector 13. I had made a futon mattress. When retailers come they actually make a futon and take it home. I had cut and sewn and inspected and laughed.
Tedesco pulled it all together in the end with a wrap-up on POP. "Each element you learn at the Institute is part of the POP. The cotton and foam, the fabric, the sewing, the stuffing, tape-edge and tufting. Each point we make in the classroom finds its way to the POP. There's nothing like being able to tell a customer you know something is true because you were there and did it yourself," Tedesco said.
Tom and Sue Tedesco have a unique way of doing business and it shows up in their products. By selling what they produce and shipping just-in-time they have all but eliminated receivables. "We don't owe anyone a dime either," said Tedesco. Peace of mind and a well thought out plan of educating and training retailers to sell more products should prove an excellent formula for long term success. I'll check back with Tom and Sue and let you you know how it all turns out. Hey, I'm Inspector 13.