Changes in the Self Service Laundry Business

This article is about how our business is changing and how we can cope and take advantage of those changes. Card Systems are the most revolutionary change in our business. They have been discussed at length in the past in just about every self service laundry magazine, editorial and convention to date. To fully discuss changes in our industry, though, you have to start with card systems which are affecting, enabling and contributing to many of the other changes in our business.

Card systems are a vast time saver. I know because I have owned card laundries and coin laundries. My coin laundries use to take forty five minutes to an hour each laundry to collect because of my revenue tracking efforts for each type of equipment. I wanted to be able to chart my different types of equipment revenues over time to determine which equipment was contributing to the success or lack of success of my coin laundry. This collection time was reduced to five minutes with no lifting of heavy coin bags with the purchase of my first card system. I am now able to get my revenue, equipment down time, and attendant hours reports all in excel worksheets which I can manipulate to my heart’s content. I also greatly reduced the security threat of spending so much time in my laundry handling money. Customers have reacted well to the elimination of quarters and really like the frequent user bonuses I automatically give them. My card system commentary will continue to weave throughout this article as I discuss more changes to our business.

Energy efficient equipment has become increasingly important as utility costs escalate and dramatically affect our bottom line. All manufacturers have tried to dramatically increase their laundry equipment’s energy efficiency. Doing this while staying price competitive with other manufacturers and producing a hearty piece of equipment that will compete with the laundry equipment “that would wash a brick” of yesterday has had its problems. First generation energy efficient dryers have scorched, energy efficient water heaters have failed and energy efficient washers have chocked on over sudsing. Luckily, we have those pioneering efforts behind us and today’s energy efficient equipment is, by and large, yielding great results with an energy efficient front load washer, for example, using a small fraction of the energy and water of the old top loader while washing the clothes better.

Mix of equipment has changed right along with energy efficiency. If a new energy efficient washer washes better and saves me utility costs, can I do away completely with the old top load equipment? I don’t know of too many brave souls who have answered yes to that question but I do know that their number will eventually grow. Social as well as technological changes also affect the mix of equipment in our laundries. For example, with the advent of the huge influx of Hispanics into the United States and their correspondingly larger families who start out some times on a lower rung of the economic ladder, larger washers with their better value per pound of clothes have become increasingly popular. Laundry detergent manufacturers introducing products that allow the use of one water temperature for many types of laundry have also contributed to the usage of large washers. There is also the perceived sentiment that “bigger is better” which applies to the new dryers as well. Couple that with the ability to garner more laundry production per square foot in the laundry makes for a compelling argument for larger washers and dryers that are proudly displayed in the front of our laundries.

Laundry services such as drop off (fluff and fold) and commercial accounts have become increasingly popular. This is easy to understand when you consider that a drop off laundry customer will sometimes add as much as a 3600% increase in profit margin to an attended laundry wherein you convert a top load self service customer to a full service drop off laundry customer. Lots of other profit centers have been added to our laundries. Some have done well and others have not. Determining the real reason for the success or failure of that profit center is vital. Was it poorly run or poorly received by its potential customers because the owner could not afford to advertise it due to the high rent cost of the laundry? Or was the reason one of the other many other factors that affect your business decisions?

Fully attended laundries are growing. Let’s examine that premise a little closer. A card laundry is usually attended and owned by typically a businessman that could possibly own a chain of laundries. The card system allows him (or her) to verify that the money being spent in the laundry goes into his pocket while the laundry is being professionally managed with a minimum amount of effort on his part. The attendant is there, among other reasons, to make sure that the card system is being understood and appreciated by the customers. If you have a full time attendant, then it follows that you can offer big money making services such as drop off laundry without adding significantly to the laundry’s overall cost structure. Other benefits to full time attendants are the curtailment of laundry vandalism, equipment abuse and loitering while offering your customers a clean and safe laundry. These benefits can yield business growth, cost reduction and a potentially higher resale value.

Increased marketing efforts in the self service laundry industry are strongly growing. Laundries in the past may have relied upon banners advertising lower wash or dryer prices for a promotional period or a new owner or new equipment. Many laundry owners are now trying to reach a much larger potential customer base through advertising in local periodicals or coupon services or through internet sites and the list goes on and on. These owners are not just advertising price reductions. Drop off service, commercial accounts, full time attendants, cleanliness, customer service and laundry amenities are some of the new laundry advertising campaign themes. Overall, the point is to get the word out to a bigger audience that you can make their wash day less dreary. Part of that pursuit of a bigger audience is to appeal to those potential customers who have their own laundry equipment at home to occasionally (or frequently) come to our laundry where you can treat yourself to getting your laundry done in an couple of hours or even just drop it off! Saving people time is a powerful message.

Posted on October 8, 2009  |   Email This Blog Post   |   Print This Blog Post   |  All Contributions From Van Merrill