CHICAGO — No matter how “good” things are looking in the self-service laundry industry these days, there’s always room for improvement, right?
This month’s American Coin-Op Your Views survey asked our audience about ways that laundry owners, distributors and manufacturers can do their part to improve our industry.
From a customer’s perspective, 45.5% of respondents said self-service laundry operators can best do their part to improve by keeping all equipment in working order. Providing a comfortable, safe environment is the key for 22.7% of respondents, while having an attendant on duty is the thing for 11.4%.
Sprucing up their store appearance (9.1%), “other” (9.1%) and offering more services (2.3%) rounded out the responses. Under “other,” respondents cited better customer service, store cleanliness, or taking every action described.
As for distributors improving the industry, respondents were more varied in their selections. Providing better equipment service (29.5%) topped the list, which also included providing faster parts/supplies delivery (22.7%), offering more open houses/service schools (18.2%), visiting a customer’s store more often and offering advice (11.4%), and alerting customers when a new product is nearing release (2.3%).
Respondents had the chance to suggest “other” distributor actions and 15.9% did. They included providing better/more extensive product training and support, and greater transparency in pricing.
We asked laundry owners how significant a role their distributor plays in their business operation. More than 60% said they play some sort of role—25% said it’s a “major” role, 38.6% said it’s “minor.” The remaining 36.4% said their distributor plays no role in their operation.
Turning attention to manufacturers and the question of how best they could improve the industry, 43.2% of respondents said providing more comprehensive warranties would do it. Focusing more on energy efficiency (22.7%), providing greater assistance with financing (11.4%) or developing and producing a larger variety of equipment (2.3%) were other choices.
More than 20% of respondents selected “other,” and individual suggestions were broad-based. Lowering new-equipment prices, increasing product dependability, and designing equipment to be easy to clean and easier to repair were some of them.
More than 81% of respondents said they have dealt directly with an equipment manufacturer to solve a problem they have had.
If an average customer had one complaint about your store, what would it be? “Vend pricing that is too high/drying time that is too short” (31.8%) and “the store is too small and becomes uncomfortable when busy” (22.7%) were the top choices among Your Views respondents.
Others garnering votes were “(the store) isn’t attended, or attendant on duty isn’t helpful” (9.1%), “the store isn’t clean enough” (6.8%), “too many machines aren’t working” (6.8%) and “not enough attention is paid to customer comfort” (4.5%).
Nearly 19% of those polled selected “other,” and individual gripes were, again, broad-based. Fellow patrons who are inconsiderate, a lack of parking, coin jams, and a request for cheaper drying were among them.
Finally, we offered respondents the chance to add anything else about improving the self-service laundry industry. Here are some of their responses (which have been edited for content and length):
- “Don’t be restricted by the original layout of the laundry. If you need to change something, this investment may seem significant, but will yield huge results in the years to follow.”
- “Must stop the notion that a self-serve laundry is a passive-income business. In most areas, it is a competitive business that requires a lot of diligence and time to keep your business in good shape, clean, and functioning properly.”
- “Come up with a workable solution to keeping restrooms open during unattended hours. Current locks offered don’t solve all the issues.”
- “Manufacturers not competing against us.”
- “Have stores large enough to be taken care of and reflect the image of laundromats in a positive way.”
- “The amount of qualified service technicians is a real problem. The distributors who offer service charge fees that are cost-prohibitive for a business that has small margins.”
- “Having manufacturers and distributors continue their support of your business beyond the sale is essential.”
While American Coin-Op’s Your Views survey presents a snapshot of store owners’ viewpoints at a particular moment, it should not be considered scientific. Subscribers to American Coin-Op email blasts are invited to participate anonymously in the industry survey.
Have a question or comment? E-mail our editor Bruce Beggs at [email protected].
