American Coin-Op - June 2023

Making Room for Large-Capacity Equipment

Upper weight classes produce loads AND loads of convenience

GET THE WORD OUT! MESSAGING THROUGH BETTER SIGNAGE

INSIDE: JUNE 2023

POINTERS FROM PAULIE B: FRESHENING UP THE STORE

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR FIRST LAUNDROMAT

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INSIDE

MESSAGING THROUGH BETTER SIGNAGE

Laundromats rely on signs to help customers enjoy a better service experience. Here are some things to think about so that your store can provide the best displays and infographics possible.

OZ LAUNDRY FOCUSES ON ENHANCING CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

As a real estate investor for more than 24 years, Stan Sugarman says his interest in vended laundries piqued after he became a landlord to one. With his Oz Laundry in Georgia now open just over a year, Sugarman says it’s exceeding his expectations for revenue growth.

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR FIRST LAUNDROMAT

Thinking about investing in your first store can be exciting but it’s important to have a sense of what you’re getting yourself into before committing to buy or build. During a Coin Laundry Association education session, a trio of store owners from throughout the country shared their experiences to prep anyone just getting into the business for what they might expect themselves.

JUNE 2023

VOLUME 64 ISSUE 6

MAKING ROOM FOR LARGE CAPACITY EQUIPMENT

Larger multi-load washers and dryers are all the rage these days but many selfservice laundry customers still prefer using smaller models. How are today’s stores accommodating both?

COLUMNS

18 POINTERS FROM PAULIE B: FRESHENING UP YOUR STORE, FROM SIMPLE TO ELABORATE

When first built, most laundromats look terrific and attract many customers, retired multi-store owner Paul Russo writes. Knowing this, his strategy over the years was to keep his mats looking like new. He offers a list of some easy, inexpensive fix-ups and more elaborate fresh-ups.

DEPARTMENTS

4 VIEWPOINT 31 AD INDEX

27 PRODUCT NEWS 32 NEWSMAKERS

30 CLASSIFIEDS

DID YOU KNOW...

American Coin-Op releases a new podcast on a different topic of interest every other month? Give it a listen at AmericanCoinOp.com/podcasts.

(Cover image: © StudioLightAndShade/Depositphotos; © Olegkalina/Depositphotos; © whitestar1955/Depositphotos; © YAYimages/Depositphotos; iStock.com/Shaddii)

A CAPACITY FOR CONVENIENCE

While there are exceptions, I think it’s fair to say that doing the laundry isn’t a chore that many people enjoy, especially if they must leave their homes to do it. The faster they can get their clothes washed and dried at a laundromat, the better. And that’s where greater capacity comes in.

This month’s cover story, “Making Room for Large-Capacity Equipment,” examines the growing interest in machines exceeding 40 pounds capacity, including models capable of washing single loads of 100 pounds or more.

Large-capacity equipment, long used in on-premise institutional and industrial laundries, is now making its way into many vended laundries.

Representatives from several manufacturer brands say there’s been a noticeable equipment-mix shift from smaller to larger, but that smallcapacity machines will continue to have a place in vended laundries. They share more about the trend starting on page 6.

Some other content in this month’s edition:

• “Messaging Through Better Signage,” page 12 — Your signs should lend themselves to a better customer experience, so these are some things to think about so you can be sure you’re providing the best displays and infographics possible.

• “Pointers from Paulie B: Freshening Up Your Store, from Simple to Elaborate,” page 18 — Brand-new stores attract many customers, writes columnist Paul Russo, so he focused on keeping his laundromats looking like new during his career. He lists a range of solutions from easy cleaning to extreme makeover.

• “Oz Laundry Focuses on Enhancing Customer Experience,” page 22 — When real estate investor Stan Sugarman became a laundromat landlord, his thinking turned to owning a laundry himself. Pay a visit to his Georgia store that’s been open just over a year.

• “What to Know About Your First Laundromat,” page 24 — Three store owners relay their own first-time experiences and what you might expect if looking to get into the business. Summer is just around the corner. I don’t know about you but I’m ready for some sunshine and good times!

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

Douglas Pratt Michael Schantz

Tony Regan Matt Simmons

Sharon Sager

OFFICE INFORMATION

Main: 312-361-1700

SUBSCRIPTIONS

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American Coin-Op (ISSN 0092-2811) is published monthly. Subscription prices, payment in advance: U.S., 1 year $50.00; 2 years $100.00. Single copies $10.00 for U.S. Published by American Trade Magazines LLC, 650 West Lake Street, Suite 320, 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., 125 Schelter Rd., #350, Lincolnshire, IL 60069-3666. Volume 64, number 6. Editorial, executive and advertising offices are at 650 West Lake Street, Suite 320, 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, 2023. 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

Making Room for Large-Capacity Equipment

Accommodating varied capacities for your customer’s benefit

by Bruce Beggs, Editorial Director

Larger multi-load washers and dryers are all the rage these days but many self-service laundry customers still prefer using small models. How are today’s stores accommodating both?

American Coin-Op interviewed representatives from several manufacturer brands to get their thoughts on the large-capacity equipment trend, calculating an appropriate capacity mix, and the future of smaller machines.

Q: With vended laundry equipment, what’s considered to be the dividing line between “small capacity” and “large capacity”? What poundage?

Al Adcock, vice president of sales & marketing, B&C Technologies: Small capacity is generally considered to be 35 pounds and below.

Jennifer Butzlaff, Speed Queen business optimization director, Alliance Laundry Systems Distribution: Forty pounds and up are what I’d classify as large, multi-load capacity.

Norbert Cardenas, Huebsch regional sales representative, Alliance Laundry Systems Distribution – South: With regard to washers, top loaders through 30-pound machines are considered (to be) small capacity. Forty pounds and greater are considered large-capacity. On the dry side, homestyle stack or single-pocket dryers under 50 pounds are smallcapacity and stack commercial dryers or single stacks over 50 pounds (are what) I consider to be large-capacity dryers.

Joel Jorgensen, vice president of sales, Girbau North America 40 pounds of capacity and above.

King Lee, senior sales manager, Dexter Laundry: As today’s laundromats evolve, anything over 40 pounds is considered large equipment, so that would be the 60-, 80-, 90-, 100- and 120-pound-capacity washers.

Q: Self-service laundries are trending toward offering larger-capacity equipment, some so large that a customer can conceivably wash all of their laundry in one machine. How has this greater interest in larger capacities influenced vended equipment mix overall?

equipment mix overall?

Butzlaff: We are definitely seeing owners going bigger, with a heavy focus on 80- and 100-pound washerextractors.

Cardenas: We are seeing the trend toward larger machines, and we are looking to

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Our client commitment goes beyond purpose-built software, daily support specialists, and website/digital marketing guidance. Sometimes seeing is believing. That's why we offer every client a free invitation to our laundromat for an immersive experience of our operations. Join Curbside, and benefit from free, clean advice, every day.

match that need with equipment sizes that make customers happy and owners successful.

Jorgensen: Today, the norm is to have a mix of machines that are 40 pounds and above. New stores and existing-store-refit designs include large-capacity machines from 60, 70, 80 to 130 pounds of capacity.

Lee: It is not uncommon to see laundromats offer 30-pound washers as the smallest, with the 60- to 80-pound washers as the most used. We have even seen new retools go 40s, 60s, 80s and 120s with only four washers as small as 20 pounds capacity in the new configuration, replacing a store full of top loaders and 20-pounders.

Adcock: Larger-capacity machines attract those interested in washing larger items. This can be large comforters, or even someone starting a laundry business that can’t yet afford to purchase their own equipment. All in all, larger capacities provide flexibility and accommodate customers that wouldn’t ordinarily consider a laundromat.

Q: Thinking of store development today, what share of the equipment mix—by capacities, not numbers of machines—might large-capacity machines commonly occupy vs. the small-capacity models? How might this differ from the past?

Cardenas: If you study any laundromat data in the last 10 years, you’ll find that 40-pound and 80-pound machines generate the lion’s share of the revenue relative to the number of machines. Store owners make more money for the real estate within the store and customers like the time savings and ease of placing everything in one washer and moving on. So, both are benefiting from this trend – it’s a winwin. Large-capacity extractors (40 pounds and greater) should make up 80% of the store mix.

Jorgensen: In the ’80s and ’90s, the ratio of small- to large-capacity machines was 70 to 30. That shifted to 40 to 60 and today is 20 to 80. This relates back to when more apartments started offering laundry amenities and domestic appliance sellers moved from top-load washers to larger-capacity front-load machines in the mid-’90s. This was the turning point when vended laundries began to flip the capacity percentage and draw on a broader demographic through full-service offerings like wash-dry-fold. They quickly realized the profit impact.

Lee: In new laundromats and recently retooled stores, you see most of the washers and dryers geared to the larger-capacity variety. Up until six to 10 years ago, one would see four to eight larger (60 and 80 pounds) washers in an average-size laundromat. Today, that number has probably doubled, if not more in some areas. The most popular size washer used to be the 30-pound front-load washer, the workhorse. You would be hardpressed to find a store owner that says that size is his most-used today.

Adcock: I think the equipment mix is similar to the past but largercapacity machines give a store owner something extra and can also attract attention to the store, since a larger machine in the front window can show potential customers that larger-capacity machines are available.

Butzlaff: Single-load and smaller capacities will always be part of the equipment mix. However, today’s most profitable laundromats are installing a higher percentage of large-capacity washer-extractors and matching tumblers. I’d say 60% of the mix is 40-pound capacity and above.

Q: How might vend pricing play a role in influencing equipment capacity choices for store owners?

Jorgensen: It’s pretty simple: larger-capacity machines equal higher vend prices and “extra cycle option” prices. A store owner will generate more revenue per square foot with larger machines.

Lee: With the average vend price of a 60-pound washer in the range of $6.50 to $8, and their growing popularity, it’s easy to see why more store owners are taking out smaller-capacity machines for larger ones; you make more money with larger washers. It really comes down to a simple math exercise.

Adcock: There is a fairly direct correlation between the size of the machine and the vend price, and if the store owner can attract a customer base for the larger machines, they can increase profitability by selling access to these larger machines.

Butzlaff: Quite honestly, there’s a pretty direct connection: larger capacities equal larger revenues. The ramp-up period is over, and customers today generally don’t balk at a higher vend price on larger-capacity machines that they can fit all their laundry in one load. Talk to any owner with 100-pound washer-extractors and they’ll tell you they are constantly turning.

Cardenas: Vend pricing does play an important role in directing customers toward particular machines. For example, pricing your top loaders the same as your 20- or 30-pound machines encourages them to reconsider their choice depending on actual need, not pricing. You’ll find that there will be less use of top loaders and increased use of hard-mount equipment, which is sturdier. Pricing your 80-pound extractor just under equivalent cost of two 40-pound machines will drive the use on the larger machine, which, in turn, frees up more machines for other customers with smaller loads.

Q: When designing a laundromat, does it make more sense to 1) group all like-sized equipment where possible or to 2) alternate models by capacity so they’re spread throughout a store?

Lee: In most cases, there is not a right way or wrong way to design a store, but one of the things to consider is the flow of the store. By flow, I mean how to get your customers to find the larger, more popular machines, how to get them from the large washers to the large dryers efficiently, and how to accommodate the customers who actually sort their clothes.

Adcock: From an installation standpoint, grouping like-sized machines together can decrease the installation cost of the equipment. I’m not aware of any studies that have come to a conclusion about grouping, but it would be an interesting project to understand. Currently, the pressure is to get the store opened as quickly as possible to reduce carrying costs, so anything that helps get to the opening date more quickly would provide benefits.

Butzlaff: Keeping the same capacities together makes sense and creates a cleaner, cohesive look to the store.

Cardenas: When designing a new store, I am a big proponent of grouping same-size machines. Grouping makes sense for a couple of reasons: a cohesive orderly look, and easy wash-load identification. It takes the guesswork out for your customers. Washer load signage also makes it easier for customers to identify equipment the moment they walk through your doors. ▼

encing equipment capacity choices for store owners?

Butzlaff

Cardenas

Adcock

Jorgensen: Mixing different capacities by aisle (bulkhead) is better because it keeps the customer in the same aisle managing laundry (and their children) versus having to switch aisles. It makes customer flow simpler and faster, helping improve customer turnover rates.

Q: On-premises laundries in hospitals and hotels have been using largecapacity equipment for decades. Why has it taken this long for these larger machines to grab hold in the vended segment?

Adcock: Most households can’t fill a large washer unless the goods are mixed, which can cause undesirable results and graying of lighter colors. And operating large washers in an underloaded condition is not ideal, so most people tend to separate their goods into the smaller machines and then combine them in the dryer where the colors don’t bleed. I’m sure there are some folks brave enough to put everything into a single washer, but I doubt the results would be pleasing.

Butzlaff: As society is moving faster, people are placing a greater premium on their time. High-capacity machines with ultra-high extract speeds combined with large-capacity reversing tumblers help customers get in and out fast — in most cases, one hour. They aren’t having to load and unload multiple machines, much less stress about whether those machines will be next to each other.

Cardenas: There are many factors that have caused this trend. There is a perceived time savings for some customers, along with a dash of sorting laziness. However, I think it goes much deeper than that. COVID definitely increased the awareness of germs and keeping our environments cleaner, forcing people to clean clothes and linens more often. In addition, the growing trend of multi-generational co-habitation (is) forcing families regardless of financial status to turn to laundromats in order to wash large family loads, including linens and comforters. Lastly, laundromat owners are now expanding their services and revenue by getting deep into wash and fold and pickup and delivery. This shift has impacted the need for larger equipment to keep up with the ever-growing demand.

Jorgensen: They are not related other than being “laundry” and designed for efficient soil-to-clean washables and throughput (known as customer “flow” in vended). Commercial on-premise laundries are sized to handle the laundry volume in a given “time-on-task” workflow and typically mixed with similar-capacity machines and redundancy.

Lee: Like with anything new, it takes a pioneer and/or visionary to set the example, and once it was apparent that customers gravitated to the larger machines and stores with larger equipment, then the proverbial floodgates opened to what we view today as the modern laundromat.

Q: Do you think there will always be a need for vended washers and dryers with capacities of 30 pounds or less? Why is that?

Butzlaff: Small-capacity machines will always be a part of laundromats, but I think you’ll see the pendulum swing. Where before you saw a couple 60s or 80s, we will continue to transition to where those capacities are the majority and there are only a couple top-loads or 30s.

Cardenas: Overall, smaller 20pound capacity washers will remain part of a laundromat footprint. However, quantities will certainly

shrink as laundromat real estate becomes more competitive and expensive. I think over time, the 30-pound washer may be a thing of the past as demand shrinks and supply cost for manufacturers increases. Realistically, there is little difference in capacity between the 20 and 30, at least visually, to a customer. So, why install a 30-pound machine when you can install a 40-pounder and increase capacity for your customers and revenue in practically the same space?

Jorgensen: Store owners prefer customers that use predominately large loads. But there is often a need for a large-load customer to do a small load of delicates or whites. Store owners want parking spots to be filled with large-load customers, if possible, and turned over quickly during peak volume periods of the week. Remember, the larger machines help differentiate the laundries from home and apartment laundries.

Lee: Yes, while there will always be a niche for smaller washers, the demand will fade much like that of the top-load washers. If certain people place a perceived value based solely on price, then the smaller units with a smaller vend price will attract a certain clientele. We’ve all seen this scene before: customers overfilling a small washer or dryer to “maximize” their spend, while others will under-fill a larger machine because the larger-capacity machine does a perceived better wash.

Adcock: Absolutely. Operating front-load washers with less than a full load wastes time, water, electricity, detergent, and is significantly harder on the washer itself over time. It is best to fully load smaller washers (and less expensive as well).

Q: Any other comments about laundromats accommodating both smalland large-capacity equipment that you’d like to add?

Cardenas: Ultimately, two things dictate equipment mix of a laundromat: demographics, and services the laundromat owner wishes to provide to his or her customers and community. Regardless of demographics, if you’re doing linens or towels for businesses, local Airbnbs or motels, that will determine the size and quantity of your machines.

Jorgensen: Rent, real estate, utilities and labor costs continue to rise. Maximize your store’s capacity, cashflow and efficiency with large-capacity equipment. Never install just one of any large-capacity machine.

Lee: The best stores not only make accommodations for what the customer wants, but for what they need, whether they know it or not. For example, a good store owner will try to capture and retain his customer base by offering something his competition does not, whether it is having more larger-capacity machines or a better environment to do their laundry.

Adcock: Larger-capacity vended washers have added flexibility and additional business to a vended laundry operation, creating a resource of extra wash capacity. With capacities up to 100-plus pounds in vended equipment, laundromats can increase traffic and attract commercial customers that they normally wouldn’t, leading to an increase in business.

It wouldn’t surprise me to eventually find a store with many larger machines catering to small cleaning businesses, maid services and the like since capital equipment costs are beyond the means of many. A store with larger-capacity machines can be a resource to those starting such a business and a stepping stone to growth for those smaller start-up companies.

Butzlaff: There’s no doubt that the trend is (toward) large capacity. However, owners should always be matching the equipment mix to their demographics.

will continue to transition to where those However,

Lee

Jorgensen

There’s more: We’re just two members of NIE’s team of experts. NIE has been handling fabricare insurance since 1915!

Through Better Signage

by

Laundromats rely on signs to help customers enjoy a better service experience. Here are some things to think about so that your store can provide the best displays and infographics possible.

“There should be no spelling errors and the grammar needs to make sense,” says Nick Gausling (www.nickgausling.com), managing director of Romy Group, a consultant who works with B2C businesses that stand out through specialization. “All visuals and text should be crisp and easy

to see. If you miss these basics, not only does it look unprofessional, it will also undermine whatever you’re trying to communicate.”

Rachel McPherson, creative marketing specialist for Card Concepts Inc. (CCI), says the laundromats her company works with always want to communicate important information, such as credit card acceptance, the latest time a customer can start a wash load, or reminding customers to keep an eye on their personal belongings.

“But we find, in visiting locations, that there is an overabundance of … a printed sheet of paper stuck to the wall, and then there’s like 10 of them all in the same spot,” she says. “And it’s like no one is reading any of this because it’s too much, too many different things.”

“When creating exterior or interior signage, it’s important not to overwhelm your customers,” says Liza Kirsh, chief marketing officer for Dymapak, which develops and produces child-resistant packaging. “If there’s too much clutter on a sign, it will likely be ignored. Be as concise as possible.”

“People have short attention spans,” Gausling warns. “Modern society bombards us with so much information that we get accustomed to pivoting topics within fractions of a second. If you say too much, then you haven’t said anything, because customers will miss your point.”

CCI offers free signage and poster capabilities through its payment software’s marketing program, McPherson says: “Of course, you know you have to put up those notification signage pieces, but we try to help our owners do it in a way … that looks clean, that looks professional, that looks visually appealing.”

“The most important thing to consider is customer experience,” says Gausling. “If you walk into a self-service business that you know nothing about, what information do you need to see on the signage in order to have a good experience? That’s the boat your customers are in.”

“Focus on color and font. You want it to be easy to read and pleasing to the eye,” says Kirsh. “Usually, you want a nice contrast between the lettering and the background to make your words ‘pop.’ Lastly, bring value to your customers through your signage. What are their [frequently asked questions]? Don’t just have a sign to have one. Make sure there’s a purpose behind each sign you create.”

Using a laundromat is one of the few service experiences that invites customers to perform the work themselves. If the business is unattended, signage takes on even greater importance.

Bruce Beggs, Editorial Director

(Graphic: © Mikhail Grachikov/Depositphotos)

Anne Sechler shared this photo of a new Whale of a Wash sign, a simple banner that lists all services on an unused and vacant motel sign. “Simple, large, two-sided, and a big arrow pointing,” she says. “We didn’t need a sign permit since we just covered an existing sign with a banner. Though this is temporary, we would probably do it again when we have a permanent option.” (Photo: Whale of a Wash)

Before investing tens of thousands of dollars into a retool, upgrade your existing machines to accept modern, mobile payment. All you need is a BluKeyTM for each machine to give your store a boost. You can install them yourself, and then accept payment from virtually any source through the PayRange app. Plus, add loyalty features, discounts and convenience. Enable your customers to pay as they please on your existing machines with PayRange. Join the 3,500+ laundromats already using PayRange.

It can deliver information when the owner can’t be there or is busy helping other customers. A customer doesn’t necessarily have to approach a person to ask a question if the store’s signage, equipment decals, etc., provide enough information to at least get them started or pointed in the right direction.

When it comes to communicating operating instructions for equipment like washers, dryers, changers and payment systems, Gausling says that’s an area of signage creation where it’s OK to belabor the point.

“You should clearly outline in numbered format exactly what the customer needs to do, from beginning to end, using both words and pictures,” he says. “Remember that something obvious to you may not be obvious to them.”

Signage positioning can also impact the effectiveness of messaging. For example, McPherson favors the use of acrylic tent signs that can be found on top of bulkheads or other visible spots. She believes those messages will be read far more often than a piece of paper taped to a wall.

“Where you can, use V-shaped signs,” suggests John Crossman, CCIM, CRX, president of Crossmarc Services, which buys and develops shopping centers. “They can be seen from two directions. Some signs can only be seen if your car breaks down in front of it.”

Good signage can be a valuable tool that helps a business further its unique brand, yet McPherson says she’s seen many laundromats that simply use “Laundry” or “Laundromat” as the sign on their storefront.

“I think it shows (customers) a level of involvement and effort for a laundromat to be branded and have some clean signage and be visually appealing when you walk in versus the thing that just has ‘Laundromat’ on the outside and you walk in and you shove your clothes in the machine,” she says. “I think it gives them a sense of the owner’s effort and involvement in a location based on how it presents.”

“I don’t know if everyone knows but Google listings don’t like generic signs like ‘Laundry’ or ‘Laundromat,’” says Anne Sechler of West Virginia’s Whale of a Wash group. “When verifying a location, the photographs of the signage must (match) the exact wording or logo that you have on your business listing with Google. We needed to get the logo in there with Whale of a Wash to appease our listing at Google and beyond.”

Given the demographics of the self-service laundry industry, with many immigrant families being customers, posting multilingual signage may be in order.

“Demographics are in a huge flux, with Gen Z constituting the most ethnically diverse generation in American history,” Gausling says. “Immigration is a major driving factor of that change. Any laundromat owner who wants to succeed in the coming years needs to consider their own customer demographics and create signage accordingly.”

“It depends on your demographic, and store owners tend to have a pretty good handle on that,” McPherson says of stores posting signage in Spanish and other languages. “They know who their people are. I think the distributors do a great job of helping them kind of build those demographic profiles. Here’s kind of the demographic that you’re looking at within your self-service radius, wash-dry-fold radius, you know, whatever services are going to be offered. So, I think store owners typically have a really good feel for that.”

Whatever decisions a laundromat owner ultimately makes about their signage, its foundation should be simplicity and clarity.

“In this format for this type of service-based location … the cleaner you can make it, the simpler you can make it, the more direct you can make it, I think the more impact it will have in this particular setting,” McPherson says.

“Our signs are posted throughout the interior of the store and also mailed out as postcards,” says Todd Ofsink of Todd Layne Cleaners & Laundromat in New York City. “The message we are sending is to offer a promotion on self-serve laundry with a touch of humor for Sign 1. Signs 2 and 3 are for promoting our wash and fold service and emphasizing a little creativity, which translates well with our customized way of doing a customer’s laundry with many choices of detergent, fabric protectors, stain fighters and color boosters.”

(Photos courtesy Todd Layne Cleaners)

POINTERS FROM PAULIE B

FRESHENING UP YOUR STORE, FROM SIMPLE TO ELABORATE

When first built, most laundromats look terrific. They’re immaculately clean and shiny, with all-new machines, floors, walls, tables, sign and doors. Maybe even a new storefront, as well.

A customer walking into a freshly built laundromat may feel like they’re getting into a brand-new car (they can smell the newness!), only they don’t have to pay $40,000 for the experience. New mats attract many customers.

Knowing this, my best strategy over the years was to simply keep my mats looking like new. And it worked! The problem is that one must invest more time and money periodically to maintain that look and feel.

Within mere months, a mat can start going downhill. A ding here, a scrape there. Sun damage and water stains. Dust and lint accumulating almost everywhere. Graffiti. Crud building up in the nooks and crannies. It happens gradually and can sneak up on a mat owner.

I suggest you take lots of photos of your new mat, so you can look back to see the changes.

If you’ve been reading my column, you’ll see that most of

the things I recommend here are just “common sense,” along with a touch of some “out of the box” solutions.

EASY, INEXPENSIVE FIXUPS

Scrub Brushes to Clean Cracks and Crevices — Periodically use scrub brushes to clean all the cracks and crevices around your store. One day a week, we had a “Nook & Cranny Day,” when I assigned someone (yes, even myself some days) to go around the store and brush out any accumulated crud; soap boxes were done every day, too.

If you mop your floor every night, this kind of cleaning detail is needed. You see, the mop swishes the dirt around the main surface of the floor and gradually pushes the dirty water into the corners and edges of the floor. This quickly builds up and looks terrible.

Mop-Handle Tools — To remove chewing gum from floors, why get down on your hands and knees? Simply attach a 2- to 3-inch putty knife to the end of a broom handle with duct tape to create a dual-use cleaning tool. As you’re sweeping, if you come upon a piece of gum stuck to the floor, just flip the broom upside-down and scrape off the gum. You can clamp the putty knife on, but duct tape will minimize the tools from scratching anything.

Attaching a scrub brush to a broom handle creates a tool for cleaning flooring edges and corners. Dip the scrub brush in a mop bucket. As you scrub, you could have someone else follow behind and push a rag with the putty knife.

Air Compressors and Leaf Blowers — If you close your mat at night, you can clean all the lint and dust within minutes with an extended-handle air gun and 50-foot hose attached to a nice air compressor. Very similar to how landscapers clean up properties with leaf blowers. You could even use an electric leaf blower. Once you set up, it’s easy. Just walk around the store and blast anything you want, including coin mechanisms right from the coin slots. Sometimes I would open the change machines and blast them, too. Simply start with the ceilings and work your way down.

More importantly, you can go behind your dryers to blow the lint out of the dryer motors and fireboxes. You’ll have fewer issues with your motors and less chance of a dryer fire catching.

You’ll want to wear PPE, of course, especially for working behind the dryers. I wore a dust mask, glasses, and a disposable hooded Tyvek jumpsuit. It works great because when you’re done and take it off, you’re dust-free.

Dealing with Water Stains on Ceiling Tiles — If you use acoustic ceiling tiles, you know that a small drip from your ▼

Paul Russo

In this archive photo, retired multi-store owner Paul Russo dons a dust mask, glasses and a disposable jumpsuit before using an extended-handle air gun to clean the lint and dust found in his laundromat. (Photo courtesy Paul Russo)

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POINTERS FROM PAULIE B

roof can easily stain them. If you change the stained tile with a new one, it will stand out whiter than the rest.

For a quick, easy fix, buy a can of flat white spray paint to touch it up. If your tiles are older, faded and yellowed, try to match the color with a can of off-white flat paint.

If all your tiles are too faded, you can simply paint them all with a white ceiling paint and a roller. The next day, your store will look much brighter!

Clean Light Fixtures — If you have ceiling troffers, lint tends to accumulate on the lenses, eventually making your mat darker and darker. Once a year, it’s good to clean them out and change any bad bulbs.

This isn’t necessary if you have exposed strip-light fixtures using LED bulbs. For them, a quick blast from your air gun should do the trick.

Light Bulb Replacement/Choices — A brightly lit mat can be uplifting and heighten security. Change fluorescent light bulbs every two years, or switch to LEDs.

Consider changing the color temperature. I started out with cool white bulbs, which are around 4000K, but I found that daylight bulbs (5000K) give a better feeling. Lots of 5000K light will make laundry colors pop; whites will look whiter, and colors will look brighter.

Replace Old Decals on Machines — A washer or dryer that has old, torn, ripped, or curled-up decals can look terrible. It’s not hard nor expensive to assess your equipment’s appearance and order new decals. The difference can be dramatic.

(Tip: Use a hair dryer to soften decals, spray the residual glue with WD-40, scrape with an old credit or store card, then wipe.)

Hang Seasonal Banners — I would hang four different banners inside my mats, one for each season. Sometimes I’d hang a wreath or two as well. These things bring cheer to your store. When the season is over, take them down, store them away for next year, and put up the next season’s banner.

Flower Arrangements — Artificial flowers add class to a store. It doesn’t cost much to go to your local home goods or department store and pick up some decorative arrangements or other attractive accents.

Don’t Forget the Paint, but... — I tried to keep my mats as paint-free as possible, because it seems that once you paint something, you have to paint it again and again over time.

So instead of paint, look to use diamond plating, PVC or vinyl molding, formica, tiles, FRP panels … you get the idea. Still, sometimes paint is a quick, easy way to freshen up your store.

A nice thing to keep the corners looking fresh inside your mat is to glue on 2-inch stainless steel corner molding.

Remove Graffiti — Since most graffiti is solvent-based, citrus cleaners are useful. Mineral spirits work as well. Acetone (nail polish remover) works really well, but you should be careful not to use it on a painted surface; always test an inconspicuous area first.

Appeal to Their Noses — Some mats smell terrible, often because backed-up wet lint is growing bacteria. Common trouble areas are under washers, in dirty restrooms, and in your drain trough (if you have one) or drain system (if you don’t have good traps and vents). These all need to be kept clean on a routine basis. Get rid of the wet lint and dirt and you’ll get rid of the sour smells.

Take it a step further and soak a couple wet rags every day in liquid fabric softener and hang them up. Your mat will smell great!

ABOVE: For each season, Russo hung a themed banner inside his mats, and sometimes a wreath or two, as shown here. (Photo: Paul Russo)

BELOW: An example of a welcome banner that Russo hung in one of his stores. He also points out the stainless steel corner guard on the dryer bank to protect it from laundry cart bumps. (Photo: Paul Russo)

MORE ELABORATE FRESHUPS

Change Your Washer’s Front Panels — An old trick years ago, before stainless steel front panels became more common, was to bring your washer panels to an auto body shop for rust removal, priming and repainting. I did it a couple times. Believe it or not, if you do this along with placing new decals, some of your customers will ask if you installed new equipment!

I even had stainless steel panels powder-coated. They have primers nowadays that can make paint stick well. Your mat will look completely different! Just keep in mind that if you want to go back to stainless, it will cost you to have the paint removed.

Paint Your Dryer Banks — If you close your mat for a day or two, you can bring in a professional spray painter to mask off the front of your entire dryer bank. (I never did this, but I know a mat owner who did.) Remove the doors first, plus any decorative hardware that’s difficult to mask. The painter should hang paper or drop cloths to protect the rest of the store and use powerful fans to blow out excess mist.

If your store is in a building with other businesses, check with neighbors first. You may have to start spraying after everyone else is closed. I would also check to see if you are violating any environmental codes.

Instead of painting my dryer bank, I chose to purchase all-new front panels. It was more expensive than spray-painting them, and more work swapping parts and channeling wires in some cases, but still much cheaper than buying new dryers.

Buy New Laundry Carts — If your carts are looking old and/or rusty, with rubber bumpers coming off, why not buy new ones? You can try selling the old ones to a competitor (I always sold mine to other laundromats in New York City) or locally online. One manufacturer sells carts that can hold RFID tags so you could track them if stolen, but it’s also a good idea to use an engraving pen to etch the store name in an inconspicuous spot on a cart.

Dress Up Your Washer Bases — If your mat has bare concrete bases (they were prevalent in NYC), you can dress them in three ways. You can simply paint the concrete, which looks great but it’ll have to be touched up or repainted from time to time. Or you tile the bases, which also looks terrific and is much more durable as long as you add corner protectors. Or have diamond plate sheets attached and molded to the bases (aluminum is reasonable, stainless steel will cost you 5-10 times more).

Vinyl Tiles for Walls — Try covering one wall with vinyl plank floor tiles. They’re cheap, easy to install, look beautiful and are durable. When properly installed on a solid wall with good adhesive, these tiles will “laugh” at laundry carts being slammed into them. But even so, you’ll still need corner protectors. You only need to tile one wall to create a dramatic effect; arranging them diagonally enhances the wall even more.

To summarize, brand-new mats give a great feeling that can really attract new customers. Therefore, keeping your mat fresh-looking is an important part of this formula for long-term success.

Laundromats need routine attention to maintain their “new look.” That’s why it called maintenance.

Paul Russo owned and operated multiple laundromats in New York City for more than 40 years before retiring in 2018. You’re welcome to direct any questions or comments for Russo to Editor Bruce Beggs at bbeggs@atmags.com.

OZ LAUNDRY FOCUSES ON ENHANCING

CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

Becoming laundromat landlord got real estate investor Sugarman interested in owning his own

by Haley Jorgensen

Oz Laundry sits in an impoverished area of Decatur, Ga., that’s dense with renters and thick with competition. The 5,000-square-foot store features high-speed equipment that allows customers to complete laundry in 60 minutes or less; ozone injected into every washer for sanitized laundry loads; a children’s Read, Play and Learn center to support early childhood literacy; and a hybrid payment system that simplifies store management and delivers customer loyalty incentives.

Meanwhile, full-service wash/dry/fold caters to affluent neighborhoods a couple miles away.

Open just over a year, owner Stan Sugarman says Oz Laundry is exceeding his expectations with month-over-month revenue growth of 5-10%.

BELOW LEFT: A view of Oz Laundry’s 30- and 45-pound stack ExpressDry® Dryers and some uniquely designed folding tables. BELOW RIGHT: The store’s Read, Play and Learn center helps keep kids occupied, while offering literary-rich games and books. Just right of the children’s area is Oz Laundry’s payment center.

As a real estate investor for more than 24 years, Sugarman says his interest in vended laundries piqued after becoming a landlord to one. He used a bonus depreciation tax incentive as his excuse to jump in. It allowed Sugarman to immediately deduct a large percentage of eligible assets, including laundry equipment, rather than write them off over their “useful” life. Conveniently, he also had a place for the laundry to go — inside a retail strip mall anchored by a 35,000-square-foot Roses Discount Store.

Russ Arbuckle, of Wholesale Commercial Laundry S.E., in Southside, Ala., provided expert guidance on all facets of the laundry’s development, according to Sugarman.

“Russ was huge for us, He explained why soft-mount, high-speed washers worked with our philosophy of providing the best in customer convenience,” Sugarman says. “Our engineer and architect hadn’t done laundries before, so Russ really helped with the store’s design. We have three entrances, tons of parking, automatic doors and a reading center thanks to his guidance.”

At 5,000 square feet, spacious Oz Laundry is equipped with ExpressWash® Washers in capacities of 20, 30, 40, 60 and 80 pounds. The store is designed to allow customers to complete laundry in 60 minutes or less. (Photos: Oz Laundry)

HIGHSPEED WASH

Oz Laundry is equipped with Continental Girbau ExpressWash® Washers from 20 to 80 pounds in capacity and ExpressDry® Dryers in 30- and 45-pound stacks.

The soft-mount machines are freestanding and do not require a reinforced concrete foundation, bolt-down or grout, making them less costly to install. While hard-mount washers generate 100-200 G-force during extraction, the ExpressWash Washers produce high-speed extract reaching 408 G-force and, as a result, remove considerably more moisture during extract, according to Continental.

This shortens drying time by up to 50%, amps customer rotation rates and reduces natural gas consumption because dryers operate less frequently, according to Sugarman.

“Customers love that they can complete all their laundry in an hour or less, compared to the typical two hours,” he says.

At the end of the day, it’s about providing an elevated customer experience, according to Sugarman: “Our biggest competitors are the apartment laundries. That’s why we needed to offer a faster, more convenient customer experience.”

SANITIZATION SETS STORE APART

Playing into that focus is the laundry’s San-O3-wash ozone system, designed to automatically disinfect every washer and laundry load. SanO3-wash injects ozone into washers during cold rinses; ozone works best in cold water and naturally kills 99.9% of bacteria, viruses and molds in the wash. It also relaxes fabric fibers for improved cleaning and stain removal, according to Sugarman. Not only does the ozone set Oz Laundry apart from competitors, it ensures the building smells fresh and clean.

FLEXIBILITY AND CUSTOMIZATION

By offering as much flexibility to customers as possible, Oz Laundry hopes to build customer loyalty. Customers can pay their way—using credit/debit cards, coins, loyalty cards and mobile apps—as well as customize the wash process.

The laundry’s CCI FasCard system accepts all possible payments, facilitates easy store management, and allows Sugarman to offer loyalty incentives, including free dryer credits, special events and spending bonuses.

Washers offer a customizable ProfitPlus® Control that allows selection of optional “extra” cycles, including Extra Wash, Extra Rinse and/or Extra Spin. Each time a customer selects an extra, it add to the total vend price, helping build store revenue.

“Our customers select an extra 30-40% of the time,” says Sugarman.

ROUNDING OUT THE SERVICE OFFERINGS

Rounding out Oz Laundry’s service offering is full-service wash/dry/ fold and pickup and delivery of residential and commercial account laundry. A point-of-sale system helps with tracking and processing orders.

While Sugarman says the full-service segment is growing steadily, he is more focused on the self-service side of business: “This is where we really want to grow with a goal of $60,000 a month.”

Fully attended and clean, Oz Laundry also offers plenty of tables, chairs and flat-screen TVs. The store’s Read, Play and Learn center helps keep kids occupied, while offering literacy-rich games and books. The icing on the cake? Each child is encouraged to take a book home with them.

Haley

What to Know About Your First Laundromat

Store owners describe pursuit’s demands, expectations, benefits

by Bruce Beggs, Editorial Director

Thinking about investing in your first laundromat can be exciting but it’s important to have a sense of what you’re getting yourself into before committing to buy or build.

During a Coin Laundry Association education session titled “Everything You Need to Know About Your First Laundromat,” a trio of store owners shared their experiences to prep anyone just getting into the business for what they might expect themselves.

Texas multi-store owner Rob Maes moderated the panel that included Omer Khan from Atlanta, Stephen Gramaglia from New York and Amy Doody from Maryland.

Maes asked each why they got into the business. Khan says it was in his blood; he was 3 years old when his father bought his first laundry and he began helping once he was old enough. The two of them own a handful of stores together today.

While working for a well-known commercial lender, Gramaglia had 21 years of experience helping entrepreneurs get into the business and expand and grow. He hadn’t intended to become an owner himself but when the opportunity to take a location and build a store presented itself, he took it.

Doody, a former middle school math teacher of 15 years, decided to look for a new business opportunity once her children were old enough. She chose laundromat ownership because she realized she “needed to be

in an industry with people where I was helping people, working with people out in the community.”

FINANCIAL EXPECTATIONS

Everybody has a different path to the industry, Gramaglia says, and there are different ways one can acquire a store. But financial positioning is key to having success once there.

“Getting into the business, you have to make sure you have solid financials,” he says. “It’s one of the biggest, you know, pitfalls that we’ve seen and I’ve seen, from lending money over all the years, is the people that don’t have a solid financial base are the ones that have trouble.”

Financial security is a must, and that’s not just your down payment or cash investment, your working capital, your security deposits, your closing costs, Gramaglia says. Make sure that you have excess funds or the ability to get them so that you don’t have to feel like you’ve got to make money or even break even on day one.

“I mean, there’s a whole list of things that you’re going to need to pay for before you’re potentially making any money,” he says.

Doody used seller financing to acquire her store: “So when we were working the deal and talking to the bank on one side, on the other side I called and said, ‘Hey, do you guys want to hold the note?’ I mean it’s pretty low risk for the seller. Because you know what happens, if you don’t

(ABOVE, FROM LEFT) Moderator Rob Maes and panelists Omer Khan and Stephen Gramaglia listen as Amy Doody talks about her laundry during the Coin Laundry Association education session, “Everything You Need to Know About Your First Laundromat.”

make your payments, they take it back.”

Khan says he and his father were able to use assets from other businesses as cash down to acquire a laundromat.

A BUSINESS PLAN ASSISTS LENDERS

Creating a business plan improves one’s chances of gaining project financing, particularly when working with lenders not intimately familiar with the laundry business.

“They want to see how you’re going to capitalize it,” Gramaglia explains. “They’re going to want to know how you’re going to run it, they’re going to want to know all about the business. You’re going to have to teach a bank about the laundry business, and a business plan is kind of how you do that.”

“A business plan, for me anyway—and I did one when I got in the business—is more of a process than a product,” Maes adds. “That’s the beauty of the business plan is it forces you to think about all those little details that may be critical to your success.”

If dealing with a lender that’s well-acquainted with laundromats, Gramaglia says, it’ll be interested in the state of your financials, the prospective store location, its competition and its demographics.

FINDING THE RIGHT LOCATION

Doody can’t count the number of laundromats she visited while researching the industry but she recalls washing many loads of laundry.

“You know, at first, we were ‘super sleuth,’” she says. “It was part of the game. We’re like, ‘Let’s go do towels,’ but then after that, you just walk in and look around. They know you’re not from their neighborhood. ... But

we just went to a million different laundries and did it feel safe and then we would pull demographic reports and study the numbers.”

Having somebody you trust, whether it’s a broker or distributor, is important, according to Doody, because once you look at the demographics, you won’t know if they’re good numbers or bad. You need someone seasoned to explain what the numbers mean for a given site.

“Make sure you understand what kind of equipment they have,” Khan says of the distributor relationship. “Make sure how they’re approaching your situation, how much they’re going to help you succeed. … Having that bond and being able to call them at 7 a.m. or 10 p.m., you need to have that relationship with that distributor.”

Finding a store site that’s close enough to your home can be important, too, Gramaglia says.

“You will be on your way home and they’ll call you and we’ve got to go back,” he says. “There’s times you go three or four times a day, especially in the beginning, especially when you’re building it. When you’re hiring staff, when you’re learning, you’re going to be there a lot of times back and forth. The further away you are, the more pain it’s going to be.”

“I own four laundries. None of them is more than 15 miles apart, and I put 20,000 miles a year on my car, so keep that in mind,” adds Maes. “So, especially if you’re starting out with your very first store, just keep proximity in mind.”

TO LEASE OR TO BUY?

If you have the chance to buy and to be your own landlord, there’s nothing better than that, Gramaglia believes, but that type of arrangement may not be possible for everyone. ▼

“I think a lot of that has to do with where you live, where you trade, what real estate prices are,” he says. “There’s parts of the country where it just doesn’t make financial sense to acquire a piece of property and put a laundry in.”

“The reason I wouldn’t build a laundromat … as a first-time laundry owner is because you don’t have a customer,” Doody says. “So you’re going to make the investment and then you’re going to open the doors and nobody’s ever been there before to do laundry? But if you buy an existing company and you can buy that property at the same time, too— and that’s what I did—then you have a customer base and you have a chance to learn and introduce yourself to a community.”

“It all goes on what kind of experience you have, from your background … if you feel comfortable giving it to a (general contractor) and letting them build it out for you and you just want a turnkey store, nothing wrong with that,” Khan says. “But if you feel like, ‘I want to do this, to control, to rule. I want to make sure that every aspect of this is my way,’ then by all means, go that way.”

“A great location is a great location,” Maes adds. “It might be leased, it might be built, it might be bare dirt, and I’d hate to give up on a location because it didn’t fit one particular criteria that I was looking for.”

HOW DO YOU OPERATE?

Each of the panelists described their typical workdays, which includes visiting their store(s) for at least a short time every day.

When he visits first thing in the morning, Khan checks in with employees and does a walk-through to make sure the store is clean, equipment is functioning, and everything’s in order for the business to run.

Gramaglia estimates he and his wife spend 7-10 hours a week in their

store plus additional time studying camera feeds and more.

“We have great staff. We’ve got cameras. We have technology that allows us to see what the store’s doing, how many machines are running,” he says.

When she first bought her store, Doody worked as an attendant each day. The experience allowed her to learn how things should be done and establish procedures. Today, she’s in her store between eight and 10 hours every day, handling mostly managerial duties.

WHAT ABOUT A WORKLIFE BALANCE?

An audience question dealt with the ability to have a good work-life balance, including time to get away on vacation.

“It’s not easy, and it does take up a lot of your time,” Khan says of the laundromat business. “It all depends on how you set up your model.” Attended stores with additional services require more time and attention than self-service stores that don’t offer full services, he explains.

“It allows you to go to your kid’s baseball game for two hours and the world’s not going to fall apart,” Gramaglia says. “It allows you to go at different times and have more of a work-life balance than … a corporate 9-to-5 job and being tied to that. ... For the most part, you really have to have staff in order to go away, or you have to have a partner or somebody that you trust, but it really is good work.”

“I’ve never done anything important that didn’t require sacrifice. So there is sacrifice, especially the first year,” Doody says. “So understand that this is your new baby, and if it cries in the middle of the night, you need to go take care of it. But then after that, things can come into a better balance. ... Everything good requires hard work, and if it was easy, everyone would do it.”

HOT-TOPIC TRIO: Ready for ‘Action!’, Finding the Right Candidate, and Livin’ Large

Majers Coin Laundry Now Part of Cinematic History

For six days in 2020, a large cast and crew took over Majers Coin Laundry to film scenes for “Everything Everywhere All at Once.”

The 2022 sci-fi dramedy won seven Academy Awards earlier this year, making the laundromat part of cinematic history. Store owner Kenny Majers recounts his laborious but moving experience.

Hiring in a Tough Labor Market

In a truly competitive job market, a laundromat owner’s ability to hire well has never been more vital.

Multi-store owners Jim Radovic and Tim Gill share their approaches to hiring and retaining good workers in this episode.

Bigger Capacity Can Deliver Bigger Results

Alliance Laundry Systems’

Mike Hand describes how offering large-capacity equipment can help decrease turnover plus attract customers eager to clean bulky items their home equipment can’t handle.

Every FREE episode...

offers engaging, industry-specific conversation with an expert, including business-building tips you won’t find anywhere else. And you can listen anytime, either online or download for later! Give us a try!

PayRange Inc. has launched a new inapp age verification solution, immi (pronounced “I’m Me”), and its accompanying hardware component, BluCheckTM. The age and identity verification technology

EXPANDS INTO AGERESTRICTED VENDING «

extends the capabilities of existing vending machines to improve compliance and minimize underage access of 21-and-older products, such as alcohol and tobacco.

Powered by immi, the BluCheck device is built to leverage the scale of PayRange’s mobile payment network and existing app user base. The BluCheck device works on any MDB standard machine and has the familiar form factor of PayRange devices vending operators have used for years.

Once a BluCheck device is installed on a vending machine and activated by the operator, a consumer simply launches the immi age verification process from within the PayRange app to purchase an agerestricted item. Immi technology utilizes multi-factor authentication to ensure the

highest level of compliance.

With a BluCheck device installed, vending operators can unlock incremental revenue opportunities through the responsible sale of 21-and-older items. The payment is handled through the PayRange app. From the consumer’s perspective, the purchase is a contactless, frictionless, and secure transaction that takes only seconds to complete.

“Our vision at PayRange has always been about using technology to remove barriers to commerce and connecting consumers to everyday purchases by removing the friction in a transaction,” says Stephanie Cordisco, executive vice president of PayRange. “We believe that agerestricted commerce should be approached in the same way.”

www.payrange.com/blucheck

NEW JERSEY DEPT. OF LABOR FINDS VIOLATIONS IN LAUNDROMATS PROBE

Strategic enforcement efforts intended to safeguard worker rights

An ongoing strategic enforcement initiative targeting New Jersey’s retail laundromats recently uncovered a variety of wage and hour violations among a small sampling of businesses, the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (NJDOL) reports.

The Department’s Wage and Hour Division completed its first strategic enforcement initiative involving the retail laundromat industry, including a comprehensive analysis of industry practices and areas identified for corrective action.

Wage and Hour investigators visited 20 retail laundromat locations owned by nine employers in New Jersey (none were identified in the announcement). Only one of the locations was free of violations, and investigators determined that more than $56,000 in wages are owed to the primarily low-wage employees, and many workers are not receiving the earned sick leave they lawfully accrued.

Strategic enforcement focuses on industries with a history of non-compliance with existing laws and those whose employees are less likely to file complaints with the Department. The approach augments existing complaint-driven enforcement actions.

Investigators interviewed dozens of employees

and employers and reviewed thousands of documents. Based on their findings, the Wage and Hour Division cited laundromats for failing to pay employees the state minimum wage; failing to pay employees time and a half their regular pay rate for hours worked over 40 hours in a week; illegally misclassifying employees as independent contractors; and failing to comply with the state’s earned sick leave law.

In addition to back wages, $143,000 in penalties and fees were assessed to employers.

“New Jersey’s wage and hour laws are not a suggestion, and employers who violate the law will be required to pay workers the wages they are owed and will be assessed damages and penalties,” says Labor Commissioner Robert Asaro-Angelo. “We are committed to ensuring New Jersey is a great state to live, work, and build businesses. The Department is making sure small and growing businesses have the information and guidance they need to comply with state laws.”

In the first round of this initiative, the Wage and Hour Division found that 80% of the retail laundromats investigated were not in compliance with the Earned Sick Leave Law requirements. This impacted more than 130 employees and resulted in employers being assessed significant

penalties and fees.

An additional part of compliance with earned sick leave laws requires employers to keep and maintain records for five years documenting employee hours worked, and earned sick leave that has been accrued/advanced, used, paid out, and carried over. All employers must visibly display the required “earned sick leave” poster at their workplace and give each employee written notice of their right to earned sick leave.

Because retail laundromats are frequently bought and sold as investments, NJDOL is concerned that people purchasing laundromats in the state may not fully understand their legal obligations as an employer under state wage and hour laws.

The Department engages with industry leaders and business organizations to raise awareness about New Jersey’s wage, hour and earned sick leave laws and support employers to implement practices that bring them into compliance.

The Laundry Workers Center is an advocacy group that communicates directly with laundry workers in New Jersey and understands the most critical issues facing them.

“I’ve worked in laundromats for 16 years. Laundromats are prone to wage theft, and it comes in many forms,” says Gaudencia Ramirez, a member of the Laundry Workers Center. “I’m excited and applaud the New Jersey Department of Labor for enforcing the law and investigating the laundromat industry and bad employers. This gives workers more security to file complaints and demand better conditions, which would make a difference in our lives.”

Retail laundromats predominantly employ immigrant workers who might not be fully aware of their labor rights or are more fearful of retaliation, NJDOL says. Workers can find information about their rights, including employer retaliation protections, and how to file a complaint with the Wage and Hour Division at myworkrights.nj.gov. Assistance is available in multiple languages.

The strategic enforcement initiative focused on New Jersey retail laundromats is ongoing, NJDOL says, and it will continue to target industry non-compliance.

(Photo: © alexskopje/Depositphotos)

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DOLL RETIRES FROM MOUNTAIN ELECTRONICS

In mid-May, Lucy Doll retired from Mountain Electronics after 13 years of service there. Her colleagues at the commercial laundry electronics repair business affectionately know her as “The Customer Service Queen of the Universe.”

In 2009, Doll posted a classified ad in her local newspaper that read, “Now taking applications from employers....” Whitney Brasington, CEO of Mountain Electronics, wrote Lucy a letter saying, “You sound exactly like the kind of person we’re looking for.”

Doll started her customer service career as a long-distance operator in Wisconsin at age 17, right out of high school. All the jobs she’s worked since—in Georgia; Virginia; Washington, D.C.; Florida; and at clinics in North Carolina—honed her ability to help people from many regions and cultures find what they needed.

Having worked for large corporations, Doll wasn’t sure that Mountain Electronics—which she’d never heard of—would be able to sustain her career path. But the small company in a remote North Carolina mountain town turned out to be the perfect fit.

“I have never before worked for a company that treated me as well in every way,” Doll says of Mountain Electronics. “They truly appreciate the talents their employees bring with them.”

She says she wants her long-time customers to know that she misses them already, and that they shouldn’t be surprised if she shows up to say hello now that she’ll have time for her favorite hobby: road-tripping.

Doll has always gone above and beyond for customers, says Mountain Electronics, crediting her dedicated service as a “big factor” in its growth and success. At press time, two new representatives, Suzette Morey and Caitlyn Rhodes, were in training to carry on the company’s customer service tradition.

WASHDRYFOLD POS EXPANDS TO ALL 50 STATES

Wash-Dry-Fold POS, which markets a computerized system to laundromats that offer drop-off services, reports that it has expanded its services to all 50 states in the U.S.

Since its 2016 inception, the Oklahoma-based company has grown rapidly, says co-founder Ian Gollahon, selling 124 systems in Florida alone. Wash-Dry-Fold POS has even shipped systems to Alaska and Hawaii. However, until recently, one state remained a challenging market because of its limited number of laundromats: North Dakota.

“We’ve been wanting to sell a system in North Dakota for years,” Gollahon says. “Our product only makes sense for laundromats that offer a wash-dry-fold service, but there are only a handful of these laundromats in North Dakota and we haven’t done any outbound marketing there, so we’ve just been hoping one would come to us.”

Despite the small market size, Wash-Dry-Fold POS was able to find its first North Dakotan customer in The Bubble Laundry Company, a laundromat located in Grand Forks. Owner Casey Brovold had been in talks with Wash-Dry-Fold POS since 2019 and says he was excited to purchase the hardware system along with the cloud-based software.

GIRBAU NORTH AMERICA WELCOMES KRAMER, PAULICK TO STAFF

Girbau North America (GNA) reports it has welcomed Barb Kramer as national accounts coordinator and Paige Paulick as inside sales associate.

As national accounts coordinator for the laundry equipment manufacturer, Kramer handles multiple duties in support of national accounts sales and customer relations, including order processing, assisting customers with inventory and product inquiries, and generating and distributing reports.

Additionally, she supports GNA’s sales team, interfaces with distributors and customers, and forecasts upcoming national accounts needs.

“As a company, we are lucky to have Barb on our team for many reasons,” says Customer Experience Key Account Manager Alivia Murkley. “Her positive attitude, dedication and hard work shine through in everything she does.”

In her new role as inside sales associate, Paulick is responsible for managing inside sales and lead-qualification processes, as well as juggling customer relations, product pricing and reporting duties. She regularly interfaces with end users, distributors and other GNA staff members; analyzes and reports on industry trends; performs competitive analyses; and assists with product and parts orders and tracking.

She comes to GNA with a strong background in customer service and a proficiency for managing multiple responsibilities simultaneously. Paulick earned an associate’s degree in communications and media studies from the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh in 2021.

“We are excited to welcome Paige into the GNA family,” says Pam Kuffel, director of strategic business solutions. “With her experience and personality, we are confident she’ll take the inside sales role to new heights – making it even more effective.”

Paulick maintains she was interested in joining GNA in an entry-level role to gain the skills and experience needed for her to pursue a sales or marketing position.

SPEED QUEEN OPENS THIRD FRANCHISE STORE IN DALLAS

Speed Queen reports its Speed Queen Laundry franchise continues to expand in Dallas with the opening of its third store there.

The franchise says the Speed Queen Laundry at 2950 Walnut Hill Ln. has become a popular destination for customers in northwest Dallas.

“We’re excited to add another great location to the Dallas market and give these communities a better place to do their laundry,” says John Shields, general manager, North America Franchise and Retail Operations. “Like all of our franchise stores, this location is clean and bright, and it enhances the surrounding neighborhood.”

The franchise stores, which are cashless and mobile payment-friendly, are a “welcoming spot for the community and constructed with families in mind,” Speed Queen Laundry says.

A bright, open design enhances aesthetics while also increasing overall safety. The free high-speed internet; comfortable seating and tables; and a kid-friendly lounge area featuring complimentary use of iPads that the franchise stores offer “will keep everyone entertained and happy” while customers wait for their wash, the franchisor says. A drop-off wash-andfold service is also available.

There are more than 20 Speed Queen Laundromat franchise stores operating in the United States.

Doll

Kramer

Paulick

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