Columns
The Laundry Doctor
Touching Moments
Cut Costs by Limiting the Number of Times Employees Handle Each Wash-Dry-Fold Order Do you mind if we get a little touchy-feely this month? Over the last six months or so, I've had numerous conversations with some of my colleagues from all across the country as to...
Clean 2017 Targets Full-Service Laundry Model
Laundry Apps and Organizational Tools for Processed Wash-Dry-Fold Orders on Display in Las VegasThis year's Clean Show was a huge hit on so many different levels – not the least of which being the new products and technologies now available to the wash-dry-fold...
A New ‘Spin’ on a Familiar Brand
Tide Tests the Waters of Chicago’s Wash-Dry-Fold Market A few months ago, Proctor & Gamble decided to expand its Tide brand to include a retail, wash-dry-fold model. Using the successful Tide Dry Cleaners franchises as an example of what to expect from this new...
Wash With Wally
Wash with Wally: Cleaning White Dress Shirts
I recently washed and dried a load of white dress shirts. When these shirts came out of the washer, they were bright white. However, after drying them, they had all turned yellow. I’ve never had this problem before. What can I do to prevent this from reoccurring? And...
Wash with Wally: Selecting the Perfect Laundry Site
I’m interested in building a new laundromat. I have two locations, but I feel that I have time to handle a third store as well. My first two laundries were built by the previous owners, so I’m not very familiar with the due diligence process of knowing how to properly...
Wash with Wally: Battling Bleach Stains
A few of my drop-off laundry customers have complained about small bleach spots on their clothes. However, we don’t use bleach on their clothes, nor do we place the garments where bleach could be splashed on them. The only thing I can think of is that maybe the bleach...
The Business Mind
Are You a Procrastinator?
The Time You’re Wasting is Costing You Money, Customers and the Opportunity to Reach Your Full Potential While attending Michigan State University as an undergraduate, I served as the student manager of the varsity tennis team. One particularly freezing January...
Coming to Their Senses
Leverage the Five Senses to Impact Consumer Behavior As members of the human race, we all experience the world largely through our senses. And, by the way, so does the animal kingdom. However, unlike animals, we also boast well-developed intellectual skills that can...
Keep Your Customers Coming Back for More…
…Or Why You Should Eat Pizza with a Knife and Fork I recently popped open a very good bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon, and poured myself a glass. That first sip was amazing. The flavor was beyond overwhelming. Unfortunately, a few minutes and a few sips later, I hardly...
Viewpoint
Good for the Community, Good for Business
For two days this past March, the somewhat esoteric worlds of early-childhood education and library science intersected with the pragmatic, bottom-line business of laundromat ownership. Strange bedfellows, indeed. It’s a partnership that, at first glance, maybe...
Big in Japan
I’m very fortunate that my career with the Coin Laundry Association has enabled me to travel internationally to the trade shows that serve our industry worldwide. Each of these opportunities yield great returns, as I learn more about the business and build...
Open for Business
For the grand opening of its Canadian flagship location, Lululemon – the popular yoga-inspired athletic apparel company – offered free merchandise to the first 30 people to run naked through its new retail outlet. As you can imagine, the media was all over this...
Digital Marketing
Looking Forward by Looking Back
Why Marketing Your Laundry Business is Only Going to Get Better The world has changed quite a bit over the last three decades. Heck, it has changed a lot just in 2020 alone. But let’s not go into that here. If you were to take a time machine back to 1990, you wouldn’t...
Building a New Relationship with Consumers
Customer Service in Today's Turbulent, Information-Driven World Let’s talk about where businesses are in the world right now. 2020 has been quite a year. And we’re only six months in, which makes everything that’s already happened seem just that much more dramatic....
Marketing During Times of Crisis
Some Promotional Do’s, Don’ts and Considerations as We All Try to Navigate the COVID-19 Crisis It’s easy to get downhearted about the state of the world in the middle of COVID-19’s madness. With social distancing measures, self-quarantines in place and a heightened...