Growing Your Self-Service Laundry Business in a Full-Service World
These days, running the self-service portion of your laundromat business can feel a bit like swimming upstream – with the traditional laundromat model at times appearing, at best, quaint and perhaps somewhat nostalgic.
With so much recent buzz about residential wash-dry-fold, pickup and delivery, commercial accounts opportunities, and all of the apps and software revolving around these and other full-service offerings, it might be easy for your walk-in, self-service customers to become a bit of an afterthought.
Is basic, self-service laundry still worth the effort and square footage required? Is it still a viable, long-term industry model?
Clearly, only you can answer those questions for your particular business in your specific market.
In general, the short answer: “Yes!”
The slightly longer answer: “Yes, but…”
This month, five top laundry owners – with widely varying operations and business models – share their viewpoints on self-service laundry and some keys to growing this critical segment of the business.
100 Percent Solid
At Luxe Laundries, based in Los Angeles, owner Ross Dodds has shifted away from full-service wash-dry-fold at some of his stores, partly due to today’s labor issues.
Additionally, for his locations that offer a drop-off WDF service, the self-service segment at those laundromats typically still represents more than 75 percent of the business.
“I 100 percent believe self-service laundry remains a solid business,” Dodds said. “Especially in large cities, we see all ethnicities and income brackets come through our doors – and some will always be self-service customers, whether it’s economical or not. In fact, during the pandemic, we saw more people leaving their apartment buildings’ smaller laundries to come to a cleaner, open laundromat facility because of that perception of safety.”
For Dodds, today’s self-service laundry customers want facilities that sparkle, extra-large machines, and multiple payment options, including credit/debit card acceptance and mobile pay.
“I don’t think the keys to success will ever change – clean, bright, and updated equipment,” he stated. “Many owners still think they don’t need to replace older machines if they’re not broken, but I don’t feel that holds true for laundromat equipment. We’re installing 120-pound washers in our new stores, and no toploaders!”
Luxe Laundries locations run the gambit – from completely unattended stores with a cleaner who comes in once a day, to facilities that are fully attended from 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.
Dodds uses a social media company to promote Luxe on Facebook and Instagram and has recently started a geotagging program that has helped grow the self-service business.
“All of our stores are coinless,” he noted. “We accept cash, debit cards, and credit cards at our kiosks; and debit, credit and loyalty cards, as well as mobile app payment, directly at each machine.”
For Dodds, the quickest way to kill the vibe for walk-in customers is through negative signage.
“Signs saying ‘No’ and ‘Don’t’ on every wall, door, and machine,” he explained. “I hate signs that say ‘No,’ especially handwritten ones. It feels like I’m back in middle school, being watched and scolded. Your customers are not children, and you won’t win anyone’s feels with nasty signs everywhere.”
Solving Customer Problems
At Brio Laundry in Bellingham, Wash., owner Travis Unema typically will find a way to make his customers happy.
“Add-on services will definitely supplement your income,” he said. “Wedding dress service, leather cleaning, rug cleaning, drycleaning, wet cleaning. When a customer contacts my store, I have the ability to clean anything – and if I can’t do it myself, I try to have a wholesale partner in mind that can help out.”
With that said, between 70 percent and 80 percent of Brio’s income is derived from traditional self-service customers.
The fully staffed laundromat boasts an equipment mix with a variety of wash load capacities and a number of payment options – including loyalty cards, credit cards, mobile pay and coins.
For Unema, the keys to self-service laundry growth in 2023 are clean and operational machines, wash cycles that allow enough time for detergents and enzymes to get the job done, a sufficient water temperature of 140 degrees – and, above all, quick resolutions to his customers’ problems, whether that’s dealing with a payment issue, a machine that won’t start, or something else.
“Don’t waste their time,” he advised. “Solve their problems quickly so that they can get in and get moving, so the next person to come in.
“Hire friendly attendants who listen to customers and can follow the processes you’ve set up. And keep your responses to customers consistent. As an example, let’s say you have a policy of no loitering in your store – if someone is not actively doing laundry, politely ask them to leave. Your self-service customers appreciate when the rules are followed and the laundromat is kept safe for paying customers.
Letting your machines break down, dirty soap dispensers, slow or no response to issues with your machines,” he continued, “that’s how you can lose customers to a more convenient service.”
Viable, But Limited
“I believe the self-service model will remain viable, but it’ll be limited, in my opinion,” said Dave Menz, owner of the Queen City Laundromat chain, based in Cincinnati. “I think the days of running a self-service laundry moderately well and still turning a profit are slipping away quickly.”
Menz, who operates four locations, pointed to the escalating costs required to build and run a laundromat these days as evidence of tightening self-service margins.
He added that the future laundry landscape likely will feature just a few specific business models:
- Well-run self-service-only laundromats in great locations
- Well-run drop-off and self-service stores in good or great locations
- Full-service operations – offering self-service, drop-off, and pickup and delivery – run efficiently and at scale
With approximately half of his revenue and net profit coming from the self-service segment, Menz sees two distinct self-service customer mindsets.
“There’s commodity-mindset customers who are looking for the cheapest way to wash and dry their laundry. These are not customers we like to have in our stores.
“The second are customers that value service, amenities, newer equipment, proper throughput, and safe locations – and are willing to pay a premium for that level of operation.”
Queen City offers self-service and drop-off laundry at two of its locations. A third location also offers drycleaning. And the company’s fourth flagship store offers all of those service, along with pickup and delivery. Three of the locations are open from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. daily and are fully attended, while the fourth store is open 24 hours and attended for 12 of them.
Payment options include dollar coins and credit/debit cards at the machines.
“The cores tenets of clean, bright and safe will always hold true, but I see that as the minimum we should do,” Menz said. “Proper throughput, modern machines, controls, amenities, and fully staffed stores are the elements that make a modern laundromat difficult to compete with.”
By contrast, Menz offered a list of practices that will effectively repel the self-service crowd:
- Poor or absent management and attendants
- Treating customers as lower members of society
- Improper throughput and store design
- Old and/or poorly maintained equipment
In addition, Menz notices signs of laundry owners neglecting their self-service clientele as they attempt to embrace today’s increasingly full-service laundry world.
“I think that mindset is affecting our industry’s reputation, but it doesn’t have to be that way,” he said. “I speak with some owners who think they must choose, but that’s not true. We can serve all customers very well and from the same facility. The synergy and ROI there is pretty beautiful too, but it’s an art the operator must learn.
“I believe the best self-service operators in the future will learn that synergy between drop-off, self-service, and PUD. When done correctly, it makes a self-service business virtually unbeatable. The future is bright for all operators who are willing to look at the future through a different lens than the past.”
Truly Recession-Proof
“There is no less need now for a self-service laundromat among the segment of the population that doesn’t have laundry equipment in their living space or easy access to it,” said Cathy Neilley, owner of Spin Doctor Laundromat in Hamilton Township, N.J. “With the world population growing at just under 1 percent a year and the wage gap expanding, self-service laundry remains a viable model. Full-service laundry offerings mainly are tapping into a newer market, consisting of millennials, former drycleaning customers who may be working from home and, in general, those with more disposable income.”
Although Spin Doctor caters to residential wash-dry-fold customers and commercial clients, self-service business represents 85 percent of the total laundry operation.
Neilley believes that the basics of a good selection of various size washers, cleanliness, safety, and minimal out-of-order signs are what most self-service customers want most, adding that “proactive equipment maintenance and flexible payment options” are the keys to self-service laundry success these days.
Spin Doctor boasts 41 frontload washers, ranging from 20- to 77-pound capacities, along with 36 45-pound dryers.
“Online ratings and word-of-mouth drive most of our customers here, so I would say that maintaining high standards is most effective,” noted Neilley, who added that “filth, dim or poor lighting, and a small footprint” are some common ways to ruin the self-service customer experience.
Not every store owner has the space, staff or equipment to offer full service, even if they want to, Neilley explained. However, shifting demographics and market gentrification often can force a decision to either close or add full-service offerings.
“All things being equal, if an owner operated an unattended store, and suddenly hired attendants to fold rather than support self-service customers, that could be seen as neglectful,” she said. “Similarly, if the owner has an attended store and shifts staff responsibilities away from supporting self-service customers to folding, that could have similar optics. As for me, I have a fully attended store, and the priority of each staff member is directed where the majority of our revenue comes from – self-service laundry.
“The self-service model is truly recession-proof. In my opinion, owners need laser focus on modernizing the environment, equipment, payment options, and other offerings to attract and retain customers, and expand market share.”
Unattended, But Closely Monitored
Andy Merendino owns and operates three 100 percent self-service Suds Yer Duds laundromats as the sole income for his family. The trio of stores all are located 15 to 20 minutes from his home in three small towns within Salem County, N.J.
“Our bread and butter are our weekly walk-in customers,” explained Merendino, who owns the real estate for all three laundromats. “Additional self-service business comes from the periodic jumbo washer customer, the ‘my washer broke’ customer, and transient workers.
“Our ‘unattended, but closely monitored’ business model since 2006 is quite simple: (1) clean store, (2) equipment works, and (3) refunds easily available.”
Merendino’s personal cell phone number is posted in each laundromat, and customers are encouraged to call for assistance or to report a problem. Of course, each store also features a camera system, enabling Merendino to view his laundries throughout the day from his phone.
“I’ll often head right out to remedy a situation,” he said. “We also have part-time employees who live nearby who can go in to quickly help a customer.”
The Suds Yer Duds locations open automatically at 4:00 a.m. daily, with a part-time attendant coming in two to three hours before the 11:00 p.m. closing time to do a deep cleaning for the next day and then lock up.
“Most self-service customers understand personal responsibility for managing their own laundry,” said Merendino, whose washers and dryers accept quarters and mobile payment. “However, some don’t. Our biggest problem is having customers leave their loads in our machines too long. Our policy is for the next customer to remove the clothes and linens and place them in a laundry cart.
“We plan to operate our three laundromats for the rest of our lives as our sole source of income. We’re confident self-service laundry will remain a reliable and steady income. You just have to treat it like a baby, and take care of it. Don’t let your store become a ZombieMat, and you’ll be fine.”
