Teamwork

Store Owners Share Their Tactics for Creating a Motivated, Effective Staff of Laundry Attendants

It’s easy for the uninitiated to underestimate the job that laundromat attendants perform. However, their duties couldn’t be more significant. After all, if a customer has a bad experience with one of your business’ employees, he or she has had a bad experience with your entire business.

Given that, we’ve reached out to a number of laundry owners and asked them to briefly outline their team management practices and to provide us with some of the tips and strategies they’ve incorporated into their own businesses, which help to keep their staffers efficient, effective and on task – and, in turn, their operations successful.

Here’s what they told us:

Yvette Morton Williams
Wash & Spin Coin Laundry
Atlanta

This labor market has been like none I’ve seen in my 13 years in this industry. We have used this time to refine our procedures. Our team consists primarily of part-time attendants. In the past, this has permitted us to have maximum flexibility with scheduling. We now have more team members working close to 40 hours per week than before.

We continue to let our team know how much we appreciate them. We are fortunate to have low turnover and a team that works well together and independently. Our team members enjoy participating in our community events and even represent the company at outside events.

We recently began adding video check-ins as part of our daily routines. Each attendant records a brief walk-through at the start of his or her shift to document the condition of the laundromat as left by the previous attendant. This is designed as positive reinforcement of great cleaning routines.

We have weekly management meetings that keep everyone on task. We also take advantage of group communication systems for management, as well as for the broader team. We stay on task during our team meetings and at our management meetings, showing our team members that we respect their time.

We encourage team members to use their PTO throughout the year. This is accumulated based on the number of hours worked. It’s important for our team to be able to spend time doing things that are important to them outside of work. We all need time to refresh and recharge. It makes us a better organization.

Travis Unema
Brio Laundry
Bellingham, Wash.

At Brio Laundry, we believe that building a strong, motivated team of laundry attendants requires a clear and defined compensation system. We offer base pay, plus an increase in pay upon the completion of our training program. We also provide shared commissions on loyalty cards and soap products, as well as sharing any gratuity received from our drop-off laundry service.

Each payroll period, I break down exactly how much was earned per hour in commissions and gratuity; it’s typically an extra $3 to $4 per hour per employee.

In addition, I would suggest helping your employees understand their taxes. In general, an explanation of what they – and you – are paying for will help with their overall understanding of your payroll situation, and it will create more of a feeling of worth within your staff.

No doubt, training is a key. All of our attendants go through our business’ own Laundry University, which is an online tool that teaches them how to produce drop-off laundry in a retail environment. This cuts the amount of in-person training time in half. It also gives new hires a head start, as they feel less overwhelmed during on-site training when they also can learn a lot of from the comfort of their own homes. Giving them an easy tool to earn a pay raises more quickly, decrease training time, and improve job satisfaction by understanding the position and performing their work at a high level.

In addition, be sure to know the minimum and maximum number of hours your attendants can or need to work. Everyone has bills, so knowing that they’re able to work enough hours to meet their financial needs is critical. If you don’t have enough hours for them to work so that they can pay their bills, it’s clearly not going to work out.

On the flip side, some employees only can work 20 hours a week, so expecting them to work 40 hours would be double their expectation. So, setting a clear, defined work schedule is important.

At Brio, we also offer on-demand pay to employees. They can finish a shift and then cash out that evening. This option has proven to be quite attractive to prospective hires during the interview process, but in practice it’s rarely used. Nonetheless, it’s seen as a nice backup option.

Lastly, don’t neglect the opportunity to praise your team. Every month we hold a staff meeting with all of our team members. We hand out gift cards to those who performed well, and we recognize them for direct and measurable achievements – such as how many pounds of laundry they washed, taking great care of a customer, being mentioned in a positive review, taking action during an in-store medical emergency, and so on. Our philosophy is to reward publicly and criticize privately. Most people want to be proud of where they work and who they work for.

Patrick Dreis
Empire Laundry
Corona, Calif.

My advice on this is pretty simple: find good people, and pay them well.

I know this is easier said than done. I’ve recruited friends and family, and I’ve posted signage in our laundromats indicating that we were hiring. And I’ve also been lucky in attracting quality employees.

It’s not Earth-shattering advice, but I try not to overthink the process. After all, it’s not Boeing – it’s a laundromat.

Ross Dodds
Luxe Laundries
Los Angeles

For us, labor challenges have continued in 2023. I would say that most of our laundry positions are geared toward more of an entry-level type of employee; however, we try to capture individuals who are interested in a job for more than just three months – those who may be interested in our business’ growth and, in turn, the growth trajectory their positions can experience.

Our operations manager, Fernando Coburn Cardenas, has been instrumental in implementing programs to incentivize the team. Of course, some of the programs are trial and error. But, if our team is happy and productive, so are our customers. Given that, there isn’t very much in the way of bonuses and incentives that we’re not willing to try – as long as it makes sense for the company as a whole and the team shows an interest in it.

For instance, we’ve begun offering paid vacation after one year of service, as well as cell phone allowances for our supervisors and those in higher positions. We also provide a snack and light meal pantries at our locations, along with gift card bonuses for those who agree to cover someone else’s shift when needed. Additionally, we give out gift card bonuses for positive reviews that specifically list an employee’s name, as well as for birthdays and work anniversaries.

Ed Ellis
1 Clean Laundry
St. Cloud, Fla.

For team building and management, I believe the first step is hiring quality people with a clean background. We even take this one step further and, under no circumstances, will we hire smokers. I drive past many laundromats only to see their attendants outside smoking cigarettes. It’s not the image I want for my business.

That being said, the next step is training. We conduct five days of paid, on-the-job training. This gives the new hire a solid foundation to build upon. During this time, the new job candidate meets and works with the other team members to learn our culture and ways of doing things, especially with regard to wash-dry-fold laundry. After all, to run a successful WDF service, the product must be consistent – and everyone on the team must wash, dry, fold, and package garments the same way every time.

In addition, we’re sure to give our attendants the tools they need to be successful – be it cleaning equipment, supplies, folding boards, and so on. And we have an open-door policy, if any staff members have suggestions for how to make our processes better, easier or more efficient.

I define my role within the operation as one of a coach. I’m not the owner, the boss or the manager. I do my best to “coach the team” to be the best it can be. Building a cohesive team can be challenging in these times.

Our team consists of Baby Boomers – along with members of Generations X, Y and Z – and they all view the world differently. The key is having a vision for your business and communicating it effectively across each team member’s individual point of view. This also includes any squabbles that might pop up, and getting those employees involved to see where the other one is coming from, which helps to smooth out the differences in personalities.

Of course, if you discover you have an individual who simply cannot integrate into the rest of the team, that person must be let go so as not to degrade the overall product.

Last but not least is salary. Pay your team well. I don’t want a “minimum-wage mentality,” so I pay for an A-team.

All in all, hire good people, train them well, listen to them, and give them the tools they need to do a great job – and you will not be disappointed.

Waleed Cope
The Soap Box
Brooklyn, N.Y.

Here are a few of the ways we’ve built and maintained a motivated and high-quality team at The Soap Box:

• Hire the right people: When hiring, look for people who are reliable, trustworthy, and have a good work ethic. Make sure to conduct thorough background checks and reference checks before hiring any employee. Being that we are a small team, I also look at people’s personalities. Would we enjoy working with them and going out to dinner as a team with them?
• Train the team well: Provide training on equipment operation, client service, and safety protocols. Set up methods to measure their performance and share it with them so that they know where they stand performance-wise.
• Provide clear expectations: Providing clearly written job descriptions and outlining specific expectations can help to ensure that everyone is on the same page.
• Encourage teamwork: Encourage employees to work together and support one another to help boost productivity and morale. At times, we will create assignments for team members to work on together. For example, perhaps have different team members go out on deliveries with coworkers who they normally wouldn’t be working with.
• Take their pulse: Solicit employee feedback on how their day and week went. We utilize the feature in our payroll software that sends a survey to our team members on a regular basis to gauge their happiness.
• Provide a safe, comfortable work environment: Our team spends a lot of time at work, so it’s important to provide a safe and comfortable working environment. We look for tools and equipment that will add some comfort and ease during their work routine. Also, encourage regular breaks to prevent burnout and fatigue.
• Communicate regularly: Regular communication with the team is key. There are some days I’ll speak with team members two or three times a day. We also have a team Slack channel that we all use to share information to keep each other updated.
• Have fun: All of our team members know there is a professional line that we don’t cross at work. But we have fun when working and can come pretty close to crossing the line at times – which creates a level of comfort at our store.
• Give thanks: I thank team members for doing tasks they didn’t have to do, as well as for the things they’re supposed to do as part of their job descriptions.
• Open ear: I listen to all of the ideas and suggestions my employees give me about the business and our clients. We have discussions on why certain ideas might or might not work, and we decide together what our next steps should be.
• Stay competitive with compensation: Offer competitive compensation to attract and retain quality team members. Check local ads to make sure the salary you’re offering is in line with or above the local market.
• Hacks: I’m always looking and listening to the team to find ways to do things faster and easier. These hacks end up reducing some of the stress the team may have about getting work done.
• A.R.K: “Acts of Random Kindness” go a long way. When I go to the laundromat, I always ask my team members if they would like anything. I will spontaneously order lunch for the team or say “yes” to something to which they probably thought I’d say “no.”

James Radovic
Jupiter Laundry
Jupiter, Fla.

Team-building is an important part of our business. As such, we have at least two “all hands” team lunch/dinner meetings a year. We discuss the health of the business and everyone’s contributions to the current status.

It’s important for our employees to understand the financial aspect of the business, in order to let them know that what we’re doing makes sense for them from a job stability point of view. During these meetings, we discuss any planned changes to the operation, and why we’re making those changes. We also solicit their input on how we can make their work lives more satisfying and productive.

In addition, management meets with each employee individually over the course of the year to emphasize each individual’s importance to our operation, as well as how they each impact others with their work. This is the time where we really try to understand what the employee thinks can be done to make his or her job more efficient and pleasant.

Of course, once you solicit your team’s input, you need to be ready to address it directly. Your employees need to see first-hand that you (1) heard them, and (2) either took action on their suggestions or clearly explained the reasons you couldn’t.

Once employees realize they can directly affect their own jobs, they will be more prone to try to help improve the overall laundry operation.

Paul Hansen
Hanco Enterprises
Chicago

I’ve found that having strong communications between management and employees is crucial to success. For smaller single-store operations, this can be fairly easy, since the owner or manager typically has close contact with the employees on a daily or almost-daily basis.

However, for larger multi-store operations, this type of communication can be challenging. Fortunately, technology provides many ways to accomplish this – from simple texting to apps such as Slack and Connecteam.

The second key is to develop clear expectations for your staff. Creating checklists and operations manuals will go a long way toward achieving this goal. Lately, I’ve discovered that using AI technology can make creating these types of materials quite easy.

Lastly, it’s important to treat your staff with respect. I’ve seen too many laundry owners who, at times, show outright hostility toward their employees. Operators can’t expect team members to just intuitively know what’s required of them. You attendants need – and deserve – clear instructions with regard to what’s expected of them and why.

Tom Cuthbert
Suds R Us
Clanton, Ala.

The first main factor is hiring the right type of person – someone who can work independently, without micromanagement.

My operation consists of 12 relatively small stores scattered over five counties. Most of my laundromats have only one attendant, with the larger stores having two staffers.

We strive to get our employees to take ownership of their locations. I try to impress upon them that “the success of your store is your responsibility, with our help.” Therefore, we keep our attendants informed of any increases or decreases in sales, and we listen to their input as far as what we can do to help make the stores more successful.

We also encourage our attendants to talk with each other, because we don’t want them to feel like they’re all alone. Laundry attendants have a unique position, and by networking, they hopefully can share ideas and best practices, while learning from each other.

Brian Riseland
Laundry Genius
Everett, Wash.

We focus on three factors to help us hire and retain great people…

The first one is compensation. We pay an above-average hourly wage, and we’ve created a monthly incentive program, which rewards employee behavior and actions aligned with providing a great customer experience.

We also try to provide a great employee experience. It may be somewhat surprising, but simply treating our team with a basic amount of respect is still significantly better than most of their past employers. Of course, we also pay our staff on a weekly basis and provide a fairly predictable schedule, which are appreciated.

Moreover, we enable team members to provide great customer service. When customers are happy, the team is happy, and vice versa. We empower our employees to take action to solve customer problems, rather than constantly seeking manager approval. Also, we ensure that we will always have a sufficient number of staff members – if not a few too many – during busy times so that no one becomes overwhelmed, and so that our team has time to spend with customers and to keep the store spotless and safe.

Bryan Donegan
Laundry 24
Evans Mills, N.Y.

The best piece of advice I have for working with and motivating my team is to care for them – truly and absolutely care for them, love them as if they’re a part of your family.

After all, I consider my establishment an extension of myself and even an extension of my family name. I’m a firm believer that caring for things includes investing your time, energy, and money in them – with “money” meaning beyond the standard pay for your employees.

Take good care of your employees on every level, and they’ll take care of you. Care about their lives and their well-being outside of the business. Care about their happiness, morale, welfare, triumphs, failures, concerns, and dreams. Care about all of their lives’ details – big and small – and I assure you that your team will perform.

Tyesha Offiong
A&Q Laundry Room
Green Brook, N.J.

First of all, from a laundry operations perspective, leveraging technology to streamline administrative and attendant paperwork has been the most significant driver that helped me accelerate my business.

I’ve added a point-of-sale system to automate some of my wash-dry-fold activities. No more taping tickets to the washers and dryers, or writing machine numbers down on scrap paper. When orders are completed, we print labels with our customers’ information, which makes it easier for the entire team to understand the order. This includes whether an order is paid or needs to be paid. Plus, it takes the guesswork out of trying to understand someone’s handwriting to learn the status of an order.

Automating my wash-dry-fold service also gave me the capability to see which team members were performing their best and which had opportunities for improvement.

For my customers, I’ve upgraded the payment technology on our washers and dryers to accept “tap-to-pay” and other contactless methods to enhance the experience for our credit card and mobile pay users. This creates the added benefit of cutting the time and effort spent cycling coins by nearly 50 percent.

With regard to my staff, the team-building and management practices I utilize today have evolved over the years as I’ve owned my laundromat. Keeping the team efficient really boils down to three things for me: hiring the right people, setting proper expectations, and providing feedback.

Hiring the right person to join your team is extremely important. There are different personalities of each employee, and choosing someone that can fit in and add value can be challenging. Even in a tight labor market, we have to be careful who we bring on board to our teams. Bad hires are costly not only to our customer satisfaction, but also to the team culture that you’re trying to build. So, I spend a significant amount of time making sure that I bring on the right people to my team. However, after finding that needle in the haystack, the next steps are providing proper training of how you expect your laundry operations to work. They are the front line of your business, so providing them with all the tools needed is necessary to be successful.

Setting expectations by showing your employees that you are a team player sets the culture of a positive environment. I will help cover shifts if needed or pitch in when large orders come in. It shows that I’m not asking them to do anything I’m not willing to do myself. Also, we have an open-door policy for employees to be able to communicate concerns, issues, or suggestions on how we can improve our customer experience.

Providing feedback to team members collectively in staff meetings or individually lets them know if expectations are being met or where there are areas for improvement. Also, when giving feedback, always remember to show gratitude to your team. Sometimes it’s the little things that matter, like remembering birthdays or events important to them, acknowledging above and beyond tasks, saying thank you, and resolving internal conflicts quickly. Ultimately, the goal is to build an environment where employees are empowered, valued, and appreciated. Happy employees equal happy customers – and that goes hand in hand with good business.