American Coin-Op - August 2020

HANDLING OF REFUNDS VARIES BY OWNER

Refunding a customer’s money is sometimes necessary when a washer or dryer doesn’t operate the way it should. But just as individual laundry operations can have unique qualities, the way in which store owners handle refunds can also vary. American Coin-Op surveyed the trade audience on the topic, then followed up with select owners to learn more about their refund policies and what influences them.

18 SCALING THE BUSINESS RELIES ON HAVING RIGHT TEAM

CLEC Texas’ Mike Hand recommends simplifying the process if you’re looking to scale quickly, and says succeeding in the venture relies on having the right team.

22 WHY EQUIPMENT FLEXIBILITY IS KEY NOW, INTO FUTURE

Girbau NA’s Joel Jorgensen says laundry owners with flexible equipment have the ability to alter machine locations, programming and vending, which can be an advantage during these uncertain times.

26 CUSTOMER COMMUNICATION: GET THE MESSAGE?

Retired multi-store owner Paul Russo explores all the ways that you and your business can communicate with customers and discusses how important it is to engage them in a positive way.

Stop Making Cents

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Bruce Beggs

A customer always appreciates having options, don’t you think? And that’s certainly true when paying a laundry’s vend prices. Some still bring along a bunch of quarter or dollar coins when it’s time to do the week’s laundry. But others no longer carry cash and instead choose to use their smartphone as a tool to pay for just about anything, including doing the wash.

For this month’s cover story, I polled experts from nine companies that offer payment systems and related products. When talking options for paying for laundry, what’s the breakdown between coin, card and mobile? Has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted payment trends and, if so, how? And will there have been any changes in our payment options, say, five years from now?

Flip to page 6 to get a sense of which way the “vend” is going.

The other main feature this month is about handling refunds, starting on page 12. Just as individual laundry operations can have unique qualities, the way in which store owners handle customer refunds can also vary.

Some owners readily give a refund or restart a machine, often with no questions asked. Others are willing to refund when needed but want to see proof of the problem first. And a minority don’t refund money at all. Sure, they’ll restart a machine for a customer or move their laundry to another machine if one acts up, but they do not refund money spent.

How does your refund policy compare to the average store owner’s? We polled our trade audience on the topic, plus spoke further with select owners about their refund policies and what influences them.

Apart from our features, there’s plenty more for you this month, including columns on scaling your laundry business, the advantages behind equipment flexibility, and the benefits of good customer communication.

Know what the best part is? To benefit from American Coin-Op, the only thing you have to pay is attention.

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

Mathew Pawlak, Production Manager

Nathan Frerichs, Digital Media Director

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

ADVISORY BOARD

Jaimie

Main: 312-361-1700

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PAYMENT TRENDS

by Bruce Beggs, Editorial Director

For the longest time, a self-service laundry customer washed or dried their clothes by inserting a preset number of coins or tokens into a mechanism connected to a washer or dryer. That’s still true today but as technology has taken greater hold, so too have the options for paying.

Payment by coin is still the preferred method used in Laundromats today but the share of cashless (coinless?) stores is growing larger by the year.

Depending on the system used, 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 a machine, or can use a credit, debit or EBT (electronic benefit transfer) card to start one. Some systems enable stores to accept coin, credit card, store or loyalty card, or a combination.

And let’s not forget the newcomer: appbased payment platforms that allow customers to pay for wash cycles and dry time using their mobile devices.

In this publication’s annual State of the Industry survey for 2019-20, regarding payment types, 91.5% of responding store owners said they offer coin, 42.4% offer card, and 22% offer other non-coin systems (store owners were asked to identify

every type that applied to their operations). Roughly 49% of respondents said they offer customers more than one type of payment, compared to 31% last year.

Store owners are seeing the advantages that cashless payment systems offer but still believe in offering coin payment, too. But what about cashless overtaking coins as the preferred payment method? Do you think that will happen?

American Coin-Op interviewed experts from nine companies that offer payment systems and related products. Let’s see what they have to say about today’s payment trends and where they think things are going as technology and customer preference evolve.

CARD/MOBILE OPTIONS GAIN GROUND

Payment by coin remains the dominant payment type in vended laundries but payment by card and/or mobile app continues to gain ground. Why is that?

“Coins are a huge hassle to manage (and) currently there is a shortage due to COVID19,” says Charlie Pasquale, CEO of BCC Payments, which offers a cloud-based integrated payment, control and POS system. “We see the cash market moving toward cash reload stations and avoiding coins

altogether. Mobile is the simplest transaction for both the owner and customer.”

“As the capacity of washers and dryers have increased over the years, so has the vend price,” says Steve Marcionetti, president of Card Concepts Inc. (CCI), which offers laundry card payment, marketing and management solutions. “Inserting 32 quarters to start an $8 machine is not convenient. Swiping a loyalty card or credit/ debit card or using a mobile device is undeniably faster and more convenient.”

“Today’s laundry customer is more acclimated to utilizing alternative payment methods in many areas of their everyday life,” offers Wayne Lewis, CEO of ESD, maker of a diverse range of payment system products from coin to mobile. “The adoption of this technology in the laundry industry is a natural progression and will continue to grow. This is especially true under the current pandemic conditions that everyone is operating under.”

“For owner/operators, card systems and mobile payment apps can reduce or eliminate the effort in managing and collecting coins as well as provide live reporting,” says Jim Costeines, global sales manager for Greenwald Industries, which offers a range of payment solutions from coin vending ▼

(Credits, from left: © Ssuaphoto/Depositphotos

to smart card systems and payment apps. “For end-users, today’s technology products significantly simplify doing laundry, as mobile apps provide information on machine availability, time to complete the cycle, text messaging at cycle end, as well as providing reward programs, thus enticing loyalty.”

Butch Bruner, president, Imonex Services Inc., which offers coin and token acceptors, says nine out of 10 Laundromats offer coin as a pay option because it’s the “most intuitive” format and universally known.

“The untold story in vended laundry is the rising popularity of dollar coins circulating in stores,” Bruner says. “Paying with dollars is the third most popular option behind quarters and proprietary cards, according to the latest Coin Laundry Association study.

“Laundry owners want to be in on the latest pay technology. Some are embracing it by tweaking their coin-op set-ups with a one-stop credit card-to-token option as a cost-efficient cashless alternative to deploying devices at every machine’s pay point.”

“The electronic payment system market, like any competitive market, is naturally improving,” comments Oleg Stepanov, representing payment systems provider Mitech Integrated Systems (Laundroworks). “There are more features, the technology has become more reliable and refined, and there’s more choice.”

Payment by card is growing because it “doubles your income, and offers more conveniences as well as benefits for the owner and his members/customers,” says Jacob Lefkovits from payment systems provider The Laundry Pass.

“Other payment methods are gaining ground simply because of convenience,” says Paresh Patel, founder and CEO of PayRange, which offers a mobile payment solution. “The simplicity of using a card or mobile app is something that cash just cannot compete with.”

“Even pre-COVID, most new investors realized that they could not operate a Laundromat efficiently with only accepting cash,” says Michael Schantz, president of Setomatic Systems, whose company offers a system that accepts all forms of payment. “Payments are a key aspect of the customer experience and being able to pay for your wash the same way you pay for anything else you buy is extremely important.”

COVID-19 IMPACT?

Has the coronavirus pandemic had any

impact on payment trends?

“Contactless ‘anything’ is a common conversation that every consumer and business is engaged in,” says Marcionetti. “There is no question that options that reduce the number of times a customer has to touch cash or coins benefits a store equipped with an alternative payment option.”

“The pandemic will motivate many owner/operators to convert or add newer payment options,” Lewis believes. “There will also be an increase in the wash-dryfold service aspect of the industry as more individuals will desire to limit exposure to environmental conditions.”

“While mobile and contactless payments were on the rise, they quickly became a main priority for operators — and really for everyone. With so many concerns about spreading illness, businesses had to find ways to take payment without having to touch anything and that is where mobile apps came in.”

“Overall, we have seen an increase of companies moving to cashless solutions as people maintain social distancing and are wary of potential problems in accessing cash and coins,” says Steven King, West Coast regional sales manager for Greenwald.

THE BENEFITS OF CASHLESS

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

“No quarters to collect; more payment options like credit/debit card/EBT/mobile; remote diagnostics of system and customer issues; an easier and more contactless experience for the customers, and a text notification when laundry is finished,” lists Stepanov.

“Hybrid or cashless systems offer much more than just payments,” explains Schantz. “Most systems incorporate various loyalty programs, full accountability, washer/dryer machine availability and many other useful features.”

“More Laundromats will look to switch to a card system as it eliminates the handing over of cash from person to person and therefore decreases the risk of transmitting bacteria,” says Lefkovits.

“According to Visa and MasterCard, there are already over 175 million contactless credit cards in the hands of consumers in the United States and the usage … is skyrocketing, up more than 150% since November,” says Schantz. “This is the simplest, fastest, and most secure way to pay. Now more than ever, customers want to get in and out of the laundry as quickly as possible with limited touch points.”

“Limited bank lobby access has led more apartment dwellers to drain Laundromat changers of quarters they need to do loads back home, resulting in greater interest among operators for payment formats employing dollar coins and tokens into the mix,” Bruner says.

“In a lot of ways, it has accelerated what was already trending,” Patel comments.

“Aside from the convenience for the customer, there are powerful marketing benefits that can encourage a higher spend, attract new customers, and encourage loyalty,” Marcionetti says. “The reporting detail that comes from these systems allows operators to make more informed decisions about how to price their equipment, make changes to equipment mix, and manage employees.”

“While most everyone has a smartphone these days that they can use for mobile payment, there are still a few that will not,” Patel says. “There will also be some customers that may not have a card they are able to use. For some locations, it may be necessary to accept different types of payment so all customers are able to pay.”

“The hybrid systems allow the owner/ operators to incentivize users to use forms of payment other than coins by rewarding them for using loyalty cards, credit cards, debit cards, or app payments,” says Lewis. “The full coinless stores utilize greater pricing flexibility and additional marketing capabilities that are not available to the coin-operated Laundromats.”

“Hybrids offer consumers with payment selections and operators with payment

“Contactless ‘anything’ is a common conversation that every consumer and business is engaged in. There is no question that options that reduce the number of times a customer has to touch cash or coins benefits a store equipped with an alternative payment option.”

— Steve Marcionetti, CCI

redundancy,” Bruner comments. “Dollar token/quarter coin hybrids significantly reduce overall coin handling while an alltoken cashless format can eliminate all coins. Tokens are an owner’s private money system that works seamlessly with coins, cash and credit/debit cards, creating hybrid pay options so customers can wash and dry with whatever they carry in their pocket.”

QUESTIONS TO ANSWER BEFORE CHANGING

If a laundry owner is considering switching to a different payment system, whatever it may be, what are some basic questions they should ask before making the change?

“Will this product adapt to all of my machines? Does it offer all the reporting features I need to manage my business efficiently?” suggests King. “Are the costs reasonable for my sales volume? How am I paid on mobile and credit applications? Is the product easy to use and will my customers use it? Will it save me money?”

“If and how the technology of the system will increase their revenue,” says Lefkovits.

“How long has the manufacturer of the payment system you are considering been in the vended laundry market? One thing we know from the past few Clean Shows is that payment companies come and go in this industry and you don’t want to get stuck spending your money on a system that won’t be around or supported in a couple of years,” Schantz says.

He also suggests learning if the card reader you want to install accepts the latest trends in payment so it does not become obsolete, and the kinds of loyalty programs the system in question can offer.

“What are you looking to accomplish?” asks Pasquale. “There are many different pricing models, services and customer management concepts that come into play.”

“The first consideration must be whether to go with a hybrid system, to accept a combination of coins and loyalty or credit/ debit cards, or to go completely coinless and operate as all-card,” advises Lewis. “The second question is whether to accept credit/debit cards directly at the machine level or through a Value Transfer Machine for loyalty cards.”

“Success of any payment format is measured by whether customers adopt and use it,” says Bruner. “The question of what percentage of sales can be attributed to a particular pay option can be very telling. Inquiring about formats with the flexibility to use a laundry’s existing pay infrastruc-

ture is prudent, as is asking if both the coin and cashless system components can accommodate future needs.

“Rising labor costs beg the question as to whether a particular hybrid or cashless format can operate without trained staff on duty. And posing questions to other owners on their experiences interacting with the provider’s technical support team can help gain insight.”

“To what degree does it reduce my time managing the store?” posits Stepanov. “How simple is it to pay for a machine or reload the account balance (if applicable) and what is the exact process? … How reliable and resilient is the technology?”

“It’s totally controlled by the Laundromat owner and it will stay the way the owner wants,” says Lefkovits, who believes most Laundromats will have switched to membership card-based systems.

“Payments are payments whether I go buy something at Walmart or go to the laundry and start a washer or dryer,” Schantz says. “Customers want it to be easy, fast and secure, and what better way than to use your contactless credit/ debit card which has become the payment method of choice all over the world.”

“If 2020 has taught us anything, it is that you never really know what is coming down the line,” says Patel. “We’ve seen arguably a year’s worth of (mobile payment) adoption over the past three months as a response to the pandemic, so it is difficult to say where we will be five years down the road.”

“We believe that the use of contactless payments, either through the use of contactless credit cards or mobile apps, will be implemented in a high proportion of self-service Laundromats,” Lewis predicts.

“I don’t see why mobile payment will not be the dominant form of payment,” says Pasquale. “We see credit and cash reload stations with customers starting their machines with mobile devices.”

“It’s important that owners do their homework, and research products in multiples ways; don’t rely on a single data source for information,” advises Marcionetti, who also says the cheapest option is often not the least expensive. “The old adage of ‘You get what you pay for’ is just as true with payment systems as it is with anything. Be sure to evaluate the full value proposition before making a decision.”

Patel identifies security (has the system been tested with countless secure transactions and does it confidently offer peace of mind?), responsibility/liability (are you required to run your own servers and have your own merchant accounts?) and “future-proofing” (is it a single solution or is it a scalable solution that can grow with your company and change as the consumer changes?) as areas of inquiry.

HOW CLEAR IS YOUR CRYSTAL BALL?

How will payment systems used by vended laundries have changed in, say, five years?

“The only thing that ever replaced coin’s popularity in vended laundry was a higherdenomination coin,” asserts Bruner. “Our industry saw dimes make way for quarters, and over the next five years we’ll see those quarters continue to be replaced with more and more dollar coins.”

“Options and flexibility will be the most important factors for payment systems in the next five years,” says Michael Thessin, Midwest Region sales representative for Greenwald. “Payment technology continues to evolve. Keeping up with these changes will be critical for businesses to maximize revenues. Coin will be part of the market for many years, while mobile pay and credit card payment continue to grow.”

“Five years from now is not that far away and I expect any change to be moderate,” says Marcionetti. “I expect a steady increase in coin-only locations implementing an alternate payment option, mobile payments will continue to grow in popularity, and it’s likely we’ll see changes in the number of suppliers of these products.”

“I don’t see any reason why the trend would change course: more card stores, more electronic payments, more mobile,” says Stepanov.

“Today’s laundry customer is more acclimated to utilizing alternative payment methods in many areas of their everyday life. The adoption of this technology in the laundry industry is a natural progression and will continue to grow.”

— Wayne Lewis, ESD

RUNNING vs. MANAGING Your Business

There’s a difference between running a business and managing one. Running a business involves switching on the open sign and waiting for customers to come in – it’s passive. The latter, however, is about tapping into tools and technology to make the business happen. That’s exactly what Huebsch Command offers owners.

HANDLING OF REFUNDS VARIES BY LAUNDRY OWNER

SOME REFUND OR RESTART MACHINE WITHOUT QUESTIONING, OTHERS WANT TO KNOW CAUSE OF PROBLEM FIRST

by Bruce Beggs, Editorial Director

Refunding a customer’s money is sometimes necessary when a washer or dryer doesn’t operate the way it should. But just as individual laundry operations can have unique qualities, the way in which store owners handle refunds can also vary.

American Coin-Op surveyed its trade audience about this topic. Respondents were polled anonymously, then the publication followed up with select owners who agreed to speak further about their refund policies and what influences them.

The nature of a laundry operation can influence how and when refunds may be issued. Attended stores often issue them quickly while it might take a bit longer to get money back from an unattended store, maybe even by check through the mail.

Among respondents to the unscientific Your Views survey, 36% operate an unat-

tended store, 38% operate an attended store, and 26% operate both types.

Who in your store is authorized to issue a refund? Those polled were asked to identify any position having that authority. Among respondents, it’s the owner(s) (82.4%) and/or any attendant (45.1%), the general manager (19.6%), store manager (19.6%), senior-level attendant (13.7%) or “other” (13.7%, including cleaners and technicians).

Some owners readily give a customer a refund or restart a machine, often with no questions asked. Here’s what some respondents in that camp had to say:

• “Our rule is generally give the refund, as it is not worth the bad will, even if it’s a customer error (which is the majority of the time). If it’s a machine issue, we have them move their wash to a different (comparable) machine and then we pay for the new machine.”

• “We just give back the money. Not too many refunds (are) requested.”

• “They leave a note, we mail a refund.”

Rich Peot, owner of attended 24 Hour Meadowthorpe Laundromat in Lexington, Kentucky, gives refunds most of the time, even when it’s the customer’s fault. It’s not worth the argument or bad relations to do otherwise, he says.

“I’ve had the Laundromat 10 years now,” he says of the coin-operated venue featuring 27 washers and 14 stack dryers. “I quickly learned that arguing over refunds created too much ill will. … Instead, I tried to use it as a learning opportunity, to show folks how to use the right amount of soap, and also warn them that we’re not responsible if it happens again.”

John Geyerman owns JP Coin Laundry in Arlington, Texas. His attended store has 57 washers and 44 dryers, all vended by ▼

(Photo: © Rawpixel/Depositphotos)

coin/cash. He or his staff look for obvious equipment issues or malfunctions but generally take the guest’s word.

“I would rather not quibble over a couple of dollars to keep the loyalty of a long-term guest,” he says. “Obviously, if we identify that somebody is abusing this, we politely address it.”

Enrique Del Rivero is operations director for six Los Lavaderos Coin Laundries in the Los Angeles area. Two of the six attended stores accept coins and mobile payment; the business is in the process of adding mobile payment to the remaining locations.

“We (would) rather lose the refund amount than lose a customer and the persons they may talk to about how he or she was treated at the Laundromat,” he says.

Other owners such as Tane Smith, who runs two At Your Service Laundries (one attended, one not) and the 5th Street Laundromat (unattended) in Dayton, Ohio, look into each instance a bit more deeply.

“When a customer calls regarding losing money in a machine, I ask a series of questions about how the money was lost,” Smith says. “I then ask the customer to text me their name and address and (I’ll) tell them after I have reviewed the cameras. If I concur they lost money, then I will issue them a refund. If the cameras reveal they never even put money in the machine ... then I call them back and review what I

watched on the cameras.”

Still other store owners do not refund money spent:

• “No refund. (We) start another machine.”

• “No cash refund! Ever! If that person is not happy, I offer to rewash their clothes. I often offer them soap to do so if they take me up on the offer. … Then toward the end of their wash cycle, offer them money to cover drying for their inconvenience. I cannot tell you how many people just wanted the money.”

While a store owner will honor the trustworthy customer, they don’t want to be duped by the dishonest. More than half of the owners surveyed (54.9%) say they record refunds in some way to ensure certain customers aren’t taking advantage of the situation.

Francis X. Murphy is president of Bubble It Laundromat in Ayer, Massachusetts. The partly attended store with five employees is quarter-operated, with card readers on the largest washers.

“Customer fills out a claim form with their name and address to receive a refund,” Murphy says. “I take that info and enter it into a … database that I keep. I can then track anyone who might abuse the refunds; I think in the last 10 years, I may have had to tell three people to cut it out. The claim

form itself has a line for the machine number; 90% of the time, the customer specifies the machine, which allows us to track any recurring issues.”

Bryan Neal owns unattended Shore Drive Laundry in Virginia Beach, Va., and will open Liberty Street Laundry in Chesapeake, Va., this fall. Refunds at Shore Drive, with 23 washers and 12 dryer pockets, are recorded for accounting purposes but not to track customers, he says.

“Refunds, to me, are not a big deal. Ninety-nine percent of the customers requesting a refund are not asking for $60. It is usually in the $1-5 range. A simple check of the security cameras validates the refund. We can see that the machine malfunctioned, or see the customer caused the error. But why embarrass them? Just refund them and they will be happy.”

Randy Alderson and his wife own and operate Sparkle Laundromat in Coal City, Illinois, roughly 60 miles southwest of Chicago. The unattended store offers 40 washers and 21 dryers, mostly stacks. Payment accepted is coin or card. The Aldersons live nearby and can pop over on short notice.

“We have 16 cameras we can view from our home or cell phone,” Alderson says. “Between the cameras and the SpyderWash system, we can usually see what happened, if not a simple jammed quarter. Most all of our refunds are immediate and in person. If we cannot get there quickly, we will make arrangements to meet them there the next time in, or send them a check.”

Surveillance cameras and card payment systems have made it easier to identify events worthy of refunding, while apps like Venmo and PayPal make sending refunds via mobile device a snap. Still, a sizable share of survey respondents choose to mail a check or leave a refund in an envelope addressed to the customer at the store.

If a customer wants to know a particular store’s refund policy, they may have to ask. In the survey, only 21.6% of respondents say their policy is clearly displayed for everyone to see.

American Coin-Op’s quarterly Your Views survey presents an unscientific snapshot of the trade audience’s viewpoints. Subscribers to American Coin-Op emails are invited to participate anonymously in the survey. The entire audience is encouraged to participate, as a greater number of responses will better define owner/operator opinions and industry trends.

SCALING THE BUSINESS RELIES HEAVILY ON HAVING RIGHT TEAM

The vast majority of the vended laundry business is comprised of single-store owners. We’ve always been viewed somewhat as a mom-and-pop industry. However, many of us in distribution ask the same question: For how long? We continue to see current owners adding second and third locations.

We are also seeing a change in new investors coming to our industry. The retirees who came to us with a plan to open a store and run it to supplement their income are more frequently being replaced by wellcapitalized investors who are planning three to five stores out of the gate. With all this activity ramping up, particularly, as our industry reinforced its recession resistance as being essential during the COVID19 crisis, how should investors approach scaling?

BASICS UP-FRONT

The best advice I can offer to business owners looking to scale quickly is to simplify the process. Opening one laundry can be an undertaking; opening three to five just amplifies the challenge.

I recommend selecting a partner who can offer a variety of services. Having one point of contact that can help not just navigate the permitting process and do the installation, but assist with financing, layout and design, equipment selection and location analysis speeds up the process.

Don’t shortchange that final element in this list. While scaling for many is about speed, I always caution that the key to success of any laundry doesn’t change with the introduction of doing several stores. The numbers have to work, and for the numbers to work, it’s about location. Investors want to make sure their partner is committed to both quantity and quality. Don’t be afraid to walk away from a bad location; take more time, if necessary, to find the right fit.

Another key component to scaling the business with multiple locations fast is developing a formula. This is why new investors may opt to become franchisees. The franchise model is engineered for fast scale with designs, décor, equipment, layout and a variety of other decisions already made. It also enables the investor to leverage an established brand that customers may be familiar with. It’s as close to plug-and-play as you can get, and for many, it’s the preferred route.

TECHNOLOGY

The argument against scale and large multi-store owners becoming more prevalent in our industry has been largely operations-based. Technology bridges that gap. Whereas before, stores may need to be within an hour of each other for an owner to effectively manage them, technology expands that radius to even several hundred miles.

So, as owners/investors consider scaling the business, their world is opened up, provided they are leveraging quality technology. Advanced laundry management systems that enable owners to gain at-a-glance views along with more advanced data are of paramount importance. Again, technology must be easily accessible and well-supported. We all love our technology … until the day we encounter a problem.

I recommend owners chat with other laundry owners about their experience and ensure they will be well-supported in the event of an issue. Equally important is a system that enables the laundry to continue to operate if Wi-Fi goes down — thus the importance of system redundancy. Think streamlined — embracing one system, one ecosystem that monitors all facets, including payment and operations as well as an integrated CRM for marketing, makes scale even simpler.

Mike Hand

Rewards programs and app-based payment systems should work in all locations. Renters frequently move several times before settling. Having a system in place that protects them from losing rewards points or dollars on their accounts will bolster their loyalty to your business.

The bottom line is that technology has advanced to the point that 10 stores can be as efficiently managed as just one. It’s important to select a system that puts all components of the operation under one umbrella — this is the foundation of scale.

STRUCTURE

Investors planning to scale quickly but not leverage the franchise model must still pattern their operation after it. That means codifying standard operating procedures (SOP), branding, operations, etc. The reason the franchise model works is that a customer knows the Big Mac they get in San Antonio will be the same as in Houston. You want your customers to have that same confidence.

Stores should maintain the same look and feel. Maintain the same branding, and don’t forget that you are creating an expe-

rience. Years ago, it was about leveraging every square foot for profit. Today’s laundries are successful because they are a bit airier. Each location should be consistent in representing the quality of the laundry. That consistency should touch services as well. If the store at XYZ Street offers washdry-fold and is fully attended, all stores should. Customers love consistency, and all elements of the laundry will contribute toward building a strong brand.

A STRONG TEAM

One of the long list of up-front questions we ask of an investor looking to scale the business fast is how they plan to manage.

While technology opens up the ability to scale larger operations, oversight is a must — trust, but verify. Investors should plan to hire a regional manager to help manage the day-to-day operations. Depending on the proximity of the stores, a regional manager could manage five to 10 stores.

Similarly, a service manager will be key to maintaining the operation. This person will be responsible for everything from changing light bulbs to preventative maintenance on equipment, as well as lighter

maintenance tasks. This is again where a strong distributor will be key in providing service training and other educational opportunities. A good-quality distribution partner will be committed to sharing their knowledge to ensure a solid team is in place. There are service tasks that make sense to call a highly experienced technician, while many others can be accomplished in-house with a bit of distributor/company training.

Scaling and providing the same experience at every location is also about ensuring staff is well-briefed on standard operating procedures. Delivering an elevated customer experience requires all staff being on the same page and understanding what is expected of them. That means not just codifying the SOP but having a structured training plan for new employees. By maintaining this structure in operations, employees are able to operate effectively at any of your locations — a giant bonus in the event resources need to be shifted from one site to another.

IN CLOSING

Multi-store owners are quickly becoming the norm in our industry. Technology has basically opened the door for owners and new investors to not just scale faster and more efficiently, but more effectively, to create a superb customer experience.

Scaling, however, cannot be accomplished by ignoring the basics of owning and operating a vended laundry. Chief among them is performing due diligence in selecting a strong location and the right technology. Likewise, you must have confidence in the right distribution partner. Their ability to manage multiple retools/ builds will ultimately mean a smooth scale or a rocky one. Make sure you visit stores they have built and chat with those owners about their experiences. Did they hit the deadlines? Was the build-out of good quality? Was technology well-supported? Were they strong in helping train staff?

Scaling is about assembling the right team to build and get you off on the right foot, and the right team to deliver great service and management, once operational. ACO

Mike Hand is general manager of the Commercial and Coin Laundry Equipment Co. (CLEC) Texas, a Speed Queen distributor in the Houston area. Hand has more than 25 years in the commercial laundry industry. He can be reached at mikehand@ clecco.com, 281-961-1627.

(Photo: © realinemedia/Depositphotos)

WHY EQUIPMENT FLEXIBILITY IS KEY NOW AND INTO THE FUTURE

Machine flexibility is critical to how your laundry functions now and into the future. Today, we’re facing a pandemic that’s taken lives and shut down the world’s economy. We never expected to have to shelter in place because of a virus. But, laundry owners with flexible equipment are at an advantage. They have the ability to alter machine locations, programming and vending. Some even have the adaptability to add critical features to meet Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) laundering guidelines and/or provide disinfection.

So what do you look for when it comes to machine flexibility?

THIRD-PARTY INTERFACE FLEXIBILITY

This is the most important capability of machine flexibility because it allows you adaptability to adjust machine performance to work with payment systems, chemical injection, ozone delivery systems and auxiliary electric or steam heat kits. After all, no one knows what the future holds, or what process requirements your customers and local health authority might require in order for you to remain “essential and open.”

Payment systems provide the ability to program washer cycles and alter vend prices; run specials and time-of-day or day-of-week promotions; view number of turns and revenue; offer loyalty programs; and communicate with and complement point-of-sale systems and customer interfaces. A high-level communication interface is a must!

Machines must be able to work in concert with chemicals, pump systems, ozone or UV disinfection systems, especially given the current COVID-19 pandemic. All three, if automatically injected into the wash cycle, can disinfect laundry. (Beware: Only certain washers can be used with ozone and some commercial chemistry due to seals, gaskets and rubber fittings that are not up to the duty of withstanding their aggressive nature.)

Choose a washer that’s adaptable to work with an auxiliary electric heat kit. That kit can heat the water to extremely high temperatures for sustained periods without upgrading your hot water system. If you plan to meet CDC guidelines, washers must be programmable by temperature to hit and hold 160 F. Most vend washers do not have this capability out-of-the-box, and even fewer have the flexibility of

Joel Jorgensen

(Graphic: Girbau North America)

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NEW HUEBSCH PAYMENT CENTER COMPLEMENTS OTHER TECH TOOLS

New from Huebsch is a versatile new payment center to complement its suite of technology tools, reports the Alliance Laundry Systems brand.

The Huebsch Payment Center gives store owners greater opportunity to appeal to all customer types with a variety of payment options.

Customers can pay with cash, credit card, Huebsch App, stored value card and mobile wallet using the new tool. They can even pay by EBT (if the laundry is registered as an approved EBT vendor).

“If we have learned anything during the current crisis, it’s that reducing touchpoints in the laundry helps create

an overall safer environment,” says Kathryn Rowen, general manager of the Laundromat segment for Alliance Laundry Systems. “Having the ability to accept multiple forms of payment, including mobile apps, best positions a laundry for success during crisis times like this.”

Customers can create an account and earn rewards points just like Huebsch App users. The payment center is simple to use, Huebsch says; customers simply select their machine, cycle and any additional cycle modifiers and choose their payment method. The Payment Center integrates seamlessly with Huebsch Command,

the brand says. Through a cloud-based structure, it gives owners access to payment center data, including how much customers spend and how they are paying.

Initial investment costs, as well as installation time and ongoing maintenance, are kept low because the system doesn’t require a card reader on machines.

https://go.huebsch.com/command/payment-center

CLEANER’S SUPPLY OFFERS CUSTOM-PRINTED FACE MASKS, ‘SOCIAL DISTANCING’ FLOOR DECALS

Desiring to keep everyone safe and looking professional while we all continue to battle the coronavirus, Cleaner’s Supply is offering custom-printed face masks, made of 100% cotton and fully washable and reusable. Providing the branded masks to employees will enable them to work with confidence while also promoting your brand or services, the company says. Wearing a face mask is recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and required in many states.

These one-size-fits-all masks have sturdy, overthe-ear elastic straps for a comfortable fit. They are available in six different colors, with your choice of one of 24 ink colors.

Also available for a limited time, Cleaner’s Supply has floor decals to remind laundry customers to keep 6 feet spacing for safe social distancing. Each vibrant, circular decal measures 12 inches.

www.cleanersupply.com | 800-568-7768

SPEED QUEEN ADDS PAYMENT CENTER OPTION TO LINEUP «

Speed Queen has added a versatile new payment center to complement its suite of technology tools, the Alliance Laundry Systems brand reports.

The Speed Queen Payment Center delivers flexibility for Laundromat customers to pay for their cycles. With the new tool, customers can pay with cash, credit card, Speed Queen App, stored value card and mobile wallet. They can even pay by EBT (if the laundry is registered as an approved EBT vendor).

“This addition to our suite of technology tools ensures Laundromats are best positioned to serve all customer types and their preferred payment type,” says Kathryn Rowen, general manager of the Laundromat segment for Alliance Laundry Systems.

Customers can create an account and earn rewards points just like Speed Queen App users. Best of all, the payment center is simple to use. Customers simply select their machine, cycle and any additional cycle modifiers and choose their payment method.

The Speed Queen Payment Center integrates seamlessly with Speed Queen Insights and, through the cloud-based structure, gives owners access to payment center data. Because the system doesn’t require a card reader on machines, initial investment costs, as well as install time and ongoing maintenance, are kept low.

https://go.speedqueencommercial.com/insights | 800-590-8872

CUSTOMER COMMUNICATION: GET THE MESSAGE?

The majority of Laundromat patrons are steady, loyal customers. This behooves you to make sure they are happy and satisfied. It is also a great opportunity to hear the good and bad so you have a better understanding of how to “steer your ship,” so to speak. If they have a complaint, this is your magic moment to resolve it (if possible) and turn that customer around.

In the early years of my mat career, I looked at complaints as a pain in the butt. My body language, tone of voice, and choice of words all showed it. My mats were screaming-busy back then, and my initial success went to my head. Boy, was I wrong!

After a couple of years of not listening to my customers and losing them, I realized how important it is to communicate well and engage customers in a positive way.

Let’s explore all the ways that you and your business can communicate with customers. There are more than a couple, and they range in value depending on the circumstances:

Speak Face-to-Face — Let’s start with the obvious: speaking face-to-face (don’t forget your social distanc-

ing). As many mat veterans know, there are customers who want to meet the owner. Some will have compliments, some will have complaints, and some will try to sell you something. Always listen with your full attention. Remember that the customer puts food on your table, as well as the tables of your workers.

Customers sometimes may seem like bosses. But they can leave anytime, so we don’t want to scare them away through poor communication. They are regular people, often struggling with their lives.

Establish Relationships with Regulars — Some customers will look out for your interests when you are not there, if they know you and feel truly welcomed by you. Cameras are great but they can’t give you the nuances that customers can capture, like overhearing an employee wisecrack or witnessing an incident outside a camera’s view.

Maintain a Store Phone — Try to keep phones close and handy so employees can pick up quickly. If you have a busy mat, try using wireless headsets to improve efficiency. Fast-food restaurants have been using them for years to allow workers to multi-task.

Texting — Some businesses will offer a small giveaway in exchange for a customer’s permission to allow them to text them on their smartphones. This can be useful if you have drop-off customers.

Texting can be divided into two categories: first, for easy notification that a customer’s laundry is finished and ready for them to pick up, and second, for occasional promotions.

You don’t want to annoy customers by sending too many texts but an occasional offer of a sale where they can save a few bucks could be useful. Emailing customers is less invasive and may be a better route for promotions. Always allow them to opt out of any of your push notifications.

Develop an App — More and more mats are offering their own custom apps that customers can download to their phones, especially for pickup and delivery service. Your distributor should be able to point you in the right direction, or you can check out industry forums to see what apps other owners are using.

(Photo: © gustavofrazao/Depositphotos)

Paul Russo

Maintain a Well-Designed Website —

You should have a well-designed website. The days of simply “claiming your page” on review sites such as Yelp and Google are no longer enough. It’s one of the first ways a potential customer will learn about your business, so it better be awesome.

Just like a home’s curb appeal can make or break a home sale, your business’ online image is just as important, if not more. It’s becoming one of the most important ways that a customer will decide to pick your business over that of your competitor, so your website should be done well.

Respond to Reviews — It’s important to respond to reviews, whether the input is positive or negative.

It’s nice to thank a customer for his or her positive review but it’s more important to respond to negative reviews! When you respond to reviews, it shows that you care. More importantly, a negative review is an opportunity for you to correct the issue that was raised and turn that customer around. You have a chance to win back that customer who, at $20 a week, is worth more than $1,000 a year.

All the while, potential customers who read the reviews can feel more confident to try your mat, knowing that it won’t leave them high and dry if they also have a problem. If you read reviews of your competitors, you may see that many do not respond, let alone correct them, so you have a potential edge here.

Post Signage Inside and Out — Tried and true, well-designed signs are extremely important for Laundromats. Find a good sign shop that can create most of your signs professionally to give your customers a feeling of confidence.

Get a laminating machine to make your paper signs much more permanent; many laminators cost less than $50. I found that eye-catching fluorescent paper (hot pink, lime green, etc.) with black ink will take a lot longer to fade if you laminate them.

If you’re really into “shouting out” new deals, consider a full-color, programmable LED sign. Some of them are really eyecatching. You can get a 40-inch-wide sign with 8-inch letters for around $150! Easily change your messages every day, if you wish. If you hang it in your main window, rather than outside, you may not need a permit for it. Still, it’s best to check local ordinances.

For signs that the driving public can see, it’s best to limit the message to seven words.

More than seven may be too “busy” for passing drivers to read.

You can also hang a nice, big banner outside your mat. They are great for temporary promotions. If you change messages, consider making the banner material a different color for each message.

Use Languages Besides English — Make some signs in the first language of your customer base, or bilingual using the predominant language spoken in the neighborhood. I liked hiring attendants who spoke the predominant language in my area.

Survey Your Customers — All businesses need customer feedback so they can understand how they are performing in the eyes of the customer. As owner, you’re naturally biased, so you could very well miss a few important things that may be causing you to lose customers.

In my early years, I had “report cards” printed up, with a mail slot for customers to submit anonymously. Nowadays, with review sites such as Yelp, a customer feedback survey is less important, but it can still be useful if you are seeking customer ▼

“I’M

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opinions in certain categories. A survey could be added to your website, or there are third-party services that will conduct surveys for you.

Install and Use a Public Address (PA) System — This turned out to be a great tool for us. When every machine was taken on a busy day, and a customer needed to use a couple machines that had stopped, we’d use the PA to announce, “Washers 16, 17 and 18 have finished. Please remove your laundry.” It makes it easier to keep things flowing.

Use Custom Packaging for Finished Work — Use printed shoulder guards for hanging items, printed sock wrappers, things like that. It’s a rare business that can have its name displayed inside a customer’s home, even if it’s just inside their closets. The more someone sees your business name and logo, the more your business will be ingrained in their memory.

Post a Dryer Light Board — Back in the 1970s, one of my competitors had 25 dryers in his mat. He built a big board with

board lit up. When the dryer went out, so did the number on the board. He placed this board within full view of the seating area. Doing something like this today would make your mat unique and give people a “selling point” when they talk to their friends.

Offer Your Cellphone Number — We once had some big work done to divert roof rainwater to some catch basins. I learned a lot from how my plumber treated his customers, but one thing stood out: he gave me his personal cellphone number and told me to call anytime.

It took me about two years to get up the courage to try that myself. When we had a drop-off complaint, I would go through the standard steps to correct the complaint: call the customer, listen as he/she described the problem and vented, then take steps to correct it. If they complained about a certain employee, I gave them the names of my best employees to ask for the next time they came in. If I felt they still weren’t totally satisfied, I would finish by giving them my

come easier. My customer was so impressed that they had a “hook” to the owner’s phone, they rarely abused it. Don’t worry, you can always block someone’s number if they get out of hand.

Above All, Listen! — Think of you and your employees as bartenders. How do smart bartenders keep their customers coming back? They listen to them! Many customers come on a regular basis, and they will get to know your crew.

Some just want to gripe about a subject, some are a little lonely, some have good news, and some are just friendly. My employees joked that they could have charged a fee for being a psychotherapist!

Being a good communicator leads to good business.

ACO

Paul Russo owned and operated multiple Laundromats in New York City for more than 40 years before retiring in 2018. He’s a regular on the Coin Laundry Association’s online forum, posting under the pseudonym “Paulie B.” You’re wel

upgrades to meet this target water temperature if it ever becomes a requirement.

An independently controlled, third water inlet valve is also a nice washer feature, or optional add-on. This allows different additives to be introduced into the wash wheel through independent introduction of water, with a diluted substance, during a specific part of the cycle. This includes deionized water and/or ozone injection delivered through a cold water line.

EQUIPMENT PROGRAMMING FLEXIBILITY

Choose machines that offer flexible programming for cycles, maintenance and customer extras. This helps ensure your laundry is prepared for unforeseen adaptations down the road.

Programming flexibility allows the owner to alter wash variables within each cycle, including water levels, temperatures, number of baths and rinses, extract speeds, etc. This can be done on the machine or remotely. It also provides handy maintenance and flush options and the ability to alter vend prices and run specials.

It’s possible that water temperature guidelines could be established for vended laundries in the near future. Be certain you have the ability to increase water temperature if needed. Parameters are established by the store owner and the simple, customerforward display gives the consumer easy to follow choices.

Choose a machine with a control offering multiple customer options in addition to the standard cycles. More options are appealing to customers.

Consider whether the manufacturer of the equipment you plan to purchase offers programmable control upgrade kits or not. Technology changes so quickly. Be sure you can upgrade or update your control/ microprocessor a few years down the line, if needed.

INSTALLATION FLEXIBILITY

A soft-mount, freestanding washer offers ease of relocation, high-speed extract, and no special floor preparation. Unlike hardmount washers, which must be bolted to a reinforced concrete foundation using compact fill under the concrete, soft-mount machines are easily positioned into place

without bolts. This allows you to move high-volume, front-of-store machines to the back of the store, and vice versa.

This flexibility is great for reconfiguring stores to accommodate new machines or capacities. This limits downtime thanks to no special floor preparation. Plus, initial installation costs are lower.

Soft-mount washers offer higher extract speeds (up to 405 G-force) than hardmount washers (up to 200 G-force). Softmount washers, as a result, remove more moisture from each load, which shortens dry time and resulting natural gas consumption and energy while increasing customer turnover and store capacity during peak periods. So if natural gas prices spike in the future, you’ll be prepared to weather the storm.

ACO

Joel Jorgensen, vice president of sales at Girbau North America, has over 26 years of laundry industry experience, specializing in vended laundry development and operation. He is an American Laundry & Linen College alumnus and immediate past chair of the Coin Laundry Association Board of Directors.

CLEAN 2021 EXHIBIT SPACE SALES ARE OPEN

Exhibit space sales have opened for Clean 2021, scheduled for June 10-13, 2021, in Atlanta.

Companies that exhibited at Clean 2019 in New Orleans get the first crack at reserving space in the Georgia World Congress Center on a first-come, first-served basis.

Remaining exhibit space will open to other interested parties this fall, according to show organizer Messe Frankfurt.

All exhibitor information can be found on the show’s website, www.cleanshow.com. With the online Exhibitor Prospectus, interested exhibitors can view the floor plan, select sponsorship opportunities for additional exposure, explore rules and regulations, and download the contract.

The Clean Show is North America’s largest exposition of laundering, drycleaning and textile care services, supplies and equipment. Clean 2019 attracted more than 11,000 industry professionals and 452 exhibiting companies.

Attendee registration for Clean 2021 is scheduled to open in November.

The Clean Show is organized in collaboration with the Association for Linen Management (ALM), Coin Laundry Association (CLA), Drycleaning & Laundry Institute (DLI), Textile Care Allied Trades Association (TCATA), and TRSA, the association for linen, uniform and facility services.

The 2021 Atlanta event marks a transition, as it will be the first Clean Show fully produced by Messe Frankfurt. The Germanybased trade fair organizer purchased Clean in 2018 from the five associations, and retained longtime show manager Riddle & Associates to manage Clean 2019.

WAVEMAX LAUNDRY LOOKS TO EXPAND MARKET SHARE

Having grown its national footprint in the last few years to include 16 locations in six states, WaveMAX Laundry is looking to take a larger market share, the franchisor’s chief executive says.

The burgeoning brand reports it has an additional 22 locations under development and nearly 50 others under contract. At least 15 of those are expected to open by the end of the year, WaveMAX reports.

“A Laundromat should be more than just a means to an end for visitors. It can be a satisfying, productive experience that creates positive memories and encourages loyal, repeat customers,” says WaveMAX CEO Mike Roberts.

At WaveMAX, customers are offered the choice of doing their own laundry or utilizing the Laundromat’s wash-dry-fold (WDF) service. Its stores offer efficient, environmentally friendly vended washers and dryers that are operated using coin, contactless card or mobile app, the latter of which offers machine availability and cycle completion alerts. WDF service is typically completed within 24 hours, with staff returning dresses, collared shirts and dress pants on hangers for customer convenience.

“Our locations provide customers with a clean, well-maintained space and a friendly staff,” Roberts says. “Everything we offer … is created with our customers in mind and gives them an awesome laundry experience that keeps them coming back.”

To augment its growth, WaveMAX is actively seeking single and multi-unit operators.

MAYTAG APPOINTS SUPERIOR LAUNDRY EQUIPMENT AS DISTRIBUTOR Maytag® Commercial Laundry has appointed Superior Laundry Equipment Co., Brooklyn, New York, as a supporting distributor for Maytag® and ADC™ commercial laundry products in southern New Jersey, Eastern Pennsylvania, Delaware, and select northern counties of Maryland.

Founded in 2005 by Michael Gekelman, Superior Laundry is a full-service distributor to all segments of commercial laundry for equipment sales, parts, service and support, Maytag says.

Superior Laundry has a support team of close to 50 dedicated professionals serving vended laundry, on-premises and multihousing laundry. Since 2005, Superior’s mission has been to form long-term relationships with its customers whether it is the sale of equipment or service and parts.

“We’re very excited for the appointment of Michael and his Superior Laundry team into this area,” says Michelle SuhyElzinga, national sales manager, Maytag® Commercial Laundry. “Superior Laundry Equipment will be able to step into this new market and provide all new and existing Maytag® Commercial Laundry customers the service and support they’ve been accustomed to over the years from Equipment Marketers.”

Gekelman manages successful laundry facilities that he built and continues to operate, according to Maytag. This experience has provided him with unique insights about what it takes to run a laundry business, an advantage to his customers.

“We pride ourselves in having thousands of loyal customers that we continuously support,” he says. “Superior Laundry also assists with all aspects of laundry business, such as site selection, demographic analysis, facility layout and design, construction and installation.”

Superior Laundry is expected to soon have a physical presence in south New Jersey/eastern Pennsylvania, with a complete support team including parts and service.

HUEBSCH EXPANDS AAXON’S COVERAGE AREA TO INCLUDE NORTH FLORIDA Huebsch has recently expanded the territory served by Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based distributor Aaxon Laundry Systems. Aaxon now also covers the North Florida region up to Tallahassee for the Alliance Laundry Systems equipment brand.

“We are thrilled for this opportunity and look forward to continuing to grow the Huebsch brand in the Florida market,” says Aaxon Sales Director Frank P. D’Annunzio. “We look forward to providing our valued customers with an enhanced distributor experience, one that offers a full line of Huebsch products, services and digital payment solutions to meet their needs.”

Aaxon also has launched a new and improved e-commerce website, eAaxon.com. Customers have the opportunity to purchase parts directly online and take advantage of free shipping on eligible orders. The robust online platform makes over 100,000 parts and supplies available for order.

“We are excited to have launched the ultimate resource for locating and purchasing those much-needed parts, soap, supplies and ancillary equipment,” says Aaxon Marketing Director Brittany Pettineo. “This is the website our customers have been asking for, and is the result of years of listening to who matters most.”

WE’RE COMMITTED TO YOU

During these challenging times, LG’s commitment to providing you with unrivaled energy efficient, quality equipment stands stronger than ever. Our commercial laundry equipment offers advanced programmability of water temperatures, fill levels, cycle times, spin speed and vend prices. GCWL Series Washers feature an easy-touse tub cleaning system equipped with a heater. Unique to the market, this system can heat water up to a target temperature of 158°F — crucial now and into the future. In times like these LG is here to support you. Always has been and always will be.

Contact us at 800.256.1073 or visit cgilaundry.com/lg