NovemberAntonio Library, BiblioTech and Google Fiber. The idea is to meet people where they are....

November2019

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TEXAS LAUNDRY PROMOTES DIGITAL

LEARNING ATLAUNDRIES

SAN ANTONIO - Folks visiting two West Side laundromats can suds up a load of whites and log on while they wait, thanks to a program aimed at putting a new spin on digital literacy. The EZ Wash’s two locations are now equipped with laptops, tablets and Wi-Fi. The program is called the Wash and Learn Initiative, or WALI, by Libraries Without Borders, a nonprofi t partnering with the San Antonio Library, BiblioTech and Google Fiber. The idea is to meet people where they are. “Most families spend about two hours in laundromats,” said a spokesperson for Librar-ies Without Borders. “People come back every week, so we’re seeing the same families. There’s a unique opportunity to promote learning.” One of the goals is to address the digital divide, the gap between people who have access to information technology and those who don’t. According to the latest U.S. Census data, one in four San Antonio households lacks internet service. The reason is often cost. “I had internet once, but I had to get rid of everything,” said one. “So, now, this is good. I know I can come here.” In addition to the tech tools, BiblioTech also hosts various classes in computer basics several hours a week. Staff will also be available at certain times to help one-on-one. “So, somebody who can sit down with you while you’re waiting for your clothes to dry and say, ‘Alright, let’s fi nally talk about making that email address’,” the spokesperson for Libraries without Borders said. One customer mentioned she’s pleased that her grandchildren will able to learn more about

computer skills and have access to educational programs.

Maytag Made a Car OnceYou can read more about it here: http://www.american-automobiles.com/Maytag.html

THE VOICES MADE HIM DO IT

A man claiming to hear voices allegedly van-dalized a Coin Laundry, doing an estimated $350 in damage. Police had to use a stun gun to subdue the man. “Upon arrival an offi cer observed clothing items on the fl oor leading to a 33-year-old man who was sitting in a chair toward the back of the business,” police said. “Offi cers observed a large wooden table to be fl ipped over and lying near the man. The man jumped up and hid behind the wooden table.” The man allegedly ignored the police offi cers’ commands to show himself and to show his hands, and eventually offi cers used a stun gun to subdue him. “Offi cers checked the business and discov-ered a broken double door in addition to the broken table,” Miller said. The man made statements claiming he was hearing voices.

COIN LAUNDRY NEWS • NOVEMBER, 20192

Published monthly. Mailed to laundry owners, vend suppliers, manufacturers, insurers, parts suppliers, repair technicians and distributors of laundry equipment.

The News neither endorses nor recommends any specifi c products or distributors.

By White Star Laundry, Inc. Publishing, which is solely responsible for all content. The publisher reserves the right of approval of all material and advertising.

Our street address is 28125 Bradley Rd Ste 250, Sun City, CA 92586-2248. Address for mailing is White Star Laun-dry, Inc., P.O. Box 2175, Sun City, CA 92586.

Advertising rate sheets are available on our website at www.clnews.net or can be mailed upon request.

Phone: (951) 219-7076 E-mail: [email protected]

Lionel J. Bogut – PublisherDavid C. Bogut – OperationsNancy Temple – Circulation &

Advertising Manager.

Closing date for each issue of the News is the fi rst working day of the month preceding the month of issue.

As I started with last month, we have been bringing you The NEWS in one form or another for 30 years. I guess that makes this issue #361! That’s a lot of monthly columns. Yes, I know I said thank you to each and everyone who has made these 30 years (and one month) possible, but Thanksgiving is celebrated this month, so I can get away with saying it again. Times are changing in our Industry, and I mean that both with respect to the Vended Laundry Business, but also for those of us who still physically print and provide help-ful content to those of you out there in trenches. So many these days fi nd it’s far more cost effective to market to you directly through social media and all those other wonder-ful and scary ways the Internet has of putting what you’re thinking about right in front of your face via your computer or smarty phone screen. Of course, what that doesn’t get you is the hands-on experience and acquired wisdom we and the other Industry publications share with you every month. It’s one of the biggest reasons I like to encourage our readers to support the advertisers that support us, because in supporting us, they’re supporting you too. Speaking of social media, along with being from Montana, I came across something the other day. Well, technically my son saw it and shared it with me. It was a vehicle from the early 1900’s made to look like a beer bottle, and it was used to promote the Billings Brewing Company. The beer bottle truck as it turns out, was built on the chassis of a Maytag Chain Drive automobile. Of course my son had never heard of a Maytag automobile, and to be honest, I had long forgot-ten about it myself. So we decided we’d share a photo and a link for those of you who might be curious on Page One news page. In the meantime, allow me to wish each and every one of you a happy and blessed Thanksgiving Holiday, and don’t be like whomever shared the meme my son also shared with me from social media: I’m going to save a ton of money on Christmas presents by bringing up politics at Thanksgiving dinner. ☺

COIN LAUNDRY NEWS • NOVEMBER, 2019 3


Laundromats vary by size, by their neigh-borhood’s economic parameters, the weather at the time etc. There are however, certain common traits in design and construction ideas that remain the same. The front almost always faces the street traffi c, and rear almost always is on an alley or a maybe a shopping center’s rear parking lot. Usually the rear is not well lighted and is normally less cared for, and thereby can be less safe after dark.

Laundry owners and their employees who are charged with the responsibility to close and lock up at the end of the business day need to learn to follow a certain, but not obvious routine to insure that both the business and that employee stay safe. Here are a few sug-gestions and a short check list for owners and employees to follow in order to keep everyone safe.

1. At closing time, check to see that no one has been left behind in a lavatory or hiding in a laundry’s blind spots. There could be a vandal or burglar staying behind.

2. At closing, all doors should be locked. Rear doors especially should be locked whenever it becomes dark. After dark,

a laundry should have only one way in and one way out for safety. That exit, if no other, should be covered by a security camera.

Those who close should be instructed to park where their car is close and visible through the front windows of the laun-dry. Instruct them not to park in back, even if that will slightly diminish some customer parking. Employee safety is the owner’s responsibility too.

3. If a laundry is equipped with an alarm system, then the employee responsible to close has a duty to turn it on and double check to be certain that it is functioning. Too many really expensive vandalism events and burglaries have come directly as a result of an attendant or janitor being in too big of a hurry to leave with alarm systems not set cor-rectly.

4. When it grows dark, and laundry lights are on, it becomes easier for someone out-side to observe a laundry’s illuminated interior. The object of most burglaries is to get cash quick. Laundries doing drop off cleaning or fl uff & fold must


have cash on hand, and thereby become a potential target. When crooks can observe the interior of your laundry without being seen themselves, it’s not smart to show them any vulnerability or location of the laundry cash.

Many operators don’t have a safe to lock up the cash, and so they hide the money under something when they leave. Make sure that the laundry interior is dark enough when securing money so that no one from the outside can see where it is being hidden.

5. Many operators instruct employees to turn off lights briefl y and wait for their eyes to adjust before going to their car. When satisfi ed that it is safe, turn on the laundry’s night time security lights, and leave. When leaving the laundry, fi rst take a look outside to be sure that the path to the car is clear and safe.

Be sure to have your car keys in hand. Don’t let yourself or your employees walk blindly into trouble.

6. The last employee to leave is usually the person who does the heavy cleaning with the doors locked. Instruct them not to open to anyone until they themselves are ready to leave. If someone they don’t know knocks on the front doors to pick something up, train the worker to say, “My boss will fi re me if I open the doors. Please come back tomorrow.”

The rules above are easy to learn and simple to follow; however, most laundry operators don’t bother to train their laundry workers on the procedures or duties of closing and securing a laundry for the night. They feel there has never been any kind of trouble in the past, and they don’t expect to have any now. They are in too nice of a neighborhood for anything like that to happen.]

Continued on next page


As an example, in one of the most posh, upscale safe and secure suburbs in America, a laundry operator’s wife was collecting coins from the washers. She was almost done when she heard someone scream outside and went to the front window to see the cause. When she left the coin buckets sitting on a washer, no one was either near or in sight. They were safe. However, when she returned they were gone. Someone looked in from the dark and saw what she was doing. A quick distraction, and the money was gone.

Dangers are seldom out there in plain sight and can happen anywhere to any one at any time. Yes, even to you and your employees. Without seeming paranoid about it, avoid possible dangers, losses, and costly damages. Train your employees the right way to secure themselves and the laundry. Include yourself too. Stay safe.


The whole idea of spring cleaning doesn’t have to wait for spring. It should be a regular thing. The idea may have begun a very long time ago in the early Ice Age. Then, at the end of one particularly long and very harsh stormy period, Mrs. Ugh Q. Caveman came up with the idea of throwing out the old bones from the cave just as the weather began to improve. They probably noticed that the cave began to smell nice and fresh too. So it became kind of a regular thing.

As you can see, cleaning is an Ameri-can tradition that is even older than America itself. Americans didn’t invent the idea but we did adopt it. And it is also in every society worldwide and therefore is truly international. Almost all human beings have a lust for things and locations that are clean and neat.

It only makes sense that business people who want to be different and suc-cessful will offer their customers something that is better, neater and cleaner than their competitors offer. Really clean laundromats historically do a much better job of attracting the public than do dark and dingy opera-tions.

Some laundry operators have got-ten almost paranoid about keeping

their facilities bright and clean. Their machines gleam, their fl oors glisten

and everything works. They look very successful, so it should come as no sur-

prise that these people really are among the more profi table laundromat owners.

An occasional spill or mess is fi ne, but no one likes to clean their clothes in a dirty laun-dromat. There are laundry operators who seem

to have a fetish for cleaning the front windows and keeping the floor

wax buffed to a high shine. Several of these own their own buffers for the fl oor.

The fi rst impression customers have of a laun-dry is how it looks from

the outside. If the windows are clean and the floors shined, then the public sees the laundry as clean. People will tolerate some papers and

lint on the fl oor if the windows are clean, the fl oors shining and the

washers and dryers appear to be clean and if they work as expected.

The periodic special attention to the looks and cleanliness of your coin laundry business


is necessary because when you see the same thing every day, you may begin to overlook small things and gradually even big items. So, take a look at the business through the eyes of a stranger. Bring along a friend or a family member who doesn’t see it every day to fi nd what you are overlooking. Make notes and get at it. Spring cleaning can really be done at any time of the year. But, it must be done.

Look at the paint job on the walls. Is it bright and clean looking? Does it need to be redone, or are touch ups all that are needed? If you have wallpaper, is it still unmarked and is it still in style? Would it be bet-ter to paint over the paper or should you re-paper?

How about the floor? Does it still look good or should it be stripped and re-waxed? Do you need to replace some of the fl oor tiles if some have been gouged or stained?

What about the wash-ers and dryers? Are they as clean as they should be, and what sort of impression do they make on new customers? Do you need to replace or repaint fronts or sides?

The best cleaning job you can do is to handle the things you can see and what your custom-ers get their impression of the laundry from. Don’t get bored with your business because that is a feeling your customers can sense, especially new customers. You need them to come back and they will if they feel OK about your laundry.

Here are a few tips about what some of these very successful operators do.

One owner closes his laundry early on one Wednesday evening. He notifi es the clientele they will be closed on this night for “Heavy Cleaning”. He assembles a crew of people to disconnect every one of his top load washers and pulls them out and cleans the heck out of the space under the washer.

He uses a steam cleaner to get down to the concrete then reconnects, carefully repositions and levels each machine. While washer sides are exposed, he scrubs them and really cleans off the coin vaults too.

This really sounds extreme until you see the kinds of lint, gunk and trash that fall down and between the wash-ers. Accumulation of moisture causes the lint and other things that get under the washers to smell musty and over time can begin to smell pretty offensive.

During this cleaning ses-sion other members of his crew are scrubbing the front loaders, the changers

and soap machines. They touch up the paint job on the wall and in general make the laundry as spiffy as possible.

Other successful coin and card-operated laundry owners have regular programs for making their business stand out in the public eye and better than their competition. Of course the original design of the facility is a factor, but in the fi nal analysis, much of their success has to do with how clean and bright they keep the appearance of their laundry and the workability of its equipment.


Editor’s Note: As most of our readers know, this past August we lost Phil Moses, whose thorough and informative articles became a staple of The NEWS for years. We will continue to share that great content, reprising these for the benefi t of those new to our industry, as well as poignant reminders for those who can use a “refresher course,” which I think is all of us.

True or false? All laundries have a fair market value at some price.

Unfortunately, it is false. Laundries can become “unsaleable at any price.”

Virtually all laundry owners believe that their laundry has a fair market value at some level. It could be favorably high, or it could be disappointingly low. But, at some price, own-ers believe, that their laundry can be sold.

Not so.

Conventional thinking implies that, considering the thousands of dollars worth of equip-ment alone, there must be some appraised market value, meaning that all laundries have a potential sales price, whatever that may be.

However, selling an operating laundry and selling used laundry equipment are altogether two different matters that are not even related.

There is a market for used laundry equipment, of course, but that has nothing to do with the sale of a fully functional, ongoing coin or card laundry.

Just as one example, selling off used laundry equipment doesn’t involve lease-related mat-ters as does the sale of a fully operational self-service laundry. Therefore, having good

DON’T LET YOUR LAUNDRY BECOME “UNSALEABLE AT

ANY PRICE”By PHIL MOSES

Coin Laundry Broker, Consultant & Expert WitnessPart 1 of 2


laundry equipment in your store will not save you from the dilemma of your laundry becom-ing “unsaleable at any price.”

The 3 causes of laundries becoming unsaleable.

Typically, there are 3 main reasons why your laundry can become unsaleable.

1) A very unfavorable lease.

2) Excessive debt.

3) A new laundry being built nearby.

Let’s address them one at a time.

A Very Unfavorable Lease

There are 5 lease components that can classify your lease as very unfavorable.

1) Excessively high rent.

Excessively high rent is one’s objective opinion. There are no hard and fast rules that identify a rent as being excessive. It is my opinion that, typically, rent plus common area charges are approaching an excessive level at 25% of the monthly gross revenue.

I hasten to add that there are exceptions to the 25% guideline. For example, if you are an investor with the intention of buying a “fi xer” that you intend to remodel, based upon your projected gross revenue of the newly remodeled laundry, you may consider paying a higher rent, especially if all other components of the subject lease are favor-able.

2) Excessive annual increases.

This is another matter requiring an objective opinion. However, unlike rents and common area charges that offer no guidelines, there is a benchmark that can be used as a general guide in setting reasonable annual increases.

Most annual rent increases use the Consumer Price Index set by the U.S. Govern-ment as a baseline for setting rent increases. The Consumer Price Index is commonly known as the CPI. It is also referred to as the “cost of living.” This fi gure can be obtained online at the website of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor.

Annual rent increases at or below the then-current CPI are usually reasonable. Rent increases higher than the CPI I consider to be excessive.


Continued on Page 29

3) Excessive common area charges.

Common area charges are also referred to as CAM charges, Triple-net expenses and the initials, NNN.

Common area charges are not based upon an objective opinion. They are established, verifi able landlord expenses that are passed on to the tenants. The only protection a tenant has against excessive common area charges is to have written into the lease the landlord’s legal obligation to prove all common area charges with actual bills, receipts and paid invoices.

4) Insuffi cient lease term.

Typically, laundries require longer leases than other businesses. There are excep-tions, but leases for coin or card laundries are usually for a period of 15 to 20 years or more. The only exceptions are cases in which the subject laundry has existed for 30 to 40 years, and the landlord only gives 5 to 10 years at a time. In order to offset the shorter lease term, the purchase price must be adjusted accordingly, based upon a worst-case scenario and the assumption that the buyer can only rely on ownership of the laundry for a period of 5 years.

5) Excessive lease restrictions.

Most commercial leases contain the same or similar, standard terms and conditions obligating the landlord and the tenant. However, it is not uncommon to encounter leases that have special or unique lease restrictions.

Examples of such special lease restrictions are:

a) Restrictive parking (assigned spaces or allowing tenants to mark spaces as “reserved”).

b) Restricted ancillary revenue (prohibited vending product sales that may compete with other tenants).

c) Prohibiting Fluff & Fold operations (when there is a dry cleaning agency in the center).

d) Restricted or required hours open for business (laundries frequently have extended hours of business).

e) Mandatory participation (required membership) in shopping center associations with a monthly fee.

f) Restricted placement of boiler or holding tank (required external placement with expensive enclosure).


Besides customers, for most laundry operators there is another, very important relationship that the wise owner seeks to cultivate and maintain. That is the relationship with his or her equipment distributor.

Those who sell any brand of equipment do not want that equipment, or the laundromat it is in, to fail. They want your business to be a success. Word of mouth is still the cheapest and best type of advertising, so they want you to succeed and talk about it to your peers and of course, talk favorably about them.

Distributors and equipment dealers, when selling things to others, want to be able to refer them to you and your laundry to look and see the equipment in action. In other words, your testimonial will help them keep on making a living.

But your distributor is much more than just the company you buy your equipment from. They are, in many ways, a lifeline to the industry by holding repair seminars and open house events and sales. It’s where you meet and mingle with other operators using the same equipment.

Your distributor has valuable resources — access to parts, repair manuals, seating, ancillary items like carts and seating, as well as new equipment and used equipment to name just a few.

But your distributor is much more than that. Your distributor can help you fi nd new locations when you’re planning to expand, and your distributor can also help you with things like laying out your laundry to generate the most revenue from the space you have. They can share their knowledge and experience on the best promotional items, the best secu-rity devices, and the most cost effective and energy saving items like lighting, insulation and water circulating equipment.

Equipment distributors and dealers are our one real source for information all of us need to fi nd our way in this often confusing and changing business world. What kind of promotions and advertising campaigns work to build up my laundry’s bottom line? What kind of pricing seems to work profi tably? Where does one go to fi nd this or that rare item?

Yes, there have been bad actors in the dealer barrel, but they were soon gone due to failure to meet and follow industry stan-dards.

Long after the deal is done, and that fi rst customer load is being taken out of the washer and put into the dryer, making the effort to maintain your relationship with your distributor will continue to pay dividends long into the future. Who knows, you may even begin to consider him “friend.”


When a coin or card operated laundry is fi rst developed, there are budgets set for building and for a “Grand Opening”. Money is budgeted because they want to kick off the laundry with advertising and promotion to get the business rolling. Unfortunately, that is the limit of the advertising most of today’s laundries ever receive.

Most laundry owners and operators will say they believe in advertising; however, the saying is that they just don’t like having to pay for it. In many ways that is understandable, because most coin and card operated laundries simply don’t have a large enough cash fl ow to set up any kind of substantial advertising budget that is signifi cantly sized to impact that laundry’s trade area.

However, we all should know it doesn’t need to be a big budget to be effective. Here is an example.

Looking for something to do with his time, a retired army offi cer bought a coin laundry. Learning about the business, and how to take care of machines took up his time for about six months.

His business maintained a level that was fi ne but he still had too much time on his hands. Then he got around to cleaning

up the back room and found a big box of old records left by the previous owner. Among those records were stubs of out of order cards that went back for years. He put them aside thinking he would go through them later. In the meantime, he kept similar claim forms of his own.

A year later he pulled out all of those O/O/O cards and reviewed them. Perhaps because he was ex-military, he sorted the cards by street and decided to get a big map of the area and he began to plot out their locations using push pins. What he found was interesting from the point of view of the address locations. What he saw was that many of them came from a part of town where customers had to drive past two other coin laundries to get to his. He wondered why. Many also came from an area where there were no other competitive laundries. He assumed that he must have a lock on that one particular area.

He talked with customers whose names he recognized from the cards and thanked them for driving past other coin laundries to use his. He asked each of them why they did that. The answers varied, but the most frequent was that they had had trouble with the machines at the other two places and had never gotten their money back. At this laundry, they knew that if they had a problem and reported it they would be repaid.


He also began to ask other regular cus-tomers what part of town they lived in and put those on his map. He reasoned that many customers never have had a problem, or if they did they would not bother to fi ll out a card.

Later he decided to hire attendants and start a fl uff & fold business. He needed to advertise to keep his business growing. He investigated ways to do it, and found that they all were kind of expensive. Penny Saver covered all of the areas, and the little ads were cheap but if he went with a display ad, it was expensive, especially so for a coin laundry that had a very small advertising budget to spend. He also looked at direct mail as well as the neighborhood dis-tribution of fl yers. He found that these were less costly, but required a lot more work on his part.

This is the course of action he decided to follow. First he bought a small, inexpensive used copy machine and taught his attendants to use it. They began to charge customers ten cents a copy. The owner fi gured that the public would eventually pay for the copier. The only way the copier service was advertised was with a simple sign that the service was avail-able. The sign was a copy.

Next he began to make up fl yers for the coin laundry, a few dozen at a time. These he distributed around the laundry’s shopping center location. He hit the supermarket area two or three times a day. The fl yers told of the full line of services that the laundry now offered. They began to see results with the

addition of new customers. First, only a few but the numbers kept growing.

Meanwhile he kept reviewing and updat-ing his map. The more he looked at it, the more he started to see other patterns appear that he thought that the laundry could take advantage of. He hired the teenaged son of one of his new employees to deliver fl yers, an hour at a time, fi rst in one particular area, then others. Business continued to improve.

Time has made the map look a little crowded and it is well used. When one family moves away, he removes the pin but often quickly replaces it with a new customer.

He still follows this program for his busi-ness. Over time the copy machine was paid for by people

paying a dime a copy. The costs for the fl yers was very little by doing just a few at a time. Employees pass them out in the center. He still has teens deliver in the other areas. He made the initial effort to get the program going, but now all of the work is done by others and the cost is low.

This laundry owner felt that by following this style of advertising program, he could get the best results for his dollars spent. Time has proved him to be right.

What kind of program will work best for your laundry business? Plot it out. Be sure to have a large box of push pins ready, just in case. And be aware that in these current times, there are likely many digital ways to do the mapping if you prefer the tech method of doing things.

GOLDEN STATE COIN LAUNDRY ASSOCIATION • NOVEMBER, 201916GS

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Ron Kelley: (408) 624-6666e-mail: [email protected]

Brian Brunckhorst: (510) 501-5065 or e-mail: [email protected]

MEETING FOR LAUNDRY OWNERS & DISTRIBUTORS

THURSDAY, December 5, 2019, 7:00-9:30 p.m.

Annual Christmas Party & Raffl e

Celebrate A Great Year!Network with Coin Laundry Owners! ●

Enjoy a Great Christmas Dinner! ●Enjoy the Industry’s Most Famous Raffle! ●

(Over $1000 in prizes given away!)Enjoy an evening with GSCLA Members! ●

LOCATION: El Torito Restaurant5 Monarch Bay Drive, San Leandro, CA 94577

Use Internet for a Map & Directions

Dinner Choices: Sizzling “Holiday” Fajitas Buffet$30.00 Per Person (Reserve by December 2, 2019) ***$35.00 at the Door

Seating is Limited: RSVP REQUIRED! MAKE YOUR RESERVATIONS TODAY!

GOLDEN STATE COIN LAUNDRY ASSOCIATION • NOVEMBER, 2019 17GS

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Proven industry experience since 1974Equipment Sales & Financing

Laundry DesignLicensed General Contractor

Advertise Your Business HereContact: George Morgan at

(530) 559-5959 [email protected]

OFFICERS & DIRECTORS4101 Dublin Blvd # F-115, Dublin, CA 94568-4603

www.goldenstatecla.comDIRECTORS OF GSCLA WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU.

If you have suggestions to make or questions youneed answered, give one of us a call.

PRESIDENT Brian Brunckhorst (510) 501-3965V.P./TREAS. John Miller (408) 838-5869SECRETARY George Morgan (530) 559-5959PAST PRES. Ron Kelley (408) 624-6666DIRECTOR Deborah Dower (916) 933-9753DIRECTOR Randy Houseman (925) 628-9420DIRECTOR Ron Lane (916) 947-6928DIRECTOR Mark Ma (650) 375-9352DIRECTOR Bryan Maxwell (510) 786-9271DIRECTOR Herb McKay (925) 989-0266DIRECTOR Aaron Thompkins (510) 236-9649

It’s your association, you make it happen!

Let the Largest and Most Experienced Companyin the industry sell your store TODAY!

Contact one of our experienced real estateprofessionals to start the process.

CALL PWS Today!Northern CA: (650) 871-0300

profi t from our experience

Taylor HousemanLaundry Equipment & Store DesignReplacement, Retool, New Stores

“Only the Best” ContinentalRandy Houseman or Denis Brunk Lic # 595077

800-464-6866

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On September 19th 2019, we had our quarterly meeting of the Golden State Coin Laundry Association. The meeting was the 1st CLA Connect Live (a new format being run by the national Coin Laundry Association) in north-ern California. The topic was, “Establishing a Wash & Fold Profi t Center,” presented by Cary Lipman. The meeting was well attended and Cary did a great job explaining the business case to start a wash and fold operation in your laundry. He touched on several strategies to improve existing operations and gave most in the room, several ideas they could implement immediately.

The new meeting format only had some minor changes to the way we have done meet-ings in the past and everyone seemed to be engaged and enjoyed it. Please join us next time for our GSCLA Famous Christmas Party & Raffl e on Thurs-day, December 5th at 7pm at El Torito in San Leandro. This will be a VERY IMPORTANT MEETING, because we will need to vote on whether to move permanently to the new CLA format and dissolve GSCLA. So we are asking all GSCLA members to attend what could be GSCLA’s fi nal meeting. Aside from the business at hand, we will of course have great food and plenty of raffl e prizes to be won. We hope to see you all there!


Everyone in the laundromat trade is looking for an extra edge that can provide a little extra profit. Where can this extra income come from? Will it cost less to start up than it will cost to do it? Will it provide us with a decent return on our investment? Do we have the space to do it? We know we have a cap-tive audience for an hour or two. We also know that customers want to occupy the time waiting for their wash and dry cycles to fi nish.

Since they will be there that brief period of time, how can we get them to part with a little extra money?

Some of our options seem obvious. We can pro-vide coin or card operated vending machines selling soaps, fabric softeners, hangers, and laundry bags. Those machines are simple and offer few complications, and

are a tie in to our business. They are a service and a source of satisfaction for customers. They

usually give the laundry added profi ts too.

One can provide video games, vendors for snacks, candy and bev-erages. Before you put those units in, there are considerations that must be weighed. They may generate extra money, but you need to look at factors that go along with having these in operation. Some video games are very popular. Perhaps even too popular. While it may give extra profi t, it may also not. Games are an excellent way for cus-tomers to kill time waiting while the washers churn. But, they can be a double edged sword. If the game isn’t popular, then no one will play it and it gathers dust while taking up room

that could be more profi tably used in other ways. If the game is too popular, it brings in


players, not laundry customers. An undesir-able of semi adult men playing and watching others play is a gathering that might scare away female wash customers. How you handle that depends on your area, and your customer base.

Vending machines are another common option. The laundry products are an obvi-ous addition in many facilities. But candy, snacks, drinks and other products are a viable option as well. Just be careful!! Do not place candy machines in the front window where the sun-light comes in. And of course, even if placed elsewhere in the laundry, heat is a consideration. Most good-ies can MELT!! And this may affect which products you choose to stock. You might consider salty snacks, like chips and cookies, and avoid the chocolate goodies or other things that turn sticky and become stale or will melt in the heat.

Vending machines for canned or bottled soft drinks can be a good choice for a laundry busi-ness, but consider your sales volume against the electrical costs of running the machines. You could work with a local bottler or supplier who would furnish both the products and the machines for a split of the profi ts. How-ever, if the volume is too low, they won’t do it. It’s not worth their time.

Plus, you are con-strained to having only the brands they market in the machine. You can purchase your own machine from Sam’s Club or other

outlets. Generally low end machines are not suffi ciently rugged to survive a really tough location. How rough is yours? Owning your

vendor allows whatever drinks you choose. You are not limited to what your sup-

plier chooses.

You can purchase used, more professional machines.

Used can be found priced from a few hundred dollars to $1000, or more. Again, you choose what products to put in the machine. You could select brand names, or lower

cost house brands, however, you may have picky customers who

only select the national brands. Consider operating costs. How

many cans must you sell monthly just to cover the cost of soft drinks

and the electric to run the refrigera-tion?

There may be local licensing regulations to consider. Some apply only to video games, some may only affect vending machines, and

some may apply to both. There may be State, County or local

municipal regulations requiring an annual tax stamp. That can affect your initial cost and prof-its too. Revenue may be taxable, even where the income from washers and dryers are exempt. It could be a potential bookkeeping nightmare. And don’t forget to take a look at your lease to make sure that installing vending machines won’t

go against your lease. Just be sure to check all of that out prior to making your fi nal decision.


But what else might a laundromat owner offer? In laundries in more remote areas, coin operated showers are fairly common. It would seem ridiculous in a city, but there are shower meters being sold to laundries in rural locations. A customer base of country farms, ranches, mines and other places where ameni-ties are primitive is needed. The people come into town to do their laundry, and while they are there, they take advantage of a hot shower! In the right place it is something to consider.

Other items for a profi t center might be Internet access; either by means of a coin operated kiosk, or your own installed Wi-Fi service. Now how to make Wi-Fi generate cash is dependent on what kind of system you install. But even if Wi-Fi access is free, it may be a signifi cant draw for some customers, if they can use their laptop or smart phone while their laundry is being done. If other nearby laundromats do not have this and you do, you will draw those who want to work (or play) on-line. The added attraction is that those who are using laptops are generally more attractive customers. Students, business people, and oth-ers will fi nd this an attraction as well.

Look, you know the laundry business, and you should know your customer base. So it will be up to you to fi gure out what you can do to generate a bit more revenue.

The basic idea is this: There are other sources of revenue. There are assorted things that can be offered. Laundromat locations are scattered all over the country. What works in one area, fl ops in another. Knowing what your customers want is important. Consider all the variables before you buy into a possible profi t center. Do your homework and research your options fi rst. We hope this article has given you some ideas to ponder. And if you come up with something new and original, please let us know so that we can share it with your fellow laundromat owners.

A BLACK TIELAUNDRY AFFAIR

It was an old Norge Village, a combination of coin laundry and dry cleaners that had been there since the early sixties. The business never had done well, and had changed hands many times. It had a poor location with bad parking. When the long term lease was up, it closed and the equipment was left there in lieu of uncol-lected back rent. They tried to sell it as a business, but were unsuccessful. Finally they got an offer from a developer who owned several adjacent pieces of property. By getting this building he now had enough there to develop as a large, high rent apartment building. The developer’s wife had a brainstorm. She was active in a group that supported the opera company in the large city nearby. She thought of holding a black tie event in the old laundry as a fund raiser to benefi t the opera. So while plans for the new apartments were processing through the local building depart-ment, she and her friends were developing plans of their own. They brought in a crew to clean and mop, ran ads and sent out special invitations to opera lovers for miles around. Finally the great night came. There were spot lights rising into the night and a crowd of onlookers saw limousines and fancy cars pull up to the entrance. Gentlemen in tuxedos and ladies in fancy dresses came into a coin laundry, most for the fi rst and only time in their life. Television and newspaper cameramen recorded the whole thing for distribution to the world. It was all very exciting. It was the most successful night ever in the history of that old laundry, as thousands of dollars were raised for the opera. It probably was great publicity for the new apartment project as well.


HUEBSCH EXPANDS ALREADY

POWERFUL HUEBSCH COM-

MAND PLATFORM [Ripon, Wis., October 4, 2019] Huebsch com-mercial laundry equipment, recently expanded its Huebsch Command vended laundry man-agement platform. The new release enables laundromat owners to run their entire in-store business with one platform. It includes the addition of the Huebsch Point of Sale (POS) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems, offering unprecedented capabilities within the laundry industry.

“Huebsch Command now offers even more exceptional tools to help laundry owners stream-line operations,” said Huebsch North American Sales Manager Kathryn Q. Rowen. “With POS and CRM components, this system is a game changer and a true all-in-one solution for man-agement.”

With the POS system, laundry owners get all the benefi ts of Huebsch Command with the addition of incorporating over-the-counter and wash-dry-fold (WDF) sales. A consolidated data-base for WDF and self-service analytics further streamlines store marketing and operations.

By adding the CRM marketing component to the already powerful Huebsch Command, own-ers are able to easily fi lter data and market to customers. No longer are owners just monitoring their business, the CRM gives them the power to segment data based on customer history, launch marketing campaigns based on those insights, and, as a result, improve profi tability. Data can be fi ltered by:

• Type of customer (self-service or WDF)• Average spend for self-service, WDF or

goods

• Time since last visit• Day of week• And more

Having a consolidated view of store data and customer history in one spot, gives laundry owners all the tools to drive traffi c, build sales in profi table areas of the business, increase loyalty, re-engage lost customers, and craft promotions targeted to specifi c customers. The possibilities are virtually limitless.

When this functionality is combined with the Huebsch app and Huebsch Rewards, own-ers have all the elements of the industry’s most complete, cutting edge laundry system.

Best of all, the system comes standard with Huebsch Care, meaning it is factory supported by the global leader in commercial laundry for additional peace of mind.

To learn more about Huebsch Command or schedule a demo of the technology, call 1-800-553-5120.


UniMac and Speed Queen Commercial Brands Now Fac-

tory Direct in Texas[Ripon, Wisconsin, October 14, 2019] Alliance Laundry Systems, the global leader in commer-cial laundry equipment, announced today that it will serve customers for its world-renowned UniMac and Speed Queen commercial brands direct in the state of Texas.

The announcement comes as Alliance marks its second acquisition in Texas, following the recent purchase of Commercial Equipment Company’s (CEC) distribution business from the Smith family in Dallas. CEC will continue as a vibrant company focused on building its laundry services division to serve the needs of the region’s fast-growing multi-housing industry.

“We are proud to strengthen our partnership with Alliance and look forward to serving our customers as only a family run business can,” said Taylor Smith, CEC’s second-generation CEO.

“Alliance is a billion-dollar global company with manufacturing sites around the world, but there are few places more exciting than the Dallas/North Texas market,” said Mike Schoeb, CEO of Alliance Laundry Systems. “We are thrilled to build on the rich legacy of the Smith family, who served customers in the laundromat and on-premises laundry space with distinction for more than 50 years.”

Texas customers will benefit from the factory-direct linkage, which will translate into improved access to a wide variety of Alliance resources, greater on-hand equipment and parts inventory, and highly professional sales, service and install staff. “With the backing of

the largest commercial laundry equipment manufacturer in the world, we aim to provide unparalleled service in the greater Dallas area,” said Craig Dakauskas, who is heading up Speed Queen and UniMac distribution efforts in Texas for Alliance. “Our experienced and skilled team is excited to build strong rela-tionships with customers throughout Texas.”

For more information about Alliance Laun-dry Systems, visit alliancelaundry.com. To learn more about CLEC, visit clecco.com.


Because we live in a litigious society, it’s wise to inspect your laundry regularly

for problems that could cause injury. Cracks or holes in the fl oor, sidewalk or parking lot could trip a customer. Exposed wiring, leaky hoses, broken electrical outlets, sharp edges on woodwork/cabinetry, or obstacles to foot traffi c can cause injury. Make repairs immediately. Keep a log of your inspections, includ-ing when you discovered a problem and the repair date. In the event you are sued for injury, the log will make it diffi cult for the plaintiff’s attorney to prove negligence—an important factor in a liability suit. The law requires you to protect your customers from anything that a “reasonable person” could assume would injure them. You are liable, even if you were unaware of the hazard. Simply put, ignorance is no excuse. According to the law, a “reasonable person” would have known of the hazard. Ask your insurance company for a list of qualified companies that can provide you with a risk survey. Keep a record of all repairs and corrections that result in case you are ever faced with a liability suit. Use of warning signs won’t prevent a liability suit, but they can help you attain a more favorable settlement. Be sure your signs are written in the language(s) common to your market. Review OSHA regulations as they mandate many warning signs.

Slip-and-fall (real or staged) is common. Some look for an opportunity to slip and fall, and to reward themselves—at your expense. That’s why “Caution – Wet Floor” cones decorate many supermarkets and fast food restaurants even when the fl oors never see a drop of water until they’re cleaned—after the store is closed. Use them! Children are of particular concern. Signs asking parents to watch their children are useless. Be specifi c: “Do not let your children play on or around the machines. Injury could result.” – or – “Opening the washer or dryer doors before the machine comes to a full stop could cause injury.” Use cameras with recording devices to provide a daily record of all activity in your laundry. Not only are they a powerful deter-rent to robbery, burglary, vandalism and theft, but they can also discourage someone from fi ling a false liability claim. The record-ing can help catch a perpetrator or provide valuable evidence in a lawsuit. Don’t leave yourself open to a lawsuit. Take every measure to avoid one.

Emerson G. Higdon is a coin laundry consultant and author of the book, “Coin Laun-dries — Road to Financial Independence”. He is a past member of SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives) and serves on the board of experts for The TASA Group, Inc.

Avoiding a liability lawsuit

by Emerson G. Higdon


Coin Laundry Association Offers Digital Marketing for Laundromats

OAKBROOK TERRACE, IL Oct 18, 2019 – The Coin Laundry Association (CLA) introduces a new membership benefi t for digital marketing services provided by the American Marketing & Publishing, LLC. The Coin Laundry Association is collaborat-ing with American Marketing & Publishing, LLC (AMP) to bring store owners a new oppor-tunity to improve their online presence. Among the offerings are:

OPTIMA™ Web Presence Programs – three ●tiers of service including a multi-page mobile-optimized website, concierge service for setting up Google My Business and other directory listings, online-review-gathering tools, and dedicated account manage-ment. Google Street View Trusted Tours – pro- ●fessional 360-degree photographic tours of business locations to enhance online listings and websites.

2019 Laundry Industry Survey

ReleasedOAKBROOK TERRACE, IL Oct 18, 2019 – The Coin Laundry Association (CLA) has released the 23rd Annual Industry Survey of self-service laundry owners nationwide. For more than 20 years, the CLA has commissioned Readex Research, a nationally recognized independent research company, to conduct an industry-wide survey of self-service laundry owners. The survey is comprised of both CLA members and non-members. The purpose of this survey is to compose a profi le of today’s retail self-service laundries in the United States. Some of the data gathered includes equipment mix, pricing, staffi ng and additional services, such as wash-dry-fold. For the fi rst time in the history of the sur-vey, the CLA is offering the sale of this resource for only $89, less than half of the standard retail price of $199. Furthermore, the CLA has compiled the last fi ve years’ surveys in a bundled package made available at $199, with the goal of allowing readers to benchmark and track data year over year. CLA members can download these laundry industry surveys for free as a part of their membership benefi ts. “We feel that the surveys are of high value to both store owners and to people exploring the industry. For a small investment, busi-ness owners and potential investors can get a glimpse into how others in the industry are operating their businesses. It’s good for laun-dry professionals to know what their peers are doing, and it’s helpful for a researcher to determine the best steps to take when evaluat-ing buying or building a laundry,” says Brian Wallace, President/CEO of the Coin Laundry Association.

More can be learned about the 2019 laundry industry survey by visiting www.coinlaundry.org/survey19. Established in 1960, the Coin Laundry Association is the largest trade association dedicated to the self-service laundry industry helping thousands of laundry operators get the most from their businesses. Visit us at www.coinlaundry.org. For additional information about this press release or the Coin Laundry Association, please contact Rich Cruz at (630) 953-7920 or at [email protected].

NEWS FROM THE COIN LAUNDRY ASSOCIATION


Store owners within the laundry professional community have stated that they would like help with marketing their respective busi-nesses via digital channels. For nearly two years, the CLA has sought a solution that was affordable and fl exible for members. The col-laboration with AMP allows the CLA to present digital marketing solutions of various price points and scopes to meet the needs of diverse laundry owners. “We’re delighted that AMP has collaborated with us. We feel that this is a powerful new program for laundry owners, which will have a tremendous impact on their business. We appreciate the hard work by both the team at AMP and the staff at the CLA to develop these packages, and I can’t wait to witness the positive growth of the program and for our members’ businesses,” says Brian Wallace, President/CEO of the CLA. The CLA has negotiated special pricing for each of the levels of service. CLA members will receive $100 off their order by using a discount code found within the members-only resource library. Non-members will receive a $50 dis-count by using discount code AMPNMBR at checkout. Established in 1960, the Coin Laundry Association is the largest trade association dedicated to the self-service laundry industry helping thousands of laundry operators get the most from their businesses. Visit us at www.coinlaundry.org. American Marketing & Publishing, LLC is focused almost exclusively on meeting the advertising and marketing needs of indepen-dent, family owned businesses in close-knit small and suburban towns. They are experts at this work and over their 21 year history, they have built a roster of nearly 50,000 clients. For additional information about this press release or the Coin Laundry Association, please contact Rich Cruz at (630) 953-7920 or at [email protected].

New CLA Mem-bership Payment Options Available

OAKBROOK TERRACE, IL Oct 18, 2019 – The Coin Laundry Association (CLA) now offers two different payment options and auto-renewals for annual membership dues for current and future store own-ers.

The CLA launched new technology systems in early 2019 that feature various capabili-ties for membership subscriptions, including the option of monthly payments and auto-renewal. The CLA offers several membership catego-ries to choose from, including:

Laundry Professional – for store owners ●owning one or multiple locations.Premier Laundry Owner – for store owners ●interested in taking their CLA membership to the next level, often comprised of multi-store owners.Researcher Express – for those considering ●an investment in a laundry business.

Historically, the CLA has offered the option of paying annual dues in one payment. After eliciting feedback from store owners and potential investors, the CLA now offers a monthly payment option for most of the membership tiers. The Laundry Professional and Researcher Express memberships are only $27 per month; Premier Laundry Owner memberships are $44 per month. Members also have the option to select auto-renewal in their account so they don’t lose out on any of their benefi ts. “In the era of Netfl ix and the many other monthly subscriptions for food, clothing and beauty, the CLA wanted to remain relevant and fl exible in the way we deliver member-ship. These new payment options provide our members the fl exibility to choose what works best for them, while offering the same valuable


CLA Launches New Garment Care White Paper with

Upcoming WebinarOAKBROOK TERRACE, IL Oct 18, 2019 – The Coin Laundry Association (CLA) is releasing a new white paper outlining proper garment care and stain removal for laundry professionals on October 16.

Garment Care and Stain Removal Basics for Laundry Owners is part of the CLA’s Gold Book Research Series of resources for members of the laundry industry. The editorial team at PlanetLaundry and the CLA have committed to releasing a new white paper in the series every quarter throughout the upcoming years to continue to add value to the businesses represented by the association. CLA members receive this and all white papers free as a membership benefi t in the member resource library or accessed through the eStore at no charge by placing the item in the “My Downloads” section of members’ online portal. A downloadable PDF of this white paper

benefi ts and resources.” says Danielle Bauer, the CLA’s Director of Membership and Section Relations. To learn more about these payment options, please visit www.coinlaundry.org/join. Established in 1960, the Coin Laundry Association is the largest trade association dedicated to the self-service laundry industry helping thousands of laundry operators get the most from their businesses. Visit us at www.coinlaundry.org. For additional information about this press release or the Coin Laundry Association, please contact Rich Cruz at (630) 953-7920 or at [email protected].

will also be available for non-members in the CLA eStore at a new lower price of $39. Additionally, the CLA will host a webinar on proper garment care featuring the expertise of two of America’s favorite laundry authorities. PlanetLaundry Editor Bob Nieman will host an interview-style session with Jeff Gardner, the Laundry Doctor, and Wally Makowski, author of the column “Wash with Wally” found in PlanetLaundry magazine. This one-hour webinar will feature fre-quently asked questions about the proper care of laundered garments, including what cleansers to use (and not use), stain removal and techniques to ensure garments look, smell and feel their best. Learn from some of the best in the business, make your customers happy and keep them coming back when they realize they’ve found the right laundry professional for the job. “We’re excited to be creating fresh, new content for the benefi t of laundry owners across the country. We think that other sectors of the laundry industry will fi nd these resources valu-able as well. We’re especially glad that Wally, Jeff and Bob have agreed to do this webinar. It’s going to be both fun and informative—a real treat!” says Brian Wallace, President/CEO of the Coin Laundry Association. The white paper can be purchased in the CLA’s eStore at www.coinlaundry.org/gar-ment. Established in 1960, the Coin Laundry Association is the largest trade association dedicated to the self-service laundry industry helping thousands of laundry operators get the most from their businesses. Visit us at www.coinlaundry.org. For additional information about this press release or the Coin Laundry Association, please contact Rich Cruz at (630) 953-7920 or at [email protected].


“Unsaleable at Any Price”...Continued from Page 12

When determining the favorability of any commercial lease, keep in mind that the one and only opportunity that the tenant has to negotiate favorable lease terms is at the beginning of a brand new lease. Once a lease is agreed-upon and signed by the parties, there will be no further opportunities for the tenant to change or modify any terms or conditions of the lease.

The one and only choice to be made by a prospective buyer who is considering the purchase of a laundry with an existing lease is a simple “yes” or “no” to the purchase, based on the favorability or unfavorability of the lease.

A landlord will not change the terms or conditions of an existing commercial lease merely to accommodate a buyer.

Excessive Debt

As a coin laundry broker, one of the most unpleasant and regretful duties I experience is having to tell a coin or card laundry owner that his laundry cannot be sold at any price because there is too much existing debt secured by the laundry. In other words, the laundry owner owes more than the laundry is worth.

How does this circumstance come about? There are 7 primary reasons:

1) New equipment purchase does not achieve an expected increase in revenue as projected.

Typically, a new equipment purchase will result in an increase in revenue. However, for any number of reasons, the expected increase can fail to materialize, and the laun-dry owner fi nds himself with a hefty equipment loan payment without the additional revenue to satisfy the loan.

2) Loan balances total more than the laundry is worth.

Just as we have seen in the residential real estate market, some lenders make risky equipment loans that place an excessive fi nancial burden on a laundry. This does not usually occur when the loan is obtained through the equipment distributor, as they recognize the risk and will not make the loan. However, there are other institutional lenders that don’t know the coin laundry business and unknowingly make loans that should never have been approved. The end result is that, too frequently, the loans total more than the fair market value of the laundry in question, at which time the subject laundry becomes unsaleable at any price.

3) Loans were made when the revenue was higher.

Occasionally, loans are made when the revenue was or becomes high enough to bear the debt, only to have some unpredictable event occur, thereby converting a rea-


sonable and responsible loan into an excessive debt burden rendering the laundry unsaleable.

4) Laundry revenue falls into a downward spiral.

Similar to #3 above, unforeseen events can unfavorably affect the fl ow of revenue, thus creating a fi nancial hardship that results in an unsaleable laundry. These unpredictable occurrences can be laundry-related, such as a new laundry being built nearby, excessive competition in the area, losing an anchor tenant in the center, or the reason could be completely unrelated to the laundry, such as personal matters, family issues, job-related occurrences, etc. Otherwise manageable loan payments can become overwhelming thus affecting the saleability of the laundry due to what sud-denly and unexpectedly becomes excessive debt.

5) Due-on-sale clause prohibits a buyer from taking over existing loans.

A due-on-sale clause in a promissory note (loan document) states that, in the event that the owner/debtor sells the laundry, solely at the option of the lender, the loan must be paid in full and cannot be assumed by the buyer. Therefore, the only way that the laundry can be sold is with an all-cash purchase with enough cash to pay off all existing loans. If the debt happens to be higher than the fair market value of the laundry, which is too often the case, the laundry becomes unsaleable, since there is not enough cash in the sale to pay off existing loans.

6) Due-on-sale clause also prohibits a “wrap-around loan.”

A “wrap-around loan” involves leaving the existing loan in place and “wrapping” around it with a larger, all encompassing loan, thus creating two loans, including the existing loan and a new loan. Again this results in an unsaleable laundry when the larger, “wrap-around loan” is higher than the market value of the laundry, which is often the case. In any event, the due-on-sale clause gives the lender the right to call the entire existing loan immediately due and payable, thus preventing the wrap-around loan and any other forms of “creative fi nancing.”

7) The seller is not in position to pay off existing loans.

In most cases, the laundry owner either does not have enough cash available to pay off existing loans or there is not enough cash in the sale, even when both are com-bined, again making the laundry unsaleable at any price.

A New Laundry Being Built Nearby

This is every laundry owner’s nightmare---seeing that huge, menacing sign announcing “New Laundry Coming Soon.”

Your fi rst thought is, “Why me!? Why is it always me!? What did I do to deserve this!?”


For you I have some moderately bad news. But, rejoice, as it is mercifully followed by some good news.

The bad news is that this unexpected, unfortunate turn of events immediately renders your laundry unsaleable at any price.

The good news is that, in the case of a new laundry being built nearby, the unsaleability is only temporary. Eventually, the sun will shine again, and your laundry will return to the land of the living, albeit at a price that may be a bit less than it would have been before the big, nasty sign temporarily ruined your life.

The “when” and the “why” your laundry became unsaleable.

The “when” is obvious. Your laundry became unsaleable the instant the big, ugly sign went up.

The “why” is predictable. No prospective buyer will invest a hefty sum of money in a laun-dry that is perceived to have a questionable and uncertain future.

The time-span of “unsaleability.”

While the ultimate result of having a new laundry built nearby is uncertain, the time-span involved is predictable.

Your laundry will remain unsaleable from the time the “New Laundry” sign goes up until one year after the new laundry is opened for business. In other words, it will take approxi-mately one year to determine the ultimate effect that the new laundry will have on your store’s eventual, stabilized revenue. Stated yet another way, it will be approximately one year before you know what, in revenue, you have left to sell.

The challenge and the survival strategy.

The challenge you now face is to survive until your laundry’s revenue stabilizes and your store becomes saleable again.

In that regard, I have even more good news. Things are not as bleak as you may think. The challenge is not as great as it fi rst may seem. I know. I’ve been down this road many times before.

The “New Laundry” Survival Strategy in Detail

Note to Coin Laundry News readers: The following information consists of excerpts from an article I previously wrote for the Coin Laundry News. The article offered a complete strategy for surviving the building of a new store near an existing laundry. On the next few pages, I will provide guidelines on how to avoid falling prey to excessive competition from any nearby competitor.


As I stated earlier, every coin or card laundry owner dreads the sudden appearance of that huge, menacing sign that reads, “BRAND NEW COIN LAUNDRY COMING SOON!”

Just about the time you think you have everything under control – business is great… life is good… now this.

Some laundry owners consider this discouraging turn of events to be the proverbial “kiss of death” to their otherwise profi table coin or card laundry.

It isn’t.

Obviously, there is no guarantee that the opening of a new laundry will only have a tem-porary impact on all nearby laundries. But, it is likely to be temporary if affected laundry owners don’t panic and give in to the feeling that all is lost.

There are ways to successfully compete with brand new or big-chain coin or card laundries. My purpose in writing this article is to provide laundry owners with specifi c measures to take in the event of having to compete with the nearby building of a brand new laundry.

The truth of the matter is that there are circumstances under which the building of a new nearby laundry can ultimately serve as a long-term benefi t to existing laundries in the area. And, no, I haven’t lost my mind.

Behold!

Rule #1 - Don’t Panic!

One of the worst, if not the worst mistake laundry owners can make under these circum-stances is to panic and take some drastic measure that, in the long run, is permanently harmful to their businesses.


Remember also, that any drastic measure that you may attempt in an effort to protect and retain most of your business will not only be directed at the big new competitor, but will also negatively impact all laundry owners within your geographical customer base, thereby risk-ing a fi restorm response from other laundry owners. The last thing you want to do is to start a price war that is likely to condemn all competitors in the area to fi nancial suicide.


Do not change wash or dry prices, up or down, unless it’s part of a temporary special promo-tion designed to compete.If you raise prices in an effort to compensate for lost revenue, you will lose customers permanently. If you lower prices in an attempt to undercut the new laundry, you will do long-term harm to your business and jeopardize your future ability to recover lost revenue as the direct result of a price war. Why? Sooner or later your prices will have to be increased


About Phil Moses: Phil Moses was a coin laundry broker, consultant and expert witness with 40 years of expe-rience in the coin laundry industry. He attended the University of Pittsburgh and Bethany College in West Virginia. Phil wrote three books on business subjects and many articles in coin laundry trade publications.

to their present level. It is far easier to keep prices where they are now, rather than to have to raise them in the future without obvious justifi cation. (See “Important Note” below.)

Once poised to compete, as I will explain in this article, don’t panic....stay the course!

Important Note - A word about price increases: There is a set of important and pre-dictable psychological principles that are likely to dictate customer response in the matter of raising wash or dry prices or reducing dryer time-per-cycle.

Guess what. Customers don’t like it!

Under normal circumstances, coin or card laundry owners cannot indiscriminately raise prices without showing some noticeable, offsetting improvement or benefi t to the customer.

For example, if your rent or CAM charges are increased, your customers don’t know and don’t care; if your insurance rate is dramatically increased, your customers don’t know and don’t care; if your utility costs are increased, your customers don’t know and don’t care; and if your tax benefi ts expire, your customers don’t know and don’t care.

Under any of these or similar circumstances, since customers see no benefi t to them, they are likely to resent price increases, negatively impacting your pre-price-increase revenue.

Conversely, if a price increase is accompanied by obvious improvements, such as new or refurbished equipment, signifi cant cosmetic improvement or remodeling, customers will understand your need and are more likely to accept the increases without a resulting nega-tive impact on your revenue.

Rule #4 - Bigger is Not Always Better.

New laundries do not have to pose a devastating threat to surrounding laundries based only on their size. In the coin laundry industry, bigger laundries are not always better.

The characteristics that are vital to the successful operation of a coin or card laundry apply to all laundries, regardless of size.

Rule #5 - The Three Keys to the Successful Operation of a Coin or Card Laundry.

There is no mystery, nor are there profound secrets, to the successful operation of self-service laundries. In order for a coin or card laundry to be successful there are three basic conditions that must be religiously enforced and maintained. The size of a laundry is not one of them.


First, be sure to remember to shift your light-ing and door timers to the winter hours when daylight savings time changes on November 4th. Failure to “fall back” means you are open an hour later than you think, with some possible loss of business. Observers agree that lighting is important to a laundry’s success. Bright and cheerful is the watch word. And yet, as expensive as the cost for electricity has become, running all the lights all day may prove too expensive a way to do it. Depending on the size of your business, the lights in the customer area should be arranged on three individual breakers. Front, center and back lights. They should be set so that each area of the laundry is lit as needed. Perhaps the timer for the rear of the laundry will be on most of the day. The center lights to come on in the early afternoon and the front come on in the late afternoon or early evening. When a laundry faces west, the front lights may be on earlier and drop off during the late morning and come back on in the evening. While splitting the lighting to have timers may be something operators can’t do personally, it could be important for keeping the monthly electricity bill easy to handle. Check with a contractor to see what the price might be. Keep the fl uorescent tubes working and do not let them have blackened ends. That means they are giving out less light for the same juice. Burnt out tubes give out no light, but they use the same amount of electricity as the good ones. Clean off the refl ectors and keep plastic covers clear of dust. Clean means brighter lights. When you purchase new fl uorescent tubes, check with your supplier and be certain you get the most effi cient lighting fi xtures available. The cost difference isn’t much, but the economy and savings on the electrical bill are high. If a laundry’s lighting system has been in

place for a number of years, chances are that it will not be nearly as effi cient as those being installed today. Even the fl uorescent tubes, if they are a few years old, are highly ineffi cient compared with the energy saving tubes on the market today. While doing your checking, look into night lights for security. They cost little to add, but will add a lot to your personal sense of safety for the investment you have made in your coin laundry business. Saves on the electric bill too! A coat of white paint, mirrors or sheets of refl ective wall cover might be a terrifi c money saver too. Having the rear wall of a laundry that refl ects natural light coming in at the front of the laundry is another way to cut the lighting bill. Dark walls anywhere in a coin laundry are a negative against the cost of lighting. Thus a paint brush and lighter paint may be the path to savings. Decorating a laundry isn’t complicated. You fi nd articles about colors and decor in all of the magazines for laundry owners, but it all ends up being about a laundry looking clean, well lit and all machines working. An easy part of looking clean is having the business’s walls painted or fi nished in light colors that refl ect the light. Most laundry fl oor plans were built long and narrow from front to back. The sunlight fi nds it diffi cult to reach from front to back, especially if the rear walls are darker in color. That means the over use of electricity for lighting. In order to lower lighting costs, it might be a good idea to check out your fi xtures and the fl uorescent tubes. While you’re up on the ladder, take some rags and spray to clean the fi xtures so they will refl ect all of the lighting you are actually paying for. Paying attention to little things like lights can help bring you business success. Light walls refl ect the light, whether it is natural sunlight or fl uorescent tubes. Which of these two will cost a coin laundry owner the most money?

Some simple tips for:

Preparing A Laundry For Winter Time DarknessPreparing A Laundry For Winter Time Darkness


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LOOKING FOR PARTS SPECIALIST

PWS - The Laundry Company, the nation’s largest distributor

of laundry replacement parts, is looking for someone with exten-sive laundry parts knowledge. PWS is looking for a candidate that has competency in answer-

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equipment manufacturers. The Company is headquartered in Los Angeles and would prefer someone to live local, however alternative arrangements could

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