LaundryCares Family Read, Play & Learn Centers Have Taken Colorado Owner’s Laundromats to the Next Level
People are creatures of habit – especially laundromat customers.
For most, their designated “laundry day” is unwavering and practically set in stone – which is why Mike Gregory was so shocked to discover that some customers were actually rearranging their schedules in order to be at his Denver store during the children’s story times he had organized with the local public library.
“I’ve had people come up and tell me that they’ve changed their wash days specifically to be here for those story times with the librarians,” said Gregory, who owns a 4,200-square-foot laundromat in Denver and another 6,500-square-foot store in Greeley, Colo. – both equipped with LaundryCares Family Read, Play & Learn Centers.
“Parents continually thank my employees for having quality books available for the kids and for having a dedicated space for learning and reading,” he added. “And their faces really light up when we let them know they can take a book home and keep it.”
Both of Gregory’s laundromats feature enclosed rooms that were built specifically as safe play areas for children who make the trip to the laundromat with their parents or guardians. And installing the LaundryCares literacy-rich spaces were an ideal fit.
“Installing the Family Read, Play & Learn Centers has helped the business in multiple ways,” Gregory noted. “It’s helped in keeping the kids busy – they’re in there reading, playing, using the magnet board and all of the other things included in the RPL kit. Meanwhile, the parents have a chance to breathe and do their laundry, or while their laundry is going through the wash and dry cycles, the parents are in there reading and playing with their kids.”
Gregory added that the literacy spaces have provided a hidden benefit to his business that he hadn’t initially considered.
“It also helps out my customers who don’t have children with them and who are looking to get their laundry done quickly without a lot of distractions,” he said. “Literacy is key for everyone, especially in underserved areas – and my RPL spaces have only helped my day-to-day operations. It’s been only good.”
Gregory isn’t certainly exactly how many children have benefitted from his designated reading rooms, but he’s confident that it’s impacting thousands of kids.
“At my Greeley store, we get thousands of children through there,” he explained. “I can have close to a thousand people in that laundromat on just a Sunday alone. It’s very busy, and there are always kids in there – always reading the books we provide.”
Although Gregory’s Denver location is newer, he pointed out that at least 500 families regularly frequent the store.
“It’s hard to pinpoint whether it’s the enclosed area that makes kids and families feel comfortable here, but there are always kids in there,” he said. “And you can definitely see parents reading with their children, which is awesome. The way I see it, any book in front of a kid is better than an iPhone or a tablet. Who knows? The book a child takes home from my store might be his or her only book.”
Gregory referred to his Family Read, Play & Learn Centers, along with all of the books he has on display, as completing “a trifecta” that has pushed the popularity of his laundries over the top.
“It’s hard to tell if people like my stores for the books, for the RPL spaces, or just because they’re very clean, very nice laundromats,” he pointed out. “In our online reviews, some customers will talk about the kids’ reading room, some will talk about the cleanliness of the store, and some will talk about the great employees.
“I think having a space where kids are able to read books and then also take them home bumps it up to a different level than most laundries. After all, there are a lot of clean laundries with good employees – but they don’t have what we have. It’s just a little different and a little better. It’s the total package.”
Gregory praised the book subscription service and the informational posters that come with the LaundryCares RPL package.
“Receiving a new set of high-quality children’s books from Scholastic each month is very cool, and the customers really enjoy that,” he said. “Also, I think the posters we got with RPL kits that give parents suggestions about what types of learning activities they can do with their kids in the laundromat is great – such counting the number of machines and so on. It turns on the switch in the parents’ heads to get more involved with their kids… reading with them, talking with them, helping them learn. The posters prompt the parents, and that makes it all work.”
Gregory said he’d never build a laundromat without a reading and learning room that featured an RPL Center.
“I understand that some stores are smaller than mine,” he admitted. “But, even if you have a small seating area, you still can install a bookshelf. There’s no downside to it. It’s only going to benefit you and the families you serve. It’s only going to bring in more customers and keep those customers coming back. There truly is no downside.”
[For more information about the LaundryCares Foundation, its programs for store owners and how to get involved, contact Dan Naumann at: [email protected]; or visit the organization’s website at: www.laundrycares.org.]
