15 Ways to Make a Laundry More Appealing

Most laundry businesses offer some type of extra services or special amenity hoping to attract more new customers. The secret is to bring them in once and be so pleasant a place to do their wash that they will return often. Let''s face it; nearly everyone doing laundry thinks that it is boring and tedious. Things that you do to relieve that boredom and tedium is looked at as a customer benefit. It''s looked at that way not by the laundry owner, but by customers. Following are a number of ways that the usual humdrum laundry experience can be made more interesting for the clientele. One laundry owner won a new television set and VCR in a raffle from the local high school band. That created a problem of what to do with his perfectly good set at home. He decided to put it in his laundry, but the reception proved to be pretty spotty in their shopping center. So he added a satellite dish, which made for greatly improved reception. He left program selection to his attendants and they liked the daily soaps. One night he was chatting with two of his customers and learned that their work hours didn''t permit them to watch the daily soaps, and learned they were big fans. He asked if they would like to see these programs, and they said yes. Using his VCR he and his crew recorded the soap operas and then began replaying them in the evening. He began to notice an increase in the number of ladies using the laundry at night and they watched the TV while chatting and doing their laundry. In a month or so he was seeing more customers in the evening than during the day. Inspired, he began posting announcements of what shows would be on at what time and his business continued to grow. On the weekends he showed sports of all kinds and found that the over all business with single men picked up on those days. If you were to ask this operator if it is a good idea to have TV in a laundry, his answer would be a resounding yes! Putting in laundry television sets can be a little bit complicated, especially in those places that are not attended. Most are installed by cutting a sleeve through the wall and facing the set behind a Plexiglas screen to keep it from being ripped off. The VCR is installed in the back room or office. Sound can be a problem in older laundries and may require putting in additional speakers set to cover specific customer areas. Some operators buy mounting poles, which may cost more than the sets. These are definitely more professional looking, and is what is done in today''s newly built laundry centers. Some owners have several TVs and run special taped programs. Kids programming in the play area, if they have one, and adult programs elsewhere. The idea is to entertain people of all sizes who come to the laundry. However, some laundry owners just don''t like the idea of a TV at the laundry. It would be too noisy and too intrusive on the peace and quiet of their place. For these operators, we suggest that they consider background music as a way of soothing their clientele. Those who choose this path find that it is easier and less expensive. Pick up a good radio and wire in a few speakers. Turn the radio on, set to a music station and leave it on day and night. The only real problem we have heard of is the selection of music. Some customers want western music and to others rock and roll is the only thing. Some will settle on an oldies station. It does require some knowledge of your customer base. For unattended facilities, vandalism can be a problem. The radios or speakers can be ripped off even if they are set behind the false ceiling. If your laundry is in an area prone to vandalism you might consider installing the base radio in a secure area of your facility and hiding speakers behind the ceiling tiles at a place where they can be secured by screws. Do what is necessary to keep clients happy.