Columns
The Laundry Doctor
What’s Your Number?
[Knowing How Much Finished Laundry Your Staff Can Produce is Vital to the Health of Your Wash-Dry-Fold BusinessSeveral months ago in this column, I discussed the Japanese principle of Kaizen, which is a philosophy that embraces constant and continual improvement in...
WDF 101: Back to Basics, Part 3
Here's Why Choosing Your Detergent and Landing a Few Commercial Accounts Are Critical Factors for Your New Wash-Dry-Fold Business[This is the third and final installment in a series on running a successful wash-dry-fold service.]Thus far in this series on offering a...
WDF 101: Back to Basics, Part 2
Consistently Folding and Professionally Packaging Your Customers' Garments Are Keys to a Successful Wash-Dry-Fold Business[This is the second in a series on running a successful wash-dry-fold service. Part One appeared in the April issue.]Last time, I discussed how to...
Wash With Wally
Wash with Wally: Laundry Detergent, Drainage Systems and More…
I own a successful laundromat in a small Midwestern town. One of my promotions is giving my customers free detergent – all they need Monday through Friday. The problem I have is that some of the customers use too much of the detergent and over-suds the washers. I was...
Wash with Wally: Dealing with a Dryer Fire
I recently had a dryer fire at my laundromat. A customer had placed a mix of synthetic, nylon and cotton garments into one of my dryers at the “hot” setting for more than 45 minutes. There was no type of electrical issue with the dryer. In fact, the dryer worked...
What Laundry Customers Want: Six Keys To Building Your Business
There are six main elements that a new laundromat business should possess to attract and retain customers. They are: 1. Parking. Parking is critically important to the success of a self-service laundry. If your parking lot is too small with respect to the size of your...
The Business Mind
‘Making a Bouquet’
Promoting Your Laundromat in Today’s Culturally and Generationally Diverse Marketplace During the last 20 years, the changes that have occurred – from both technological and cultural/social standpoints – have been profound. And these changes have had a major impact on...
Build a Site That Sells
The Keys to Designing an Emotionally Powerful – And, Ultimately, Successful – Website for Your Laundromat Many laundromat owners love to advertise. And several of these operators use their websites for that intended purpose. However, in my estimation, most of these...
The Psychology of Loyalty
How to Develop an Impactful Customer Loyalty Program for Your Laundry Business Consumer loyalty is mighty fickle these days. In fact, it’s been estimated that 77 percent of current brands could simply disappear and no one would really care. This likely applies to...
Viewpoint
United We Stand
We are all in uncharted territory these days. No doubt, the news regarding the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) changes by the day, the hour… and sometimes the minute. As unsettling as this situation may sometimes seem, be assured that the Coin Laundry Association is...
A Decade of Transformation
“Call me crazy, but I like to see other people happy and succeeding. Life is a journey, not a competition.” I read that quote years ago on a billboard somewhere, and it just resonated with me. So, when I became a CLA Board member, I knew my purpose was to help others...
[Video] The New CLA
“Change is inevitable; growth is optional.” – John C. Maxwell Happy New Year! As we enter a new year and a new decade, the Coin Laundry Association is looking forward to celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2020. Video Of course, we’re understandably proud of this long...
Digital Marketing
Marketing Fads to Reconsider
When It Comes to Promoting Your Laundromat, Jumping on the Latest Marketing Bandwagon is Not a Great Idea Remember fidget spinners? It seems like 2017 was decades ago, but it’s only been a few years since the spinning fad took the world by storm – then disappeared to...
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....