“The customer is always right.” – Marshall Field
When I cite the quote above about the customer always being right, you might be quick to caution “you haven’t been to my laundromat!”Well, I see this well-worn adage as aspirational, if not requiring some suspension of disbelief at times. At the same time, we’re well served to adopt this as the prevailing attitude of our teams if not as a direct piece of our mission statements.
It’s hard to talk about customer service without running the risk of clichés and “happy talk.” But, I do see a cold, calculated business purpose to highlighting customer service in the context of PlanetLaundry magazine’s excellent February cover story on increasing the value of your laundry business. In my view, there’s an often-overlooked connection between the two, and it’s a connection that I’m guilty of looking past when it comes to the laundry business. I’ll admit that I fell into the old school thinking that, because we are a “self-service”business, there’s not a vital role for customer service in laundromats.
My epiphany came slowly over a period of years. In my role as president and CEO of the Coin Laundry Association, I’ve had the privilege of traveling the country and attending hundreds of events. In the course of serving as guest speaker, these assignments often have included hosting panel discussions among successful laundry owners. In my preparation for these panels, I’ve always dutifully scribbled out topics and questions for the panelists covering vend price strategies to marketing best practices – and everything in between. Along the way, a pattern began to form. When straying from the script and asking the most successful laundry owners about their recipes for success, “customer service”became the predictable refrain from dozens of peers asked about what makes their businesses profitable.
Given the mounting empirical evidence, I had no choice but to view excellent customer service as a point of differentiation separating the most profitable laundries from the also-rans. The laundries that prioritized and practiced great customer service also held the most market value.
How, you ask?
They built customer loyalty and generated more sales. To offer the best wash day experience, they invested (and reinvested) in preventative maintenance and in an equipment mix that met their customers’ needs. These laundries built an attendant training regimen that extended far beyond working a single shift with the lead attendant. Attendants were paid better than the national averages and were empowered to settle complaints in favor of the customer.
Yet another characteristic was present that’s harder to quantify. The environment created by placing an emphasis on customer service and hiring the right people to embody that commitment resulted in a more positive vibe. It seemed as though those laundries felt a little less dreary and decidedly more upbeat. Instead of customers and attendants appearing as they both dreaded that time spent at the laundry, they looked to be tolerating the chore, if not outright enjoying themselves.
Think about the day-to-day experiences of our typical laundry customer – are they accustomed to great customer service and being catered to by the businesses they patronize every week? Or, can a friendly greeting and a helpful hand at the neighborhood laundromat really stand out as an experience in which they feel valued and appreciated?
Taking this lesson from our peers could make all the difference in your laundry eventually going to market as a top performer, rather than the typical commodity. I’ve learned that doing right by the customer is the right strategy for boosting morale within your laundry business – as well as upping its value in the eyes of future buyers.
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