CHICAGO — 2024 is but a few days away, and this time offers a natural opportunity to reflect on 2023 and the top 10 stories (based on page views) posted here on AmericanCoinOp.com during the year.
(In instances where the Top 10 story was part of a larger series, we have provided additional links so you can easily read the entire article.)
Here is our Top 10 list for 2023, starting with No. 10:
10. Making the Unattended Laundromat Business Model Work for You, Part 1 – Conclusion
During a Coin Laundry Association webinar, a trio of self-service laundry operators described in some detail why the unattended store model best fits their business plan and lifestyle.
In “The Unattended Laundromat: Making That Business Model Work in 2023,” Kevin Beggs (no relation to the author) of Massachusetts, Casey Wright of Minnesota and Brian Brunckhorst of Texas spoke about their operations and answered questions from the online audience.
9. Tide Laundromat Opens Third Chicago Location
The company celebrated the grand opening of its third Chicagoland store in the North Riverside neighborhood in mid-October. Tide Laundromat offers an array of amenities to enhance the customer experience, including free parking, Wi-Fi and air conditioning.
8. Alliance Laundry Reorganizes North America Sales Team
In March, the manufacturer of Huebsch and Speed Queen commercial laundry equipment reorganized its North America sales team to streamline operations and better serve its customers.
The team was divided into three regions—Northeast, Central, and West Coast (including Latin America)—and general managers Eric Meyers (Northeast), Ross Van Horne (Central) and Eduardo Fernandes (West Coast) were selected to head their respective regions. Additionally, Susan Peppler was promoted to director of commercial key accounts.
7. Laundry Vend Pricing to Produce Peak Performance, Part 1 – Part 2 – Conclusion
Correctly pricing your laundromat’s washers and dryers can have big implications for your success, writes Paul Russo in April’s Pointers from Paulie B column. Price them too low and you’ll have lower margins with too much volume. Price them too high and you may not get enough volume to support your mat. Russo, a retired multi-store owner with 40-plus years of experience, suggests some pricing pointers.
6. Using an Attendant Training Regimen that Sticks, Part 1 – Part 2 – Conclusion
Russo’s back at it again, this time describing how he’d recommend training attendants in a column from February. Starting with a clear job description that details the skills, duties and responsibilities of the position, Russo would go over safety issues. He personally led the first hour of training for his new hires, because, as he writes, “You want every employee to know your store inside and out.”
He favors repetition and new hires shadowing experienced workers. Russo says he posted his written rules for all to see, rather than trying to only present them verbally. And he gathered all of his training memos into an employee manual that all new hires had to review at least once.
Check back in Thursday when we reveal our top five articles of 2023!
Have a question or comment? E-mail our editor Bruce Beggs at [email protected].
