Adding Amenities is Amenable for Business

You see it and you have to wonder why. Two laundries are about the same age, have about the same equipment and are about the same size. They look about identical and have similar locations in what should be considered a relatively good business neighborhood for coin laundries. Both operators work hard. Each spends about the same amount of time as the other at the business. They keep things clean and their equipment is in good repair. Yet, one operator stretches to pay his bills and is nervous. The other one is banking good profits and is happy. Why the difference? Surveys taken of women have shown that the second most disliked household chore is that of doing laundry. It comes in a close second to cleaning toilets. It should then come as no surprise that the more successful coin laundry businesses are those that are geared to make the laundering chore as pleasant as possible. These more successful card and coin laundries offer amenities usually not found at their competitors. Webster''s Dictionary briefly defines the word amenity as attractive or desirable features as of a place, climate, etc. In a laundry, the word amenity could apply to all those things that make a laundry user''s time go faster, easier and more agreeably. What is there to make things more pleasant and let their time go more quickly? Following are some of the amenities noticed by the News in successful coin laundries visited for this article. Offering Free Morning Coffee Quite a few laundries offer their customers free coffee in the morning. Some just on special days, but many do it all week long. They do this hoping to attract new customers by offering something other laundries don''t. Some brew up an urn full each morning while others use the urn only for keeping the water hot and offer instant coffee. The cost varies, but most laundries say this is under $50 per month, including the coffee, cups, sweetener and creamer. That''s less than $2 per day. There''s also a cost for labor to do it, but that''s minimal. It requires the presence of personnel at the laundry to offer coffee without having a lot of waste, so this promotion will work better in an attended situation. Background Music It was no surprise for the News to find that many coin laundries offer background music in some fashion. A speaker or two laid up above the ceiling tile with wires that run back to an FM radio is all it takes. Tuned to a middle of the road music station, the radio provides free music for customers. The laundry owner has offered a nicer and more pleasant place for that coin laundry''s clientele to be in. There are a few possible problems. Some will want the music louder, some will tell you it''s too loud. Then there is discussion as to the music style they want. You can''t please them all, but they mostly prefer having some music over having no music. This idea works well if the laundry is attended or not. The cost for a radio, speakers and wire is minimal. The cost to install is basically nothing. If music does indeed soothe the savage beast, think what it might do for the attitude of coin laundry users. This is an easy, low cost and much appreciated coin laundry amenity. Magazines & Other Reading Matter This is something noticed more in older coin laundries than in new. Quite a number have used magazines and other reading matter available for their clientele. These are usually stacked on a table or placed in a rack built for the purpose. The cost is virtually nothing. Over time, some customers will begin to bring in their old magazines, while others will take some with them to finish reading. This cycling ties customers to the laundry and makes going to that laundry something like going to the library. An additional advantage is that parents use these magazines to help entertain the children. Some laundries include crayons and pencils and provide coloring books. ''It helps keep the kids off of the machines,'' said one laundry manager. The disadvantage is the small amount of labor required to re-stack the magazines that eventually will be scattered all over the laundry. Like almost every coin laundry promotional idea, offering a magazine library works best in attended laundries, but can be used by those that are not attendant as well. Television for Customer Viewing Coin laundry customers are like everyone else who watch television a lot. Many stay home when their favorite Soap is airing. Many male laundry customers avoid doing wash at times when there is a good game on the tube. Because many men accompany wives to the laundry, a good game cuts business even more. Laundry owners are TV watchers too. It just makes sense to think about putting in a TV as an amenity for your clientele. Offering TV viewing isn''t quite as simple as providing background music. There will be cable charges in most areas, or at least the cost for buying the antennae. TV''s have value and become a target for thieves. This means the sets need to be secured or put on an alarm. There are special mounting posts available, or a set can be built into a wall with a Plexiglas window denying access to the set. Plexiglas attracts film, so it must be cleaned frequently. Sets should be installed high enough to permit viewing at a distance, and so must be tuned by remote. One problem cited by owners was misplacing the remote. The sound should be distributed to the viewing area by adding a speaker or two wired to the set. Otherwise, the sound has to blare near the TV and won''t be heard at any distance over the sounds of the equipment. You can never please everybody with the selection of programs. Ethnicity in some areas dictates Spanish or Black oriented programs. Some owners use movie tapes and announce what will be playing well in advance. In many areas, you have to be on cable and pay a monthly fee. Where antennae are required, there is a cost for purchase plus installation. In many areas antenna must be screened or otherwise hidden from view by the public. It all costs money, but it does seem to be appreciated by coin laundry clientele. This amenity does cost more. There''s an original investment in the equipment plus monthly expense for cable, dishes, videos and upkeep. It''s from $50 to $100 a month. Sodas, Munchies and misc. vending Having a vending operation may or may not be a satisfactory profit center in a coin laundry. But, it can pay off by bringing in and keeping more contented customers. The positives of this kind of vending far outweigh the negatives. Among the positives are availability of something to drink on a warm day, or something to munch on. This makes doing their wash much more pleasant for your clientele. When they bring their kids along, it helps mom keep the natives quiet, and there''s an opportunity for having more cash flow. Negatives include extra work for owners and their staff. Spilled drinks are common, and having potato chips and candy spread all over the laundry takes extra time to clean up. Temper this by realizing that customers will go elsewhere to buy these things if they are not available in the laundry, and will probably create the same mess anyway. When they buy and bring eats and drinks from outside sources, there''s no profit for you and your laundry. Virtually anything a coin laundry owner does to make their coin laundry a better place to be in is an amenity. It''s also better if an -amenity provides extra cash flow for the -laundry as well as making it a better place to be. Fluff & Fold and Drop Off Dry Cleaning Service and alterations offer the clientele a one stop service convenience for all of their clothing needs. That requires having someone on duty most of the time you are open. Having attendants also makes customers feel more -confident and feel safer about being in the laundry. Many of today''s laundries are so well decorated as to make their clientele feel like it''s a nicer place to be than their own home. A pleasant decor, water sales, shoe repair, tanning beds and even pay phones make it pleasant and far more convenient for the -customers. Proper mix of washer sizes, easy to read instruction signs, selling soap and supplies all make customer''s lives easier. Seating and tables, both for folding and use in the seating area, could be considered amenities as well. Successful laundry operators should remain amenable to adding amenities.