American Coin-Op - May 2018

CLEAN HISTORY: A LAUNDROMAT THAT ANCHORS A KANSAS TOWN

When Christy Davis purchased an old building in rural Cottonwood Falls, Kan., to redevelop as a Laundromat, she knew nothing about running one. But when a contractor removing a drop ceiling revealed an intact pressed-tin ceiling, everything changed for the historic preservation expert.

GOIN’ WITH COHEN: WACKY WORLD OF WASH

Columnist Laurance Cohen shares some coin laundry sights and sounds that will make you go, “Huh?”

VA-VA-VA-VEND

Waiting is a part of the typical Laundromat experience. You have the power to make your customers’ visit as comfortable as possible, maybe even enjoyable, and that’s where amenities like vending machines come in.

A CLOSER LOOK

SMALL PRICE TO PAY

PAYMENT TRENDS

During the time I’ve been working on this issue, springtime has arrived and I’ve never been happier. Sure, the Great Lakes had to endure yet another snow or two before our daytime temperatures finally reached the range that I consider comfortable. Believe me, it was a small price to pay.

Speaking of payment, this month’s cover story addresses that issue as it relates to self-service laundry operations. While coin remains the preferred means of payment used in Laundromats, surveys show that cashless systems are gaining broader acceptance among customers and store owners. And app-based systems are now staking their claim to a share of the payment pie.

Turn to page 8 to get the latest.

WACKY WORLD OF WASH

Columnist Laurance Cohen spends a lot of time on the road and rarely takes a trip without visiting at least one laundry. This month, rather than featuring a specific store, Cohen takes us on a journey to some of the country’s more unique laundries. Where can you walk through a 15-foot-tall buffalo skull to get to a washer? Or see Betty the Washwoman, who even has her own calendar? Jump on the bus starting on page 26.

MORE WHERE THAT CAME FROM

There’s plenty more for you this month, including a Coin-Op 101 column on dryer pricing, a look at vending in Laundromats, and the tale of a Kansas store whose history was preserved.

And if you haven’t yet checked out our new podcast, available now at https://americancoinop.com, what are you waiting for? The first two episodes are available now, and the third will be posted the last week of this month. They’re free—which is the smallest price to pay.

Bruce Beggs Editorial Director

Charles Thompson, Publisher

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

Donald Feinstein, Associate Publisher/ National Sales Director

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

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

OFFICE INFORMATION

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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 59, number 5. 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, 2018. 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

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PAYMENT TRENDS:

Coin is King but Alternate Systems Seek the Throne

For many years, the self-service laundry industry has operated on the simple premise that a customer can wash or dry their clothes by placing a predetermined number of coins (or tokens) into a mechanism connected to a washer or dryer and insert them into the machine.

Yes, payment by coin continues to be the preferred method used in Laundromats today, but the times are—pardon the pun—a-changin’. The share of cashless stores—“coinless” is probably a more apt description—is growing larger year by year, it seems.

Depending on the type of payment system, customers can transfer a dollar amount to a “store card” or “loyalty card” (using cash or a credit/debit card; systems vary) that is then used to start the vended washers/dryers in that particular store, or can use a credit, debit or EBT (electronic benefit transfer) card to start a machine. Some systems enable stores to accept coin, credit card, store or loyalty card, or a combination.

And gaining traction in the industry are

by Bruce Beggs, Editorial Director

app-based payment platforms that allow customers to pay for wash cycles and dry time using their mobile devices.

Store owners seem to be taking notice of the expanded payment choices. In this publication’s annual State of the Industry survey for 2017-18, roughly 65% of store owners polled said they operate coin-only stores, 6.9% operate card-only stores, and 27.8% offer both payment methods. The shares of card-only stores and so-called “hybrid” stores both increased from the prior year’s unscientific survey.

By comparison, several years earlier, in the 2012-13 State of the Industry survey, the split was 83% coin only, 7.6% card only, and 9.2% offered both.

Based on those survey results, store owners are seeing the advantages that cashless payment systems offer but still believe in offering coin payment, too.

But will there come a time when cashless finally overtakes coins as the preferred payment method used in Laundromats?

Let’s hear what some experts have to say about today’s payment trends and where they see things going as consumer preference and equipment technology evolve.

COIN IS DOMINANT, BUT FOR HOW LONG?

So why does payment by coin/cash remain the dominant payment type in vended laundries?

“I think there are several reasons,” offers Wayne Lewis, sales manager for ESD Inc., which offers both mechanical and electronic payment systems to laundries. “No. 1, the investor or store owner group is still very diversified … I think a lot of them still feel most comfortable in dealing with what the customer base has been used to for years and years, which is coin.

“I think it’s a misperception from their standpoint, they just have a feeling that their customer base, for whatever reason, that they just wouldn’t adopt the use of a card payment system. They never want to risk losing a customer.”

“I think ‘old habits die hard,’” says Steve Marcionetti, president of Card ▲

Store owners seem to be taking notice of expanded payment choices

(Photo compilation: © iStockphoto & Ingram Publishing)

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Concepts Inc. (CCI), which makes payment systems that accept coin, credit/debit cards, and loyalty cards. “Many distributors and operators have been running with coins so long, they are resistant to change. The value proposition has not yet sunk in with many and so they overly focus on the initial investment rather than the return on investment.”

But Marcionetti says his team is seeing an increasing percentage of existing stores either installing a hybrid system (coin/card) or a card-only system.

“In one word: demographics,” says Butch Bruner, president of Imonex, a company known for its mechanical coin drops that recently introduced a multi-coin plus integrated smartphone payment system. “Coins are universally known by members of every socioeconomic class and remain the most intuitive vended payment format.

“The journey toward cashless payment has been fraught with friction—barriers the public prefers to avoid when performing an otherwise simple transaction. Just because a device accepts non-cash payment doesn’t necessarily mean people will accept it.”

Oleg Stepanov, representing card payment systems provider Mitech Integrated Systems (Laundroworks), says the total dollar amount loaded onto laundry card by cash (bills) outnumbers the total dollar amount loaded by credit/debit “by a factor of two, sometimes three.”

“It’s really quite simple — while credit/ debit and mobile payment use is generally increasing, many customers, and especially those of Laundromats, still do not have access to credit cards or prefer to pay with cash,” he says. “Although it’s important to accept credit/debit cards, cash is still king.”

“While that statement is true, if you analyze it a little closer, you will realize the trend has changed,” comments Michael

Setomatic Systems

Schantz, president of Setomatic Systems, whose company offers a system that accepts all forms of payment. “I think you will find the majority of new builds and retools in recent years accept some other form of payment besides coins. You need to in order to remain relevant and competitive.”

THE BENEFITS OF CASHLESS

What benefits can a hybrid coin/cashless system or a fully cashless system offer a laundry owner?

“The benefits are many, and, for most, making more money while spending less time ‘working’ their laundry is enough,” says CCI’s Marcionetti. “For others, the marketing opportunities that the right payment system provides can turn an ‘OK’ location into a ‘great’ location. … hybrid systems owners benefit from offering convenience to retail customers through credit and debit card acceptance, full audit capabilities, and a mobile application to help implement marketing programs. Full card system owners benefit from the same improvements with the addition of penny incremental pricing, central collection, and improved float [the unused value or funds left on a loyalty card], which asks retail

customers to pay in advance for wash and improves customer loyalty.”

“The benefits of both type of systems are really too numerous to list,” advises Setomatic’s Schantz, “but a few major ones are cash control (accountability), loyalty programs, and to differentiate your laundry from your competitors.

“Most millennials never have any cash on them at all, so to limit to only coin acceptance is excluding a big potential customer base. Allowing every payment option allows you to market your Laundromat to every demographic.”

“There are some variations even between those two designations,” ESD’s Lewis suggests. “The hybrid system operator which is still accepting coin but yet bringing in an additional means of payment, whether that be credit card only, whether that be store loyalty card only, or even combinations of all three, the benefits they’re bringing in by adding some of that is that newer technology, that newer user who is more inclined to use their card over cash. I think the ones who are doing that are seeing increases in revenue.

“The fully cashless operator, they have the benefit of penny-based pricing, variable pricing, because they’re not tied to quarter denominations. Once you eliminate that coin, your pricing flexibility changes dramatically.”

MOBILE ON THE MOVE

How has the arrival of mobile platforms impacted payment options?

“Mobile has certainly changed the game for vended laundry,” says Paresh Patel, Ph.D., founder and CEO of PayRange, an in-app mobile payment service for automated retail. “While card systems for laundry have been around for a couple decades, they have not gained

as much adoption

“Most millennials never have cash on them at all, so to limit to only coin acceptance is excluding a big potential customer base.”

—Michael Schantz,

“I think ‘old habits die hard.’ Many distributors and operators have been running with coins so long, they are resistant to change.”

—Steve Marcionetti, Card Concepts (CCI)

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in part due to the high costs of purchasing, maintaining, and operating such systems.

“With mobile-based payment systems, the cost of getting into the system is about 1/10th the cost, and the ongoing costs are affordable. Moreover, the system can continue to evolve, and new features are easily added without having to revisit laundry rooms simply by updating the mobile app.”

Washlava is a mobile technology startup that launched the world’s first exclusively app-enabled Laundromat (no coins or cards are used for payment) last year in Tampa, Fla. In coming months, other Washlavaenabled locations are scheduled to launch in four major cities, the company says.

“From my perspective, mobile payment platforms have very little effect on the laundry business so far,” says Jamie Sewell, chief revenue officer for Washlava. “These platforms have not reached critical mass, which I attribute to a lack of consistency within national retailers.”

“My feeling is that mobile applications work well as a complement to card solutions,” says CCI’s Marcionetti. “We have offered a mobile application for many years and although we see increased usage on this platform, the majority of transactions are still running coin or card.

“I anticipate that mobile usage will continue to grow but more traditional card systems will continue to grow as the norm. Our industry seems to be slow to adopt change. This, like many other new offerings, will take time to become ‘normal.’”

WHAT TO PONDER IF CONSIDERING A SWITCH

So what are basic questions you should ask if considering switching to a different payment method, whatever it may be?

“This is probably the most important issue needing answers,” says Dave Richards, vice president for CryptoPay, which offers a credit card payment system for laundries. “Answers can be found in customer demographics, feedback, business analysis, all leading to a plan to implement. Who are your customers in terms of income, age, education, etc.? For example, your Laundromat is located near a university. You can assume most if not all students are tech-smart and probably already use some form of cashless payment. Remaining a cash-only operation is probably losing customers and is certainly not attracting new customers.”

“Technology is about user experience, first and foremost,” says Washlava’s Sewell.

“It should provide competitive advantage to the operator investing in and deploying it. To do so, it needs to offer convenience and/or value to users. Consumers today are inundated with too many choices. Businesses who simplify and streamline the customer experience are rewarded with intense loyalty and new customer referrals.”

“Laundry owners are very progressiveminded and know their business and market,” says Imonex’s Bruner. “Each and every system offers different features and limitations. Operators should write down what they hope to achieve, explore each system’s capabilities, and then pick the best one for them.”

“There are more choices today than ever when it comes to alternate payment systems,” CCI’s Marcionetti says. “Before considering a solution, I think it’s important that investors and owners look closely (at) what they hope to accomplish with an alternate system.”

“The basic question each operator must ask is, ‘What is the total cost of ownership of this system over a period of five years?’” PayRange’s Patel says. “This should include the hardware costs, the activation fees, monthly fees, transaction fees based on estimated volume, service call fees to repair broken equipment, vandalism expense, annual fees, and whatever else. Companies may offer different programs that make direct comparisons difficult if one does not compute the total cost of ownership.”

“Will the payment system allow me to take customers away from competition (or prevent loss of customers to them)?” Laundroworks’ Stepanov asks rhetorically. “What are the other benefits of the system beyond just payments? Many payment systems are much more than just payment systems—they are actually also

management systems.”

PREDICTING THE FUTURE

Trends show that cashless payment acceptance is growing, among consumers and self-service laundry owners, but the experts differ about when they believe the industry will more fully embrace cashless payment—and how this might occur.

“There’s definitely an upward trend in credit card and mobile use,” offers Laundroworks’ Stepanov. “It’s important to give customers payment options. The industry is still decade(s) away from the point where a store can be fully coinless and cashless. A store needs to be able to accept coins or card (which is reloadable by cash).”

“I think the continuing trend and growth of hybrid stores is going to continue and be the leader, only because the highest percentage of stores are either unattended or only partly attended,” says ESD’s Lewis. “Those owners, because of that, want to provide multiple payment options and not just restrict the users to one without someone being there to walk a new user through it.”

Washlava’s Sewell is confident there will be a “material shift” in payment trends in the next five years.

“At Excellence in Laundry two years ago, the keynote speaker told the audience that they should get ready to drop ‘Coin’ from the CLA’s name,” she says. “A paradigm shift is coming in this industry, from analog to digital, from manual to remote. This trend will bring new investors into the industry, unafraid of and experienced with new technology. … Cashless payments through mobile apps will certainly be part of this shift, but it’s about more than just payments. What customers experience in Laundromats is going to get a significant upgrade.”

“A paradigm shift is coming in this industry, from analog to digital, from manual to remote.”

—Jamie Sewell,

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CLEAN HISTORY:

A Laundromat that Anchors a Kansas Town

by Meghan White

Use the buildings downtown first. That’s the unspoken rule in small towns in Kansas, where empty (and often historic) storefronts dot the main streets. And in Cottonwood Falls—a town of less than 900—that’s just what the owners of the Wash-O-Rama Laundromat did.

“There was an economic need for a Laundromat [in Cottonwood Falls],” says Christy Davis, who opened Wash-O-Rama with her husband in 2016. As a board member of the Chase County Chamber of Commerce, Davis learned from surveys for a community development plan that Laundromats were few and far between in Kansas’ small towns, but were needed most.

Though the town is small, many properties have guest houses for tourists and visitors. Most, though, don’t have their own laundry facilities. Likewise, some of the townspeople don’t own washers and dryers either. A Laundromat in the town would have made all the difference. “I remember thinking, ‘Somebody should do that,’” she says.

Davis has worked in the field of historic preservation for about 20 years. She was the Kansas Deputy SHPO and ran a preservation consulting firm. Currently, she serves as executive director of Symphony in the Flint Hills, which advocates for Kansas’ Flint Hills tallgrass prairie, one of the most endangered cultural landscapes in the country.

While Davis had completed numerous preservation projects in small, rural towns, she knew nothing about operating a Laundromat. But she did know about community development and the value

When Christy Davis purchased it, the historic building looked nothing like it used to. Located on the main Cottonwood Falls thoroughfare, the circa-1900 building had little remaining of its exterior architecture. (Photo: Ben Moore Studio)

The Wash-O-Rama Laundromat building qualified for a federal 10% Rehabilitation Tax Credit. (Photos by Harold Gaston/ Kanscape Photography unless otherwise noted)

of using old building stock in a place like Cottonwood Falls.

The building she chose could not have been more surprising. Located on the town’s main thoroughfare, the circa-1900 building had little remaining of its exterior architecture. A 1970s renovation replaced the original facade with large, square bluegreen plastic tiles that were incongruous with the rest of the streetscape. The building, which was last used as an office, had drop ceilings and wood-paneled walls inside.

“I imagine there were people who didn’t see the potential,” Davis says, “but I’ve been doing this for a long time.”

Despite her experience with preservation projects, the Laundromat was going to be a standard remodel. But when The Larkin Company, the contractor for the Laundromat, removed the drop ceiling and revealed an intact pressed-tin ceiling, everything changed for Davis. “My little preservation heart melted.”

“That was a turning point in the project,” says Ben Moore of Ben Moore Studio, the architecture firm leading the renovation. “We shifted gears and looked at the historic photos.”

There weren’t many surviving historic photos, but they learned enough to design a sympathetic facade. And because the structure underwent many renovations that diminished—but didn’t eliminate—its historic integrity, the project qualified for the federal 10% Rehabilitation Tax Credit, which is available to commercial buildings built prior to 1936 that are not certified historic structures. (This is different from

the federal Historic Tax Credit [HTC] that provides a 20% credit for rehabilitating non-residential historic structures listed on the National Register.)

The contractor framed Wash-O-Rama’s storefront windows with columns and a decorative lintel capped with a parapet, all made of pressed tin engineered to look like limestone. Moore worked with W.F. Norton, the company that produced the original tin, for the restoration. Inside, the sea-green tin ceiling adds a punch to the neutral walls, washers, and dryers.

The impact of the Laundromat on Cottonwood Falls has been greater than Davis could have imagined. Because it’s one of the only businesses in town open 24/7, there’s a lot of opportunity for it to be more than a Laundromat. Not only does it provide a much-needed service, it has also

become a welcoming community center.

In June 2017, for example, the county hosted the popular Flint Hills Rodeo. The Davises held a “Bronco Brunch” in the Laundromat before the big event. The next month, Symphony in the Flint Hills hosted an opera workshop, so Davis held a “Soap Opera” pre-event reception at Wash-ORama. And when the Davises learned that the local food pantry is opened just once per month, they made room in the Laundromat for a small food pantry, so people could have greater access to needed supplies.

The project won the Kansas Preservation Alliance’s 2017 Merit Award for Excellence. Davis, at the ceremony, held up a roll of quarters. “If anyone can name a Laundromat anywhere that won a preservation award, I’ll give you this roll of quarters,” she said.

This wasn’t a smug statement. Few could have foreseen how a small-town Laundromat would become so much more than a place to do laundry, or that it would be so well supported.

“When you do a project in big cities, it’s a drop in a bucket,” Davis notes. “When you invest in a small town—when you do one little project—it impacts the whole community.”

“It’s always good when you have a client who understands preservation and the vision,” says Moore about Davis. “We were really lucky on this project.” ACO

Meghan White is a historic preservationist and an assistant editor for Preservation magazine. This article originally appeared on the website of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, SavingPlaces.org.

Inside, the sea-green tin ceiling adds a punch to the neutral walls, washers and dryers.

Davis intended the Laundromat to be a standard remodel, but when the contractor removed the drop ceiling and revealed an intact pressed-tin ceiling, everything changed.

THE UPSIDE OF FULLCYCLE TUMBLER PRICING

What really makes the laundry business great is the flexibility that comes with it. Though all successful stores are committed to taking care of customers, there are virtually infinite ways to create and manage the “experience.” Owners can decide what amenities to offer based on their clientele and market. The variations of store sizes and machine capacity offerings alone are examples of just how much this business is not one-size-fits-all.

Then there are payment systems — coin, card, dollar coin, app-based payment systems, credit card, loyalty card — talk about flexible. Of course, behind all of that is the pricing of equipment. It will be dictated a little by the market, but also by the store itself. No longer is it a bad thing to be the “high-price leader.” Owners today understand that if they offer a truly exceptional experience, above what the competition has, they don’t have to compete on price. The success of such an approach bears out in customers’ willingness to pay more for a better overall experience.

This philosophy is a change from the mentality of 10 or 15 years ago. Another transition we are seeing in our market with new and retooled stores is a move toward full-cycle pricing on tumble dryers.

THE FOUNDATION

It’s about giving customers something new, so owners thinking about switching to full-cycle pricing without changing out equipment or performing some significant upgrades should reconsider. This is a major shift and may end up ill-received by customers. However, for a new store or one having undergone a major equipment retool, it may be the way to go.

So why go this route? Quite simply, it plays to that flexibility theme. For years, drying has been by 25-cent increments, which is limiting. Jumping from 25 cents for seven or eight minutes of drying time to 50 cents is a giant leap, and a shock to customers. We have all seen owners continue to bear the burden of increased expenses on the drying side, waiting until the last possible minute to either raise the price, lower the minutes or even dial back the heat. The bottom line is that this is revenue they will not get back.

By contrast, if an owner starts out with full-cycle

pricing at $1.50, a move to $1.75 incrementally is much smaller as a percentage increase. Starting from a higher number just gives owners more options to adjust prices, and this is especially true if the store has a card or appbased payment system that allows increases of less than a quarter. Optically, to the customer, it’s just not that big of a deal.

MAKING A MATCH

The nice thing about full-cycle pricing on the drying side is that customers are already paying a full-cycle price on the wash side. It just makes sense.

In addition, with the proper communication and signage, you can help ensure your customers are pairing the correct tumble dryer to match the washer-extractor. This will also help to make sure the dryers are properly loaded to obtain the most efficient drying cycle, which helps increase customer satisfaction (the load is dry at the end of the cycle the majority of the time).

An additional benefit is properly matched and loaded tumblers get customers in and out faster. They aren’t splitting loads up into multiple drying pockets and creating a bottleneck. The end result is being able to handle more turns per day.

PRICING STRATEGY

Obviously, this is going to be driven by the market each individual store is in. I like having both stack 30-pounders and stack 45s in a store. Not only do the 30s match the lower-capacity washer-extractors better, they also give the store a size difference that enables owners to charge more for the larger-pocket stack 45.

A basic pricing strategy might be $1.50 for a stack 30 pocket, $2.50 for the stack 45, and $3.50 for a 75-pound unit. With the efficiency of today’s units, dry time for a cycle could be roughly 27-30 minutes with perhaps a 4-minute top-off for 25 cents. Owners also could opt for set amounts of dryer credits for the different capacities of washers. This is a variant of full-cycle pricing; it just shifts a bit of the pricing structure to the wash side. The strategy is a great alternative to the freedry angle, which can be a hassle to police. We’ve all heard the stories of folks bringing their wet laundry to the store to take advantage of the free dry.

Nick Luzecky

New store owners or those having gone through a retool and adopting this strategy must focus marketing on the value proposition that appeals to the customer. It is clearly all about selling your store as the one that gets them in and out faster. As part of that, you also give them the chance to multi-task, because no longer are they checking if the load is dry. They can reasonably assume that, when paired with the right washer, their load will be done after 30 minutes. This allows them the freedom to run an extra errand; they are not tied down watching and waiting for the dryer.

ADDED BENEFITS

No doubt that establishing the fast-in-and-out story will benefit in terms of bringing in customers, but the efficiency story should help handle higher turns and lower utility expenses. We can all agree that running a cycle from start to finish is far more efficient than starting and stopping it. But that’s not always the case. Customers who don’t trust drying cycles and are trying to save on their quarters open and close the door several times, right? They may pull out a couple items that are dry to start folding and hit start again. That means the unit has to warm the cylinder again as much of the heat escaped. However, customers who gain confidence in the full-cycle drive generally won’t do that. Less starting and stopping means faster drying and more turns.

CALENDAR

Additionally, with full-cycle dry, there’s one cool-down cycle: two minutes of the 27-minute cycle. That’s more efficient than two minutes of a 7-minute cycle per quarter. The result is that full-cycle drying is more efficient and should have a positive impact on utility costs.

FINAL THOUGHTS

For those who have reinvested in their store or are opening a new store, full-cycle pricing for drying is a great value for customers, and one they embrace if marketed correctly. But more than that, owners gain the flexibility to quickly respond to any changes in their cost structure in much smaller percentage increases, especially with loyalty cards and the advent of app-based payment systems that allow increases of just a few cents.

When paired with providing an excellent customer experience, full-cycle pricing for drying cycles can build exceptional customer loyalty and help stores become leaders in their market. ACO

Nick Luzecky is president of KeeWes, a Midwest-based Speed Queen equipment distributor. He has almost a decade of experience in helping new investors open vended laundries and existing owners maximize revenue. He can be contacted at nluzecky@ keewes.com, 800-383-9274.

UPCOMING EVENTS

MAY

1

KeeWes Equipment Co.

Spring Show

Earth City, Mo.

Info: 800-383-9274; www.keewes.com

8 Commercial & Coin Laundry Equipment Open House

Baton Rouge, La. Info: 800-366-4816; www.clecco.com

3

Equipment Marketers

25th Annual Trade Show & Service Seminar

Cherry Hill, N.J.

Info: www.equipment marketers.net/events/

8 Star Distributing Open House & Service School Knoxville, Tenn. Info: 800-897-7570; www.stardistributing.com

Info: http://coinomatic.com.

16-17 Coin Laundry Association

Excellence in Laundry Conference Naples, Fla. Info: www.coinlaundry.org

17 Gold Coin Laundry Equipment Show & Sales Event Newark, N.J. Info: www.goldcoinlaundry.com

3

KeeWes Equipment Co.

Spring Show

North Kansas City, Mo.

Info: 800-383-9274; www.keewes.com

10 Star Distributing Open House & Service School Nashville, Tenn. Info: 800-897-7570; www.stardistributing.com

12 Coin-O-Matic Service School: Speed Queen Front-Load Washer-Extractor Alsip, Ill.

19 Alco Washer Center Open House New Castle, Pa.

Info: 724-658-8808; alco.washer@verizon.net

23 Masters Laundry Open House & Service School

Inwood, N.Y.

Info: 888-435-8552; info@masterslaundry.com ACO

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE AN ESD SYSTEM?

I chose ESD because of ESD’s commitment to product cutting edge technology, customer care and technical provided me with the tools with MyLaundryLinkTM my stores operations anywhere, and ESD provides payment options: card, Credit/debit card, pin based EBT. They can also start their washers or dryers with and their phone will vibrate when their washer or dryer system even allows the customer to view their account from their PC when they are away from the store.

WHAT IS YOUR EXPERIENCE IN THE LAUNDRY INDUSTRY?

I have been in the commercial laundry industry since owned retail Laundromats since 1987. I have personally ESD’s growth over the years to become the industries payment systems.

WHAT WERE THE UNKNOWN CHALLENGES THAT WITH YOUR NEW STORE AND HOW HAS ESD’S YOU OVERCOME THESE CHALLENGES?

Building a customer base, hiring and managing a managing staff of employees and security; ESD provided me with systems to manage my employees, and provide me with

product innovation, technical support. ESD software to oversee my customers with based debit cards and with a phone app, dryer stops. The account and add value

my competitors do not have…I have a totally cashless store, which gives my employees and me peace of mind and security. In addition, many other marketing and pricing options that my competitors do not have.

IS THERE ANYTHING THAT SURPRISED YOU ABOUT THE ESD SYSTEM?

I was surprised at how many customers really love the ability to use their credit or debit cards right at the machines.

HAS THERE BEEN ANY DOWNSIDE TO THE ESD SYSTEM?

INDUSTRY? since 1979 and have personally witnessed industries leader in THAT YOU FACED SYSTEM HELPED managing a good with the tools and with advantages

Absolutely not. I do not believe my store would be as successful as it has been so far without the ESD CyberLaundryTM system and the company and the people that stand behind it.

www.esdcard.com

Contact your local ESD distributor or ESD sales representative for more information.

Larry Vladimir - Bakers Centre Laundry

by Laurance Cohen

oin laundry is mostly cut and dried when it comes to wash and dry. But there’s an unconventional side to this otherwise conventional business. Let’s take a walk on the wild side and you can ponder some of the industry’s headscratchers.

World of Wash

Some coin laundry sights and sounds that will make you go, ‘Huh?’

CLEAN NASAL PASSAGE

Stepping into a coin-op can be so humdrum. Not in Dubois, Wyo., where getting to the machines is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Customers of this frontier town laundry tote their baskets through the nasal passageway of a giant buffalo skull.

Patrons can opt to take the door closest to the highway of the Dubois Laundromat, but surely any self-respecting cowboy or cowgirl would want to make their way to the washers by passing under the 15-foot-tall fiberglass skull to commence the chore.

The sculpture was created back in 1982 by local artist and businessman Vic Lemmon, who wanted to

add some architectural flair to his Grub ’n Tub restaurant/coin-op combo located in this outpost of 1,000 residents known for its Old West storefronts. When he moved the operation across the road to enlarge the laundry’s footprint, the big skull was transplanted along with the machinery.

For the past decade and a half, Chuck Bryant has held the reins of the horned coin-op and witnessed his fair share of skull-inspired selfies. Although many shoot the buffalo on their phone and then hoof it, Bryant ropes others in with an attractive trio of self-service offerings: laundry, showers and car wash.

Dubois Laundromat’s 2,500-squarefoot building houses a modern array of 20 washers and 19 dryer tumblers, along with three coin-op shower rooms vending for 50 cents a minute using quarters or dollar coins. One of the three rooms is ADA-accessible.

The twin car-wash bays off to the building’s side — like the laundry and show-

A 15-foot-tall buffalo skull sculpture encircling one entrance attracts self-service patrons and the curious alike to the Dubois, Wyo., Laundromat. (Photo courtesy of Chuck Bryant)

INTRODUCING HUEBSCH COMMAND™

The reporting, monitoring and configuration—in other words, the facts— you need to do what you do best: make intelligent business decisions. And better yet, because it’s wireless and cloud-based, now you can make them from anywhere in the world with an internet connection.

PEAK

CUSTOMER USAGE: FRIDAY

CURRENT DAILY-REVENUE KPI: $800

GOIN’ WITH COHEN

ers — see an uptick in trade during the summer months: “A week in July is like all of February,” says Bryant, adding that last year’s solar eclipse made for an even more prosperous high season.

Dubois, which is an hour’s scenic drive from Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Park, was one of the focal points of Google’s Eclipse Megamovie 2017 project, attracting enthusiasts from far and wide. Days after the astronomical event, Bryant had hikers come down from the mountaintops to wash clothes and shower up.

He admits that while the towering skull entry attracts eyes, the majority of traffic comes through the door facing the main highway. There, patrons pull up to the building, bypass the buffalo, and make a beeline to the machines.

The secondary entry is not without its own character, as another of Lemmon’s creations — a whimsical metal sign depicting a housewife shooing away a mule from her laundry clothesline — gives the Dubois Laundromat that one-of-akind artistic touch rarely seen in cosmopolitan settings.

Bryant says he was approached by a buyer looking to get his hands on the faux

buffalo head, an offer he turned down: “I couldn’t imagine the place without it.”

BETTY IN BOISE

Come rain or snow, Betty the Washwoman toils atop a pylon sign in Boise, Idaho, stooping over a wooden wash tub, oblivious to the bustling traffic below on Vista Avenue.

Betty outlived her employer that once stood below — a decades-old Maytag coin-op, now occupied by Paul and Mary Jean Wegner’s Cucina di Paolo storefront Italian eatery. Homemade lasagne may have replaced the Home Style Laundry, but Betty keeps bending and churning.

It might seem odd that a mechanical laundress made of plywood and chicken wire would find a place on the Wegners’ savory menu, but to these restaurateurs and others, there was no saying farewell to the beloved Betty when the coin-op went dark.

After the mannequin’s own motor and gearbox hidden inside the wash tub finally petered out, the Wegners spearheaded a community drive to repair the iconic fixture and keep her washin’ away.

Enlisting the financial support of neighbors and fellow business operators, as well as the assistance of local craftsman Bruce Whittig, the ever-smiling Betty was placed back into service in January 2016. The

repair bill came in well under budget with Whittig and Idaho Electric Signs donating labor, and the remaining funds were donated to a food bank.

That success propelled the civic-minded Wegners to orchestrate a calendar project with Betty as the pin-up model. Volunteers dolled her up in an assortment of seasonal costumes ranging from a January potato sack get-up to a September school uniform while decorating the steel wash tub to complement her attire.

The calendar’s cover and centerfold paid special tribute to the original coin-op laundry with a beautiful watercolor rendition of the store’s curb sign and its hardworking washwoman by artist Roland Giampaoli.

Professional photographer Tracey Bish shot the layout, and proceeds from sales of the 2017 calendar raised over $25,000 for The Idaho Foodbank to serve the needy.

Even with all the hullabaloo, Betty continues to concentrate on her task at hand, turning her head with a glance south toward the Boise Airport before returning to the scrub tub.

BEAUTY OF A GEN 4

The Wascomat Generation 4 washerextractor, one of the machines that helped usher in the era of today’s front-loaddominated stores, is truly a work of art in the northern California city of Palo Alto.

Tucked away in a quiet, unassuming park setting, sculptor Brian Goggin raised the washer to new heights by having

The iconic Betty the Washwoman of Boise is dressed up to weather April showers for a calendar pin-up modeling shot. (Photo courtesy of Tracey Bish Photography)

The iconic Betty the Washwoman of Boise is dressed up as a Boise State University cheerleader for her August calendar pin-up modeling shot. (Photo courtesy of Tracey Bish Photography)

The iconic Betty the Washwoman of Boise is dressed up in a school uniform for her September calendar pin-up modeling shot. (Photo courtesy of Tracey Bish Photography)

GOIN’ WITH COHEN

his nude bronze statute hoist it above her head and throwing open the loading door so water would cascade out into the decorative public fountain below.

This is by no means meant to symbolize an enraged customer with the laundry day blues. According to the artist’s website, the Hellenistic female’s heroic lifting of the washer is part of an “ongoing dialogue” with two bronze warriors standing guard nearby. Goggin writes that “through imagination, dreams and memory, we replace or fill in for unknown or forgotten events, experiences, characters and objects with anachronisms.”

Goggin’s 12-foot-tall Body of Urban Myth was commissioned by the Palo Alto Arts Commission and Sheridan Plaza, where it has been flowing an imaginative stream for the past two decades.

HARDTOP TO HARD MOUNT

Driving along U.S. Highway 1 in Lugoff, S.C., northeast of state capital Columbia, you’re sure to do a double take of Ken Davis’ Clean Brite Laundromat sporting a classic two-door yellow Studebaker automobile perched on its rooftop.

This Service Laundry Machinery customer’s coin-op occupies a building that at one time housed the Boykin Studebaker car dealership. Today, it’s a gleaming line-

up of hard-mount washers, not hardtop automobiles, on offer.

As for what’s under the car’s hood — and how they managed to get the darn thing on the roof — let’s just say it makes for a great conversation piece while the clothes tumble.

AHHHH, THE COIN-OP DRUMBEAT

If counting sheep just won’t cut it, try falling asleep to the soothing sounds of a coin-op by clicking on the free website myNoise.net.

“Laundromat - Your Laundry Noise Machine 24/7” brings one back to a familiar place where the drums are always humming and the water is constantly filling — the perfect backdrop for those who just can’t get enough of their store after a long day.

Need more water or want to ramp up the extract on the centrifuge? Click or tap to adjust any of the 10 sliders controlling each audio stream to suit your taste. Website visitors also get to choose from seven soundscape modules, ranging from “Last Guest” and “Cottons” to “Mixed Load” and “Night Programme.”

The talent behind myNoise.net is Stéphane Pigeon, a digital signal processing engineer with a passion for sounds. The Laundromat noise machine is just one

of the site’s generators. Although you can listen in for free, there is a solicitation for online donations to keep the sound stream alive.

After being lulled to sleep, you’ll be fresh and raring to go the next morning, ready to hit the wash aisle and hear all those coins hit the collection bucket. 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.

A classic Studebaker has drivers doing a double take of Ken Davis’ Clean Brite Laundromat in Lugoff, S.C. (Photo courtesy of Ken Davis)

The classic Generation 4 Wascomat washer is symbolically hoisted above a statue in a park square in Palo Alto, Calif. (Body of Urban Myth by Brian Goggin, with photo courtesy of City of Palo Alto, Calif.)

The website myNoise.net delivers the comforting sounds of a coin laundry for those needing still more after a long day at the store. (Photo courtesy of Stéphane Pigeon)

Card and card readers use contactless technology. No inserts, no wear-and-tear. Simply place or present the card.

Va-Va-Va-Vend

by Bruce Beggs, Editorial Director

Self-service laundry customers, depending on how much dirty laundry they bring along and how many machines are available to them, could spend a couple of hours in your store. That means they could have a pretty healthy wait in front of them while their clothes spin in the washer and tumble in the dryer.

But what to do while they wait? As a business owner, you have the power to make your customers’ visit to your store as comfortable as possible, and maybe even downright enjoyable. And that’s where amenities like vending machines come in.

If you’re a prospective self-service laundry investor, or you’re currently in the midst of developing your first store, when it comes to vending, start with the basics.

“From a new store owner’s standpoint, coming into the industry, they would need the basic supplies, which are detergents, fabric softeners, dryer sheets, and stain removers or additives and boosters,” says Vince Hansen, president of Vend-Rite, a

vending equipment maker and supplier that has served the laundry industry since 1952. “I don’t believe many store owners look at offering those products as a profit center— even though it is for them—but I think they look at that as a necessity.”

Offering items like drinks, chips and coffee would be considered profit centers, according to Hansen.

“Many laundries are selling larger ‘retail’ sized laundry products over the counter or through venders,” he says. “Drinks and snacks, ice cream, coffee, sandwiches, even fruits and vegetables. Laundry customers at the bare minimum are in a laundry over 50 minutes, and people get thirsty and hungry.”

In some cases, a laundry might offer a vended product based on their services.

“For instance, suntan lotion is an item that’s been vended in laundries because they also happen to vend tanning booth time,” Hansen says. “Depending on what other services they may offer, there could be some other ancillary products that support that side business.

“Hangers are another item we’ve seen

vended. Laundry bags, or the custom imprinted cotton laundry bag, those can be vended as well.”

A quick internet search reveals that cigarettes, DVDs and lottery tickets are also being vended in businesses like laundries.

Roni Moore is vice president of public affairs for the National Automatic Merchandising Association (NAMA), which represents convenience services, including vending, micro markets, as well as office and pantry services.

“Our member companies provide a very broad array of products and services, from snacks and beverages to technology equipment to dry cleaning,” Moore says. “We meet our customers where they are, at work, school and play.”

Today’s venders come in a variety of shapes and sizes, chilled and unchilled. Many have keypads and LCD displays for easy selection.

“There are new products coming out every day, so the equipment needs to be able to adapt to the variety of packaging on the retail side,” Hansen says. “Companies spend a lot of money on packaging, in

(Image licensed by Ingram Publishing)

color and shape and size, to make their products stand out from other retail products on the grocery store shelf.”

“The convenience services industry has been innovating, keeping pace with technology and consumer needs,” Moore says. “This includes the opportunity to pay with all forms of payment, including cashless technology.”

“Most recently, what’s happening now, say, in the last two to three years, we’ve seen the influx of being able to take credit cards as well as an in-house loyalty card,” Hansen says of vending in laundry environments. “That’s very big right now with every manufacturer that’s out there. Also, the ability to take other forms of payment like Apple Pay. And all that technology is available to laundry owners now.”

“Vending transactions are higher with cashless technology,” Moore says of vending in general. “As we look at opportunities for growth, this is an important metric.”

On the laundry supplies side, Hansen says, most stores own and operate any vending equipment themselves. Therefore, a store owner desiring to maintain their vending profits should keep their machines

in operating condition, looking good, and always stocked.

“We adopted a statement many years ago that says, ‘Clean it today and it will work better tomorrow.’ It’s just trying to lay the foundation for preventive maintenance. It takes just a minute or two while you’re filling—or every day or two, depending on volume—to wipe some of that excess powder out of the machine, because that’s going to, over time, impede the machine’s ability to vend, to dispense properly.”

While a store owner might entertain the idea of vending both laundry supplies and food/drink from within the same machine, Vend-Rite advises against it and won’t configure a machine in that way, Hansen says.

“If they have a central dispensing area or collection place and soap powders or liquids were to leak, then you’re reaching in and grabbing a food item—the liability is just too great.”

Hansen is a believer in store owners promoting their vended items just as they promote their laundry equipment and other store features. Vending is comparable to offering a drop-off service, for example, and store owners should be promoting

what they offer with signs and on their website.

“I think that has changed the last 10 years, in terms of the amenities that laundries are offering. … They usually have a picture of their vending area somewhere in their website. You could maybe liken it to when you’re traveling and you’re looking for a hotel and you want to make sure that hotel has transportation to the airport. It’s a service they provide, and you may make your decision on which laundry to use based on, ‘Do I need to go to the store and buy all this stuff, or can I just go there and they’ll have it for me?’”

There’s only so much space in a selfservice laundry, so any vending equipment will be competing for square footage with the laundry equipment, Hansen says.

“I think the focus on laundries has been to be efficient in that square-footage usage, and washers and dryers are really what the market is,” he says. “Some owners look at focusing on vending as taking your eye off the ball. ‘You’re really in the laundry business, you’re not in the snack business.’ But there’s a fine line there and it is, and can be, a huge profit center for them.” ACO

Pearl Brand Seeks to be Synonymous with ‘Clean’

Newest 3,700-square-foot San Diego store sits alongside car wash

By Haley Jorgensen

As co-owners of seven car washes and two vended laundries in San Diego County, Calif., Mark Mariani and Teddy Torbati understand clean.

They purchased their first car wash 13 years ago on Pearl Street in La Jolla. The “Pearl” stuck and has since been applied to all subsequent acquisitions and developments. Their most recent, Pearl Laundromat, sits alongside Pearl Car Wash on Home Avenue in San Diego.

“There’s a lot of synergy” between the two businesses, says Mariani. “They are complementary of one another.”

Mariani discovered several benefits to running the two, especially when they are located side by side. Laundry customers often head to the adjacent self-service car wash to clean vehicles after loading up their clothes in the washers, for example. Plus, there is significant labor and marketing crossover.

Pearl Laundromat, which the owners say turned a profit its first month, was born with help from Van Merrill, of Continental Laundry Development, in Santa Ana.

“Pearl Laundromat wouldn’t have happened without Van,” says Mariani. “He

was crucial to the layout of the laundry and used demographic data to determine the size and location of equipment. He steered the project through the city to get us on a faster track as we are dealing with a location near a wetland, creek, and homeless area.”

DESIGNING FOR LOCATION

The 3,700-square-foot laundry is positioned in a dense area of rental housing less than 10 minutes from downtown San Diego. Mariani worked with the San Diego Cultural Arts Alliance to engage local youth in the graffiti-tagged neighborhood.

“We are working with the nonprofit group and youth from the neighborhood to create mural panels for the laundry’s interior walls,” he says. “The main wall of the laundry features a contemporary mural created by a professional graffiti artist. The plan is to get different groups of kids in here each year to work with professional artists. The hope is that these kids won’t tag the outside of the building if their work is on the inside.”

AMENITIES, EFFICIENCY ARE PRIORITIES

Said to be the first laundry in the state to put in a lottery machine, Pearl offers beverage, soap and snack machines; free Wi-Fi; flatscreen TVs; a Card Concepts Inc. (CCI) card system; and a mix of Continental Girbau ExpressWash® Washers, G-Flex Washers and ExpressDry® Dryers.

Crafted for efficiency, Pearl Laundromat is lit during daylight hours by solatubes, which bring in natural light through the ceiling. During the evening, LEDs set the interior aglow.

Pearl’s co-owners went with Continental laundry equipment for its water and energy savings, says Mariani.

The card-operated store features a lineup of 24 20-pound-capacity ExpressWash freestanding washers; 19 40-pound and eight 70-pound G-Flex hard-mount washers; and 10 30-pound and 15 45-pound dual-pocket stack ExpressDry Dryers. Continental Girbau West handled the equipment installation.

San Diego’s Pearl Laundromat offers beverage, soap and snack machines; free Wi-Fi; flatscreen TVs; a Card Concepts (CCI) card system; and a mix of Continental washers and dryers. (Photos: Continental Girbau)

A sizable lineup of Continental Girbau washers generates up to 400 G-force spin speeds for customers at the Pearl Laundromat.

The washers deliver water-saving features and extract speeds from 200 to 387 g-force in a compact footprint, says Merrill.

“We were able to substantially lower water and sewer costs because of the washers’ efficiency,” he says. “These machines use approximately 0.7 gallons of water per laundry pound. Customers love the equipment because they are in and out fast with less soap and better results.”

Facing the entrance in full view are the store’s most popular machines—the 70-pound washers. But a new 90-pound ExpressWash® Washer will soon debut, serving customers who clean comforters, blankets, sleeping bags and rugs, as well as family-sized loads of laundry.

MORE WAYS TO WASH

While the washers’ ProfitPlus Control offers standard cycles, it also allows customers to select an extra wash, extra rinse, extra spin or “SuperWash.”

Meanwhile, the CCI card system allows Mariani to quickly tweak equipment programs for additional energy or water savings. He can accept credit cards, increase vend prices in penny increments, launch

promotional campaigns, and track store operations, all remotely via the Internet.

INTO THE FUTURE

Mariani hopes to grow full-service fluffand-fold to 30-40% of total store revenue. Soon, he’ll initiate an after-hours processing center and pickup and delivery services.

“Ultimately, we will run a third shift. Attendants take in laundry during the day and help with the self-service side of the

business. At around the last load at 11:30 p.m., nighttime attendants will begin processing fluff-and-fold. We don’t want to get in the way of our self-service customers.”

Mariani maintains he’s always working to expand the Pearl brand—and the idea of “clean”—throughout San Diego. ACO

Haley Jorgensen is a public relations writer for commercial laundry equipment manufacturer Continental Girbau Inc.

A wall of Continental ExpressDry® Dryers is highlighted by an original mural overhead.

upgrades to Speed Queen cabinet hard-mount washer-extractors and tumble dryers, the equipment brand says.

The changes will help owners maximize profits through reduced energy and water consumption, and additional vend options.

Upgraded products were launched April 1.

“With the changes, Speed Queen has made great products even better,” says Tom Fleck, senior regional sales manager for Speed Queen. “As a company, we are always seeking to upgrade

technologies and design elements to deliver the best possible results to the industry.”

Leading the list of upgrades to the SC washer-extractor range is a reduction of water consumption by an average of 7% and the ability to program lower water levels. In addition, an improved water-sensing position and better suds-handling methods will save 30 seconds per programmed drain step. That will enable the machine to add 90 seconds of wash action in the same cycle time, creating improved wash quality for customers, the brand says.

Customers also will appreciate the updated soap compartment. The lid, which can remain open for easy loading of laundry chemicals, also features enhanced fill instructions. Owners will welcome the compartment’s cleanable, mold-resistant finish, Speed Queen says.

On the drying side, its tumble dryers now are built with

direct-drive blowers, meaning no fan belt noise and owners won’t need to have replacement fan belts on hand. A stove redesign on 50- and 75-pound models will improve heating performance and distribution of heated airflow. That translates into better efficiency and faster drying, according to the brand. Units also boast a roughly 4.5% decrease in noise, which means a quieter laundry environment for customers and staff. Additional upgrades include inverter drives and a reversing option now available on all capacities, including stacks.

“We are excited to bring these product developments to the vended laundry market,” Fleck says. “Features such as the availability of reversing on tumble dryers will increase customer satisfaction, as well as offer additional revenue opportunities for owners.”

www.speedqueencommercial.com | 800-590-8872

Manufacturers: Have you introduced a new product? Revamped your system? Released a new catalog? E-mail your product news, along with a high-resolution image, to bbeggs@atmags.com and we’ll consider publishing your news free in Product News.

« SPEED QUEEN UPGRADES WASHER-EXTRACTORS, TUMBLE DRYERS

ADD-ON CUSTOMERS ARE BIG PLUSES

Your prime customer base includes those people who don’t have washers or dryers at home. That’s the core of the Laundromat trade, and that’s why it is advised, on seeking a good location, to have a 35% residency share of apartment dwellers.

Then there are add-on customers. These are individuals who have washer/dryer facilities at their homes, condos or apartment complexes but elect to wash their clothes at a Laundromat.

Add-on trade extends the potential market from 35% of the population to 100%. Just imagine if every washer and dryer in homes and apartments stopped working. What would that do to your business? All at once, the entire population would have to do their laundry at an outside facility. Lines would form outside the Laundromat from early morning to late at night, waiting for machines to be available. Such is the revolutionary impact of add-on customers.

Now, you are not going to get every home washer and dryer to stop working, but you still can win add-on customers. You can get people who prefer the sociability of a Laundromat rather than their own home to do their laundry. You can find people whose apartment complex coin-operated facilities are in a dingy room and thus prefer to do their clothes in an airy, clean Laundromat. You can win over people whose home laundry equipment breaks down and are forced to come to you but then enjoy the experience so much that they continue to patronize your shop.

You can convince busy families that it is easier for them to drop off clothes so that you can wash, dry and fold them for their pickup the next day. There are also those individuals who welcome your drop-off WDF service as a way to lessen their household chores. In simple terms, this add-on business concept means that the world is your oyster.

I can hear Laundromat operators say, “What nonsense! Laundromat customers are those who don’t have facilities where they live, and are forced to use

Laundromats.” Such naysaying is the stuff of resignation.

But listen to one add-on customer, Jim McKenna: “My apartment complex has washers and dryers but they are in a small, dark room and I have to put in quarters to work them. So I go two miles up the road to an airy, clean Laundromat to do my laundry every week.”

And to Jill Castle: “We’re so busy, between our work and the kids’ activities, that I’m delighted that a laundry picks up my clothes every Friday morning and returns them Saturday morning. They’re a lifesaver.”

And then to Anna Radocckia: “My condo has washers and dryers down the end of the hall, but my neighbors always want to get in there while I’m doing my laundry. Plus, I’m often out of tokens when I need them, and the office is closed. It’s such a hassle that I prefer to go in town to the Laundromat. I do this when I have other chores on Main Street. It’s easier.”

Jim McKenna, Jill Castle and Anna Radocckia are three testaments that add-on customers are real, out there, and ready for conversion. Each of these individuals has special needs that demand massaging. Each needs to be convinced, yes, but as their examples show, they can become active customers. The question is, what are you doing to win them over?

As we know, each new customer brings in $500 worth of business in a year. Win 20 new add-on accounts and your business jumps $10,000 ($500 X 20). Since no additional outlay is spent on these 20 customers, what would the additional patronage do for your bottom line? Most likely, $8,000 would fall into the profit pot.

But let’s think bigger. What would 100 new add-on accounts do to the bottom line? That’s $50,000—$500 X 100)—in additional revenue. Would it be worth it to hire a person to pick up and deliver the clothes? It might take him 12 hours a week at $15 an hour. That’s $180 a week, or $9,360 a year. Gas and vehicle maintenance could run $6,000 a year, and processing will cost $15,000. Therefore, revenue is $50,000 and expenses are $30,360 ($9,360 + $6,000 + $15,000). Your profit is $19,640. Is it worth the trouble? You bet it is.

So how do you get these add-on customers?

Howard Scott

IDENTIFY AND WOO POSSIBLE PATRONS

If you speak to someone you identify as an add-on customer (one who prefers to use your Laundromat rather than do his/her cleaning at home or in an apartment complex), take note. Ask for names of others who live in his/her apartment building. Get in touch with them, by phone or letter, telling about your service. Go to the residence and leave circulars in the mailboxes. Hang around and try to speak to occupants coming and going. Explain how doing the laundry at your facility might be more enjoyable.

To do this well, size up the person, and guess what might win him or her over. Perhaps you encounter a younger, single guy. Suggest that your laundry is not a bad place to meet girls. Explain that it’s near a college, and many coeds do their cleaning there.

If you encounter a mother with young children, offer that your store may be a good getaway trip. Promote the wonderful toys for young children you have there. Add that it’s probably safer to have them at the Laundromat (where many eyes are watching) than running in and out of the washroom. If it is a quiet, older person, suggest that visiting there early in the morning gives one all the privacy one needs, and in a comfortable setting, too.

Another technique is to go to a complex and insert info sheets beneath car windshield wipers. Always have a testimonial on these circulars. If possible, include a photo. A testimonial might go something like this: “I choose to use Deluxe Laundry rather than my building’s facility because it is more pleasant and gives me less hassles. I never have any problems.”

CREATE A DROP-OFF/PICKUP LAUNDRY SERVICE

At the start, you do the picking up and dropping off. Establish attractive prices to woo business. Make up a promo circular showing that your service won’t cost much more than two Starbuck coffees a week, and hand it out freely. The gist of the message is that “for $5 extra a week, we can make the laundry a totally painless process.”

To get prospects, send out postcard mailings to neighborhoods, place a series of ads in the weekly newspaper, and put up promo circulars in public places. On a busy Saturday, at the downtown shopping area, slide folded circulars beneath car windshield wipers. If you win one account, use them to get more customers in a neighborhood.

TELL EVERYONE YOU MEET

Make it a habit to promote your services to anyone you meet. You have something to offer, something that the person alongside you might want. Tout the offer to everyone you come in contact with: fellow Rotarians, bridge partners, co-workers, neighbors, family members, etc. All are potential customers.

Get your share of add-on customers. It’s a strategy worth spending time and money on, because it will propel your business forward. ACO

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

DISTRIBUTOR VP, CO-OWNER BAKER RETIRES AFTER 42-PLUS YEARS

Steve Baker, vice president and co-owner of The Minnesota Chemical Co. (MCC), retired April 1 after more than 42 years with his family’s distributorship that provides laundry, drycleaning and coin-op supplies, equipment, parts and service, the company reports.

Baker’s full-time employment with MCC began in 1975, after he graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. But his storied career with the company began even earlier than that, doing odd jobs at the Milwaukee office, like cutting the lawn, cleaning the office, and working the warehouse during the summer months.

He also spent time in his younger years working at Milwaukee Electric Tool as a parts runner, a student loan bill collector at Career Academy, and at McDonald’s as a fry cook. “I wasn’t sophisticated enough to work the counter,” Baker jokes about his time with the fast-food giant.

Joining a family business can prove challenging for some people, but Baker says he wasn’t worried about working for his father and uncles.

“I never really had concerns about working for my dad, Robert Baker,” he says. “He was easygoing. When I moved to St. Paul, it was a bigger operation and there were more people to get to know. I think being in and running a family business is all mostly positive.”

The intergenerational transitions and relationships have been free from drama, he adds. Although he might sometimes see things differently than partners Mike and Dan do, they’ve never had serious differences. “In many ways, our different personalities and management styles have served our business and customers well.”

Working in a family business presents a challenge to “turn it off,” Baker admits, as he has felt a bit like he was on duty whether at work or at family gatherings.

As for the company, he says its main challenge now is the consolidation of customers: “There are fewer accounts to sell to, and the wholesale distribution business model is not as integral to customers’ needs as in the past.”

Baker says his retirement will be bittersweet.

“Believe it or not, I think I will miss the routine and watching all areas of our business function together,” he explains. “I will also miss all of the relationships that I have developed over many years with employees, customers and vendors.”

Baker hopes to do more volunteer work. He is a reading tutor with Reading Partners and a 32-year charter member of the St. Paul Sunrise Rotary Club. And he’s looking forward to spending more time with family, “especially with our first grandchild, who will be relocating to Minnesota with her parents.”

Baker and his wife of 33 years, Lisa, also hope to spend some time traveling around the country and have planned an expedition cruise around southern Japan and Korea for next year.

HUEBSCH NAMES SHEELEY LATEST STORE OWNER OF QUARTER

Commercial laundry equipment manufacturer Huebsch® has named Glen Sheeley the latest recipient of its Store Owner of the Quarter award.

The Sheeley family has been involved in the car wash business in Orange County, N.Y., for decades and had already owned two combination car wash/Laundromats before deciding to build a showcase location in Middletown, N.Y., roughly 70 miles north of New York City.

Constructed on five acres along a high-traffic road, the Wash Co. store is an example of what a modern Laundromat looks like, coming in at almost 4,000 square feet. The car wash measures 160 feet, and has 20 vacuuming stations.

“Glen’s newest Wash Co. location is nothing short of spectacular,” says Kathryn Rowen, North American sales manager for the Huebsch brand of laundry equipment. “The combination of a great store and superior service yield a truly exceptional experience for the customer.”

Sheeley partnered with Huebsch for the Middletown store and was initially impressed by the rugged bearings on its washerextractors: “They just look heavy-duty,” he says, adding that the 10-year warranty gave him peace of mind that they didn’t just look heavy-duty, they performed.

Since opening last year, Wash Co. has done a brisk business, and Sheeley points out that the two 100-pound and two 80-pound washers have been seeing tremendous turns, so much so he wishes he had two more of each.

Wash Co. is committed to giving customers service that is worthy of them sharing. Word-of-mouth advertising and a Facebook presence are the cornerstones of its marketing.

“You have to make it an experience,” Sheeley says, adding that the combination of “great customer service and excellent equipment” have made the Middletown location an early success.

Glen Sheeley (right), posing with his father, Wayne, is the most recent recipient of the Huebsch Store Owner of the Quarter award. The Sheeleys own and operate Wash Co., a combination car wash and Laundromat in Middletown, N.Y. (Photo: Alliance Laundry Systems)

Steve Baker

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CLEAN 2017 IS ONE OF PUBLICATION’S ‘50 FASTEST-GROWING’ SHOWS

Clean 2017 has been named one of Trade Show Executive’s 50 Fastest-Growing shows of 2017. The show, staged in Las Vegas last June, was included in all three categories of the awards competition: net square feet of exhibit space, number of exhibiting companies, and total attendance.

Trade Show Executive magazine presents the Fastest 50 awards annually to trade shows that have excelled in each of the three categories. Though 50 shows are named in each category, Clean 2017 is one of the few trade shows that exceeded the level of growth to be named in all three.

Recipients of the 2017 Fastest 50 will be honored at an awards ceremony and summit June 13-15 in Chicago.

New Orleans will host the next Clean Show in June 2019.

CPI EXPANDS MOBILE PORTFOLIO WITH PAYRANGE PARTNERSHIP

Crane Payment Innovations (CPI), Malvern, Pa., reports it has expanded its mobile payment portfolio through a partnership with PayRange, Portland, Ore., a provider of mobile payment technology and consumer engagement solutions for laundry, vending, amusement, and more.

With this partnership, PayRange technology will be integrated into CPI’s portfolio of payment and connectivity solutions, enabling operators to maximize revenue through acceptance of all payment types, and giving consumers more payment options than ever before.

“CPI is committed to delivering connected solutions that enhance our customers’ profitability and growth,” says Patrick Richards, product manager for Crane Connectivity Solutions. “Partnering with PayRange enables us to further deliver on this promise by expanding our portfolio to include a wider breadth of mobile solutions and consumer engagement applications that will result in higher revenues for our customers and more options for the people who use our products every day.”

In addition to payment, PayRange offers a marketing platform, data transfer, and configuration services via Bluetooth.

“We’re excited to partner with CPI, a global leader that expands the reach of the PayRange network, empowering even more consumers and operators to benefit from innovative mobile technologies,” says Paresh Patel, founder and CEO of PayRange.

STATEWIDE LAUNDRY EQUIPMENT WRAPS UP SPRING ROAD SHOWS

Commercial laundry distributor Statewide Laundry Equipment recently concluded its three-stop Spring Road Show series in Florida, the company reports.

The tour kicked off March 13 in Tampa at TPepin’s Hospitality Centre. Next was Orlando on March 14, and the event wrapped its journey with a March 21 stop at Statewide’s South Florida headquarters in Hialeah, just outside Miami.

Attendees were invited to “Hop Aboard the Statewide Road Show Express” to listen to presentations by industry leaders. There was a special presentation on Speed Queen’s new payment systems and equipment features, as well as on Laundromat marketing.

Representatives from industry vendors met with customers during a “vendor showcase” staged at each Spring Road Show stop. Service seminars instructed by Speed Queen service managers incorporated interactive video technology to enhance the learning experience.

Special financing and discounts on soap and parts were made available during the shows.

“I’m a first(-time) coin laundry entrepreneur,” says Devon Stainrod, Park & Starkey Laundry in Seminole, Fla. “This is where I save money on the different products. It’s a must because as a laundry owner, you’re always trying to reduce your operating costs. This is where I come to save on soap, save on parts.”

Statewide organizes the Spring Road Shows each year in central and south Florida to benefit the laundry owner community across the Sunshine State.

SUMMIT EXPLORES LAUNDROMAT’S ROLE IN PROMOTING LITERACY

The Coin Laundry Association’s (CLA) LaundryCares Foundation recently launched the inaugural LaundryCares Literacy Summit, in partnership with Too Small to Fail and Libraries Without Borders.

The early March event in the Chicago suburb of Berwyn brought together national literacy organizations to explore the unique role the Laundromat can play in enhancing early literacy efforts in local communities across the country.

Since 2006, LaundryCares has hosted its Free Laundry Day initiative, providing families with free laundry services at select Laundromats in underserved communities around the country. And over the last three years, in partnership with the Too Small to Fail initiative, the Free Laundry Day initiative has expanded to include reading circles, family literacy activities and more.

Further, CLA and Too Small to Fail implemented “Wash Time is Talk Time,” a national partnership to distribute children’s books, parent-child conversation posters, and family tip sheets through 5,000 Laundromats across the country.

In recent months, there has been an outpouring of interest from literacy organizations in collaborating with LaundryCares to support increased efforts. The March gathering aimed to bring those like-missioned organizations together to identify how to collectively make a bigger impact to promote childhood literacy.

“Due to our tremendous reach in underserved communities, LaundryCares is in a unique position to leverage existing early literacy efforts in neighborhoods across the country,” says CLA CEO Brian Wallace.

Families spend an average of 2.5 hours during each visit to the Laundromat, says Jane Park Woo, deputy director of Too Small to Fail.