Tips for Maxing Out Full-Service Laundry Work and Boosting Revenue
If your laundromat does a good job of processing drop-off laundry, perhaps it’s time to expand your reach and go after anything full-service.
By this, I mean pursuing both area residents and commercial accounts – and processing everything from clothes, towels, blankets, and sheets to duvets, tabletops, napkins, and quilts. Doing so will involve an investment of time, space, and technology, but the rewards can be lucrative and dramatically boost your laundry business’ resale value.
Here are some tips on how to maximize full-service work, generate more revenue, and elevate your store’s resale value:
Pickup and Delivery
First, establish a pickup-and-delivery service so that you can reach more residential and commercial customers and expand your geographic service area. This will require additional labor, a delivery vehicle, and a point-of-sale software program or website that enables online ordering and facilitates easy delivery management, tracking, reporting, and payment processing.
Next, develop your routes. Some laundries have stops from which they never vary, regardless of whether or not there is a pickup; others run on-demand routes only when customers request service. Both solutions work, but the on-demand option is more cost-effective since it conserves operating costs such as labor, gasoline, time, and so on. Start small with your pickup-and-delivery service, and expand little by little.
Pricing
How much should you charge for your service? There are several pricing options that work well, including per-pound, subscription and by-the-bag models.
A drawback of the traditional per-pound model is that customers often fail to grasp what they’re spending until after the delivery. Thus, some may tend to shy away from using your service.
Another way to price your service is through a subscription model, where customers are committed to specific dollar/bag/poundage amounts each week/month. Their credit cards are automatically charged for that set amount, whether or not any items are picked up and processed.
Additionally, some laundry businesses charge by the bag – with some operators even going as far as offering different sized laundry bags at varying price points, such as $25, $35 and $50 per bag, for example. Of course, some households will require multiple bags.
Equipment and Space
You’ve made the decision to go after business from households and small companies. To do this successfully and to properly process that laundry, a highly programmable commercial washer is critical. What’s more, a flatwork ironer is a must for ironing sheets and tabletops. If you don’t have enough space inside your laundromat for these machines, consider removing a few pieces of equipment or renting/buying another building or location.
Washers with Simple, Sophisticated Programmability
It’s hard to properly clean spa linens and food and beverage items using a public, vended washer because napkins and tabletops are notorious for stains and grease. Most vended washers don’t offer commercial programming, which allows for higher water temperature options, automatic chemical injection, delayed soaks, and breaks between baths. However, these features are a must for processing commercial account laundry.
The good news is that there are hybrid washers on the market that can do double-duty – switching from self-service, vended programming to a full-service, commercial interface with more sophisticated programming for employee use.
Of course, be sure to pair your washers with highly programmable, reversing dryers featuring moisture-sensing controls to prevent tangling and over-drying.
Flatwork Ironer with Folder
By adding a flatwork ironer to your equipment mix, you can process flatwork from spas, small hotels, restaurants, catering companies, and vacation rentals. This will open brand new doors of opportunity for your laundry business.
When selecting an ironer, choose one that irons sheets, duvets, and tabletops directly from the washer while still damp. It should dry, iron, and partially fold goods in one automated step. This will improve production, saves labor time, and help eliminate dryer bottlenecks.
Invest in a wax-less flatwork ironer that also boasts folding capability.
Get More Space
If you’re too tight on space inside your laundromat to efficiently process full-service work without getting in the way of your self-service customers, perhaps it’s time to get more space or to process your full-service work after hours. If a second space is the answer for you, look at available buildings next to or near your laundry. Get a local equipment distributor involved early on in this process to help you locate a site that’s suitable for your needs with applicable utility connections. Moreover, that distributor also will be able to assist you in selecting the right equipment for this full-service segment of your operation.
Reap the Rewards
Through your commitment to expansion and investment in equipment and technology, you’ll get your foot in the door with clients you couldn’t service previously, benefit from new revenue streams, and strengthen profits – all while growing the value of your laundry business.
