You know what I like to see? I like to see a clean, bright laundromat turning customers’ clothes. I like to see wide aisles and warm colors. You know. An inviting place. Because nobody, and I mean nobody wants to wash their clothes in a dark, dirty laundry while rubbing tushies with Bubba The Rank, because there are 2 feet of between washer rows. Yeah. Bubba stinks. He knows it, and everyone in the local area knows it too. Heck, farmers kick him out of their areas, lest their crops get all tainted.
So, why the heck do we do this to ourselves? Why do we keep seeing these laundromats with as much equipment as the distributor man can stuff in the space? Let me get real with you. Who, in the name of the spin cycle, does that benefit?
These guys roll around in their big fancy cars spitting stuff like revenue per square foot. Somehow cramming as much equipment as possible in the space will give you more sales. You know, because the excel spreadsheet says it will.
So what is important here? What drives people to your store? It ain’t number of machines. Let’s have a look at some real deal conversations with real deal characters. I even talked to Bubba the Rank. Didn’t want to leave his stinky opinion out of the mix.
Things people actually want in a laundromat:
- Clean. CLEAN the laundry. Yeah, this is hard as heck. Yeah Bubba and his brothers are going to wreck your laundry 30 seconds after you clean it. And yup, those dryer sheets will not find their way into the 382 trash cans you have in your facility. Part of the deal. Deal with it and move on. You make your money by cleaning your laundry. But you know that, because you are freaking brilliant. Oh, and make the place look like a beacon from space already. Bright lights, people. Happy happy happy and all that.
- Ease of Use. Put some freaking thought into your design already. If you are working with a jack-leg distributor that wants to shove 500 pieces into your 3,200 square foot laundry, tell him to shove that equipment somewhere else. You want a layout that is easy to get to the washers, easy to get heavy wet clothes to the dryers, and easy to get to the folding tables. I just ordered some of those automatic doors for my laundry, because one of my super smart laundromat owner customers turned me on to the fact that folks have a hard time opening doors and carrying clothes at the same time. Duh. I feel dumb for not figuring that one out myself.
- Convenience. People don’t want to go anywhere or do anything. You know what I mean? So be sure to put your spot in a place where people will see it, use it, and like it. Location is EVERYTHING, and I mean EVERYTHING. So don’t hustle yourself into a disaster. Take your time and do it right. If you already have a laundry, think convenience of use, and reread number 2 about 56 times. Go ahead. I will wait.
Look, here is the deal in a nut shell so you can easily fit it in your gourd with your latest Lifetime movie binge: We want to help you. We want you to make as much money as you can make in your business. Let us. (615) 885-1115.