American Coin-Op - August 2018

As Dexter employee-owners, we are passionate about creating the best laundry ownership experience we can. That’s why our focus in every product we build and every service we provide is to make you successful and satisfied. Our belief is that our business and yours will always be better together

“WE’RE

Steve Cardis, Engineering Manager Employee Owner Since 1996

COVER STORY

EFFECTIVELY MANAGING MULTIPLE STORES

GOIN’ WITH COHEN: ROCK ’EM, SOCK ’EM

Move over, Hard Rock Cafe. Watch out, Johnny Rockets. There’s a freshly laundered spin on music and retro-themed décor. At Florida’s Rock & Wash and Connecticut’s Sock Hop chains, it’s a wash and dry rather than a burger and fries being served up in era-inspired environments.

HIRING THE RIGHT MANAGER

When the workload becomes too much, there just aren’t enough hours in the day for you to make the needed store visits, or you just feel like getting away for a while, it’s probably time to find and hire a manager who can run the show in your stead.

COIN-OP 101: TECHNOLOGY HOLDS

KEY TO SCALING VENDED LAUNDRY

Multi-store ownership is all about scaling, says Spin Cycle Laundry Lounge’s Michael Nemetz, and that starts with processes, engaging today’s cutting-edge technology, and the owner understanding it cannot be done alone.

EVOLUTION OF AN ENTERPRISE

Multiple revenue streams feed Pratt Abbott Garment Care, Maine’s largest provider of drycleaning, vended laundry, and linen/uniform rental services.

HOW TO DEAL WITH LOITERERS

A CLOSER LOOK 22

Black and chrome soda shop table sets pick up design elements of the equipment mix offered by this Sock Hop Coin Laundry in Milford, Conn.

CONTINENTAL GIRBAU INTRODUCES THE NEW LG PLATINUM WASHER

• Newly optimized to deliver more strength, storeowner control and servicing ease.

• Soft-mount designs for simple installation.

• Increased programmability of water temperatures, fill levels, cycle times, spin speed and vend prices.

• Individual sensors are removable and replaceable.

• New twin spray water-delivery system ensures a quality wash without machine stall-outs.

• Inverter Direct Drive provides superior durability and reliability.

• Optimized Washing System automatically detects over-sudsing and counteracts with a suds-reduction process.

• Quiet, energy-efficient and 400 Gs!

• Compact footprint and stackable configurations for more customers, machines and revenue per square foot.

MASTERING THE MULTITUDE

MULTI-STORE MANAGEMENT

Much of this summertime edition looks at multi-store management and the issues surrounding it. My cover story, Effectively Managing Multiple Stores, acknowledges the new revenue-generating opportunities from adding stores but cautions against spreading oneself too thin. Beginning on page 10, join me for a look at multi-store ownership through the eyes of four owners from around the country.

Deeper into the issue, you’ll find Hiring the Right Manager While the topic is applicable to any busy store owner, who’s busier than someone who owns three, five, 10 stores?

And in this month’s Coin-Op 101 column, store owner Michael Nemetz weighs technology and the role it can play in scaling vended laundry services for the benefit of owners, particularly those who have multiple stores or are considering adding some.

So, you see, there is a multitude of content relevant to the multitude of readers who own a multitude of stores. Talk about mastering the multitude!

PLEASE WELCOME COLUMNIST PAUL RUSSO

Please join me in welcoming Paul Russo to the magazine. This issue is the first containing his new column, Pointers from Paulie B. Russo recently retired after having spent 40 years owning and operating stores in New York City. I’m sure he’ll have a ton of tales to share and some advice to offer that you can apply to your own operations. This month, Russo talks about dealing with the problem of loitering. You can make his acquaintance beginning on page 24.

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

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 59, number 8. 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

SAFETY AUDITS REGULAR PRACTICE FOR MOST LAUNDRIES

Inspecting or auditing a self-service laundry for safety or security risks is common practice among the majority of owners and operators polled in this month’s American Coin-Op Your Views survey.

Roughly 44% of respondents audit their store daily for safety or security risks, while another 31.7% say they do it weekly. Smaller shares check monthly (2.4%), quarterly (4.9%) or yearly (4.9%).

The remaining 12.2% of respondents say they “don’t audit [their] store(s)” for safety or security risks.

Operators focus on any number of different areas when performing their checks, including equipment (82.9%), exterior areas such as the parking lot or sidewalks (82.9%), walking areas (80.5%), doors/ locks (78.1%), furniture (48.8%) and “other” areas (9.8%).

Having an attendant on site can help ensure a store remains safe, say a majority of respondents (85.4%). Roughly 7% say no to that notion, and the remaining 7.3% are unsure about an attendant’s impact on store safety.

Surveillance systems is by far the most popular safety feature/ practice used by the majority of owners and operators (95.1%) in their stores. Others include alarm systems (56.1%), “displaying [the store owner’s] phone number” (43.9%), motion-activated lighting (22.0%), an employee safety handbook (22.0%), and a late-night or after-hours patrol service (7.3%), according to the survey results.

Beyond those suggested by the survey, 17.1% of respondents listed things such as “hidden weapons,” “24-hour lighting inside and out,” and a store design “where there is no place to hide.”

Virtually everyone who took the survey believes the safety and security of their store(s) is either excellent (62.5%) or good (32.5%). Just 5% say their store security/safety is “fair.” No one who took the survey called their store security/safety “poor.”

Has an unsafe situation ever developed in your store? How did you or your staff handle it? Here are a few described by our respondents:

• “Vagrants soliciting money from customers scares them away,” writes a respondent about an unsafe situation affecting his/her store. “We warn them, then call the police; enforce trespassing violations.”

• “[We had a] fire, which was handled by evacuating the store.”

• “Clothes were caught in the door of a front-load machine. Water was spilling from the door and clothes were being twisted from end to end. We cut power to the machine, let the water drain and opened the door. We moved the customer’s clothes to another washer and started it for her.”

While American Coin-Op’s Your Views survey presents a snapshot of the trade audience’s viewpoints, its findings should not be considered scientific. Qualified subscribers to American Coin-Op e-mails are invited to participate anonymously.

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Effectively Managing Multiple Stores

Developing a self-service laundry requires a singular focus on creating the best store for your community and its potential customers. But do you think you could maintain that kind of vision when you pursue Store No. 2? How about Store No. 3? Or No. 4?

Yes, adding more stores to your portfolio means more revenue-generating options for you but it may also place much greater demands on your time and resources. Indeed, you could find yourself spread too thin should you fail to recognize if/when you need operational and managerial help. It can take a lot to keep all those plates spinning.

Depending on the scope of services you provide from multiple locations, it could require you to employ dozens of attendants and even hire managers to oversee things onsite (more on the latter in Hiring the Right Manager, page 28). Based on interviews with four owners from around

by Bruce Beggs, Editorial Director

the country, standardization and technology may be the multi-store owner’s most important tools for success.

MEETING THE STANDARD

Liberty Laundry is a chain of three Tulsa, Okla.-area coin/card (SpyderWash) stores owned and operated by members of the Henderson family. Located within a seven-mile radius, each of the self-service stores with drop-off service has an average of six to eight employees, mostly working part-time, who are supervised by a store manager on salary.

Brian Henderson, one of the owners’ sons, was the chain’s operations manager for several years before leaving earlier this year to devote his attention to building his own company that provides point-of-sale systems for Laundromats offering dropoff laundry services.

“Since all three of our stores are pretty close to one another, we run all three stores the same way,” he says of Liberty. “We’ve all got the same equipment, hardmounts, Speed Queen equipment across all three stores. Our services are the same, our prices are the same across all locations.

“With the equipment being the same, and because all of our stores are relatively close to each other, we’re able to share our labor pool of employees. We have several team members who will work shifts at multiple locations, depending on their availability and our needs.”

It was Liberty’s reliance on systems and standard operating procedures that has enabled it to flourish, Henderson believes.

“As we developed the very first store, we built the system or ways of doing things, standard operating procedures, employee handbook and all that, we built the first store as if it was a franchise,” ▲

(Photo: © iStockphoto/mrPliskin)

he says. “When we found an opportunity to build store No. 2, it was kind of a natural extension of that and kind of reaffirmed what we were already doing. By the time we grew to store No. 3, I don’t think we would’ve been able to do it if we really hadn’t hammered out those systems.”

Hank Walter owns 10 Whale of a Wash Laundromats (and three car washes) in the eastern panhandle of West Virginia, all within an hour’s drive of the flagship store and office in Martinsburg. Only the

cover approximately 5,000 square feet on average and offer equipment ranging from top loaders to 125-pound front loaders. All but one utilize Huebsch washers; the other has Continental Girbau machines. Services offered include wash-dry-fold as well as app-based pickup and delivery. One of the stores serves as an overnight production facility for the pickup and delivery service.

“Employee-wise, we have around 55 to 60 employees total,” Hansen says. “Management-wise, I’ve got my general

four, and we just grew from there,” says Ramsey, who’s been assisted by his two sons. “We were aggressive in our second, third and fourth years, pretty much.”

The company employs some 26 attendants and offers wash-dry-fold service at all of its stores, which are fully attended on weekends, partially attended on weekdays. Six Supersudz stores in the Jackson metro area generate the largest volume.

“When I first started, I went with an abundance of smaller machines,” Ramsey says. “Now, it’s more of a mix. I’m adding more bigger machines to every location I go to.”

All but one of the Keyway Supersudz stores uses Dexter equipment (the exception being one purchased that already had Speed Queen equipment). Four of the stores are open around the clock.

flagship store is partially attended, Walter says, while the others are singular stores in rural towns of similar demographics; none of the coin-op stores offer drop-off service. He employs three full-time service technicians and eight custodial technicians.

“We use (the) same (operating) fashion and methods at all stores,” he says. “I was a route operator in Colorado in the ’80s and I decided my Laundromat business model here would be to keep machines in good, working order in a clean and bright facility.”

In Chicago, Paul Hansen owns a halfdozen stores on or near the Windy City’s South Side. Five located in Hispanicheavy communities are each branded as Su Nueva Lavanderia (translates to “Your New Laundry”), the other located in a black community is called Mr. Sudsy. It’s the store’s 40th year at that location, making it the oldest under Hansen’s ownership.

“We pretty much do it all the same,” he says of his store operations. “People can transfer from one store to the other pretty easily. We’re on a (CCI) card-based system and it’s the same system everywhere. It’s fairly easy. Our attendants are trained on how to use that.”

He runs large, attended stores that

store manager. She does all the collections on the five (Su Nueva) stores, schedules, and handles employee issues, that type of thing.

“I’ve got a service manager who’s been with us almost 40 years. He’s a facility manager, equipment manager, and everything else. And then we have a mechanic who works with our service manager, does a lot of the heavy work, does a lot of maintenance, and is just a general handyman. That’s pretty much our management structure.

“My service manager takes care of [Mr. Sudsy] in addition to handling the service. There’s not a whole lot to do there. There’s just five employees. He does the service, the collection, and makes sure everyone’s working, doing what they need to do.”

Between he and his father, Hansen says they’ve owned and operated at least 30 different stores over the years. The six in his portfolio today have been in the mix the last 12 to 14 years.

Key Ramsey, president of 15 Keyway Supersudz locations in Mississippi, marks his 10th year in the laundry business this month. His stores cover an area stretching from Vicksburg to Meridian, a radius of about 180 miles.

“I started with one, the next year I did

“We take a cookie-cutter management style,” Ramsey says of how the stores are operated today. “My youngest son, Chandler, is my operations manager. Then we have one employee under him, what I would call the Jackson metro manager. My brother (Jay) handles my Mississippi Gulf Coast locations.

“There are very few occasions when I have to get involved in operations. I’m a serial entrepreneur and I love building and developing things, so that’s why I wake up every morning.”

TECH SAVVY

Technology continues to strengthen a person’s ability to manage their business, and the multi-store owners polled take advantage of those tools as much as they can.

“It’s very important to me,” Chicago’s Hansen says of technology. “The card system allows me so much flexibility. The advent of the latest camera technologies allows me to monitor and see what’s going on just about any time. And there’s the internet stuff, as far as our pickup and delivery service, it’s been huge to have that. We offer a free shuttle service to our stores, a couple vans that do shuttle service, and we use software for that as well. Receptionist takes calls, shoots numbers out to the drivers and keeps track of everything.”

“It plays a huge role and most of it costs hardly anything,” Henderson says. “What we use is very cheap or free. … When a company grows, the needs for communication is actually like an ▲

“By the time we grew to store No. 3, I don’t think we would’ve been able to do it if we really hadn’t hammered out those systems.”

—Brian Henderson, Liberty Laundry

exponential growth. … It gets a lot more complicated.”

He explains that Liberty’s adoption of technology evolved quickly but “didn’t happen overnight.”

“When we went from one store to two, I switched from using QuickBooks desktop for accounting to QuickBooks online,” Henderson says. “Back in 2010, that was relatively new. That allowed us, whichever location we’re at, to easily access our books. Then we needed a way to be able to access our company files and stuff on the administrative side, so we starting using Dropbox, to be able to access them from wherever I was at. We used a free account for many years and now I think we’re paying like $100 a year for a terabyte of storage. That’s more than sufficient.”

Through file sharing and a passwordprotected website that he created using WordPress, Liberty managers can easily direct applicable files and correspondence to employees at any store in this way. Likewise, employees can log in at their store to view their work schedule, make time-off requests, etc.

Each store has a Wi-Fi printer to which each week’s work schedule is sent for posting there: “It’s such a simple little thing but it’s helpful.”

Other examples of management tools used by Liberty include training videos shared online and an equipment problem log that attendants use to note out-oforder machines so that managers can schedule service or repairs. Managers also have access to a separate log section where they can record attendant performance notes, etc.

“All of our stores now, the new ones and the ones we’re retooling, we’re going with DexterLive, which is a really good tool from a management standpoint,” Keyway Supersudz’ Ramsey says. “To give you an example, we have a manager in Vicksburg that handles Vicksburg and Natchez. Both my stores are on DexterLive, so when we have a customer sitting there and it shows an error on one of the machines for drain, a slow fill, or whatever, my son can tell them to move their clothes to the next machine and he’ll start it up on his iPhone.”

“The service techs use an app to organize service and open projects listings for each location,” says Whale of a Wash owner Walter. “It eliminated the need to

have a service ‘manager’ at least until we reach a larger stage. … An eight security camera system at each location in real time app allows the on-duty technician to be in contact with the customer and stabilize most issues by return call.”

THE TIME TO GET HELP

Does making the jump to owning and operating multiple stores automatically mean you have to hire management help to assist you?

“Delegation of responsibilities is mandatory,” says Walter. “I became borderline suicidal between stores four and five.”

of middle management,” Ramsey says. “It was a really good timing thing in that my oldest son had just graduated college when I was just starting my sixth store. My role today is development of new stores, and my sons’ roles are operations of existing stores.”

SAGE ADVICE

So what advice do these veteran multistore operators have for the single-store owner who’s ready to branch out?

“If you work at another job and this is just a sideline and you want to do another store, just make sure you’re got the time,” Hansen says. “People seem to think that

“It’s definitely worthwhile to have a service tech when you have this many stores, and as large a stores,” Hansen says of his Chicago group. “Realistically, I could probably manage the day-to-day collections on my own. The reason I hired the (general) manager is most of the employees are limited in their (ability to speak) English and I’m not very good at Spanish. So, to have a bilingual manager, and she was an attendant originally, so she knows the processes, knows what to do. It makes it easier.”

It wasn’t until the Hendersons had added store No. 3 in 2014 that they made the decision to hire managers for each of their stores. Up until that time, family members were overseeing the operations.

“When you get to the point where you just absolutely don’t have the time, or can’t, or just really don’t want to cover any occasional shifts … having someone else who is ultimately accountable for making sure that those shifts are always covered—and it’s worth money to you— that’s when it’s time to really consider having a store manager,” says Henderson.

“I would say a good number on stores is five, where you need to go to some type

laundries kind of run themselves. When you first start out, it’s ‘buying a job.’ It takes a significant amount of time to learn all that stuff, and it just doubles if you add to it.”

“I guess I would tell them if you’re willing to go (store) No. 2, be willing to go No. 5,” Ramsey says. “I think that’s a good area to grow in but when you get to No. 6, you better be prepared to make some managerial decisions.”

“Decide, commit and stick to your business model and plan,” Walter says. “I decided I wanted to fix equipment, not do laundry (commercial accounts and dropoff service), as an example.”

Once you make the decision to hire managers to assist you, explain what’s expected of them and then let them do their job, Henderson says.

“That’s something that we’ve had to have some discipline about. When there is something that needs to be done through the chain of command, making sure we’re doing that instead of just jumping in and taking care of it,” he says. “When you do have a management structure in place, it’s kind of self-defeating if you don’t then follow that management structure.” ACO

“When you first start out, it’s ‘buying a job.’ It takes a significant amount of time to learn all that stuff, and it just doubles if you add to it.”

—Paul Hansen, Su Nueva Lavanderia

Move over, Hard Rock Cafe, watch out, Johnny Rockets. There’s a freshly laundered spin on music and retro-themed décor. At Florida’s Rock & Wash and Connecticut’s Sock Hop chains, it’s a wash and dry rather than a burger and fries being served up in era-inspired environments.

ROCK & WASH

“We decided to make something cool and nice and friendly for people to come in and check out, not your average runof-the-mill, old, depressing Laundromat,” explains Missy DeSantis inside the largest

S ck ’Em R ck ’Em,

by Laurance C ohen

of a trio of stores where she and her husband Frank harmoniously blend recording star legends with the sound of tumbling clothes.

“Music puts everyone in a good mood,” she tells me to a backdrop of patrons lured to the washer pyramid by a poster-sized Madonna striking a seductive pose.

If you’re looking to fold to a beat, better get your earbuds out as the only drums you’ll find here churn away inside the machines. But it’s the laundry’s ornamentation where they really pump up the volume.

Rock & Wash II Coin Laundromat in Belleview, Fla., debuted eight years ago

and within months of launching a similarly themed store just to the south in The Villages. In both instances, landlords courted the couple to turn around derelict laundries and help drive traffic into their shopping plazas with a modern facility and a show-stopping motif.

They did more than put a new dress on the ol’ girl. Pulling residents from sprawling mobile home parks and well-manicured gated complexes meant delivering a threepart harmony of state-of-the-art equipment, cleanliness and eye-catching scenery.

Mechanical contractors by trade, the husband-and-wife team got their feet wet in wash and dry over a decade ago with the buildout of Wash Saloon, a music-themed laundry where coin-op met country western. The mix of whirling machines, a lively jukebox and the giddy-up atmosphere stood out in Wildwood, a city at the crossroads of Interstate 75 and Florida’s Turnpike. The novel store’s success was noticed in local real estate circles and the entrepreneurs were soon approached to work their magic revitalizing a couple of aging coin-ops that had fallen on hard times.

Replicating the country-inspired getup wasn’t going to play to the crowd in The Villages, where active retirees and winter snowbirds are more likely to motor around in golf carts than kick up their heels. Music genres from the 1950s and ’60s fit the bill and Rock & Wash was born.

“That one took off even better than Wildwood,” Missy says of the 1,500-square-foot project housed in a grocery-anchored plaza along a north-south arterial near the crossroads of The Villages and neighboring Lady Lake.

At Rock & Wash I, the iron is on the floor and Elvis is in the house. A

Frank and Missy DeSantis transformed derelict laundries into a harmonious blend of recording star legends and tumbling clothes. (Photo: Laurance Cohen)

Themed coin-op chains hit the right note

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GOIN’ WITH COHEN

stairstep of two top-load and seven frontload washers leading to 10 multi-load tumbler pockets is mirrored along the demising walls of the 24-foot-wide store.

Stage left is a colorful mural capturing Elvis Presley greeting a theater crowd at one of his movie premieres. Tribute to the King of Rock ’n’ Roll is paid with a plaque and portrait at the top loaders, as well as photos near the soap vendor where the gallery also includes The Rat Pack striking a classic pose in Vegas.

Rock & Wash’s signature red-and-gold logo adorns the storefront, complemented by gyrating Elvis silhouettes and musical scales.

Even before the first wash was loaded at Rock & Wash I, an offer for another store makeover in Belleview, a half-hour’s drive to the north, was presented. The laundry’s condition was “horrific,” according to Frank, who recounts over two dozen broken machines on the floor.

A top-to-bottom rebuild was undertaken while juggling the couple’s existing contracting and laundry enterprises. Frank celebrated New Year’s Eve by laying tile to meet the scheduled opening date. Over the course of 90 days — and 10 months after launching the first rock-themed coin-op — the stage was set for an encore.

With its spacious 2,000-square-foot endcap and in consultation with equipment representative Rusty Parks, Rock & Wash II’s

24-washer/25-dryer mix was tweaked to add an 80-pound front loader and 75-pound tumbler.

The coin-op also hosts a more contemporary lineup of music legends showcased in posters and Rolling Stone magazine covers — a reflection of the location’s washday crowd who turn up to soak their clothes and soak in the upbeat atmosphere.

Like its predecessor, the rock-themed laundry doesn’t play tunes, but does bring customers face-to-face with some of music’s top names. Madonna and Bruce Springsteen are among the headliners, backed by The Black Eyed Peas, The Beatles, Michael Jackson, KISS, AC/DC and Lady Gaga.

Precision-cut diamond plate-capped bulkheads and dryer banks amplify the stainless steel machinery, flickering lamps and guitar-shaped mirrors — all in concert with The Material Girl watching cotton laundered and Mötley Crüe peering at piles of, well, “motley” briefs.

Unlike the original Wash Saloon, which itself was later rebranded as Rock & Wash III, jukeboxes never boomed at later itera-

tions. While favored by the owners, conflicts arising from individual tastes and TV monitors led to tuning out paid music. Missy says the popularity of smartphones and personal audio devices satisfies customers even if it doesn’t add to the ambiance.

Paying homage to rock legends carried an approximate $5,000 price tag per store, Missy acknowledges, noting that she spent hours online bargain-hunting. Husband Frank chimes in, adding that the decorations translate into a memorable customer experience: “It’s clean, it’s nice, and they can just relax.”

Missy nods in agreement. “It brings everyone back to an era that they love. We have people who never want to leave. They literally take off their shoes and think they’re at home.”

SOCK HOP

The temptation to kick off your Keds and take a walk down memory lane is just what owner Gerry Casey had in mind when he stepped out of the world of finance and into coin-ops to build up the three-store Sock Hop Coin Laundry chain in Milford, Conn.

Here, checkerboard floors and soda shop tables ooze feel-good Americana. Cheeseburgers and malts aren’t on the menu, but Casey’s take on “state of the art laundry equipment with a retro vibe” is.

“If it isn’t fun, don’t do it,” the operator says. “I want people to come in and smile and have a good experience doing their laundry at a fair price.”

His nostalgic approach to coin-ops is

A whimsical storefront lets passersby know this laundry marches to the beat of a different tune. (Photo: Laurance Cohen)

Neon and colorful band posters mounted on bright red walls turn wash day blues into a rockin’ time at the newest and largest of the Rock & Wash three-store chain. (Photo: Laurance Cohen)

Why did you choose an ESD system?

We obviously wanted a state-of-the-art card a competitive advantage, but we also wanted celebrated for their service and customer care successful products. ESD is the gold standard superior products, well-trained personnel,

What is your experience in the laundry

In the purest sense of the word, we are “newbies” arena - excited to be here, eager to play, hungry enough to learn from anyone who is willing we have seasoned experience and battle scars business experiences in unrelated industries. unrelated, the foundational business principals Finance, Marketing, Sales, People Management, relevant. Maybe we’re newbies with a little

Holland & Tyrone Akins of

What are the with your helped you The Laundry location, city. ESD wireless internet of from Is I and These

Brian

Brian Holland,

system?

card system that would give us wanted a company that was as care as they are for their most standard in the industry because of and outstanding customer service.

laundry industry?

“newbies” to the vended laundry hungry for knowledge, and humble willing to offer guidance. At the same time scars from both corporate- and small industries. While the industries are completely principals that they taught - Customer Service, Management, HR, Operations - are all directly little seasoning.

Laundry Café is located in a fantastic destination location, but it is in an internet challenged area of the ESD exceeded all our expectations by creating a wireless network even though none of the major internet providers were available. ESD has an internal team of IT professionals who customized our system to meet our needs, from design to installation.

Is there anything that surprised you about the ESD system? was pleasantly surprised at the managerial utilities. The reports are thorough, comprehensive, and seamlessly integrated. I can produce performance reports that track nearly everything. These are great for tracking your business and making informed adjustments for improvement.

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

Holland, Partner - The Laundry Café

the unknown challenges that you faced your new store? How has ESD’s system you to overcome these challenges?

GOIN’ WITH COHEN

well-orchestrated with attention given to each and every element. Casey doesn’t splash color, he works it into his branding. Staff uniforms, laundry bags, tabletops — even the handy loose-change coin cups — are fire engine red.

Custom signs convey messages using fonts in keeping with the italicized, oldschool store logo and vie for wall space

along with decals of dancer silhouettes and classic cars.

The operator gave thought to taking the Sock Hop theme all the way, but later shelved the idea: “I stopped short of asking staff to wear roller skates and poodle skirts,” he laughs.

Those passing by the unobstructed storefront windows are greeted by the laundry’s largest front loaders, which range in capacity from 80 to 90 pounds, depending on the location. Spotlights are trained on the machines to showcase the chain’s claim to fame of offering up the biggest machines in town. “I treat them as pieces of art,” Casey explains, “something that will catch someone’s eye as they’re going by and say, ‘Wow, look at that place!’”

Given the color scheme and blend of stainless steel and chrome, Casey made a point to include laundry and cleaning services under Sock Hop’s retro LP phonograph record logo so there was no mistaking spinning machines for spinning vinyl.

With three stores and six years under his belt, the 56-year-old owner is as passionate about laundry as he is of a bygone era in American culture. After two decades in mortgage banking, he

traded in a suit and tie for jeans, believing coin-ops could reconnect him with his youth.

The first Milford store involved cleaning up the liens from the prior operator and then undertaking a rejuvenation from the basement up — Sonotubes and all. Casey’s timing couldn’t have been better. Sock Hop opened its doors days after Hurricane Sandy pounded the East Coast in 2012. The event flooded his store not with water, but hordes of storm-ravaged residents.

An image of the iconic Rosie the Riveter along with her “We Can Do It!” motto hangs by the front counter and serves as the motto for Casey and his staff. While his team has a reputation for churning out first-rate wash-dry-fold bundles, he’s been known to get on his hands and knees to clean machine crevices with a toothbrush — a practice carried over from his earlier days detailing vehicles for car shows when cotton swabs were the tool of choice to tackle air vents.

“Why would people want to go to a dirty place to clean their clothes? I want it to be gleaming,” he states, adding, “It’s easy to be the cleanest Laundromat in town when you’re brand-new. It’s harder when you’re 6 years old.”

The second and third Sock Hops dotted the map of this coastal Connecticut community of 54,000 residents within three years’ time. Each laundry was in decline, rehabbed, and rebranded with Casey’s signature package.

Machine capacity growth mirrors that of the chain. Washers top out at 60 pounds at one laundry and 80 pounds at the two latest acquisitions. Multi-load dryer capacity followed suit, with 75-pound tumblers making their way into the mix.

Black control panels and chrome trim, topping off the stainless steel and white machinery, is picked up by the matching bar stools and tables, while striking a contrast with the alternating red-and-white folding tables. The checkerboard vinyl floor tile in two locations — and red painted concrete in another — provides the laundries with sleek, clean

Sock Hop’s retro logo is prominently displayed and artfully carried through to custom signage on the walls. (Photo: Gerry Casey)

Black and chrome soda shop table sets pick up the design elements of Sock Hop’s equipment mix. (Photo: Gerry Casey)

(continued from page 18)

looks underfoot.

Reconfiguring store layouts afforded Casey the opportunity to reorient machines, boost throughput, and expand social space. Patrons can pull up a bar stool to one of the cafe tables or belly up to a crane game for a chance to take home a stuffed animal. The enhanced atmosphere achieves a “wholesome family vibe” synonymous with the brand, the owner says.

The only jukebox in the joint is a wall decal. Requests do come in from time to time to play some doo-wop music and the genial host happily obliges during the holidays.

Casey believes branding a coin laundry is key and pays dividends. “Absolutely,” he responds when asked if a theme store improves the bottom line. “I can’t imagine someone making a major investment in a business venture and having nothing but white walls.”

And as for customers removing their shoes in the wash aisle, Casey chuckles at the thought. The Sock Hop, he insists, is strictly a play on words and certainly not a requirement for regulars, although he expresses confidence his spotlessly clean checkerboard floors would be up to the task.

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

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Spacious lounging facilities and a family-friendly claw game are some of the creature comforts owner Gerry Casey was able to provide after rejuvenating his Connecticut coin-ops. (Photo: Gerry Casey)

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PROTECTED IN THE FACE OF THE UNEXPECTED

HOW TO DEAL WITH LOITERERS

Many of us have experienced loitering by the homeless or others at one time or another. It’s a big problem that can literally ruin your business by scaring customers away. It must be dealt with if your business is to thrive.

For some of you, especially those running unattended stores, the problem is chronic. Loitering, especially by the homeless, is a social problem that is much bigger than us alone. It really is a problem that must be dealt with by our politicians, but don’t hold your breath for that.

Years ago, New York City Mayor Rudy Guiliani did a fantastic job cleaning up the streets of NYC with his “broken windows theory,” but after he left office, the homeless problem returned.

So what can be done if you’re experiencing loitering where you are? Here are some tips to help:

Lighting — Paying customers are drawn to a well-lit Laundromat like moths to a light bulb. Vagrants, not so much. Just like good lighting makes customers feel safe and comfortable, it also makes loiterers uncomfortable. A passing patrol car might spot them. So, boost your lighting.

Seating — The first place a loiterer will park themselves is on one of your benches. If you have a chronic issue with people sleeping on your benches, a good solution is to install benches with armrests that divide the bench into individual chairs, making it much harder for them to sleep on. A similar thing can be done with folding tables.

Restrooms — While a nice, clean restroom is a great draw for customers, unfortunately, it’s also one of the biggest draws for loiterers. They will come in and do a body bath in your restroom. You must keep it locked and allow only paying customers to have access.

In NYC, Laundromats are not required to provide restrooms, but most restaurants are required, so we would tell people, “It’s out of order, but there’s another restroom nearby at ...”

Yes, it’s a classic passing-the-buck tactic, but you need to do what you can.

When we were going through a time of high flow of vagrants (there seems to be an ebb and flow with them),

we would put an out-of-order sign on the bathroom door.

Shut Off Your TVs — Another draw for any type of loiterer is your TVs. Make sure you have the ability to shut them off remotely. An attendant can discreetly flip a breaker and, if confronted, can tell the person that “the boss controls the TVs and he shuts them off after he spots a loiterer on the store’s cameras.”

If your mat is unattended, there are many devices now that allow you to control appliances using an app on your cell phone.

Nip It in the Bud — This is so important! If a loiterer finds he/she is successful in spending the day or night at your mat, it will become one of his/her regular “crash sites” and he/she will stake a claim. The very first time a loiterer comes in, your attendant must promptly ask him/her to leave; if your store is unattended, you must do it through a remote public address system when you spot the person on your surveillance system. A PA system announcement can surprise them, as it gives a suggestion of authority and that someone is watching.

Your attendant will often be afraid to confront a loiterer, and you can’t blame them. A good technique to help attendants feel more comfortable in confronting a loiterer is to tell the attendant to ask a customer or two to stand next to them while she politely asks the loiterer to leave. There’s more power in numbers, and it will be easier for your attendant to find the courage to ask the person to leave.

Sometimes they will leave, sometimes they won’t. I have found that when it’s a person’s first time loitering, they tend to be more compliant. Once they have been successful in staying put, it becomes much harder for you to remove them.

It’s important to never confront a loiterer in anger. Only ask politely! You never know if the person is mentally ill, or they may have a record of run-ins with the law.

Blame the Boss — If they refuse to leave, the attendant needs to call the police. But before doing that, attendants have another tool: to blame you.

Attendants are afraid to call the police for fear of personal reprisal, so what we would do is to have the

Paul Russo

attendant say this on their second attempt: “My boss is always checking the cameras. If he sees you here, he will call the cops, so you are better off leaving now before he catches you.”

This takes a lot of pressure off your attendant by allowing them to “be a friend” to the loiterer by warning them about the “boss.” It also tells the loiterer that they are being recorded on camera, which raises their discomfort level.

Some will leave at that point, however, some will still not leave!

(Loiterers should never be asked to leave based on their color, creed, race, or sex. They should only be asked to leave based on the clearly documented fact of their unacceptable behavior and that they are not paying customers! Anything more than that and you will be flirting with violating their constitutional rights. Besides, you don’t want to risk a lawsuit. So make sure your attendants are clearly trained in the right way vs. the wrong way to ask someone to leave.)

Time to Call the Police — If you are remotely monitoring your store, and you asked the loiterer to leave or the police will be called, then you must follow through and call the police. If your store is attended, your attendant should quietly and discreetly call 911 and tell the operator there is a scary person loitering in your store.

A loitering report is low priority for the police, so it could take some time before they come. In NYC, police must answer the call, but when they come is a different story. This brings me to the next solution.

Establish a Relationship with Your Local Police — Many police departments will have some kind of way to reach out to the business community. In NYC, every local precinct has at least one

“community officer” in charge of helping to resolve problems such as this.

They do have their methods, such as sending a patrol car around at various times to keep vagrants on the defensive. I’ve seen them go into parking lots to scare off sleeping vagrants. I’ve found that calling the community officer helps, but it’s much more effective if you show up in person to explain your problem. It’s not just that they are helping you, you are also helping them by giving them a set of eyes and ears in the neighborhood. The police need to be connected to the neighborhood.

When you meet with your local police, I also found it helpful to tell them who is routinely selling beer or liquor to vagrants. They may decide to turn the heat up on those establishments.

Proactively Help the Homeless — Do what you can to help the homeless in your area find a decent place to stay. You can call the National Coalition for the Homeless (202-462-4822), which has many options to help the homeless find food, mental health programs, and housing (not just a shelter). Your community’s local churches may also have resources to help the homeless.

By taking action to help the homeless in your area, you’ll be doing your community, and the homeless, a big service, not to mention addressing your store’s issues with loitering. ACO

Paul Russo owned and operated multiple Laundromats in New York City for more than 40 years before retiring recently. He’s a regular on the Coin Laundry Association’s online forum, posting under the pseudonym “Paulie B.” He invites comments from American Coin-Op readers at MyLaundromat@aol.com.

“

PEOPLE MATTER. RELATIONSHIPS MATTER.

Huebsch Investors Co-owners, The Laundry Café Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Pictured from left: Tyrone Akins and Brian Holland, Co-owners, The Laundry Café

— Tyrone Akins and Brian Holland

OUR NETWORK WORKS FOR YOU.

While working together at a major pharmaceutical company, friends Tyrone Akins and Brian Holland discovered they had a dream job in common: owning and operating a laundromat that would serve Philadelphia neighborhoods, like the ones they grew up in.

Based in large part on a proven history of helping investors achieve 25%–35% return on investment, Tyrone and Brian decided to partner with Huebsch® —but it wasn’t just about money. They were passionate about giving their community a quality laundromat with outstanding service.

Their Huebsch distributor worked tirelessly to help them iron out the details, find the perfect location and create a business plan. Before they knew it, The Laundry Café was open for business, giving Tyrone and Brian an exciting and profitable new venture—and their customers an amazing laundry experience.

Thanks to the support and guidance they received from their Huebsch Financial team, Tyrone and Brian now own several Laundry Cafés throughout Philadelphia. They are eager to open more locations and introduce other communities to the superior quality of Huebsch.

Visit huebsch.com/investors to hear more of Tyrone and Brian’s story and learn how you too can become a Huebsch Investor.

by Bruce Beggs, Editorial Director

Right Manager Hiring the

When the workload becomes too much, there just aren’t enough hours in the day for you to make the needed store visits, or you just feel like getting away for a while, it’s probably time to find and hire a manager who can run the show in your stead.

Whether you have a single store or a bunch, entrusting someone to supervise your business’ front-line workers and oversee the day-to-day operations can reduce your stress and free you up to spend time on “big picture” items and your company’s plans for the future.

“There are people who can probably manage over five stores (themselves),” says Key Ramsey, the owner of 15 Mississippi stores who entrusts their dayto-day management to his two sons and other personnel. “What do you want in life, and where do you want your business to go? … I don’t want to be consumed on the weekend with my business … and I wanted to put myself in a position of growth, and you can’t do that and

manage five stores.”

If you’re looking to hire a manager, there may already be someone on your payroll who could fill that role for you.

“Angelica had been with us for a number of years as an attendant,” says Paul Hansen, who owns six stores in Chicago. “She was bilingual. She always went that extra mile to make sure things were done. All of that kind of helped out. She was helping train people. It was just kind of a natural fit.

“She started doing a couple of stores. ‘You do this one and this one and I’ll do the other ones,’ I told her. Then it just kind of made sense to bump her up and put her in charge of all of them.”

At Liberty Laundry in the Tulsa, Okla., area, members of the Henderson family were managing two stores and had added a third when they made the decision to hire managers for each location. Brian Henderson, a son of the owners, was operations manager for several years before stepping aside earlier this year to

focus on building another business.

“We’re still relatively new to dealing with managers,” he says of Liberty. “All of them were laundry attendants promoted to the role of store manager. They have to know the job of laundry attendant inside and out before they’re even considered for the store manager position.

“You do have to be careful about taking someone who is an excellent laundry attendant but may not be able to adapt to being a store manager. We had that situation once, and that person actually went back to being a laundry attendant at their request. It was fine, because they’re an excellent team member. But that was an important lesson to learn.”

Of course, every laundry business is a bit different and the size and scope of its services figure heavily into its need for staffing and managerial help.

“A rural multi-store operation with no drop-off services is a bit unique,” says Hank Walter, who owns 10 Laundromats in West Virginia. “There is a lot of unsupervised work by techs that have to be able to deal with customers. The biggest challenge is to get the techs to always give the customer the benefit of the doubt. We computerize our customer list with

(Photo: © iStockphoto/marchmeena29)

Busy Laundromat owners need that one person they can rely on to run the show in their stead

refunds to avoid repeat offenders.”

Walter says he once promoted one of his service techs to operations manager a decade ago and things did not go well.

“Probably mostly my fault for assuming too much about work ethics. … I have found that it is better for me to pay each of my three service techs a good wage and keep a team approach to service and install work. I am fortunate that my daughter (Anne) can run the business when I am out of town. Cell phones make it easy to stay in touch if necessary.”

If you would be in the market to add a manager, what qualities would you look for aside from a talent for speaking to and handling customers? Would there be a specific skill set or experience that lends itself to that job?

“Taking initiative. Being that personality where they take it upon themselves to solve problems,” Henderson says. “They may ask me for feedback, but they really view it as ‘their’ store. … I can teach them some of the specifics of being a manager, but if they’ve got that in their personality already, then you’re 90% there.”

The ability to coach and be coached

also figures highly in a manager’s job, he adds.

“You do have to be the coach,” Henderson says. “You have to encourage [the staff] and congratulate them when they do a good job but also be the one to bust their chops when they’re really not putting in their best effort.”

While it’s promoted from within previously, Liberty is contemplating looking outside its company for management candidates and using a “manager in training” approach. The person would first learn the attendant’s position fully before passing an evaluation and becoming a

manager.

“I would say having some acquaintance with and experience with technology,” Hansen says of a quality he would seek in a managerial candidate. “Technology has become so important. Anything from a card system to a point-of-sale system to internet ordering to even payroll. It’s all online now, so I think having somebody who’s comfortable with technology and experienced with it is really a must.”

So whether it’s looking to promote from within or seeking a new face to help run things, hiring the right manager may be just the ticket for the busy store owner. ACO

—Paul Hansen, Chicago

Nemetz

TECHNOLOGY HOLDS KEY TO SCALING VENDED LAUNDRY

There once was a popular misconception that the vended laundry business was great because it required little time and effort on the part of the owner. We all know that’s not really the case. Success in this, or any, business requires effort on the part of the owner.

Today’s vended laundry is far from an absentee venture. It obliges owners to have a plan. They must be tuned in to operations to make tweaks to the way things run. Marketing and pricing alone necessitate the owner to be plugged in to how customers are interacting with the store and equipment. Time and again, others in this column have mentioned the “experience” that today’s modern Laundromat offers (and customers have come to expect). That requires effort on the part of the owner.

Bottom line is that owning a laundry is work. Now what if you want to, or already own, three, four, five or more? It’s all about scaling and that starts with processes, engaging today’s cutting-edge technology and the owner understanding it cannot be done alone; attendants, quality attendants whom owners trust, can carry the weight.

on this duty, giving them a percentage of the profit. They are incentivized to stay plugged in to what sells to maximize sales, and I have a piece of the day-to-day store activity pulled off my list. The question to ask: Is the task strategic? If the answer is no, delegate it.

With me being an hour and 20 minutes away from the store, it’s imperative that I put a heavy value on my time and empower staff to operate with minimal questions. I knew this would be the case from the start. It’s why I put significant effort into creating a highly detailed policy and procedure manual. My time was well-served creating this document, which details, step-by-step, everything from how to open up the store and what to do if the lights go out to what to do if someone slips on the floor. New employees are tested on this manual, and it remains in perpetual growth as we continue to add content. Again, the goal is to empower staff, limit their questions and limit my visits to the store.

TECHNOLOGY IS MANDATORY

With staff taking on a variety of tasks and having a procedure manual to walk them through other situations that might otherwise mean a call to me, I’m able to focus on growth and management. This is where it’s imperative to have systems that enable me to manage the store remotely.

VALUE YOUR TIME

The first step in scaling your business starts with valuing your time. As owners, we can take on almost every task in our business, but that doesn’t mean we should. Take your vending machines, for example. Consider how much that element is grossing in a typical month. Now consider if, as the owner, it is worth your time to be vending machine supply shopper and stocker.

Yes, you could take on the task, but wouldn’t your time be better served managing larger components of the business? In my case, I asked my attendant to take

The foundation of that is rooted in networked laundry equipment. Owners who do not embrace this technological gift that manufacturers have given us will struggle to scale their business. The cornerstone to my management is logging into my Quantum system at 10 p.m. daily to look at overall sales, turns by machine and revenue by machine and identify any trends. As I grow my business to multiple locations, this capability will be exponentially more important.

But it’s not enough just to have a handle on the data if you aren’t acting on it. For example, upon opening, I noticed my top loaders were getting the most turns. Using this data, I promoted my Horizons to spur usage of the more efficient machines and followed up by adding credit card payment systems on my higher-capacity washer-extractors. Today, my 40-, 60- and 80-pound washer-extractors are carrying the most turns. All this was the result of making changes from the comfort of

Michael

As owners, we can take on almost every task in our business, but that doesn’t mean we should.

my home office, miles from the store. This is a system I can scale as my business grows to multiple locations. Being able to monitor, make changes and basically run a business remotely truly is the foundation of scale.

Knowing the importance of all this technology to not only managing my business, but ensuring continuity of it, I’ve taken steps to ensure connectivity is not lost. At my Spin Cycle Laundry Lounge in Manteca, Calif., I have two internet providers serving the location. The system is configured so that in the event that one provider goes down, the internet traffic is automatically rerouted to the second service provider. Obviously, the goal is to keep machines turning, so I throttle down customer Wi-Fi traffic to keep the store operations moving.

This type of dual-internet connectivity design will become increasingly important for owners of modern Laundromats who embrace technology and even more important for owners like me who will manage multiple locations from hours away. The key is scalable management.

ADDITIONAL TECHNOLOGY

While it seems like a simple item, I’ve also brought technology into my TVs as well. This was after tuning into my store’s camera system and finding that my attendant had not turned the TVs on. I opted to add Chromecast, which enables me to turn the TVs on and off as well as change up programming if I need to. Again, my goal is to leverage technology in a way that keeps me from having to be in the store to perform these functions.

This dovetails nicely with similar systems that lock and unlock

doors, and Kasa Smart Plugs that manage lights.

For phone service I use Google Voice and direct the calls to a local telco-provided phone line at my business. Google Voice allows me to monitor incoming calls from my home, and I can listen to customer voicemails and make sure the staff is following up on them.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Scaling a vended laundry business and managing from afar can be done. Owners can, indeed, provide the high-quality experience that customers expect without needing to be in the store every day. The best advice I can offer based off my first store and pursuing this course with stores number two and three: technology is your friend; leverage it as much as possible. Set up reliable internet connections with backup capabilities, in the event one goes down. Install a universal power supply that gives customers extra time to complete cycles if there’s a power failure (this goes directly to that quality customer experience point).

With technology on solid footing, the second piece of the equation is empowering staff to run the day-to-day operations. Get them to invest in your commitment to customer service, and processes, as well as understand what their priorities are. Once you have confidence in your staff, you are in the best position to manage the business and scale it to multiple locations. ACO

Michael Nemetz is the owner of Spin Cycle Laundry Lounge, a Speed Queen vended laundry located in Manteca, Calif. He can be reached at mike.nemetz@gmail.com.

EvolutionEnterprise of an

Multiple revenue streams feed Pratt Abbott Garment

By Haley Jorgensen

If you live in Maine, you’re likely a customer of Pratt Abbott Garment Care, the state’s largest provider of drycleaning, vended laundry and linen/ uniform rental services. David Machesney and his father, Jim, purchased the company in 1991. It’s grown fivefold since, capturing market share through acquisitions, new development and continual improvement.

Pratt Abbott umbrellas 12 drycleaning facilities, eight vended laundries and a 50,000-square-foot linen and uniform rental plant. By design, multiple revenue streams feed the enterprise.

“One of the reasons we have all three business sectors is to provide volume to afford a management infrastructure which

Care

allows our employees growth opportunities,” says David Machesney. The other, he maintains, is because providing “everything clean” simplifies life for customers.

FAMILY-OWNED HISTORY

Pratt Abbott was founded as a solitary drycleaning store in 1944, in Portland, Maine, according to Machesney.

“Elliott Abbott led the business for 14 years, often waiting on customers and pressing shirts himself,” he says. “In the 1940s, he combated unemployment by hiring veterans through the GI Bill.”

Among those hires was World War II veteran Roderick Lowell, who worked his way from the shirt presses to ownership in 1958. Lowell and his daughters staffed the counters, while Lowell’s father repaired and maintained machinery, according to Machesney. During the 1960s, Lowell opened additional drycleaning locations and expanded into uniform rental.

Since acquiring Pratt Abbott in 1991, the Machesney family — children and

grandchildren — have worked the counters as well. After Jim passed away in 2015, David took the lead. He’s since significantly grown each of Pratt Abbott’s business segments — dry cleaning, vended laundry and linen/uniform rental — benefiting employees and customers alike.

A LOOK AT OPERATIONS

Today, Pratt Abbott’s drycleaning business makes up 60-70% of Maine’s retail drycleaning market and generates 38% of total company revenue. Twelve drycleaning facilities bring multiple services to customers, including dry cleaning, shirt laundry and household laundry services. Other perks include free pickup and delivery, as well as off-season garment storage. Efficient equipment and processes ensure high-quality, eco-friendly results.

Pratt Abbott’s vended laundry sector significantly contributes to the success of the company as a whole, contributing more profit than dry cleaning, according to Machesney. In many ways, the two inter-

Revenue streams from drycleaning, vended laundry and linen/uniform rental services feed the Pratt Abbott Garment Care enterprise, owned by David Machesney. (Photos: Continental Girbau)

Pratt Abbott recently opened a new Express Laundry Center® in Yarmouth, Maine. Most of Pratt Abbott’s vended laundries and retail drycleaning stores are located side by side, which offers customers one-stop convenience.

twine. This is partly because most Pratt Abbott vended laundries and drycleaning stores are located side by side. This configuration draws revenue from a broader demographic, creates shared operational savings, and encourages consumer crossover.

“We look at it as a convenience to the customer and a way to serve more customers,” says Machesney. “Co-mingling also allows us to run fully attended laundries and offset some of the labor cost from dry-

cleaning revenue.”

Thus, the vended laundries tend to make the drycleaning stores more profitable — and vice versa. Even better? The pairing creates “one-stop-shop” customer convenience. That’s important, according to Machesney, because Pratt Abbott “is in the business of selling time.”

Uniform and linen rental — the most profitable Pratt Abbott business sector — began in the 1970s, but only recently ballooned in performance.

“Back in 2000, we bet the uniform and linen rental business had more potential for growth than dry cleaning based on the demographics of our area and the lack of population growth,” he says. “We broke the uniform and linen rental sector away from dry cleaning and formed a separate company to focus on it. We knew we needed to develop separate production plants and teams for both.”

Today, operating from a new, state-ofthe-art commercial laundry plant, Pratt

Breaking Down the

When There is History There

Pratt Abbott Uniform & Linen became a stand-alone business in 2000. Operating from a new industrial laundry plant outfitted with the latest equipment, the company reports it has enjoyed double-digit growth over the last year.

A Pratt Abbott drycleaning plant bustles with business. The company serves 60-70% of Maine’s drycleaning market from a dozen facilities and generates 38% of total company revenue, owners say.

Abbott Uniform & Linen serves healthcare and hospitality clients within a 250mile area. Making up a robust 58% of total company revenue, the business provides pickup and delivery of cleaned and leased garments and linens. During the last 12 months, it has realized double-digit growth, according to Machesney. Thanks to the new plant’s size and equipment mix, he expects that growth rate to continue for the next two to five years.

CONTINUAL IMPROVEMENT AND ROI

Committed to continual improvement, Machesney ensures his plants, drycleaning locations and vended laundries operate at peak performance. He reinvests for big returns.

“We continuously improve all our processes to provide innovative services that increase satisfaction, quality and value for our customers, and create profitable growth for our company,” he explains.

During the last decade, for example, he’s renovated several vended laundries, which resulted in a per-store revenue bump of 10-30% and utility cost savings of 50%. He enhances two stores per year and starts by replacing hard-mount machines with

As Pratt Abbott vended laundries are renovated, they are rebranded as Express Laundry Centers®, all of which offer high-speed Continental ExpressWash® Washers (pictured) and ExpressDry® Dryers.

soft-mount ExpressWash® Washers and ExpressDry® Dryers made by Continental Girbau.

“At many of our acquired stores, utility costs consumed 40% of revenue,” Machesney says. “Now, thanks to the new equipment, we’ve got that down to 18 to 20%.”

As stores are renovated, they are rebranded Express Laundry Centers® and feature similar soft-mount equipment mixes. This consistency simplifies employee training, store management and routine maintenance, he says.

Following the current path, Machesney says the company will continue to look for

n Zoom In on Pratt Abbott’s Vended Laundry Biz

David Machesney, owner of Pratt Abbott, is heavily invested in the vended laundry industry, having acquired and developed eight laundries since 1991.

About 10 years ago, he embarked on a major overhaul of underperforming stores, acquired through the years, to make them more profitable. Key to that endeavor was Ralph Daniels, of Daniels Equipment Co. Inc., a full-service laundry equipment distributor based in Auburn, N.H.

Daniels recommended Machesney replace his laundries’ equipment to improve revenue and reduce overhead costs. His suggestion? Swap out all hard-mount washers with Continental ExpressWash® freestanding washers.

“I knew this would improve efficiency and create shorter wash/dry times for customers,” says Daniels, who installed the first few washers on a

free-trial basis.

“I told David if they didn’t save him money in utilities and make the stores more profitable, we’d pull them out,” says Daniels. “The change would also allow the laundries to serve more customers per day.”

Machesney went forward with the recommendation.

“Maine utility costs are high — between 1.25 and 1.5 times the national average,” he says. “We wanted to significantly lower those costs.”

The ExpressWash machines, which are engineered to save water and electricity, also cut natural gas costs because they produce extract speeds reaching 400 g-force. The ExpressWash machines remove more moisture from every load, which shortens resulting dry time.

“Because dry times are nearly cut in half, dryers use less gas and customers can finish laundry in less than an hour,” says

opportunities in acquisition, improvement and development.

“We like to diversify our assets and control our destiny,” he explains, “so in addition to having the three different segments of garment care industry, we invest in commercial real estate to control our locations and further diversify our assets. We absolutely want to continue to grow and solidify our market. If you can do something you like and be profitable along the way, that’s the ticket.”

Machesney is ever on the hunt for new opportunities. His most recent project includes the development of two new Express Laundry Centers, which recently opened in North Windham and Yarmouth, Maine.

“I didn’t look to get into the business to clean clothes,” he says. “I wanted to run a business and I knew we needed enough size and infrastructure to do it right. I have 160 employees and five direct reports,” he details, “and we try to make it a fun environment.”

ACO

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

Daniels. “This makes for happy customers and allows for more paying customers per day.”

Along with the new equipment, Machesney gave the stores a face-lift for impressive gains in revenue and profit. As they are renovated, they are rebranded as Express Laundry Centers®. “We have two done and six to go,” says Machesney. “We will do two more this year.”

Express Laundry Center® is a turnkey vended laundry package available only through Continental distributors that combines high-speed ExpressWash and ExpressDry equipment and multiple services with local marketing and management support. Express Laundry Centers offer a 60-minute wash/dry/ fold, lower utility costs and higher profit potential, according to Daniels.

Fully attended, Machesney’s Express Laundry Centers offer

drop-off wash/dry/fold and dry cleaning, in addition to their 60-minute self-service promise.

“The high spin speed of our washers makes a huge difference in moving customers through the stores,” he says. “People say our dryers are fantastic, but the reason their laundry dries so fast is because the washers work so well.”

In terms of equipment mix, Machesney keeps it simple. He relies on a combination of 20-, 40- and 90-pound washers in all of his stores. This capacities mix works well for customers and simplifies training processes for employees, he says.

Ever-expanding and improving, Machesney juggles multiple businesses and projects. Most recently, he completed the development of two new Express Laundry Centers, located next to Pratt Abbott drycleaning outlets in Yarmouth and Windham, Maine.

CALENDAR

UPCOMING EVENTS

AUGUST

14 D&M Equipment Co. Open House & Dexter Basic Service School

Skokie, Ill. Info: 773-889-5500; lorena@dandmequipment.com

15 D&M Equipment Co. Dexter Advanced Service Seminar Skokie, Ill. Info: 773-889-5500; connor@dandmequipment.com

30-31 KeeWes Equipment Co. Distributor Show Branson, Mo. Info: 800-383-9274; www.keewes.com

SEPTEMBER

14-15 Gold Coin Laundry Equipment

Founder’s Day Sale Jamaica, N.Y. Info: 800-952-1474; www.goldcoinlaundry.com

15 PWS Inc. Fall Show Redwood City, Calif. Info: 650-871-0300; www.pwslaundrywest.com

18-19 Statewide Laundry Equipment Distributor Show Kissimmee, Fla. Info: 813-877-6434; www.statewideusa.com

19-20 BDS Laundry Product Show Eagan, Minn. Info: 800-688-0020;

info@bdslaundry.com

20 Laundry One Open House

Canal Winchester, Ohio Info: 800-800-0322; www.laundryone.com

21 PWS Inc. Fall Show

San Diego, Calif. Info: 858-560-6969; www.pwslaundrywest.com

22 PWS Inc. Fall Show

South Gate, Calif. Info: 800-451-1161; www.pwslaundrywest.com

26 Statewide Laundry Equipment Distributor Show Hialeah, Fla. Info: 305-624-5169; www.statewideusa.com ACO

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BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES

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DEADLINE: Ads must be received by the 1st of the preceding month. For

example, for a June ad, the closing date is May 1st.

PAYMENT FOR CLASSIFIED ADS: Must accompany order.

Laundry Mechanic Wanted (954) 537-1643

Laundry Pro of Florida is the 2016 Dexter Distributor of the year. We are looking for new prospects to join our team. Come work where people vacation, in sunny Florida. We are seeking: • Proven Laundry Equipment Salesman Great work environment, highly competitive compensation, paid relocation expenses. Please respond in confidence to: Rjansen@laundryequipment.com

GULF STATES RISES FROM FLOODWATERS TO WIN HUEBSCH HONOR

Less than a year ago, Pravin Parmar was perched in a National Guard boat navigating the Houston streets he normally drives on his way to work. He hoped Hurricane Harvey had spared his Gulf States Laundry Machinery Co., the business he owns with his brother, Harish. But as he approached, it became clear that the storm waters had completely flooded the facility.

ENVIROSTAR TO ACQUIRE SCOTT EQUIPMENT FOR $13 MILLION EnviroStar Inc. (EVI), a distributor of commercial laundry and drycleaning equipment, has executed a definitive purchase agreement to acquire substantially all the assets and certain liabilities of fellow distributor Scott Equipment Inc., based in Houston.

Payment of the $13 million purchase price will be split evenly between cash and shares of EVI common stock. Publicly held EVI expects the addition of Scott Equipment to be accretive to its fiscal year ended June 30, 2019.

Consistent with EVI’s operating philosophy, Scott Equipment will operate as a subsidiary of EVI from its present locations, under its existing leadership, with all its employees, and conduct business as it has historically.

The addition of Scott Equipment to EVI’s existing Dallas operations is expected to result in over $50 million of revenues derived primarily in Texas by 19 sales professionals, supported by 32 service professionals, and serving over 3,000 OPL and vended laundry customers.

Fast forward to April. Pravin is standing in an immaculate showroom. He is smiling because the entire staff at Gulf States had worked together to overcome the devastating impact of a hurricane and be named the 2017 Huebsch Distributor of the Year.

“If the Gulf States story was solely about rising from the floodwaters and getting back to business as usual in less than eight weeks of time, it would be great,” says Kathryn Rowen, North American sales manager for Huebsch. “Where the story becomes absolutely amazing is the team did all that while posting one of its most impactful years to win this award; truly remarkable.”

“Gulf States is like a family, and that showed after the hurricane,” Pravin says, adding that Ben Prema, who heads up the Atlanta office, worked tirelessly in helping ensure the Houston facility and its customers were well taken care of with no interruptions.

And just what is family capable of in the face of a disaster? Consider that Hurricane Harvey hit Houston in August 2017— and the Gulf States open house, scheduled for October 2017, went on as planned. Equally inspiring is that Gulf States transacted 30% of its 2017 business in the fourth quarter, Huebsch says.

“The tenacity Gulf States showed in rebuilding their Houston office is testament to the passion this entire team brings to the laundry business,” Rowen says. “They are so deserving of Huebsch’s top annual honor.”

This is the third time Gulf States has won the Huebsch Distributor of the Year award.

“Joining EVI will provide us opportunities to offer more products and services to our OPL and vended laundry customers and facilitate growth opportunities in the large commercial and institutional laundry segments across the state of Texas and Southern Louisiana,” says Scott Martin, president of Scott Equipment. “Ultimately, EVI represented the industry’s best solution for longterm growth of our business and new opportunities for our valued employees.”

KANSAS LAUNDRY INTRODUCES NEW MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

The Laundry Station, which opened in April in Wichita, Kan., is the first independent Laundromat in the country to offer Speed Queen Insights and its mobile app payment system, the equipment manufacturer reports.

“You have to be able to see what you’re doing,” owner Sharon Brinks says of the advanced operational and financial data Speed Queen Insights provides her. “If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it. [Speed Queen Insights] is the future of the industry.”

Speed Queen Insights delivers a single, easy-to-use website that gives store owners complete control of their Laundromat(s), the manufacturer says. Owners can manage stores from anywhere in the world with an internet connection thanks to its cloud-based system, and an easy-to-use dashboard enables tracking and optimization of financial performance and operational data.

Customers can use the Speed Queen app to pay for their laundry, check the status of their wash, and earn rewards for their visits.

“It was clear to us that Sharon’s commitment to building a Laundromat from the ground up that catered to a high-level customer experience would be a great fit for the first install of Speed Queen Insights,” says Steve Bowie, the brand’s North American sales manager. “This 4,800-square-foot laundry truly raises the bar.” ACO

Key personnel at Gulf States Laundry Machinery Co. includes (from left) Pravin Parmar, coowner of the company’s Houston branch; Ben Prema, co-owner of the Atlanta branch; and Harish Parmar, co-owner of the Houston branch. (Photo: Alliance Laundry Systems)

“I came up with the location and vision. Continental and my distributor, Belson Company, partnered with me to execute the plan — making my dream reality. My Express Laundry Center is not only wildly successful, it’s extremely rewarding.”

- Steve Dietzen, Green Bay Express Laundry Center