AMERICAN FORK, Utah — A number of vended laundry projects are completed around the country each year, resulting in brand-new or rejuvenated stores primed and ready to serve customers.
As a way to celebrate the hard work that goes into designing, building and equipping a modern self-service laundry, American Coin-Op created this Portraits of Success feature to recognize memorable projects of recent vintage.
And so equipment manufacturers were invited to tout their brand’s latest and greatest vended laundry projects, like this one:
The COVID-19 pandemic forced businesses, as well as individuals, to do plenty of adjusting, course correcting, and some flat-out reinventing. Steven Chadwick is pretty happy that the Oasis team decided to adapt its original idea for a strictly commercial laundry to support another need, a dual-purpose laundromat.
While Oasis Laundromat in American Fork may be used for commercial work in the evenings, customers are treated to a daytime experience that beats anything they’ve seen, according to Chadwick, one of its owners. Convenience reigns supreme in the 3,000-square-foot facility that opened in May 2021.
“Our goal was to create a laundry space that we didn’t see [in the area],” he says. “To build a space that felt like home.”
Since it opened, customers have been flocking to the laundry, located between Salt Lake City and Provo along the Wasatch Range, for a differentiated experience featuring Huebsch Galaxy Touch controls. The laundry offers 23 40-pound washer-extractors, nine 60s, and, for those big loads, six 80-pounders. The dry side features 45-pound stacks and five 75-pounders.
Rhino Laundry and Dry Cleaning Specialists of Salt Lake City took the lead on a significant portion of the install work and has been instrumental in after-sale support with the Huebsch technology.
While some laundromats like to tout convenience, Oasis takes it to the next level. Customers can leave those heavy, awkward laundry chemical jugs at home. Tapping the flexibility of the machines and controls, the team decided to offer customers the option of automatic detergent and softener. Roughly 25% of customers select the cycle modifier.
The laundry also offers drycleaning drop-off, wash-dry-fold (WDF) service, Wi-Fi, fountain drinks, vending, massage chairs, and charging stations. Chadwick and the entire Oasis team have been exceptionally pleased with the growth of the commercial account business, which includes nursing homes and Airbnbs.
Staff is obviously central to processing WDF loads, and Chadwick says the team has been committed to keeping the store fully staffed to provide excellent customer care from the moment they walk through the door.
“It’s a night and day difference,” he says of the retool of the former run-down laundry and the focus on customer service. “They’ve never seen a laundromat like ours.”
Customers are embracing the convenience of the Huebsch App and the app-based payment, with adoption estimated to be 70-90%.
So, what’s next? Expansion, or course. The Oasis team is looking forward to adding multiple locations over the next 10 years.
Watch for more Portraits of Success articles coming later this month!
Have a question or comment? E-mail our editor Bruce Beggs at [email protected].
