Columns
The Laundry Doctor
Serving in Uncertain Times
The Laundry Doctor Shares His Plan of Attack During the COVID-19 Outbreak What we’re all going through right now with the COVID-19 pandemic is truly a once-in-a-lifetime event. It’s a test of who we are as people – and what we are as a civilization. As laundry owners,...
For Rent
A Linen Rental Service May be the Perfect Way to Keep Your Washers Turning – And Your Business Growing Traditionally, when we speak of doing commercial accounts work in a laundromat setting, we’re most often talking about customer-owned goods. This is where the...
The Perfect Complement?
Here’s How Linen Rental Can Be a Profitable Addition to Your Full-Service Laundry Business One of the easier and more profitable opportunities for vended laundry owners who service commercial accounts – which a number of operators, including myself, have ventured into...
Wash With Wally
Wash with Wally: Cleaning Ceramic Tile
I have 5,000 square feet of ceramic tile in my laundromat. It has a non-slip surface that is hard to clean. What is an effective, inexpensive way to clean it without adding more soap and leaving streaks? Most ceramic floors should be cleaned with an acid-based...
Wash with Wally: Safe Bleaching, Cleaning Lint Screens, More…
I offer a wash-dry-fold service at my laundromat, and I was wondering if there is any product we could use in place of chlorine bleach. The problem we occasionally run into is that my attendants will mistakenly use the chlorine bleach on colored garments, which will...
Wash with Wally: Removing Wine Stains, Washing Silk Shirts, More…
My wash-dry-fold service recently has received a number of garments with wine stains. We’ve done a decent job of getting out most of the stains, but not all of them. Do you have any suggestions to help us tackle any wine stains we may encounter in the future? Wine is...
The Business Mind
‘Tell Your Friends and Family!’
Here’s How to Transform Your Laundry Business – One Customer Referral at a Time “If you provide a great customer experience to current patrons, they will tell others about it.” – Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon As every entrepreneur knows (or should know) that there are...
Laying It on the Line
Why Laundromat Entrepreneurs Take the Risks They Do Starting or buying a business is… well, risky business. After all, research tells us that roughly one-third of all small businesses fail within the first two years. So, why do people do it? What could these...
Anger Management
Seven Psychologically Sound Ways to Deal with Angry, Irate or Emotionally Difficult Customers Every laundromat owner is going to come face to face with angry, difficult or emotionally challenging customers from time to time. After all, you can’t please everyone....
Viewpoint
Let’s Go to the Phones…
“Who you gonna call?” – Ray Parker, Jr. (Ghostbusters) The pandemic’s challenges have been well-documented within these pages. Given the Coin Laundry Association’s efforts to assure laundromats be deemed essential and open – along with your extraordinary work to...
Enthusiasm for Our ‘Essential’ Industry
The laundromat business has proven itself to be recession-resistant, pandemic-resistant – and, yes, “essential.” As a result, the industry is growing at a rate at which I’ve never seen before. People are fleeing corporate America to build or buy laundromats. Current...
Let’s Go! Let’s Grow!
As PlanetLaundry Editor Bob Nieman asked (and answered) in this column last month, “Has 2020 sucked? Yes, without a doubt.” I think we can all echo that sentiment. However, the stage is set to put 2020 behind us! As your CLA Chairman for 2020, I stated last March that...
Digital Marketing
Work Smarter, Not Harder
Unlock a New Level of Efficiency for Your Laundry Business with ChatGPT I recently was speaking with a seasoned laundromat operator who had reached a point in her business where she was having difficulty finding qualified applicants to offer wash-dry-fold services....
Who Are You Talking To?
Knowing Your Customers’ Wants, Needs and Desires Will Give You a Leg Up on the Competition – And Reveal Just How Special Your Laundry Services Really Are! Running a laundry business can be an exciting journey, as you try to lure various customers with different wants...
The Anatomy of a Successful Landing Page
Follow These Guidelines to Help Grow Your Pickup-and-Delivery Laundry Service Managing your fleet of vehicles is an important part of building a winning pickup-and-delivery service. But it’s just one piece to the puzzle. The question I always like to ask laundry...