CHICAGO — For the investor first entering the vended laundry business, or a store owner looking into improving or expanding their operations, they often call on a distributor serving their area.
Supplying vended laundry equipment and parts is perhaps what these distribution businesses are best known for but their menu of services stretches beyond the physical products they sell.
This month, American Coin-Op polled a variety of distributors throughout the country about their approach to service and support.
HOW MAY WE BE OF SERVICE?
ACE Commercial Laundry Equipment distributes equipment to many laundromats, hotels and apartment complexes in Southern California from its Orange County headquarters, says Sales Manager Andy Wray.
Along with SUDSY Vending Supplies, ACE “pretty much provides everything A-Z to the laundromat customer,” including change machines, card payment systems and full washer and dryer lines. “Many a telephone call spent chit-chatting, sitting in the office giving out situational advice, and putting ourselves in owners’ shoes is where we like to help out,” he says.
Also based in California, Continental Girbau West is a full-service commercial laundry distributor serving Southern California, Arizona and New Mexico, according to Vice President Tod Sorensen.
It represents several brands of vended washers and dryers, and provides payment systems, bill breakers, coin changers, laundry carts, custom bulkheads, vending machines, parts, ozone systems and chemistry. Besides serving existing customers with parts and factory-trained service technicians, CG West works closely with customers, architects and contractors to design and build new laundries, as well as renovate and retool existing laundries. Financing, service training and marketing are also some of its added services.
Michigan’s Eagle Star Equipment, led by President Michael “Stucky” Szczotka, provides distribution services to vended, on-premises, drycleaning, wetcleaning and restoration customers. It represents a number of brands in both laundry and dry cleaning.
It serves Michigan on the laundry side and many states in support of drycleaning, wetcleaning, and restoration services. Eagle Star can offer turnkey solutions, or any services needed a la carte, Szczotka says. It provides service on equipment and parts, as well as demographics, layouts with utility ledgers, and equipment rigging and installation.
President Douglas Pratt leads Gold Coin Laundry Equipment, Jamaica, New York. It covers New York City, Long Island and parts of New York state, New Jersey and Connecticut. Besides selling laundry equipment, payment systems, changers, soap venders, water heaters and more, Gold Coin acts as consultant for new investors and existing customers. Its part department ships internationally, and its web store has an easy-to-use phone app. There are factory-trained technicians on staff for on-site service.
Metropolitan Laundry Machinery Sales, led by President Marc Katzman, is based in South Richmond Hill, N.Y. It provides vended and non-vended laundry equipment and ancillary products to laundromats, apartment building laundry rooms, hotels/motels, and more in New York City’s boroughs and areas of New York state, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Connecticut.
It represents multiple brands of washers, dryers, payment systems, water heaters, bill breakers, and other ancillary equipment and products. Besides solution-oriented sales and a fully stocked parts department, Metropolitan offers site selection assistance/evaluation, demographic reports/analysis, store layout/design, lease negotiations and financing assistance, and more.
Sav-A-Day Laundry Machinery, based in suburban St. Louis, just celebrated its 67th anniversary, says President Jeff Seele. The second-generation company is one of the country’s oldest Wascomat laundry equipment distributors, serving a radius of roughly 200 miles in Missouri and Illinois. Sav-A-Day maintains a parts department; sells new/used/rebuilt equipment; performs installations and service; and offers assistance with store design, demographics, site evaluation, financing and more.
Southeastern Laundry Equipment Sales of Marietta, Georgia, provides a variety of vended, OPL and multi-family laundry products to customers in seven Southeast states, says Vice President of Sales Jason Downey, including equipment sales, leasing, service, parts, design consultation, site selection, demographic analysis, complete buildouts, and more.
Rita Troyanovsky is director of operations for Superior Laundry Equipment, Brooklyn, N.Y. It’s an authorized dealer for several brands of laundry and ancillary equipment, servicing New York state, the New York City boroughs, New Jersey, Delaware, and sections of Pennsylvania and Maryland. Equipment sales, rental, leasing and service, as well as parts, chemicals, and business brokerage are among its offerings.
VARIETY OF WAYS TO GET THE WORD OUT
Whether it’s the products they sell or the related services they offer, simply communicating that they’re available is a key factor in distribution success, so these businesses use a variety of ways to get the word out.
Pretty much across the board, this group uses standard marketing practices. They call, email, and send direct mail pieces, for example. These companies maintain websites, and most actively use social media. But one may rely more heavily on one tool than another, or maybe even deviate from the typical entirely.
“Personal communication is essential for connecting with our customers,” Katzman says. “We’ve found reaching current customers and perspective new ones requires a strategic approach that incorporates social media, Google marketing, print media, and making personalized connections.”
“The majority of our business is either repeat or by word of mouth,” Szczotka says, “as well as providing a website to request quotes, mailing calendars to existing customers and potential customers in our area, and posting information on our Facebook (page), but we have not aggressively marketed for many years.”
CG West utilizes a multifaceted advertising strategy to effectively reach its target audience, according to Sorensen, who adds that its comprehensive approach “allows us to build strong relationships, gain referrals and maintain a consistent presence in the market.”
“We recently did smaller service-based road shows across our geography, so our customers had a chance to connect with their regional sales managers and the manufacturers face to face,” Downey says. “There is no better way to listen to their pain points and see if we can provide a solution for them.”
Sav-A-Day heavily promotes its fall open house, Seele says: “We have a 13,000-square-foot building and I think it’s nice when people can come to your business, spend the day with you face to face.”
Despite all the efforts, these distributors wish certain aspects of their business profile were better known or more appreciated.
“That we can calculate their potential income,” Pratt says. “We can do that at more than one location to help the customer decide which would be better for them.”
“I think a lot of customers or potential customers don’t always realize that the distributor can help you with the lease, can help you with the site evaluation,” says Seele. “Can tell you, ‘Hey, you don’t want to go there.’”
Troyanovsky says she wishes Superior’s sales of existing stores and store buildout capabilities were more widely known in its region.
“The comprehensive support and service packages we offer, ensuring equipment longevity and minimizing downtime, are aspects I wish were more appreciated,” says Downey.
“We avoid competing with our customers, have not established company-owned laundries, and do not represent proprietary payment systems that work only on [a specific brand of] equipment,” Sorensen says.
“All distributors and equipment are not equal,” Katzman says. “There is a big difference between a full-service distributor with many years of experience and knowledge and one that does not have a team to provide ongoing support or a warehouse and parts department.”
Coming in Tuesday's conclusion: In the face of 'just trying to sell something’
Have a question or comment? E-mail our editor Bruce Beggs at [email protected].
