CHICAGO — Roughly 73% of coin laundry owners and operators believe their customers would rate the overall quality of their store and services as “above average,” according to results of this month’s American Coin-Op Your Views survey.
Equal shares of 13.6% believe they would get an “excellent” or “average” rating, while no respondents believe their customers would rate their store/services as “below average” or “poor.”
Respondents were asked if they would consider doing their own laundry at their store. Not surprisingly, the response from 100% of respondents was “yes.”
Close to 14% of respondents say customers first compliment them about the size of their store, while an equal share compliments them about the “number of machines.” Equal shares of 4.6% say customers compliment them about the “quality of equipment,” their store’s ancillary services or their “proximity/location.”
But the majority of respondents (59.1%) say customers compliment them about “other” aspects of their laundry, with many saying customers enjoy the cleanliness of their store.
Roughly 45% of respondents believe their customers find their attendants “helpful,” while 13.6% believe customers would rate their attendants as “average.”
While no one believed customers would rate their attendants as “unhelpful,” a small percentage (4.6%) believe customers might find their attendants to be “extremely unhelpful.”
Close to 40% of respondents say their stores are unattended.
In terms of collecting customer feedback, many operators say they “talk to customers at the store” (95.5%), in concert with other methods, like “[posting their] phone number and [inviting] calls” (31.8%), “[checking] their store’s social media accounts” (13.6%), or “[having] a suggestion box” (9.1%).
Close to 5% say they use “other” methods to collect customer feedback.
One operator says he/she often receives comments regarding his/her store’s “comfort, hours and the ancillary services offered.”
Another operator says he/she frequently gets comments on the “size and cleanliness” of his/her store.
“[I] thank [customers] with free washes,” says one operator on how he/she handles customer feedback.
“I record every customer name/address that calls for out-of-service condition,” says another. “They get a return call promptly, and a refund if the machine malfunctioned. Most are surprised to get a call back.”
American Coin-Op’s Your Views survey presents an unscientific snapshot of the trade audience’s viewpoints at a particular moment. Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding.
Subscribers to American Coin-Op e-mails are invited to participate anonymously in an industry survey each month. The entire American Coin-Op audience is encouraged to participate, as a greater number of responses will help to better define owner/operator opinions and industry trends.
Have a question or comment? E-mail our editor Bruce Beggs at [email protected].