SUN CITY WEST, Ariz. — Sooner or later, your laundromat will experience an unexpected operational stoppage. It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when and how often.
Whether it’s a power outage, a weather event, or some other reason, certain circumstances can shut down a mat. I experienced all kinds of shutdowns during my career, and they can be quite stressful and expensive.
In this column, I’ll present ways to prepare for and prevent — or at least mitigate — most of these stoppages. There are quite a few ways your business can come to a screeching halt, many of which can come unexpectedly.
EMERGENCY PROTOCOLS (CONTINUED)
Staffing — Post signage in your back room that helps your crew to deal with various emergencies.
Nobody really thinks much about these disasters that can shut down your business, so make sure that you train your crew on things like how to deal with a dryer fire, for instance. Go over these emergency protocols every six months or so, and use instruction signs to help jar their memories.
This is more important than you might think because some employees can panic to the point where they’ll forget how to handle such incidents.
Do the same for floods, crimes, etc.
Post a list of emergency numbers that can help them. Include your number, of course, but also numbers for the landlord, your plumber, etc.
It’s so hard these days to hire and retain great employees, so keep your staff paid and managed well. They are crucial to your success anyway.
In the event of an external stoppage, treat your employees well, or you may end up with an internal stoppage due to employees quitting on you.
For instance, if your mat is shut down due to a utility interruption, pay staffers during the stoppage! Your loss should not be their loss. After all, it’s not their fault, and they need to pay their bills, probably more than you need to pay yours.
You can use the downtime to catch up on projects that you’ve been meaning to do. Have them do some deep cleaning (pull dryer baskets for a thorough cleaning), shovel out the traps, even paint the store.
In other words, make lemonade out of lemons. They’ll be happy that you didn’t lay them off during the stoppage.
This is leadership, and you’ll probably make it all back in productivity later due to higher morale.
Notifying Customers — Transparency is key. If customers are present, explain the situation briefly and apologize for the inconvenience.
You might say, “We’re experiencing a power issue and are working to resolve it as quickly as possible. We expect to reopen by (insert time or date).”
Give incentives. You not only need to compensate your customers if their machines stop working, try doing so by handing out “Free Dry” cards with your signature on the back, so they are motivated to return. Your loss should not be their loss.
Post physical signs at the entrance and update your digital platforms (website, social media, Google Business profile, etc.) with your store’s status and an estimated reopening time/date. Add an automated message for your phone as well to keep customers updated.
Backup Change Machines and/or VTMs — It’s one thing to have a couple of machines out of order, but if your change machine or VTM goes down, it’s an emergency.
Downtime on these machines is the most common cause of bringing your business to a screeching halt. Keep in mind that these are complicated machines that get used a lot by the public, and the public is quick to abuse them.
Redundancy is in order here. Yes, you may not want to purchase a second or third change machine, but you’ll be happy when one fails and you have another still working.
In lieu of a second changer, you can keep a good supply of parts that frequently fail. For instance, I kept an extra coin hopper and bill validator in stock, in their original shipping boxes, so I could easily swap them into the changer and ship the bad one out to the manufacturer for rebuilding.
Don’t forget to also stock things like a power supply and connector cables.
Ask your distributor or manufacturer which parts you should keep in stock.
As for customer abuse, keep a couple of cameras trained on your changers from opposite directions.
Document Everything! — Take photos or videos of everything in and around your store before and after an event that causes a major shutdown. You should keep good records of your income, repair costs, etc., so you can prove your mat will get paid.
Your documentation will be useful when pursuing insurance claims and/or for tax purposes.
Benefits of Owning Your Property, and of Having Multiple Stores — In my experience, many of our business stoppages were caused by neighboring shopkeepers located in the same building as my mats.
Other businesses can have their own issues that can cause fires, flooding, utility shutdowns and criminal activity that can affect your own business.
If you haven’t purchased a mat yet, consider your own freestanding building on your own property. Yes, it’s a lot more money, but it’s a great investment. You’ll never be at the mercy of a landlord, and you won’t have to share a common utility room with other businesses.
Also, having more than one store location nearby helps during any shutdown and can be a blessing.
If one store is temporarily closed, you can direct customers to your other location(s). It pays to have already printed special discount cards to encourage them to make the trip (this applies to both self-service and drop-off customers).
In closing, it’s likely your store will eventually experience a shutdown, so I hope these tips will come in handy for you when it does.
Miss Part 1? You can read it HERE.
Have a question or comment? E-mail our editor Bruce Beggs at [email protected].
