Store Owners Share Their Philosophies for Keeping Laundry Equipment in Service and Operating Smoothly
[This is the first part in a series on equipment repairs and maintenance.]
As a laundry owner, your customers pay your bills. And, more than anything else, it’s your wide array of efficient, reliable, smooth-running washers and dryers that attract those customers to your business in the first place.
Therefore, it’s clearly in your best interest to keep that equipment in service and making money for you. But machines break down – that’s just a fact of life. When they do, what’s your next move?
Do you immediately roll up your sleeves and fix the problem on the spot? Or do you call in a professional technician? And where do you draw the line between DIY-ing it and letting the experts take over?
We recently asked a number of self-service laundry owners to share their personal strategies for keeping the number of “out of order” signs in their stores to a minimum:
Dave Menz
Queen City Coin Laundry
Amelia, Ohio
The self-service laundry business’s margins seem to be getting tighter every year. For that reason, it’s important to manage small repairs yourself, as a means of keeping your costs down.
Personally, I handle the small, primarily mechanical issues myself – coin jams, damaged doors, etc. I rely heavily on my owner’s manuals, as well as my distributor. We have a close relationship, so he’ll stay on the phone with me all night if I need him to. In my opinion, that type of support is priceless.
I realize I may be in the minority, but I am more of a businessperson than a technician. In other words, I can make better use of my time than by spending hours upon hours doing repairs. When it comes to repairs and maintenance, if it takes me more than 15 to 20 minutes, I leave it for the professionals. I’m aware that this tightens my margins somewhat, but I got into business because I love owning and managing my business as a whole. I enjoy marketing, managing, planning and executing my master plan. Most operators I know spend hours fixing machines, yet only minutes actually managing and growing their businesses.
Time spent per week servicing and maintaining the store and its equipment: We have four locations, and I’d say I average about five hours per week per store for everything I do, including collecting, interviews, changing HVAC filters, etc. Of course, I spend a lot more time outside my store handling marketing and many other management issues.
Brad Seder
Wash World
Santa Rosa, Calif.
Laundry owners must be able to do simple repairs to keep their stores as close to 100 percent operational as possible. It’s important to not have a lot of “out of service” tags on your equipment. A tagged machine just makes the customer look for problems with the other machines.
I do nearly all repairs in-house. The only things I send out are electronic board repairs and electric motor repairs – and, even then, I remove the part and install it again after the repairs.
You can be successful in this business without being handy, as long as you hire someone who is. Also, I never hesitate to call a manufacturer’s tech help line, and I only buy equipment from manufacturers who offer free support.
Time spent per week servicing and maintaining the store and its equipment: I spend three to four hours weekly at each store doing repairs.
The tools Brad couldn’t live without:
• A good multi-meter – you will rely on this tool, so buy a decent one.
• Compressed air – I use it to clean everything. I usually carry the part to the back room and clean it out there, so I’m not blowing dust around near my customers. However, my compressor is small enough to carry to a specific machine, if needed.
• Line clamps large enough to pinch closed your drain hoses. This way I can clear a clogged drain valve without dumping water on the floor.
• A cordless driver with a clutch. Again, you will use this a lot so buy a good one. Get one with an adjustable clutch to avoid over-tightening screws.
Martin Mullican
Owasso Express Laundry Center
Owasso, Okla.
Laundry owners need to develop a feel for how their equipment is aging and where trouble spots are likely to advance. It also helps to have a sense of where to draw the line between what you can do and what needs to wait for a service tech.
To be successful, you don’t necessarily need to be handy, but you do need to have a “handy mind” – the ability to verbally describe what the problem is. As for technical advice on equipment maintenance and troubleshooting, I look to my distributor first and foremost; you must have a good relationship there. Also, consult the CLA Connect Open Forum at coinlaundry.org and YouTube; it’s amazing what you can see and learn on YouTube.
When it comes to repairs and maintenance, time is the deciding factor, whether I’m doing it myself or calling in a technician. If it’s going to take more than four hours, I call in a service pro. Also, if it’s a complex task that I’ve never done before, I will watch a tech do it, take notes and learn. Lastly, I don’t mess with electrical problems.
Time spent per week servicing and maintaining the store and its equipment: One to two hours.
The tools Martin couldn’t live without:
• WD-40
• It may seem odd, but my phone’s camera – to take pictures of a problem to send to my distributor for advice.
• Perhaps the most essential “tool” is a good relationship with my distributor for experienced advice.
Brian Brunckhorst
Advantage Laundry
Dublin, Calif.
Equipment repairs are an important part of the laundry business and should not be neglected. It’s very hard to make money if your machines don’t work. Although it’s generally not a problem if you have a machine or two out of order for a short period of time while waiting for repair, having broken equipment in your store for a prolonged period of time gives your customers the impression that you’re neglecting your business.
One way to reduce the length of time equipment is out of service is to repair simple problems yourself. My rule of thumb is to fix machines on the spot, if it can be done in five minutes of less. Typical repairs that I do myself are clearing coin jams and lint from coin drops, clearing bra wires from drain valves, cleaning lint out of dryer coin box keyholes, and removing screws from dryer baskets. All other repairs that can be completed within one hour, I have an independent maintenance repairman assess and fix. For larger jobs requiring more than an hour, I have my local distributer’s repairman fix the machines; they typically have more experience in fixing major problems like bearing replacements.
Timing and repair cost savings are the two major reasons why I handle the easier repairs in-house. Although my time is valuable to me, it doesn’t make much sense to spend $100 or more and wait for a week to fix something that I can do myself in less than five minutes.
Of course, people can be successful in this business without doing any of the repairs themselves. They would just need to have someone available on short notice that is handy – and at a reasonable price. This is something we’ve begun doing in our business. We now have a facilities manager who visits each of our stores at least once a week and fixes things.
The typical repairs he tackles include replacing lights, touching up paint, fixing carts, snaking out clogged drains and clearing drain valves, spraying for bugs, re-keying doors, cleaning debris from the parking lot, and so on. He sets his own schedule and uses his own tools, but is available on a moment’s notice if I have an emergency. Then he bills me twice a month.
Depending on the store, we spend, on average, between $50 to $200 per week servicing and maintaining each of our stores. While that might sound a lot for some owners, for the amount of time I save, it is well worth it to me.
The tools Brian couldn’t live without:
• Cordless drill
• Socket set
• Lock pick set
• Shop vacuum
• Hammer drill.
The first two are what I use most and they make the jobs easy. The lock pick set is for cleaning lint out of dryer coin box keyholes. The shop vac is for water-leak problems. And the hammer drill is just because it’s awesome – I’ve always wanted one, and it makes drilling holes in concrete as easy as butter.
Laura Cucco
Family Laundry Solutions
Antioch, Ill.
Handling basic equipment repairs keeps laundry owners engaged in their stores, the industry and their businesses in general. It keeps them closer to their customers – in helping them understand their wants, needs and frustrations with the machines. It’s also less costly, which in turn provides a better return on investment.
The repair issues we always handle in-house include belt replacement, thermistors, valves, hoses and deep cleaning of the machines. These are easy fixes that, once you learn, you can perform on almost any machine. If you’re not handy, it will be costly to pay someone to come to do these types of minor fixes. In this industry, every quarter counts.
There a several resources available from which to learn. I consult with my distributor; I read through every issue of PlanetLaundry magazine; I’m a member of Illinois Coin Laundry Association; and I consult with other laundry owners regularly.
As a result, I can handle most of the small repairs that come my way. With that said, I will seek outside help when it comes to anything dealing with electric, my water heater or my HVAC system.
Time spent per week servicing and maintaining the store and its equipment: Four to six hours a week
The tools Laura couldn’t live without:
• Power drill
• Socket set
• Screwdrivers
• Allen wrench
• Flashlight
John Henderson
Liberty Laundry
Broken Arrow, Okla.
Time, money and customer satisfaction are the best reasons to keep as many repairs in-house as possible. If you can clean a drain valve in 15 minutes instead of the two days it might take to get a technician on site, you are not only making more money, you are serving your customers better, and customer satisfaction drives profit. You also save the money you would have paid the technician for the repair.
The repair issues we always handle in-house are stuck drain valves, repairing or replacing fill valves, washer door lock issues, having no heat in a dryer and broken belts. These are simple issues that will completely put a machine out of service, so it makes sense to repair them in-house as quickly as possible. Equipment maintenance is customer service when your business relies on vended equipment.
I would say that it would be impossible to run a great laundromat without being somewhat handy. Even if you have deep pockets and can afford a technician to handle all repairs, you still need to know enough to define the problem.
But is having a good or great laundromat the same thing as being successful? I see plenty of rundown laundromats that seem to stay in business with a lot of machines flagged out of order. Do those owners consider themselves successful? What if they have 10 of those stores and gross close to a million dollars a year? I see that model a lot, and it seems to work. I know several of those owners and, while I respect their business savvy and ability to make money, that business model does little to enhance the public image of laundromats.
Whether or not you’re handy, it pays to have a good relationship with a service technician, even if you don’t call him for every little repair, because sometimes you can just call for advice. When I need to hire a technician to solve a problem, I try to learn from him so that I can do it myself the next time. It’s like paying for a tutorial. Fortunately, I have a great relationship with my distributor, and the service guys don’t mind me asking what they are doing.
My operations manager and assistant operations manager attended a service technician school offered by our equipment manufacturer, and we also attend our distributor’s annual trade shows, which include seminars on equipment repair and maintenance.
After 11 years in business, the only times we call a repairman are for a washer bearing job or if we can’t figure out how to fix something. Bearing jobs are a beast. They are expensive, but not too common, so we bite the bullet and call for help.
Time spent per week servicing and maintaining the store and its equipment: I must admit that most of the repairs nowadays are done by my sons, Brian and Sean, who oversee operations for our small chain. The older the store, the more the repairs, but typically they spend one to two hours per week per store on repairs. Right now they are in the middle of deep cleaning the dryers at one of our stores, which is a project that will take about 15 to 20 hours spread out over several days.
The tools John couldn’t live without:
• Nut drivers, especially 5/16 of an inch. For some reason, manufacturers love this size for screws and hose clamps.
• A cordless drill. This saves a lot of time removing panels from the front of washers and dryers, especially when you are removing several at a time.
• A wrench set
• Needle-nose pliers
• Multi-meter for troubleshooting dryer issues.
Rick Johnson
Northside Laundry
Springdale, Arkansas
I don’t like to see “out of order” signs on my machines for very long. If it’s a quick fix, then I can get my machine back up and running – it’s a quick turnaround. Besides, what customer likes walking into a laundry and seeing a bunch of “out of order” signs?
Before I went into the laundry business, I was an auto technician for more than 25 years, so it was a matter of transferring what I knew from cars over to washers and dryers. There are a lot of similarities.
However, I’ve quit doing my own bearing jobs, because I now have four laundries; as soon as I get a machine all torn apart, I’ll inevitably be called away for some emergency at another store. Therefore, these days, for any job over a couple of hours, I will try to farm it out.
I think if you have a good service tech and you could afford it, you can still be a successful owner without being hands-on with regard to repairs. There’s a lot more to running a laundry than just fixing machines. My strong suit is being able to repair my own stuff and save a lot of money on repair bills. However, other owners may be short on repair skills but long on marketing ability or wash-dry-fold or something else that will make up for the difference.
If I get stuck on a particular repair, I don’t mind calling the distributor’s or the manufacturer’s tech support lines – typically, between them both, you can get the problem figured out. And I’ve even had good luck Googling certain equipment issues; you can find just about anything you want to know there.
The deciding factor for me is how long the job will take. If I think I can knock it out in a few hours, I’ll do it. If not, I’ll hire it out. My advice to other owners is to stop where their skill level ends. If you watch a service tech do a job and you feel you can do it, go for it. If you screw it up, you can always call for help.
Time spent per week servicing and maintaining the store and its equipment: With four stores – which add up to nearly 200 machines, plus water heaters, air conditioners, toilets, etc. – I would say I average 20 to 30 hours a week. But it varies. Sometimes I might get a whole week off. Then other times, somebody just pulls the plug and they all seem to go down the drain.
The tools Rick couldn’t live without:
• A seven-in-one screwdriver. Almost everything on the machines I work on requires a flat blade, a Phillips, a ¼-inch hex or a 5/16-inch hex – all of which are in this screwdriver.
• Needle-nose and regular pliers
• A digital volt ohm meter for testing
• A Torx bit driver set; it seems like a lot of manufacturers are switching to them.
• An adjustable wrench
• My handy pocket screwdriver, which is good for just about anything
Duane King
LMARIES Laundromat
Bowling Green, Ohio
Laundry owners need to be able to handle some of the simpler, more basic equipment repairs in-house for two main reasons – reduced expense and reduced machine down time. Many owners will wait for several machines to be out of order before calling a technician. In the meantime, customers are inconvenienced. Customers really get upset during busy times when the only machines not in use are the broken-down ones.
Although an operator can be successful without being handy, being able to do your own repairs will give you a better return on your investment by saving money on repairs and keeping customers happy with fully working equipment.
Distributors’ service schools are a good resource for learning about the equipment you have. Service manuals and schematics also are helpful. And, given time, most owners learn the common equipment issues and can soon diagnose issues.
Time spent per week servicing and maintaining the store and its equipment: On average, I spend about one to two hours on repairs a week. About one week a year, we do preventative maintenance and may spend 25 to 35 hours on cleaning dryer ducts, drain lines, behind bulkheads and so on.
The tools Duane couldn’t live without:
• An infrared thermometer
• A cordless impact gun
• An electric multi-meter
• A gear puller
At my store, repairs are always done in-house – always. I do most of the diagnostics; my daughter can do a bearing job in less than an hour; and my wife is pretty good with a body hammer and anvil, when it comes to removing dents in the dryer drums.
One day, we might need to bring in a technician, but we haven’t needed to do so in the last 14 years.
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