American Coin-Op - June 2017

GOIN’ WITH COHEN: DO-IT-YOURSELF DUO

SOMETHING FISHY ABOUT LV COIN LAUNDRY

Animal

MAKING THE BEST OF BAD REVIEWS

The Internet has made it oh-so-easy for disgruntled customers to post a poor review of your business for the world to see. Here are some tips for responding positively in these cases.

THE IMPORTANCE OF CREATING A BRAND

Carve out an identity for your Laundromat, then pair its name with a logo that gives your store “pop.”

FLATWORK IRONERS: EXPANDING SERVICES

Joel Jorgensen discusses the benefits of adding a flatwork ironer to tap into previously unserved commercial accounts.

APART FROM THE REST

Believe it or not, there are people living in your area who don’t know your store is there, Howard Scott warns. Make your storefront stand out so it captures attention. At the same time, do something—like placing a naked mannequin with the sign, “You Won’t Go Away Naked Here!”—to make your Laundromat unique. Whatever you do, enlarge your presence in your community.

A CLOSER LOOK 16

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VIEWPOINT

HASHTAG HYPE

The traditional marketing building blocks that are still in use today have evolved over the last 15 years or so into building blocks of the virtual variety: websites and social media.

The cost-effectiveness of digital marketing is open to debate, but I think the store owner who ignores the potential of social networks like Facebook and Twitter is cutting themselves off from an important demographic.

It’s not the Millennials—although that group is important to the future success of your business. No, the demographic I’m focusing on is smartphone users.

The next time you’re having dinner at your favorite restaurant, or waiting for the movie to start, or taking in a ballgame at the stadium, look around and see what the folks around you are doing. I’d bet that a healthy share of them have an iPhone or Android in their hand.

This group craves information, and they want it now. So, whatever your marketing campaign looks like, I hope it includes some kind of social media message.

This month’s issue features stories about marketing your store in the digital age, making the best of bad online reviews, and understanding the importance of establishing a brand.

Indeed, it’s #timetogetthewordout. • • • • •

American Coin-Op will be exhibiting at Clean ’17 June 5-8, but perhaps more importantly, we’ll be covering the news coming out of the every-other-year exhibition. And just as some of this month’s stories reference using online tools, we’ll be doing the same while in Las Vegas.

During that week, I’ll be posting frequent Clean Show updates and videos on our Facebook page. Those posts will also appear on AmericanCoinOp.com, but our Facebook followers will get first crack at them. (Remember what I said about craving information and wanting it now? This is for you.) Do you follow our magazine? If not, “Like” us today: www.facebook.com/americancoinop

Bruce Beggs Editorial Director

EDITORIAL

Charles Thompson, Publisher

E-mail: cthompson@ATMags.com Phone: 312-361-1680

Bruce Beggs, Editorial Director

E-mail: bbeggs@ATMags.com Phone: 312-361-1683

Roger Napiwocki, Production Manager

Nathan Frerichs, Digital Media Director

E-mail: nfrerichs@ATMags.com Phone: 312-361-1681

ADVISORY BOARD

Kurt Archer Ann Hawkins

Wayne Lewis Kathryn Q. Rowen

ADVERTISING

Donald Feinstein, Natl. Sales Director

E-mail: dfeinstein@ATMags.com Phone: 312-361-1682

OFFICE INFORMATION

Main: 312-361-1700

SUBSCRIPTIONS

630-739-0900 x100 www.AmericanCoinOp.com

American Coin-Op (ISSN 0092-2811) is published monthly. Subscription prices, payment in advance: U.S., 1 year $46.00; 2 years $92.00. Foreign, 1 year $109.00; 2 years $218.00. Single copies $9.00 for U.S., $18.00 for all other countries. Published by American Trade Magazines LLC, 566 West Lake Street, Suite 420, Chicago, IL 60661. Periodicals postage paid at Chicago, IL and at additional mailing offices.

POSTMASTER, Send changes of address and form 3579 to American Coin-Op, Subscription Dept., 440 Quadrangle Drive, Suite E, Bolingbrook, IL 60440. Volume 58, number 6. Editorial, executive and advertising offices are at 566 West Lake Street, Suite 420, Chicago, IL 60661. Charles Thompson, President and Publisher. American Coin-Op is distributed selectively to owners, operators and managers of chain and individually owned coin-operated laundry establishments in the United States. The publisher reserves the right to reject any advertising for any reason.

© Copyright AMERICAN TRADE MAGAZINES LLC, 2017. Printed in U.S.A. No part of this publication may be transmitted or reproduced in any form, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher or his representative. American Coin-Op does not endorse, recommend or guarantee any article, product, service or information found within. Opinions expressed are those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the views of American Coin-Op or its staff. While precautions have been taken to ensure the accuracy of the magazine’s contents at time of publication, neither the editors, publishers nor its agents can accept responsibility for damages or injury which may arise therefrom.

Bruce Beggs

LAUNDROMAT DESIGN SESSION AMONG CLEAN ’17 DRAWS

More than half of the coin laundry owners polled (52.7%) in the quarterly American Coin-Op Your Views survey plan to attend this month’s Clean Show in Las Vegas.

Roughly 35% decided that they will not attend the biennial trade show, and the remaining 12.7% were unsure at the time the unscientific survey was conducted.

Whether attending or not, equal shares of 15.1% of respondents say Clean’s biggest draw is its “exhibits of equipment, systems and supplies” or its “educational sessions.”

Roughly 13% say they’re most drawn by the prospect of “combining business and pleasure.” Still another 11.3% point to “networking and socializing.”

For the majority of respondents (45.3%), the biggest draw is “all of the above.”

The Coin Laundry Association is sponsoring several educational sessions during the show’s June 5-8 run. The topic generating the most pre-show interest among survey respondents (32.1%) is Great by Design: What Laundromats Can Learn from Latest Retail Trends

Other sessions garnering healthy buzz are WiFi in Your Laundromat: Best Practices for Security & Marketing, Drycleaners & Laundromat Owners: Partnering for Future Profits, and All Things Facebook: How to Grow Your Laundromat Sales Store owners who have attended Clean before were asked for a tip to share with first-timers. Here are a few that were offered: • “Have an agenda for who/what you want to visit. Take time to enjoy the setting, as well as the venue.”

• “Be ready to walk—a lot! Have questions ready for your vendors, and be receptive to their new products.”

• “Plan to attend every training seminar you can, whether it is coin-op-focused or not.”

Those who will not attend this year’s event were asked to identify the most important factor against a show visit. The majority (31.0%) report that they “can’t spare the time.”

Roughly 21% have “made other plans,” 17.2% say they “can’t afford the cost,” and 6.9% say the Clean Show “does not interest me.”

Nearly one-quarter of respondents pointed to “other” factors, of which a dislike for Las Vegas was mentioned frequently.

American Coin-Op’s Your Views survey presents an unscientific snapshot of the trade audience’s viewpoints. Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding.

Subscribers to American Coin-Op e-mails are invited to participate anonymously in the quarterly survey. ACO

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Marketing Your Store Digital Age

Small businesses like vended laundries have long considered the building blocks of their marketing efforts to be things like store signage, newspaper advertising, a Yellow Pages listing, and direct mailers.

But in this digital age in which we now live, those marketing building blocks have evolved to include business websites and social media like Facebook, Google+, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat that can connect businesses and customers virtually.

“Traditional marketing is a completely different concept entirely,” says Jennifer Rae Schulman, president of Fortune Web Marketing. Her New Jersey firm offers an array of online marketing services, including search engine optimization (SEO) and social media marketing services, and is exhibiting at the Clean Show in Las Vegas this month. “Digital marketing must be done frequently and with more consistency.”

“Every business should have social media in its marketing plan,” says Dennis

by Bruce Beggs, Editorial Director

Diaz, president of Spynr (pronounced “spinner”). His New York company offers software and online marketing services to laundries and dry cleaners, and will also be exhibiting at Clean. “Social media has one of the highest lead-to-close rates. The key is figuring out which one is right for your business.

“The simplest way to discover where you need to be is by speaking with your current customers. Find out where they ‘hang out’ online. It’s likely you can locate others like them there.”

SOCIAL MEDIA NETWORKS

Let’s take a quick look at some popular social networks:

Facebook — Arguably the world’s most popular, Facebook enables users to connect with others by sharing status

updates, photos, videos and other items of interest.

Diaz says Facebook is great for social advertising: “It offers tons of data that you can leverage. Utilize ‘Boost’ to gain more exposure.” And Schulman says that “this channel will be most effective for most businesses,” and recommends users utilize ads and post two to four times per week.

Google+ — Google created it several years ago in response to Facebook’s success, Schulman says, and she believes it is a “good place to find customers, especially for B2B. Google+ hangouts and communities can be beneficial. The content you post on Google+ will also be immediately ‘crawled’ by Google, thus showing up in searches more quickly.”

Diaz calls Google+ an SEO magnet: “Make sure your social posts have keywords that will help you get found online. Google+ is a strong player in the SEO world.”

Schulman

(Photo compilation: © iStockphoto/mattjeacock; Ingram Publishing)

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Twitter — The online news and social networking service is unique in that users post and interact through messages restricted to 140 characters. It’s made the word “hashtag”— term for the # symbol that precedes a word or phrase used to identify a specific topic—part of the mainstream.

“Keep it short and sweet,” Schulman advises. “Utilize hashtags here as much as possible. Twitter is the place where you can really perform some great relationship building by retweeting or tagging social influencers in your industry.”

“Twitter is also an SEO influencer,” Diaz says. “Make sure you hashtag (#) and mention influencers to gain organic visibility.”

Instagram — This photo-sharing application/service allows users to share pictures and videos either publicly or privately.

“Hire a graphic designer to help with creating beautiful designs that you can share with your followers,” Diaz says. “Instagram is tied with Facebook so it offers some of the same outreach that Facebook has in terms of advertising.”

“Instagram would probably do well for a vended or self-service laundry, as it is visual and if you have someone that can be taking photos (get creative!), this could work out well,” Schulman says.

Snapchat — The photo-messaging application allows users to take photos or record videos, then add text and drawings and send them to a controlled list of recipients. Users set a time limit for how long recipients can view their content.

“(It’s for a) millennial audience, for sure. For businesses, you can get very clever with flash sales and promotions,” Diaz says.

Other Networks to Watch — Diaz identifies Pinterest, Imgur and Reddit as other social networks worth keeping an eye on, as they offer “huge SEO value and drive traffic.”

TIPS FOR SUCCESS, MISTAKES TO AVOID

The first step toward success is getting started, Schulman says: “Don’t be intimidated. Realize that this is where your customers are and spend most of their

time online. Do something, even if it’s one post per week, and most certainly invest in Facebook advertising. It is an extremely cost-effective and a proven way to grow your following.”

If you’re going to manage digital marketing yourself, Diaz advises to invest in content creation, a graphic designer and publishing/monitoring automation tools like Hootsuite to help you manage the workload.

“Build out your campaigns in advance. Block out time to schedule all of your posts up to six months in advance. But never ‘set it and forget it.’ You want to schedule in advance to be consistent in your effort, but drop in daily to listen to your audience, monitor performance and tweak things. Also, invest in ads. Social media is not free anymore—you can boost your chances of being seen by doing so.”

Small businesses that are successful at digital marketing use video cleverly, with great branded graphics, Diaz says. They use keywords in their posts, and they post often and consistently. And their messages have clear calls to action.

Aside from posting regularly, Schulman says successful digital marketers take advantage of data analytics tools inside their social channels, or a free tool like Google Analytics.

“In just a few minutes, you can look inside your Facebook page dashboard and see what day and what time of day you get the most engagements,” she says. “Thus, easily identifying when your customers are on Facebook and engaging with (you).”

There are some common mistakes that small businesses tend to make in their social media marketing efforts.

“Most businesses start but don’t follow through, such as using cheap graphics,” Diaz says. “They use photos of storefronts as their profile photos. There are heavy content ‘jackers’—businesses that constantly share others’ content and never have content of their own to share.”

“The only thing worse than not participating in some sort of social media is having a page that you don’t post to for months or years,” Schulman adds. “It does not represent your brand well.”

WHAT’S HOT?

Using video and going “live” are what’s hot in social media right now, Diaz says. “If you have a decent following, adding video and going live could enhance your social media engagement efforts.”

Schulman considers Facebook and Instagram to be the “hot” social media networks at the moment, but says Instagram and Snapchat are growing in popularity among marketers.

IS IT A WORTHWHILE ENDEAVOR?

Small-business owners are typically no strangers to multitasking, so organizing and executing a social media campaign may be just one more thing to add to their routine.

For store owners who believe their time and talents are better used elsewhere, there are plenty of companies whose business is focused entirely on developing and managing campaigns for small-business clients like vended laundries.

But how much does something like that cost?

Diaz says the investment and return on same varies across the board depending on the channels used and the goals of the campaign.

“First, determine what your goals

Diaz

(Photo: © iStockphoto/Weedezign)

are,” he says. “Do you want to grow your social following or fan base, increase engagement, convert fans to customers? These goals can come in stages, too. For example, you will need to build an audience before you can increase engagement or get sales.”

Schulman says it’s difficult to put a price on a social media marketing strategy.

“Each company should have a more catered approach to what channels and how many posts per month would suit their needs,” she says. “One other factor to determine is how much outreach and relationship building with social influencers a client may need.”

So how can a laundry owner tell if their digital marketing efforts are bearing fruit?

“You could always ask people to follow you and ‘check in’ for some sort of incentive,” Schulman says. “Also, keep an eye on your foot traffic—if you start participating in a social media strategy,

and your following increases, your foot traffic should as well. In addition, always look at the data provided within the social (media) tools themselves.”

And try offering promo/coupon codes unique to your social media accounts.

“It’s important to have a solid website to measure this effort,” Diaz says. “Social media is a referral source. Your social posts

INDUSTRY NEWS

Beginning in April 2018, Alliance Laundry Systems will discontinue sales and marketing of IPSO®-branded laundry equipment in the United States and Canada, the manufacturer reports.

The move will not impact sales of the IPSO brand outside North America.

“This decision, while difficult for our IPSO distributors, was one we felt is necessary for our total distribution network and Alliance Laundry Systems moving forward,” says William Bittner, Alliance’s vice president of North American Sales. “Rationalization of our brands within our North American portfolio was the primary driver behind the move.”

Alliance says it will continue to support IPSO products through its Customer One® organization, offering parts

should contain calls to action with a link back to a page on your website. … Your job is to nurture that lead into a customer with e-mail and other marketing touches. If you follow that flow, you will be able to see the results of your social media marketing. Don’t let social media be the end-all-be-all in your marketing strategy.”

Is there anything to fear from digital marketing?

“I don’t think there is anything to fear—social media might open your eyes, though,” Diaz says. “Expect honest feedback about your business. Customers will express their opinions about your business, good or bad. It will require you to put your customer services skills to the test.”

“It’s more evergreen and much less expensive than, say, direct marketing,” Schulman says. “So, for less money, with very little risk, what have you got to lose?”

access and assistance from “the world’s largest commercial laundry technical support team.”

“Alliance Laundry Systems remains committed to delivering exceptional service and support for customers who rely on installed IPSO equipment,” says Mark Schram, North American sales manager for the IPSO brand.

At present, IPSO commercial products for vended laundries and on-premises laundries are sold in the United States and Canada through 64 distributors. Over the next year, Alliance will work closely with these companies to help them prepare for the discontinuation.

Besides IPSO, Alliance Laundry Systems markets and sells commercial laundry equipment for use in vended, onpremises, multihousing and home laundries under its Huebsch, Primus, Speed Queen and UniMac brands. ACO

(Photo: © iStockphoto/Oko_SwanOmurphy)

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GOIN’ WITH COHEN

Duo Do-It-Yourself

Truck rental sideline revs up wash traffic

by Laurance C ohen

You might be surprised to learn what Yvette Morton Williams and Jerry Doliner are doing to drive sales.

Their coin-ops are among a small group of hybrid operations dotting the map from Alaska to New York state where you can buy time to use equipment on the floor and out in the lot.

Washers and dryers, trucks and trailer — they’ve hitched up do-it-yourself moving to self-service laundry.

While it might seem a little far-fetched, consider that both business models rely on patron-supplied labor and each follows a familiar sequence: prep, load, run the load and unload.

With an estimated 40 million Americans relocating annually, and three out of four transients doing it themselves, some laundry owners like Morton Williams and Doliner believe a sideline rental fleet is just the right move.

FIRST STOP: WASH & SPIN

“We have the distinct advantage of being the first stop for people coming into this neighborhood,” relates Morton Williams as we sit down to witness Mondaymorning trade ratcheting up inside her Wash & Spin Coin Laundry in Atlanta.

“If they haven’t selected a Laundromat, which they probably haven’t given much thought to at that point in their moving process, they will come back here and this will become the place where they wash their clothes.”

The 5,000-square-foot laundry certainly makes a good first impression, boasting a lineup of 48 dollar-increment-priced washers, ranging from top loaders to a trio of

80-pounders and a 100-pound model affectionately known as “Big Bertha,” along with an equal number of dryer pockets.

The front loaders are activated by changerdispensed dollar coins, as well as credit and debit cards and smartphone payment apps. Complimentary-dry vends and soap for wash customers, free Wi-Fi access, a fully furnished children’s play area, widescreen TVs, and a computer rental station are among the creature comforts.

“Make no mistake about it. This is a Laundromat and we rent U-Haul trucks. This is not to diminish our U-Haul customers in any way, but this is a Laundromat first and foremost,” the operator states.

When she traded a lucrative career in the pharmaceutical industry to take over the reins of the coin-op on Atlanta’s southwest side seven years ago, the rental sideline was still in its infancy with two vehicles on the lot. Today, up to 17 trucks and trailers

Wash & Spin customers take advantage of the free Wi-Fi and immerse themselves in phones and tablets to pass time.

Wash & Spin operator Yvette Morton Williams has been offering do-it-yourself moving rentals alongside self-service laundry for seven years at Atlanta’s Wash & Spin Coin Laundry. (Photos: Laurance Cohen)

GOIN’ WITH COHEN

are typically on offer.

Morton Williams describes the dealer arrangement as “low risk” with no capital outlay for equipment. Vehicles and trailers are owned and maintained by U-Haul, and service-related calls handled directly by the company.

Supplies — from boxes and protective covers to packaging tapes and tie-downs — can be either purchased outright or credited against rental commissions. While truck and equipment rates are set by U-Haul, pricing for incidental over-the-counter products is determined by the individual dealer, the owner notes, adding that she “stocks what moves.”

Commissions, which vary according to vehicle class and whether the transaction involves a local or one-way move, “go a long way to defray labor costs” at her combination full-service laundry and rental center.

Operator and staff training is provided through the online, interactive “U-Haul University” and integrated into the store’s employee manual. Hands-on, proactive support through a designated area field manager supplements the initial training, including regularly scheduled vehicle

checks ensuring “an extra layer of support to make sure the trucks are as safe as possible,” she emphasizes.

Reservations can be placed by phone as well as on U-Haul’s or Wash & Spin’s website. Internet bookings secured with credit cards streamline outgoing vehicle transactions while a new mobile app speeds returns.

Moving trucks, vans, pickups and trailers are parked round-the-clock in designated stalls along a mid-section of the shopping plaza’s common area lot. Maintaining good relations with the landlord, property manager and neighbors is critical to ensuring its continued use, the owner says, noting that cross-traffic trade generated by vehicle rentals is “beneficial to all tenants.”

Given the lot’s open access, vehicles and equipment are vulnerable to occasional incidents of tampering and theft. “If you can think of it, it’s probably happened,” Morton Williams tells me matter-of-factly.

Storing and renting vehicular equipment raises safety concerns. She recommends prospective dealers consult with both their insurance agent and landlord beforehand.

Late returns also present challenges.

“Many times, things are out of our con-

All washers at Morton Williams’ laundry, including three 80-pound and one 100-pound models, are priced in dollar increments and activated with dollar coins, credit/debit cards or smartphone payment apps.

trol, but it doesn’t release you of responsibility of being accountable to the customer,” she stresses. “I like to give my attendants flexibility to do what they are hired to do — first and foremost, you’re in customer service. Feel empowered to do what it is going to take to get this customer to the point where they’re happy to complete their move, do their wash, use the computer, or whatever it is that they came in to do.”

Wash & Spin’s seven staffers typically man the laundry in teams of two during the 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. rental window. The frontcounter nerve center just inside the entryway is within sprinting distance to vehicles.

“We all stay in shape here because there is a lot of walking back and forth,” Morton Williams smiles. “We work as a team all the time. While one attendant does the paperwork, the other is walking across the lot and pulling up the truck. It’s a team effort and goes smoothly for the customer.”

Attendant Katrina Cheatham says alternating between floor duty and U-Haul transactions “keeps me moving and allows me to put my customer service skills to work.” She pitches the laundry’s offerings to newcomers renting out or returning equipment.

Asked if anyone ever trucked in a household full of clothing, Cheatham nods, recalling one night when a renter pulled a 15-footer up to the curb an hour before closing with “the whole back filled.”

Wash & Spin attendant Katrina Cheatham (foreground) books a truck rental reservation as fellow team member Miguel Gonzalez puts the finishing touches on a customer’s drop-off order.

GOIN’ WITH COHEN

BUSINESS TIMES THREE

Some 500 miles to the east in Wilson, N.C., 35-year laundry industry veteran Jerry Doliner oversees a trio of businesses where patrons can wash and dry in minutes, rent a truck or trailer for the day, and lease a storage unit by the month.

Sitting on 4.5 acres along the perimeter road of the city of 50,000 an hour’s drive from state capital Raleigh, WashLand Laundromat and StoreMore Mini Storage was purchased by Doliner 10 years ago after trading a life of five coin laundries and three cleaners plants for real estate investments. The prime frontage and unique two-in-one operation appealed to the entrepreneur, who could step into familiar shoes at the self-service coin-op and get his feet wet in self-storage.

Doliner spruced up the laundry and warehouse facilities, and while wash volume did dip slightly, it held its own with

each sector contributing equally to the revenue stream. That all changed when U-Haul’s area field manager popped in two years ago and liked what he saw.

“Serendipity,” Doliner grins, recalling how the timely encounter turned around the fortunes of his operation. Impressed with the business model and ongoing support, he signed on and hit the ground running, just as the peak summer moving season was ramping up.

“I took in more absolute dollars in U-Haul

after one month than the Laundromat did in 20 years. I knew I had to concentrate more on U-Haul.”

And he’s doing just that. Doliner plays up his rental location’s extended sevenday-a-week operating hours and on-site storage capabilities, both anchored by a fully staffed laundry. Beyond the convenience factor, the seasoned businessman and his team place an emphasis on upkeep. An impromptu inspection of a moving van confirmed that the crew doesn’t cut

Veteran operator Jerry Doliner oversees a trio of North Carolina businesses where patrons can wash and dry in minutes, rent a truck or trailer for the day, and lease a storage unit by the month.

GOIN’ WITH COHEN

corners, they clean them.

Over the course of just 24 months, WashLand Laundromat and StoreMore Mini Storage has achieved recognition as a top-notch U-Haul dealership, says Doliner. The operator reports that one year in, his ranking — based on eight criteria linked to service level and customer reviews, not revenue — rose to the top spot in the region. And this past April, the venue tied for 39th place among the approximate 19,000 agents nationwide.

Patron satisfaction has translated into dollars. Doliner says U-Haul commissions, which are pegged to a sliding scale, have pulled even with receipts collected from his 54-machine coin-op.

Over-the-counter laundry service has ramped up, in part to bringing moving services into the fold. Attendant Barbara Dezern has witnessed the shift: “With storage and U-Haul, we have gained customers by them seeing what we do. Some people were just not familiar with drop-off service.”

Dezern, who has been “juggling” coinop and mini-storage unit duties for eight years and U-Haul for two, gives priority to the trucks and will lock the office’s Dutch door, step off the floor, and accompany

a customer to the vehicle to complete a transaction.

Staff members earn 10% of the value of each wash-dry-fold ticketed order they process, and share in a pool of 5% truckand-trailer commissions based on hours worked.

The 2,400-square-foot coin-op’s service counter doubles as the rental business hub, with a computer station shoehorned between shelves lined with neatly folded laundry bundles, moving pads and hanging vehicle key tags. The customer area boasts 26 washers of various capacities and 28 tumbler pockets.

Along the site perimeter, a row of the familiar orange-striped rentals are parked near an attention-getting pylon sign and reader board. The color-coded storage warehouse buildings run perpendicular to the outlot laundry, secured behind cyclone fencing and divided into 145 units ranging from 50 to 300 square feet at monthly rents of $48 to $120. Current occupancy, the owner reports, is running 90%.

Unlike self-service laundry’s prepay-toplay system, self-storage is all about receivables. Late fees on delinquent rent are imposed and, if necessary, Doliner turns to the legal process if a space goes unpaid after two months.

“Nationwide, the only way you can force people to pay is to threaten them with the auction,” he explains. “If they don’t pay, you can sell their stuff.”

Every other month, on a regularly scheduled Thursday afternoon, a core group of flea market stall operators and online resellers descend on WashLand and look on as liens on various storage units are enforced with a public sale.

As lien holder, Doliner can serve as auctioneer. The locks are cut, doors rolled

Longtime

open, and the contents sold to the highest bidder. “It’s almost like Storage Wars,” he laughs, referring to the long-running television reality series on A&E.

“I watched the series to hone my skills as an auctioneer,” Doliner reveals, quickly filling WashLand with his rhythmic chant: “Who’s got $20? 20, 20, 20!”

The auctions typically fail to cover the outstanding delinquency, the operator acknowledges: “The best unit I’ve ever sold out of here is probably not as good as the worst unit ever sold on the TV show.” ACO

Laurance Cohen crisscrosses the country seeking out the most unique vended laundries. He served as American Coin-Op editor in the early 1990s and currently operates Laundry Marketing Concepts based in Hallandale Beach, Fla. He can be reached at goinwithcohen@outlook.com.

Appliance hand trucks and moving boxes are lined up with military precision inside the aisle of WashLand Laundromat.

WashLand staff member Barbara Dezern says wash-dry-fold business has picked up after truck and trailer rentals were added two years ago.

Doliner efficiently utilizes space behind WashLand’s service counter to transact laundry-related services, along with vehicle rentals and storage warehouse leasing.

FISHY SOMETHING About Las Vegas Coin Laundry

In a legendary city like Las Vegas where fantastic sights and spectacles are the norm, coming up with new ideas to attract attention to your small business can be a challenge.

For Leise and Bruce Gilliat, owners of a six-store chain of local Laundromats called Las Vegas Coin Laundry, the opportunity came floating in via the folks who star in the Animal Planet reality show Tanked™. They came up with the unusual idea to turn one of the laundry’s Dexter coin-operated stack washerdryer units into a live aquarium and document it in one of their upcoming TV episodes.

If you’re not familiar with Tanked, the show features entrepreneurs-turned-TVstars Wayde King and Brett Raymer, the founder and chief operating officer, respectively, of Acrylic Tank Manufacturing (ATM) in Las Vegas. They specialize in creating and installing distinctive and often outlandish custom aquariums for a variety of clients around the world. Each episode focuses on some of their most unusual and challenging projects and features a parade of exotic fish.

As longtime fish aficionados, the Gilliats previously commissioned ATM to install custom aquariums in their home and were featured in the series pilot in 2011.

But, according to Bruce Gilliat, it never occurred to him to install an aquarium in

his commercial laundry equipment. But he agreed that it would attract attention— and hopefully additional business—to his 24-hour East Charleston Boulevard coin laundry.

“My biggest concern was that I had enough on my plate with six stores to run, and wasn’t sure I could take on the responsibility of taking care of additional fish, on top of everything else!” he exclaims.

Working through his commercial laundry equipment distributor representative, Scott Harrington, at Western State Design, Dexter Laundry provided Gilliat with the stack washer-dryer unit.

The team at ATM removed the guts of the coin-op washer-dryer and turned it into an aquarium. The actual aquarium is in the upper part of the unit in place of the dryer, with the sides cut out for optimum viewing.

The lower part, where the washer normally is, contains the life support system for the aquarium, hidden by a bubbler so all that can be seen from the outside are bubbles.

“Installing an aquarium in a Laundromat is a challenging proposition,” says Gilliat. “Aquariums require partial water changes on an ongoing basis, but we couldn’t have pumps and hoses running across the floor of the store with kids and laundry carts everywhere.

“We discussed this with ATM and came up with a user-friendly water-change system that resides in the back room, increasing the enjoyment factor for visitors.”

As with all of the Gilliats’ Laundromats, the East Charleston Boulevard store has an attendant on duty most of the time. However, the installation includes a security gate that lowers over the tank to keep the public a safe distance when the attendant is not present, while still keeping the aquarium visible.

The inhabitants of the aquarium are saltwater fish including Heniochus (schooling bannerfish), some Raccoon Butterfly, and a Pinktail Trigger as well as other species.

“We will continue to play with the mix of fish to make sure we have the right group of fish that get along with each other since they are on display 24 hours a day,” says Bruce Gilliat.

“We believe this aquarium is a great point of interest for kids as well as adults and helps pass the time quickly,” he says. “Of course, we have free Wi-Fi, multiple TVs, vending machines and other amenities but having the aquarium on display will make visiting our store to do the laundry a little bit more fun.

“We hope to ‘net’ some new customers now that this project is ‘fin’-ished,” he quips.

Reality TV show Tanked crew installs fish tank in stack washer-dryer unit

Acrylic Tank Manufacturing, the centerpiece of the Animal Planet TV show Tanked, turned one of Las Vegas Coin Laundry’s stack washer-dryer units into a live aquarium. The build will be featured in an upcoming episode of the series. (Photo: Western State Design)

The growth in Internet usage over the past 15-20 years has provided small-business owners with a litany of marketing tools to expand their reach. Problem is, that same ubiquitous Internet has made it oh-so-easy for disgruntled customers to post negative reviews that can be long-lived and viewable by a vast audience.

Making the Best of BAD REVIEWS

Ever since man could first speak and there has been an exchange of goods or services, business owners have been subject to “customer reviews.” But where word of mouth once limited the reach of an angry patron, there are no constraints on reviews posted on a network that virtually circles the globe.

Enter websites like Yelp and customers suddenly have the ability to write and post a negative review that can be read by countless people. Reputation management is important, especially when a brick-andmortar business like a self-service laundry is limited by its area demographics.

So, what’s a Laundromat owner to do when a customer takes exception with his/ her business and decides to air their perceived grievances for all to see?

It would be easy to become angry and defensive—but any action you take from that point probably won’t serve to improve the situation.

By thoughtfully considering the basis of rational complaints and exploring action that will address them, you are taking lemons and making lemonade. Customers— and prospective customers—who see a store owner thoughtfully acknowledge a complaint and react positively are more likely to visit your operation.

How to use customer complaints to better your business

Try implementing the following tips to gain the most from bad customer reviews:

Don’t Ignore It

Ignoring bad reviews won’t make them go away. And inviting the perception that customer complaints are falling on deaf ears is never a good thing.

Pause Before Responding...

Your business is a source of personal pride, and negative reviews can be hurtful. You might not be in the best frame of mind immediately after reading comments critical of you, your staff or your business, so take some time to calm yourself if needed. If you respond defensively or in anger, you could make matters worse.

Read Between the Lines

As the reviewer may have been angry when they typed their comments, their position may be overshadowed by insults, or worse. Try taking the emotion out of their review to get to their true concerns.

...But Respond Promptly

This shows the reviewer that you value their opinion and care about them as a customer. (But take enough time to allow an impartial peer or colleague to look over your proposed answer, just in case.)

Be Courteous

Thank the reviewer for taking the time to share their thoughts about your business. Don’t be afraid to apologize if a mistake has been committed; often, an apology triggers a response to forgive. If possible, ask if you can have a conversation about their concerns offline, either via e-mail or phone.

Commit to Reviewing Your Operation

Use the information your reviewer provided to examine how your business operates and determine if, by doing things differently, you can improve your service for everyone’s benefit.

Familiarize Yourself with How Review Sites Work

Take the time to go through Yelp and other review sites and learn how they work. By fully understanding how a site functions, you’ll be better equipped to respond to customer complaints in the way most advantageous for your business.

All Reviews Provide an Opportunity to Improve

While receiving a critical customer review is never any fun, keep in mind that the person cared enough about your business and its place in his/her life to comment. Use it as an opportunity to view your operation through a customer’s eye and make adjustments or improvements if needed.

(Image licensed by Ingram Publishing)

The following companies and organizations reserved exhibit space in the Las Vegas Convention Center for Clean ’17 during the 30 days ending May 10, according to show manager Riddle & Associates.

At press time, the total number of exhibitors exceeds 470 (see our May issue for our initial list); it’s possible that more exhibitors will be added in the final weeks leading up to the June 5-8 event.

Where available, the descriptions of products and/or services provided here are general in nature and should not be considered all-inclusive.

Listings are subject to change without notice. Check www.cleanshow.com for any updates.

A❏ Air & Water Systems 3534 Industrial humidification and evaporative cooling equipment.

❏ G&I Innovation 3532

❏ Global Retail 1394

G❏ Howfleet, trading as 461 Uniform Depo Inc. Apparel.

H❏ JS Fiber Co. Inc. 247 Hospitality and healthcare bedding products.

B❏ Brother International Corp. 561 Sewing and embroidery equipment and supplies; labeling systems.

C❏ Clenacorp 3577 Specialty lubricants; ironer tapes; hot and cold surface cleaners.

❏ Conf Industries S.r.L. 3703 Hampers; cabinets; basket liners/covers.

D❏ D.J. Giancola Exports Inc. 1620 Export management company specializing in commercial laundry, drycleaning, boilers and related equipment.

❏ Expo Enterprise Inc. 560

❏

First Dry Clean Inc. 3707 Laundry and drycleaning services app.

Brittany Pettineo

THE IMPORTANCE OF CREATING A BRAND

The Harley-Davidson bar and shield is arguably one of the most recognized logos in the world. It’s on everything from shirts and hats to teddy bears and coffee mugs. And oh, by the way, it’s also on the company’s motorcycles.

That’s a brand, and the highest evolution of the species. People not only recognize the logo, but exactly what it stands for: terms like “rebel,” “rugged” and “individual” immediately spring to mind. When a brand reaches that pinnacle, customers connect with it on a much deeper level, and identify with those traits. The brand has become an experience. Don’t make the mistake, however, of assuming that branding of this kind is only for Fortune 500 companies. Brand consistency is instrumental in the healthy development and progression of any business, including Laundromats. A positive experience with your brand improves customer satisfaction and can help scale positive word-of-mouth that’s absolutely priceless.

HOW DOES BRANDING HELP?

Branding does five things for your business:

• Improves recognition. When your brand is broadcast across all mediums, from employee uniforms and signage to mailers and social media pages, it becomes recognized more easily. It also begins to draw out an attitude and personality for the store.

• Creates trust. Your laundry begins to take on human characteristics, which makes it easier for customers to develop a bond with it. That leads to increased

loyalty. Loyalty in any business, ours included, is imperative.

• Inspires employees. Grounded in your store’s mission and reason for being, employees are more likely to work in the same direction to achieve goals. Engaged, focused employees develop a team spirit that resonates with customers through a highquality experience in your laundry.

• Generates new customers. When customers have a memorable experience and have forged a bond with your store, they tell others. Think about the HarleyDavidson example. Harley owners’ passion is arguably one of the largest drivers of new customers.

• Builds consistency. You’re no longer convincing customers to come to your laundry; customers see your logo and are already thinking of when they will stop by next, without you even having to ask.

So there’s no way of minimizing the impact a strong brand presence can have on your business.

GETTING STARTED

Where store owners tend to fall down in terms of branding is early on. They don’t work to carve out a unique identity for their laundry. My advice is to spend time on naming your laundry and come up with something memorable to build your brand around. Next is to pair that name with a logo that gives your store its “pop” and contributes further to your laundry’s differentiation within the marketplace.

Treat this brand and identity mark as the foun-

Harley-Davidson is an example of a company that brands with the best of them. Consumers recognize its logo immediately and know exactly what it stands for. This type of deep connection can push a brand into the realm of becoming an “experience.”

The Huebsch® distributor network earned the highest Overall Distributor Quality Score in the vended laundry industry,* with outstanding marks for prompt response and proactive communication. Proof that whenever, wherever and however you need help, Huebsch distributors are there. Gulf States Laundry Machinery Company was recognized as the 2014 Huebsch Distributor of the Year earning them the designation “The Best of the Best.”

Gulf States Laundry Machinery Company, serving the Houston and Atlanta markets, is determined to provide the best service and best commercial laundry equipment at the best price. It’s the Gulf States Laundry Machinery Company way of doing business.

dational elements they are. Do not change or alter them in any way as you drop them into your website, mailings, store signage, uniforms, letterhead, social media, etc. Remember, the name of the game in brand-building is consistency.

I’m always surprised when I see owners of multiple stores not staying consistent with their brand, with some stores in their portfolio bearing different names. You have to view every element and touchpoint as an opportunity to strengthen the brand. Use a simple guide on branding — if it isn’t contributing positively to building the brand, it is watering it down.

With your logo and brand standards set, you’ll want to set up a Google My Business page so your store can be found by folks searching for a laundry in their area. The final piece of your outof-gate branding checklist is creating your web presence. Again, make sure your site’s overall look and feel represents your brand accurately — cultivating the personality you want customers to identify with.

Though it’s easy to want to jump into the social media realm and start building likes and followers, I caution against jumping in right away. Social media will be a large part of your branding efforts. However, this is not a plug-and-play endeavor; it’s involved. It really needs to be thought out.

You have to have a plan for how you will manage interactions on social media. Unless you can devote time to monitoring your social media each day and respond to posts, don’t take this additional task on until you have time to do so.

ADVANCED BRAND-BUILDING

Establishing and maintaining a recognizable and trusted brand is truly an art form. Laundromat owners must turn their brand into an experience for their customers. Here are four ways to change your company from just a brand to an experience by utilizing social media:

• Use photos — Photos and videos help convey actual experience, and they increase engagement.

• Monitor and respond — Engage in customer response on social media.

• Publicly reward your fans — Every brand has advocates. Celebrate them online. It makes interacting with your brand

more fun. Publicly thanking them and posting replies on your page help increase the engagement with your brand.

• Let customers share their experience — Create a place for customers to share their experience on your website or on a social network.

Events can be a nice way to build that link between your brand and fans. At the very least, think about hosting a store anniversary event each year. Small experiences like this are interaction opportunities, while also offering up additional content to enhance your social media and web presence.

KEEP A WIDER VIEW

Don’t lose focus of what your business is. It’s always a good idea to craft a calendar of posts to work off of. Keep content fresh but relevant to your audience. Laundry tips, equipment videos, stain guide links, etc., can all be helpful and spark shares and comments with your group. Help promote the industry as well by showing how vended laundries can be a more environmentally friendly option for washing clothes. Such messaging also helps position your business in a progressive light.

It doesn’t always have to be about wash-and-dry cycles and detergent. Keep an eye on pop culture and what’s going on. Quite often, the trends and things people are talking about on a wider view can be localized to your brand as an opportunity to get people talking.

Give your store’s fans a say in things. They spend almost as much time in the store as you. Open up conversations about additional amenities, the equipment capacities they like most, etc. You will gain business insights, create interactions and, again, build loyalty with your laundry’s fans.

Don’t fall into the trap of thinking, “I don’t have time, money, or a marketing team to build a brand for my laundry.” This, like paying bills, keeping up with store/machine maintenance, and auditing, is part of your business—something that has to be done. Make time to build a brand and connect with your customers.

Building your laundry’s brand doesn’t require a giant marketing budget or team of professionals. Doing it well in our business is about embracing the foundational elements of creating a unique name and company logo, implementing it with consistency, and carving out a web presence so potential customers can find you.

Businesses that provide great service and are dedicated to designing a brand that customers identify with tend to be far more successful than those that don’t. Therefore, it’s important not to ignore the creation of a brand, and maintaining it.

We all know how hard it can be to attract new customers versus maintaining good clients. Shouldn’t we do all we can to make sure those good customers are also good brand ambassadors helping attract new clients?

ACO

Brittany Pettineo is the director of marketing at Aaxon Laundry Systems, a Huebsch® distributorship based in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

(Image licensed by Ingram Publishing)

FLATWORK IRONERS: EXPANDING SERVICES

There’s a trend in the vended laundry industry to capture additional store revenue through commercial laundry services. A growing number of owners go a step further. They utilize a flatwork ironer to tap into new commercial accounts they otherwise couldn’t serve.

By installing an ironer, store owners and new laundry investors go beyond the industry standard; harness bigger accounts that require high-quality linen finishing; and bolster profits.

A laundry can quickly and automatically iron bedsheets, pillowcases and table linens, making it more attractive to healthcare, food and beverage, and hospitality clients. Soon, this business takes on more than a client’s sheets and table linens; it will process items such as towels and robes, too.

“Laundry Doctor” Jeff Gardner, who owns Sel-Dale Laundromat in St. Paul, Minn., maintains that his ability to iron sheets and pillowcases directly grew sales. He processes 200 sheets per hour using a 13-inch Continental Flatwork Ironer.

“That single piece of equipment allowed me to do work for massage therapists, spas and acupuncturists,” Gardner says. “They started talking about my business to friends. Then business boomed. The ironer paid for itself the first year. Now it pays for itself every month.”

PLAN FOR SPACE NEEDED

Often, the biggest challenge is available space. Store developers can (and should) plan for that space ahead of time. But for those who own an existing vended laundry, they’ll need to dedicate a separate space for an ironer.

You can expect a 13-inch flatwork ironer to occupy 60 cubic feet; this includes the machine, installation clearances, and necessary work area. This space allows operators the elbow room needed for feeding and catching linens.

Making the ironer visible to customers, yet out of their way, is also smart. Visibility helps advertise a new service, according to Mike “Stucky” Szczotka, New Wave Laundromat, Sterling Heights, Mich. He’s owned his Continental ironer for 14 years, and thanks to its ability to iron flatwork, he says he quickly elevated profits by $800 per week.

BIGGER ACCOUNTS SEEKING HIGHER QUALITY

Gardner and Szczotka agree that their ironers opened up opportunities to new business, strengthened overall profits and differentiated their laundries from the competition.

“We are very profitable because of the ironer’s speed and quality finish,” Gardner says.

Szczotka, who is also an experienced dry cleaner, quickly catered to cosmetic surgeons, massage therapists and party rental companies. He uses the ironer in combination with highly programmable washers to properly clean and finish spa and table linens, which are notorious for stains and grease.

HOW THE IRONER WORKS

There are certain features and capabilities — waxless operation, solid programmability and ease of use, for example — that can separate one ironer model from another.

Szczotka and Gardner say they chose their ironers because the machines integrate these features and automatically modify cylinder speed based on the ironer’s heat maintenance and programmed temperature.

“This allows operators to feed damp items into the ironer directly from the washer — bypassing dryer conditioning,” says Szczotka.

For those interested in learning more about the viability of an ironer in their own business, they should reach out to their equipment distributor. Most distributors can analyze whether an ironer is justified based on a store’s goals, demographics, available space and potential return on investment. ACO

Joel Jorgensen, vice president of sales for laundry equipment manufacturer Continental Girbau Inc., has 23 years of industry experience. He offers his vended laundry development and operations expertise as a frequent contributor to a variety of industry publications.

New Wave Laundromat attendant Sharon Burwell uses the Michigan store’s 14-year-old flatwork ironer to quickly iron bed and table linens, including round tablecloths. (Photo: New Wave)

Joel Jorgensen

Outperform the Competition

IT’S TIME TO SET YOURSELF APART FROM THE REST

A man had lived in his neighborhood for three years. One day, while doing an errand, he happened to turn his head and saw a Laundromat that was quite near his house. He’d walked that path a hundred times before and never noticed that the Laundromat was there until then. If he hadn’t turned his head at exactly that moment, he would have probably never noticed.

I heard another story. A person had lived in a town for years and traveled to the next town to get his clothes cleaned because he didn’t know that there was a Laundromat just two streets away.

Why does this happen? How many people are ignorant of your store? Why would any area resident not know of your existence? How can you remedy this situation?

Consider how serious this situation is. There are people in your area who don’t know you are there. Maybe they weren’t around when you opened up and never noticed your presence. Or they never travel up your road. Or have never asked about a Laundromat in town.

How many people are going to other Laundromats because they don’t know about you, when it would be more convenient to go to you? Twenty, let’s say. That’s about $200 less business a week (at $10 average spending a visit), which translates to $10,000 a year. You could certainly use that $10,000 revenue, I’m sure.

The first answer is to make your storefront stand out so that it captures attention. Make yourself visible. It’s your public face. You would not want to walk around with a bag over your head, would you? Of course not.

So, at the same time, do something to create a unique identity. It’s not only walkers you need to attract, but automobile drivers who pass by. Make it clear so that

people know what is done on the premises.

I believe if you walked by 20 Laundromat storefronts, you would miss most of them. Which shows that most operators aren’t doing what they should be doing.

A large window showing the Laundromat interior isn’t sufficient. Your signage needs to be vivid. A sign that includes a cartoon of a woman using a scrub board would attract attention. One with huge 2-foot letters reading “Laundromat” helps. A bright red border around the front would garner attention. If possible, have a protruding sign that backs up the facing sign.

Speaking of colors, paint your front trim coral or lime green or hot pink. Or paint your door vivid purple. Not the whole front—just the trim. It’s a job you could do yourself. A sandwich board sign out front creates attention. On it, paint a swatch of hot pink. Alongside, print the phrase, “Your Clothes Come Out This Bright Here.”

Still another option is to place something interesting in the window. Something like a naked mannequin with a sign around her neck reading, “You Won’t Go Away Naked Here!” Or, “You’ll Feel Right at Home Here.”

Another idea is to have a scrubboard with a sign that reads, “There Are Easier Ways to Wash Your Clothes Inside.” Another possibility: “You Won’t Have to Scrub Hard to Get Your Clothes Cleaned Here.”

Hang a bird cage in your front window, with the sign, “If You’re a Nesting Sort, You’ll Love Our Cleaning.” If nothing else, hang a stylish handmade sign that reads, “Let Us Clean Your Clothes Here,” in that window.

Create a village storefront. Put up flower boxes below the window. Place a bench in front of the store. Nail up a flower trellis that runs up a portion of the window

Howard Scott

Primus

near the front door. Such homey touches often garner attention. Know someone talented? Have them create a street number colored with rainbow hues or psychedelic art. Each number would be cut out and placed on the inside of the front door so passersby would be diverted by the catchy art.

What you should be trying to do is create something visibly interesting that attracts attention but does not involve spending a fortune. Be bold. Be artsy. Go for it, for otherwise you will just be a store among a row of stores.

Perhaps your local newspaper could provide some free publicity. Speak to a reporter about doing a story about your Laundromat. Maybe you are having an event he/she could cover. Better yet— come up with a human interest idea. Say, every Sunday morning, your Laundromat is full of single men. Suggest the reporter drop in on a Sunday morning and speak to some of these individuals, asking why they choose to do their laundry then.

You may know a few couples who met at your Laundromat. Suggest that the reporter interview them as to how their meetings came about. Do you know an “unsung hero” who patronizes your store to do her neighbor’s laundry? That would make a good story. And if you’re successful in seeing one article published, keep after

it. The key is to develop a relationship with the reporter, realizing that his biggest need is for news, but be careful to not push too hard.

Finally, get the word out by walking the neighborhood. Put circulars in the neighborhood haunts. Stick them on supermarket bulletin boards. Hang on public message boards.

When you see someone entering an apartment building, ask if they have washers and dryers. If they don’t, suggest he/she put up a circular providing information about your Laundromat.

In all your dealings with people, make sure you inform them that you own the best Laundromat in town. Encourage your staff, friends, family and neighbors to do the same.

In your store, hang a sign that reads, “Tell Your Neighbors About Us.” Give a $5 coupon toward laundry services to any customer who brings in a new patron. A connection here, a connection there, and before long you’ve expanded your reputation.

Do all these things, and you enlarge your Laundromat’s presence in the community. ACO

Howard Scott is a longtime business writer and consultant. He can be reached at dancinghill@gmail.com.

EASTERN FUNDING PROMOTES ROBLES-GUESS TO EXECUTIVE VP

Eastern Funding, a lender to businesses in the commercial laundry, grocery and specialty vehicle industries, has promoted Nancy Robles-Guess to executive vice president. In her added role, she will join the company’s executive committee and help set Eastern Funding’s strategic goals.

“For over 10 years, Nancy has played a substantial role in the growth of Eastern Funding,” says Stephen Gramaglia, the company’s chief operating officer. “She has led our drive to become nimbler, more efficient and better able to function as a leading lender to thousands of businesses.”

Robles-Guess joined the company in 2005 after serving in management roles in a number of commercial lending companies. During her tenure at Eastern Funding, she has managed its operations functions, including credit, documentation, funding and loan servicing functions. She also serves as the firm’s compliance officer.

“I look forward to playing a more integral role in shaping the long-term future of Eastern Funding and helping to make it even better for our customers and employees for years to come,” she says.

Michael Fanger and Brian Grell launched Eastern Funding in 1997, focusing on the commercial laundry industry in the Northeast. Since then, their company has branched out nationwide and entered the Canadian market.

Recently, the company reported that it had surpassed $2 billion in projects funded across all divisions. Eastern Funding considers itself “the leading non-captive financing company in the commercial laundry industry” and says it has helped thousands of laundry and drycleaning business owners with funds for new equipment, business acquisitions, refinancing, and the building of new Laundromats.

AAXON LAUNDRY SYSTEMS SR. VP CELEBRATES 40 YEARS IN INDUSTRY

Commercial laundry equipment distributor Aaxon Laundry Systems is honoring one of its own during a special anniversary this year. Edward Smith has been working in the laundry industry for 40 years, the last 22 of which have been as Aaxon’s senior vice president.

Prior to joining Aaxon, Smith led his own distribution business selling commercial laundry equipment to the coin and on-premises laundry segments.

Through his many years of experience, Smith has developed expertise in Laundromat site selection, design and lease negotiation, Aaxon says. He builds laundry projects with investors from the ground up and also advises current laundry owners on how to finance new equipment purchases and grow their businesses.

Additionally, Smith manages Aaxon’s sales team, overseeing the flow of contracts and installations in the company’s multi-housing

division, as well as involvement in daily internal operations.

Smith admires the ability of his team to see the “big picture.”

“We all share the same big-picture goals,” he says. “There’s an incredible sense of camaraderie here. Everyone has a high esprit de corps.”

Smith adds that he looks forward to the free Laundry Service Schools that Aaxon offers throughout the year to laundry owners and service technicians in the South Florida area.

“I’m hoping attendees will walk away confident in tackling minor equipment repairs on their own,” says Smith. “Aaxon’s ultimate goal is to help laundry owners be self-sufficient, profitable and proficient.”

Aside from his business role, Smith is also passionate about serving his community, where he has been chairman and director of The North Miami Beach Optimist Club’s Special Olympics for more than 30 years.

“The time and effort he has spent with the Special Olympics has been an inspiration for all of us,” says Frank D’Annunzio, Aaxon’s CEO.

GOOD JOINS WASH MULTIFAMILY LAUNDRY SYSTEMS AS CEO

Laundry facilities management service firm WASH Multifamily Laundry Systems has a new CEO, Mark C. Good, who was appointed to the post in late March.

The company says Good is an “accomplished senior executive with a proven track record of driving profitable growth in the consumer services and self-storage industries.”

“With his focus on building operational excellence and producing results through process improvement, Mark Good’s leadership skills are a great fit for WASH during this exciting time of extraordinary expansion and deepening

Mark Good

In 2017, Aaxon Laundry Systems Sr. Vice President Edward Smith is celebrating having worked 40 years in the laundry industry, including the last 22 with the Florida-based equipment distributor. (Photo: Aaxon)

Nancy Robles-Guess

of enterprise capabilities,” says Doug Gilstrap, chairman of the WASH Board of Directors.

“Additionally, Good’s demonstrated experience with successful mergers and acquisitions will enable new strategic partnership opportunities, continued territory expansion, and potential extension into adjacent business lines,” he adds.

Prior to joining WASH, Good served as co-founder and CEO of LifeStorage LP, where he rapidly scaled company growth by leading acquisitions, organizational build-out and brand positioning, WASH says. This resulted in building the fourth largest private owner/operator of self-storage facilities in the U.S. in four years.

Before that, he served as chief operating officer of Public Storage, the largest publicly traded self-storage company in the world, and executive vice president of Sears Holdings and president of Sears Home Services, the largest home-related services organization in North America.

“I am excited about this new opportunity,” says Good. “WASH is positioned to be a world-class leader in the multifamily service industry. I look forward to putting my decades of executive experience and hands-on operational know-how to work with the rest of the management team and the board as we guide WASH during this historic, transformative phase of growth and development.”

Good has a masters of business administration degree from San Francisco State University and a bachelor of arts degree from the University of California at Berkeley.

WASH’s laundry room operations can be found at apartment properties, condominiums, college and university residence halls, military bases, and other multi-housing locations. The company operates in 20 states and all Canadian provinces.

HUEBSCH NAMES GALLOWAY STORE OWNER OF QUARTER

Huebsch® has named multi-store owner Teddy Galloway the latest recipient of its Store Owner of the Quarter award. Since buying his first store in 2002, Galloway has not slowed down in building a stable of 10 locations in southern West Virginia and eastern Tennessee.

“Teddy is a prime example of what success in the laundry business looks like,” says Kathryn Rowen, North American sales manager for Huebsch. “He has selected the right locations, worked extremely hard, and kept the focus always on providing an excellent customer experience. The kind of owner we are proud to work with.”

Galloway is a strong believer in everything happening for a reason, including the serendipitous meeting with his laundry equipment distributor, Stan Bradley at Laundry Systems of the Carolinas.

He was visiting a sandwich shop over lunch when a friend waved him over to introduce him to Bradley, with whom the friend was discussing a Laundromat retool. A week later, Galloway became interested in buying that Laundromat, and Bradley was his first call.

Since that first meeting, Galloway says Bradley has become far more than a distributor supplying Huebsch equipment as he grows his portfolio of stores; he has become a trusted friend.

“It’s more like an unwritten partnership,” Galloway says in describing the relationship with Bradley and his company. “Whenever I have needed something, they have gone out of their way to help. I wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn’t for Laundry Systems.”

Galloway has grown his business by retooling existing stores and through new construction. On both fronts, Huebsch equipment and Huebsch Financial Services have been trusted allies.

Previously, he worked in the engineering department of a coal company, but when his business grew to four locations, he decided to leave his job and focus on the business full-time.

Half the stores in rural locations are open 24/7, while the other city-based businesses are open 6 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. All are customer-focused, as Galloway’s goal is to create a family-friendly atmosphere within which his customers get the “biggest bang for their buck.” That includes an emphasis on “big” machines. More than 50% of the washers (and every dryer) in his stores are of the large, multi-load variety because “that is what customers want and look for,” he says.

Galloway says the support of his family—wife Amy and sons Ethan and Thomas—has helped make him successful, as has his distributor partnership.

HK’S SALES EXTRAVAGANZA CELEBRATES HALF-CENTURY OF SERVICE

It’s been 50 years ago since Armonk, N.Y.-based distributor HK Laundry Equipment went into business. What better way to celebrate than to gather customers and prospects at the Ethan Allan Inn, Danbury, Conn., for HK’s 10th Annual Sales Extravaganza, the company reports.

Everyone received a commemorative 50th anniversary HK tiedye T-shirt for attending.

Company President Karl Hinrichs presented ideas about which

Teddy Galloway, who owns 10 stores in southern West Virginia and eastern Tennessee, is the latest Huebsch Store Owner of the Quarter. (Photo: Alliance Laundry Systems)

improvements to a Laundromat will provide the Best Bang for Your Buck. Huebsch’s Keith York reviewed his company’s “Replacement Tool” calculator, which can be useful in assessing “what if” scenarios such as local water/sewer rates going up or how offering extra wash/rinse cycle modifiers might influence sales.

Coin Laundry Association President Brian Wallace discussed the laundry industry and acknowledged HK’s unique 50-year benchmark. Finally, the founding partner of HK, Reed Hinrichs, explained how the company was created a half-century ago.

Manufacturers on hand to speak with attendees and celebrate with HK included Alliance Laundry Systems, Standard ChangeMakers, Hamilton Engineering, Vend-Rite Mfg., Caco Mfg., Card Concepts and ESD.

There were hourly giveaways, and the grand prize of a Huebsch front loader was won by Tyler Fahey from Patriot Wash & Dry, Peekskill, N.Y.

LAUNDRY OWNERS WAREHOUSE, DEXTER EAGER TO ASSIST STORE OWNERS

Commercial equipment distributor Laundry Owners Warehouse recently hosted a Dexter Laundry service school at its Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., headquarters, educating laundry owners and operators about the most effective ways to enhance the performance of the brand’s equipment.

The March 8 event focused on teaching owners and operators to troubleshoot, maintain and program their Dexter laundry equipment effectively. The school was conducted in collaboration with the manufacturer, with experts from the company speaking to the attendees.

“The Dexter Laundry Service School taught me a lot about making the most of the equipment I have invested in for my Laundromat,” says Grant Einhorn of Gee Coin Laundry, Plantation, Fla. “Previously, I had to call in a technician even when

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there was a minor problem, but now I am confident I will be able to tackle these problems on my own.”

Statewide chose the tour approach to make it possible for all customers to attend in every region of Florida, but it even attracted customers from Georgia.

The Road Shows featured do-it-yourself Service and Repair Seminars to benefit Laundromat owners in the event of a mechanical malfunction, equipping them with the knowledge needed to tend to the issues themselves.

An open house featuring industry vendors took place, as well as multiple interactive service demonstrations presented by Statewide and Speed Queen personnel.

“The best part about the Road Shows for me as a multi-store laundry owner is networking with trusted vendors and fellow laundry operators in an open, relaxed environment,” says store owner Tom Rhodes and president of the Florida Coin Laundry Association. “I attend every year!”

Laundry Owners Warehouse also honored attendee Virgil Simpson, who recently celebrated his 80th birthday. Simpson has spent more than 40 years in the business as a distributor and store operator, the company says.

Dexter and Laundry Owners Warehouse plan to continue conducting similar service school events in the future. The idea is to help laundry owners and operators bolster the quality of their services and reduce downtime.

STATEWIDE LAUNDRY EQUIPMENT WRAPS UP SPRING ROAD SHOWS

Distributor Statewide Laundry Equipment recently concluded its three-day Spring Road Show tour, the company reports.

The three-stop tour kicked off March 29 in Riverview, Fla. Next stop was Orlando on March 30, and the event wrapped up its trek at Statewide’s headquarters just outside Miami on April 5.

DISTRIBUTOR ADVANTAGE EQUIPMENT TRIPLES SIZE OF HQ

Advantage Equipment Inc. reports it recently moved into a new facility in Akron, Ohio. The 13,000-square-foot building at 1056 Home Ave. triples the size of the company’s current headquarters.

Advantage Equipment, in its 20th year of business, caters to vended, on-premises and industrial laundry customers throughout West Virginia and large portions of Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Owner Scott Vlahos says his company has “experienced significant growth in sales and product offerings” and needed space to add staff and services after outgrowing its former location.

The new facility features a product showroom and houses all office, parts, service and warehouse operations for the company.

“Our team works hard to provide exceptional service and nurture long-lasting friendships with our customers,” Vlahos says. “Our new facility will help us to grow, and simultaneously, more quickly respond to customer needs.”

Advantage Equipment provides multiple equipment lines, including Continental Girbau, Hamilton, ADC, Ram Air, LG and Sports Laundry Systems®. Additionally, the company supplies chemical products and ancillary laundry items.

ACO

Personnel from Statewide Laundry Equipment pose with siblings Bob Wallner (second from left) and Donna Wallner (center) at one of the distributor’s Spring Road Shows. The Wallners, who are Statewide customers, recently won the 2016 Speed Queen® Art of the Journey contest. (Photo: Statewide Laundry Equipment)

Laundry equipment distributor Advantage Equipment recently moved into a 13,000-squarefoot Akron, Ohio, building that tripled the size of its headquarters. (Photo: Advantage Equipment)

A presenter speaks to the audience during Laundry Owners Warehouse’s recent Dexter service school in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. (Photo: Laundry Owners Warehouse)