American Coin-Op - September 2023

Evaluating the Competition Scoping out challengers can provide invaluable intelligence INSIDE: SEPTEMBER 2023 TOOLS THAT EMPOWER REMOTE MANAGEMENT

TEAM BUILDING IN TODAY’S CHALLENGING LABOR MARKET

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CONTENTS SEPTEMBER 2023 VOLUME 64 ISSUE 9

COVER STORY

EVALUATING THE COMPETITION Scoping out nearby challengers can provide you with invaluable intelligence. Consultant Beverly Blank discusses her approach while four laundry owners from around the country share how they’ve kept an eye on their competition.

(Image: View through binoculars © Viktoria Nevzorova/iStockphoto; laundromat graphic © urfinguss/iStockphoto)

INSIDE

6 COLUMNS

12 APPRECIATING THE POWER OF

REMOTE MANAGEMENT TOOLS

In today’s interconnected world, vended laundry operators have come to realize the power of smart tools that help them remotely direct and improve their laundry during times when they aren’t there in person.

22 POINTERS FROM PAULIE B: BRAND DEVELOPMENT: SET YOURSELF APART FROM THE START

Whether you’re starting a new laundromat or seeking to revamp an existing one, establishing a strong and distinctive brand identity can be key to attracting and retaining customers, writes retired multi-store owner Paul Russo.

18 TEAM BUILDING IN TODAY’S

CHALLENGING LABOR MARKET

It can be difficult to find and retain good employees, so the Coin Laundry Association presented a webinar suggesting how laundromat owners can build an effective team and what they can do to keep their managers and attendants motivated and dedicated to their business.

DEPARTMENTS 4 VIEWPOINT 25 DISTRIBUTOR EVENTS 26 PRODUCT NEWS

DID YOU KNOW...

28 NEWSMAKERS 30 CLASSIFIEDS 31 AD INDEX

2 AMERICAN COINOP SEPTEMBER 2023

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American Coin-Op has released podcast episodes on a variety of industry-related topics? Give one a listen at AmericanCoinOp. com/podcasts.

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VIEWPOINT Charles Thompson, President Donald Feinstein, Publisher E-mail: dfeinstein@ATMags.com Phone: 312-361-1682

Bruce Beggs, Editorial Director

UPON CLOSER EXAMINATION

E-mail: bbeggs@ATMags.com Phone: 312-361-1683

Mathew Pawlak, Production Manager Nathan Frerichs, Digital Media Director E-mail: nfrerichs@ATMags.com Phone: 312-361-1681

ADVISORY BOARD

Bruce Beggs

In the dog-eat-dog world of small business, keeping tabs on your competition has become an art form. It’s like spying, but with fewer tuxedos and more spreadsheets.

This month’s cover story is about “Evaluating the Competition” and how laundry businesses seek avenues to gain a competitive edge and improve their market position.

These evaluations help companies to understand their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, ultimately aiding in better decisionmaking and strategic planning. They can reveal emerging trends and customer preferences.

I spoke to consultant Beverly Blank about her suggestions for pulling off a successful stealthy store visit, Dolly Parton wig optional. Plus, I checked in with four laundry business owners to find out how they perform this intelligence gathering and use the information collected.

By its nature, competition often means someone wins and someone loses, but in the grand scheme of things, it’s healthy and keeps industries like ours evolving and serving customers better.

Pick up your binoculars and peer at page 6 for the details.

••••• As you may have already learned, there’s been a little shake-up in the leadership ranks of American Trade Magazines LLC, the parent company of American Coin-Op and two other textile care trade publications.

Effective Aug. 1, Associate Publisher Donald Feinstein, who has headed our sales department since 2011, was promoted to publisher (see the official Newsmakers brief on page 28).

Charlie Thompson remains president while taking a step back from day-to-day responsibilities at ATM. Don and I have worked well together for 20-plus years, so I’m excited to see where this next step in his career takes him and our publications.

Congratulations, Don! Bruce Beggs Editorial Director

4 AMERICAN COINOP SEPTEMBER 2023

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Douglas Pratt Tony Regan Sharon Sager

Michael Schantz Matt Simmons

OFFICE INFORMATION Main: 312-361-1700

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American Coin-Op (ISSN 0092-2811) is published monthly. Subscription prices, payment in advance: U.S., 1 year $50.00; 2 years $100.00. Single copies $10.00 for U.S. Published by American Trade Magazines LLC, 650 West Lake Street, Suite 320, Chicago, IL 60661. Periodicals postage paid at Chicago, IL and at additional mailing offices.

POSTMASTER, Send changes of address and form 3579 to American Coin-Op, Subscription Dept., 125 Schelter Rd., #350, Lincolnshire, IL 60069-3666.

Volume 64, number 9. Editorial, executive and advertising offices are at 650 West Lake Street, Suite 320, Chicago, IL 60661. Charles Thompson, President and Publisher. American Coin-Op is distributed selectively to owners, operators and managers of chain and individually owned coin-operated laundry establishments in the United States. The publisher reserves the right to reject any advertising for any reason. © Copyright AMERICAN TRADE MAGAZINES LLC, 2023. Printed in U.S.A. No part of this publication may be transmitted or reproduced in any form, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher or his representative. American Coin-Op does not endorse, recommend or guarantee any article, product, service or information found within. Opinions expressed are those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the views of American Coin-Op or its staff. While precautions have been taken to ensure the accuracy of the magazine’s contents at time of publication, neither the editors, publishers nor its agents can accept responsibility for damages or injury which may arise therefrom.

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Evaluating the

Competition

(Image: View through binoculars © Viktoria Nevzorova/iStockphoto; laundromat graphic © urfinguss/iStockphoto)

by Bruce Beggs, Editorial Director

Scoping out nearby challengers can provide invaluable intelligence 6 AMERICAN COINOP SEPTEMBER 2023

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B

everly Blank says her California laundromat developed a nice reputation for its fluff and fold services, striving to set itself apart from the 60 or so competitors that could be found within a mile and a half.

When the facility burned down in 2012, Blank shifted gears to work as a fluff and fold consultant and trainer. Today, her goal is to provide strategic consulting services, including staff training and procedures, to her clients.

She admits being shocked by the number of people who express interest in launching a fluff Blank and fold service yet “have no idea what’s going on with the competition.” www.americancoinop.com

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For each new client who approaches her with thoughts of offering fluff and fold laundry services, evaluating the competition is a key part of her guidance for them.

“What’s important is, and in all the businesses I’ve had—and I’ve had several—I need to know what the competition is doing,” Blank says. “I always liked to be the best. We’re in this business to make money and be successful, so if I can find out what someone else is doing … then I can say this is something we’re going to offer that they’re not. That may cause (the area resident looking for a laundry) to come to our store, because he’s getting the service that he wants.”

(While her consultancy’s focus is on fluff and fold, Blank says the same type of approach can work for self-service laundromat owners assessing the competing stores near them.)

“One of the things I insist my clients do is to conduct a ‘secret shopping’ visit to all fluff and fold competitors within three miles before launching the services,” she says.

Blank arms them or their representative with a lengthy checklist of questions to answer upon visiting.

“Rather than standing around, looking very obvious, I tell them to do a load of laundry,” she says. “While it’s being washed and dried, you can get a lot of information and be rather subtle in your approach.”

Johnny Segal owns and operates Soap Box Laundromat and Laundry Service, filled with 90 pieces of equipment, in Hoover, Alabama, a southern suburb of Birmingham.

He’s been in the business 18 years.

Segal employs six attendants, split between full-time and part-time. He says that since son Jack joined him in 2019, Soap Box has tripled its wash/dry/fold and pickup and delivery service business.

Over the course of time, the elder Segal has regularly evaluated his competition.

That’s meant constantly checking their updates and reviews on their websites, and driving by and walking in to check the vend prices, out-of-order signs, and if they’re doing any upgrades. At times, someone from Soap Box phones a competitor to ask questions about services just to hear the attendant’s answers.

“I probably don’t do it as much now as I did the first dozen years or so, because I kept track of every laundromat in the city,” he says. “I probably went to 15 laundromats a week just to see who was doing business and who wasn’t doing business.”

Through the years, Segal formed the opinion that Soap Box was “doing it better than most, because I was the only laundry in my area that was owner-operated.”

Whenever sizing up a competitor, he’s looking closely at how much they’re charging their customers.

“The pricing, whether it’s machine pricing or wash/dry/fold pricing,” Segal says. “I keep track of it. It gives me a reason to raise prices. When they raise prices, I want to raise prices. Sometimes, I used to wait on my competitors to raise prices but I learned that if you think you need to raise prices, raise prices. Don’t worry about what your competitor is doing.”

It’s easier to track a challenger these days thanks to how much information is shared online. If a laundry installs new machines, they’re likely to post about it on their social media, says Jack Segal. If they’re doing lots of business, you can see it from their reviews.

“I’m not one, like my dad, to drive around and scout my competition once a week,” he says. “I don’t find it as prevalent. As long as I maintain my higher internet presence and keep garnering higher reviews than they are, then I’m not necessarily worried about people going to them.”

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Todd Layne Cleaners & Laundromat got its start in New York City in 2006, founded by management consultant Todd Ofsink. Today, besides self-service, his laundry offers wash/dry/fold pickup and delivery throughout Manhattan, and its service radius is being extended thanks to a new partnership with DoorDash.

“I’m always interested in learning what our competition is up to,” Ofsink says of his laundry’s service area.

Ofsink “Online, it’s very easy. You can look at other laundries’ websites, platforms, and check their pricing.”

Whether traveling by car or foot, he never passes up an opportunity to personally visit a laundromat along his route.

“I just have something innate in me. I just want to see what kind of machines they have and what their pricing is like. Do they offer wash and fold? What kind of marketing are they doing? So I always stop, not just at the ones that are immediately around us — because New York City is so concentrated — wherever I am. If I see ‘Laundry,’ I tend to stop and see what’s going on.”

He wonders if a laundry is offering services in the wash-and-fold category that his operation isn’t.

“We have a customized approach to laundry, so I’m always wondering, ‘Are other people doing that? Are they copying us? Are there things that we could learn from them?’ That’s really how I think about it.”

He admits being more concerned about what other laundry services were doing during the pandemic, especially whether they were open. “At this point, I think it’s a healthy balance. Just checking in physically to see what other people are doing.”

And Ofsink says he isn’t concerned when competitors evaluate his business.

“We see people coming in. You can just tell. They don’t have anything with them while they’re looking at all of our pricing, asking a lot of questions. I always tell my employees, ‘Never view that as a threat.’ If people want to see what we’re doing, if they want to copy what we’re doing, they can do that because we’re always thinking about the next thing we’ll be doing.”

He likes the “mystery shopper” concept but applied to his own operation instead of a competitor’s.

“I like them to report back to me on how my business doing. … It’s a great way to find out how your staff is doing. You have people call your business, ask questions, see what’s going on, or bring an order in and sort of track it, like the full flow. We’ve done it in the past and gotten a report. “‘Is the staff friendly? How responsive were they? (How about) ease of use? How quickly were (you) able to get in and out? Were you satisfied with the service? What did you think of the pricing?’ Those kinds of questions. We’re very interested in finding out.”

As much as one is able to do online these days, the information you pick up from visiting locations in person can’t be recreated, Ofsink says.

“No matter what technology is out there, it doesn’t matter, there’s something that you get from physically visiting another location. You’re in another atmosphere.”

And if the client is uncomfortable with the notion or fears their competitor may recognize them, Blank says she’s willing—for a price—to put on her “Dolly Parton wig and glasses” and take 20 pounds of dirty clothes to the laundry in question, all for the sake of gathering information.

“The bottom line is we want to find out what unique selling positions or ideas they have,” she says.

CHECKING OFF WHAT’S IMPORTANT The nature of your laundry operation is going to influence the information that you seek. If your store is unattended and offers self-service only, then you may limit your focus to just that. If you operate a fullwww.americancoinop.com

8/14/23 8:18 AM

Boost your Wash / Dry / Fold Performance

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service laundry that offers wash/ dry/fold services with pickup and delivery, then the scope of your inquiry will be broader.

Customer needs can vary greatly, so keep that in mind while doing reconnaissance.

“The fluff and fold customer is very different than the walk-in customer,” Blank says. “The fluff and fold customer doesn’t care if you have big machines, small machines. If you have vending. Unimportant! The fluff and fold customer is going to spend five minutes with you, dropping off laundry, picking it up. He’s not interested in the laundromat per se.”

Blank’s evaluation checklist covers 30-plus items and references some of the same features and qualities that someone looking to buy an existing laundry might be curious about.

Here’s a sampling: • What is the laundry’s visibility from the street?

• What is the state of its exterior signage? How is its exterior appearance overall?

• How is the accessibility? Are security cameras visible?

• What are the store hours?

• How large is the laundry? How clean is it inside?

• Is interior signage adequate?

Joe Jepsen, founder of property manager Diamond J Management, owns seven attended O-Town Coin Laundries in and around Ogden and Salt Lake City, Utah. Other than the 6,000-square-foot flagship location, O-Town stores average 3,000 square feet in size.

In his office is a 50-pound bag containing what Jepsen describes as the “cleanest clothing you have ever seen.”

Why? It’s the prop he uses whenever he personally scouts Jepsen competing stores.

“We make a point to keep a close eye on our competitors,” he says.

While waiting for his laundry, he texts all the information he needs — machine counts and sizes; price per cycle for each machine; vending prices and selections; camera and security systems; flooring choice; ceilings and general aesthetics; payment acceptance — directly to his phone.

He also takes note of things like parking capacity; entrances and exits (are there sliding or automatic doors?); machine age; and overall store condition.

“I created a very detailed spreadsheet — I call it my ‘Competition Spreadsheet,’” Jepsen says. “I have a tab for each of our locations, where I put my unit mix of all income-producing machines.”

Every O-Town data point is compared to the same for every competitor within a 5-mile radius; he relies on Google Maps to calculate the distance between a competitor and the nearest O-Town store.

Jepsen updates the spreadsheet every year or two, and whenever any new competitors enter his market.

“Having all the machines listed allows me to quickly refer to them and see their total washer/dryer count, as well as combined laundry machine count,” he says.

“Having all the prices listed allows me to average them all out, so when I want to open a new store, or just look at doing a price increase, I can glance at the average price, and who the highest- and who the lowest-priced stores are.”

Jepsen says he’s learned a lot from evaluating his competition.

“I take competitors serious because I know many laundry owners are like me and want to take market share,” he says. “If you aren’t on the ball, guys and gals like me will eat your lunch if you’re asleep at the wheel.”

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WaveMAX Laundry franchisee John Cooper’s first store has only been open since April in Hialeah, Florida, and he’s keenly aware of the need to size up the competition: “It’s the best way to be able to find your differentiation in the marketplace.”

He recalls doing an initial search of every laundry he could find in his county … and getting tossed out of a few.

Cooper “Took pictures of them, did write-ups on them, and then when I honed in on the neighborhood, we went back out and physically went to every laundry.

“Washed clothes at the laundry, tested them out. Between myself and some earlyhire employees, went through detailed questionnaires on how they’re organized, what they have, what’s good, bad and ugly about them.”

WaveMAX provided “a good bit of (geography-based) data and other things so that we could analyze the market suitability of the location before we got into signing anything or doing anything,” Cooper adds. He also took advantage of location studies from the Coin Laundry Association.

The on-site visits helped position his laundry in the right way but also served as a training tool of sorts.

“I was hiring people who didn’t have a background in the laundry business, same as me,” says Cooper, who works full-time as a client partner for a software engineering firm. “So, it’s very instructive to go out and see what your competition is doing, and to see what’s different. Then it helps prep you for how you sell to clients and interact with clients when they come in. It was pretty effective from that standpoint.”

He intends to maintain a steady watch on any challengers.

“I think it has to be done regularly,” Cooper says of the evaluations. “I am choosing to budget it into my manpower planning to be sure I have budget set aside, an hour set aside, for people to go do it.”

• How is the store staffed: none/partially/fully?

• Describe the quality of staff: helpful, pleasant, etc.?

• Payment acceptance: coins, card, etc.?

• Washers: How many? What capacities? What condition? Pricing?

• Dryers: How many? What capacities? What condition? Pricing?

• Does the location offer any ancillary services?

• Are there vending machines? Is there TV available? WiFi? • Does the store offer fluff and fold services? Pickup and delivery?

• Is fluff and fold priced by the pound or by the bag? Is there a minimum poundage required?

• If same-day service is available, is there an additional charge?

Wondering how your laundry compares to the companies you’re competing against can create a certain level of stress. When evaluating a competitor, besides the intelligence you gather, the act itself may boost your confidence because there are fewer uncertainties. Rather than fear what you don’t know, you’ll have a firm grasp of your competitors and how best to position your operation relative to theirs.

“If one of your primary goals is to make this successful and make money, you need to do that,” Blank says. “You need to change pricing, procedures. Sometimes you have to replace staffing because they’re not living up to your expectation.”

Once you begin evaluating your competition, continue to do so infrequently, Blank suggests: “I don’t think a monthly visit to your competition is necessary. I would say every six months or so. I don’t think changes happen (more often). A new store, you would want to go to, or a change of ownership. But I think every six months is more than ample to check out what other people are doing.” www.americancoinop.com

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Appreciating the Power of Remote Management Tools Making connections to view, manage a store anytime from virtually anywhere (Photo: iStock.com/Valerii Minhirov)

by Bruce Beggs, Editorial Director

I

n today’s interconnected world, vended laundry operators have come to realize the power of smart tools that help them remotely direct and improve operations during those times when they can’t—or don’t wish to—visit their business in person.

Security systems, surveillance systems, HVAC thermostats, automatic door locks, payment systems, point of sale (POS) systems and now sophisticated management platforms integrated into laundry equipment are just some of the remote access and management tools being used by today’s self-service laundry owners.

In 2017, Jack Nolan opened Express Wash and Go in Cohoes (pronounced kuh-hoes), New York, north of the state capital of Albany. The unattended self-service laundry has 17 washers and 19 dryers and accepts cash payment.

He chose an equipment brand offering a cloud-based technology suite that accepts Nolan payments, controls machines and enables owners to manage their operation from afar.

“It was an upgrade to the machine at the time and I was more than happy to pay the premium to get that kind of connectivity,” Nolan says. “I don’t know if I was the first, but I was one of the first, I believe, to gain access.”

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Owners can access all of their wash/dry business data — financial, operational, customer, service, machine and maintenance — in a single full-circle view.

“I recognize just from my business acumen that data is essential in really understanding the performance of your business,” Nolan says.

“What you’re doing right, what you can do better, and where the strengths and weaknesses are.”

James Radovic owns two fully attended stores in the Florida communities of Jupiter and Stuart that offer self-service and wash/dry/ fold (the Jupiter store also offers pickup and delivery), and you’d be hard-pressed to find an area of his operation that he’s not able to access or control electronically.

There’s the fully functional POS system for WDF, commercial, and pickup/delivery accounts; accounting software for all of the financial recording; surveillance systems at both locations (including two styles of cameras for multiple views and different response Radovic capabilities); and remote desktop software that enables him to see and update all linked systems from his computer or mobile phone 24 hours a day.

“In almost all of these areas, we tried a bunch of different systems and ended up with what we did based on what really seemed to work well at the time,” he says. “We’ve added to it as we’ve gone on.” www.americancoinop.com

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Radovic then added an iPhone with FaceTime to the “tools” list he’d provided American Coin-Op earlier, because he often uses his to converse with attendants in store about machine issues and the like.

He’s not concerned about growing so dependent on his management tools that he resists visiting his stores in person, but...

“I don’t know if it’s a concern but it’s absolutely the truth,” Radovic says. “I don’t go out as often as I used to because I can see so much and fix so much and do so much remotely. … I go up (to Stuart) maybe once every couple of weeks.”

Steve and Doris Davison set several conditions for themselves upon opening the Country Washboard Laundromat in Burns, Ore., four years ago.

They included payment acceptance by card to curtail vandalism, the pledge to clean the unattended store nightly, and the promise that they wouldn’t “live there,” says Steve. That necessitated a good surveillance system and remote access to all vital store functions.

“We have eight cameras that are accessible from our phones,” he says. “All lights, overhead fans, entry door lock, water for hanging flower baskets, and HVAC are controlled via internet. Most power up automatically, but I choose to open the front door manually from wherever I am (usually in my La-Z-Boy recliner). I always check the cameras at the same time to make sure all is in order.”

Owner Johnny Segal believes he could run his Soap Box Laundromat and Laundry Service—filled with 90 pieces of equipment—in Hoover, Alabama, through its card-based payment system, cloud-based integrated management platform providing data analytics, and security cameras if it were necessary.

“At night or on the weekends, we can log on and see how many machines are started, or how busy we are, or do we need to come back out. Do I need more staffing this afternoon?” he says. “You’re able to do things without having to be here. Sometimes it can be managing employees. Sometimes, it can be managing the system. Sometimes, it can be adding virtual money to attendants’ cards.”

But he chuckles that they really don’t run things remotely because “we’re here all the time.”

Even so, son Jack, who joined his father’s staff a few years ago, has trouble imagining running Soap Box and its popular WDF service the same way without the tools they use.

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“I couldn’t on the weekends, when I don’t want be in here, I couldn’t imagine how you kept up with it, or the anxiety that you felt sitting on your couch, not knowing what was happening at the store,” he says.

For WaveMAX Laundry franchisee John Cooper, his Hialeah, Fla., laundry business is a “side hustle” to his full-time job as a client partner for a software engineering firm.

“I get down there as much as I can. The advice I’ve gotten from experienced people is you’ve got to be in your store,” he says. “I work around my situation. It’s a staffed model, so there’s always someone in the store, a franchise requirement. There’s always at least one person working in the store.”

At this WaveMAX location, payment and POS systems enable Cooper to have “eyes on” when and where needed.

“But it is good to be able to see it and check into stuff,” he says. “If I’ve got to coach somebody through a transaction problem or something like that, or I’ve got to troubleshoot it, I can do it from afar. I don’t have to be there.”

Todd Ofsink’s New York-based Todd Layne Cleaners & Laundromat offers WDF pickup and delivery service throughout Manhattan. A POS system, an accounting system and security cameras are among the tools in place offering Ofsink remote access and management capabilities.

“We’ve been able to integrate so many of them,” he says. “We all use Google Sheets, so no matter where I am or where my employees are, we can all share what’s going on” in cases where a customer claims their laundry is missing or something similar.

“We have the tools to go to the video and actually see what happened. We can get into the point of sale system from any tablet or iPhone and check to see the status of that. We can see the sales figures for the month. We can run reports. We can export emails to send to customers, do an email blast.

“I feel like these tools are sort of coming together and we’re all sharing. And everyone sort of knows what’s going on at the same time.

We’re all on the same page.”

Whenever a laundry owner can’t be onsite in their store, it’s got to feel good knowing they can “visit” virtually and that they’re only as far away as their remote management tools. www.americancoinop.com

8/14/23 11:50 AM

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Team Building in Today’s Challenging Labor Market Finding, motivating employees to stay dedicated to your business

by Bruce Beggs, Editorial Director

I

t can be difficult to find and retain good employees in today’s labor market, and the Coin Laundry Association (CLA) recently presented a webinar suggesting how laundromat owners can build an effective team and what they can do to keep their managers and attendants motivated and dedicated to their business.

A trio of laundry business owners described their operations, their personnel, and how they oversee this most important of assets.

Patrick Dreis of Empire Laundry Service owns three laundromats and a commercial plant where his staff processes fluff-and-fold orders.

Located in Southern California and the Inland Empire region, his service area includes Riverside and San Bernardino counties east of Los Angeles.

His laundromats are open daily around the clock, and he has about a dozen employees right now.

“At the laundromats, it is friendly, customer service-oriented people that, for me, are bilingual. Gotta speak Spanish and English,” Dreis says of his business culture. “And just gotta be a nice person. You can talk to people. I tell the gals just clean, walk around and chat people up, just be nice to people. It’s not rocket science, it’s not that hard.

18 AMERICAN COINOP SEPTEMBER 2023

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(Photo: © New Africa/Depositphotos)

“At the commercial plant, it is a little different. … We have a wholesale shirt business and the dry cleaners are quite picky about the quality, so I like to get people at the plant that used to work at a dry cleaner and have a little bit of experience in the business. We’re not doing dry cleaning, we do the wet laundry, but we do finish the shirts. We have shirt machines and presses and we do all the wash and fold, about 20,000 pounds a month. We do pickup and delivery. It’s a big process. It’s a lot more work than the laundromat is.”

Ed Ellis and his wife own 1 Clean Laundry. They’ve been in the industry since 2009. They sold their first store in Winter Park, Florida, to build one closer to their home in Saint Cloud. The operation does about 70,000 pounds of wash/dry/fold (WDF) work each year.

There are three full-time employees, including a “lead” who’s worked for 1 Clean seven years. Ellis has his staff do their WDF work “right out in the front,” which he believes can help convert self-service business.

“I don’t hire anyone with laundry experience … Those that I have in the past, never really made it out of training before I had to let them go. They bring what I consider mistakes or bad habits from prior laundromats … www.americancoinop.com

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So, I like a fresh piece of clay, so to speak, that I can mold into my perfect employee, and they get along quite well.

“And when I do the hiring, I try to look for someone who’s friendly, customer service-focused, a little bit on the older side that has some work experience, and not a lot of gaps in their résumé. I like to see longevity, not someone who’s a job-hopper. That helps build the team.”

Tyesha Offiong and her husband own two A&Q Laundry Room locations in New Jersey and have been in business since 2015. The store in South River measures about 1,300 square feet and the other in Runnymede is roughly twice that size.

They employ eight people, all part-time, and they have no managers as of yet, she says. The usual upkeep of the laundromats and wash-and-fold customer service are the primary responsibilities.

“The culture of my business is more of a family-oriented environment,” Offiong says. “We try to stay as positive as possible and try to incorporate, or strive for, excellent customer service. But most importantly, we wanted to be a comfortable, family-oriented environment where (customers) can come socialize, do laundry … The team that I have is also along the family-oriented mind. We want them to be as friendly as possible. We engage with our customers. We have a lot of regulars that come in every day just to see who’s working on shift to socialize and keep up with the latest gossip, if you will.”

RECRUITMENT AND TRAINING How do you recruit good employees? How do you onboard and train them?

Offiong posts ads online and uses social media and word-of-mouth in her search for workers. Sometimes, she’ll sit and chat with customers in her stores, where she may learn that they or a family member are looking for part-time work and may be interested in her openings.

She says she does much of the employee “101” training one-on-one because she wants to ensure all operations and protocols are in place and everyone is on the same page.

“And after doing that one-on-one, I will overlap a schedule of the potential person with some of my team members just so that they can see different shifts, different customers, different time, different washable quantity, so they’ll get a feel of what it’s like on the morning shift versus an afternoon shift versus the midday shift.”

“We use Indeed, Facebook and the old ‘Help Wanted’ sign in the window,” says Dreis. “Usually, that combination will get me somebody that’s halfway decent. And I’m the one that does the onboarding and training because I want everyone trained the same way so that we’re all doing the same process the exact same way. And I know that they’ve got all the information when they’re cut free on their own after five days of training.”

Specific to identifying management prospects, Ellis says he looks for someone who strives for more.

“Has the motivation behind them. Asks a lot of questions. Wants to learn more about the business itself, and if they do have some leadership abilities. How are they talking to their other team members? If they are trying to coach them up, that’s someone I’d be looking towards. If they’re trying to put other team members down, probably not going to make out as a good manager.”

“To find that needle in the haystack is someone that definitely shows more interest, is eager to learn and elevate themselves,” Offiong says “So the more I can encourage and empower that, the more you can probably find someone that would fit that position.”

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MANAGING AND MOTIVATING How would you describe your management style, and what do you do to motivate your team?

“I view myself more of a coach rather than a boss,” Ellis says. “I believe a coach is going to try and develop the employee into the best employee that they could possibly be with their own skill sets.”

If his workers meet certain criteria—do good work, provide customer service, don’t arrive late, and don’t call off sick—they earn a bonus of 10 cents per pound of the WDF volume they produce.

“That motivates them to bring in more WDF and do a good job at the same time,” he says.

1 Clean also uses what Ellis calls a “love card.” The card with a $2 off coupon is attached to each WDF order and reads, ‘Your order was provided with love by...’ and is signed by the employee.

“So when someone puts their name on a piece of work, it kind of motivates them to do a better job because they’ve signed off on it and we know exactly who did what,” he explains.

“I like to be the coach of the team and not necessarily the boss,” Offiong says. “I like to be fair, flexible. I like to encourage and empower my staff. I don’t like to micromanage. That hasn’t really worked out well for me. I like to give them the autonomy to work. I’m very transparent with them. I set expectations, you know, ‘This is what needs to be done.’

That’s right up front, there’s no questions or problems with regards to that. And I express my gratitude and appreciation.”

At his laundromats, Dreis entrusts the manager on duty “to run the place. In some sense, their shop.” At the WDF plant, team leaders are in charge of the shifts. There is an incentive program that generates end-ofmonth bonuses when comparing sales with labor costs.

“That seems to be the biggest thing, just paying people,” Dreis says.

“Cash is king. People do a good job, give them some extra money. Let them do what they want with it. That’s like the universal thing.”

ONE PIECE OF ADVICE If you had just one piece of advice to give for how to build a strong and effective team, what would it be?

“My right-hand guy has been with me for about 20 years and … is getting ready to retire. So I know the next couple of months, it’s a big hole that is not going to get replaced right away,” Dreis says. “I know my life is gonna get busier but yet you can ask people to do stuff, but I like to do it with them the first time. … ‘I’m not going to ask you to do anything that I can’t do, or haven’t done before’ type of thing. ‘I’m asking you to do stuff I don’t want to do anymore.’ … Be nice to people and pay them.”

“My best piece of advice is never ask your attendants or your employees to do something that you’re not willing to do yourself,” Offiong says.

“Once you show them that you’re willing to do it, and you have done it, they’re more inclined to be right on board and do things with you.”

“Before you can build a strong team, you need to improve yourself,” Ellis says. “So, never stop reading. Read books on leadership coaching. And the more you can learn, then you can help develop your team that much better. … Train your people well. Give them the tools they need to do the job correctly, and have your open door and listen to your people.”

The Coin Laundry Association frequently offers webinars that cover topics such as marketing, store operations and management, and new investor education. Visit www.coinlaundry.org/events/webinars to learn more. www.americancoinop.com

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POINTERS FROM PAULIE B

BRAND DEVELOPMENT: SET YOURSELF APART FROM THE START I

Paul Russo

n today’s business landscape, brand development plays a pivotal role in setting businesses apart from their competitors. Whether you’re starting a new laundromat or seeking to revamp an existing one, establishing a strong and distinctive brand identity is key to attracting and retaining customers. This is especially true when it comes to multiple locations.

If you plan on opening more than one location, I highly recommend coming up with a catchy name and logo. This will represent your brand.

You need to think past letter-type names like “J & M Laundromat” that are hard for people to remember. Your personal name can instill confidence, however, that a real person is running the show and is proud enough of the mat to display his/her name.

Even if you have one location, it still makes sense to think hard about a great name and logo.

For starters, you never know if, down the road, you’ll change your mind and want to open more locations. Two, even just one location with a strong brand that’s easy for people to remember can bring you customer loyalty if you operate the mat in a quality way.

After all, the hope is you’ll have your brand for many profitable years.

There’s only one scenario in which I believe it’s not wise to develop your brand: if you plan on maintaining a run-down, poor-quality laundromat.

In that case, don’t bother, because your brand will be shunned due to bad experiences. Additionally, having a brand

The well-lit, branded sign in front highlighted this Mr. Machine Laundromat’s qualities and key service offerings. (Photo courtesy Paul Russo) 22 AMERICAN COINOP SEPTEMBER 2023

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where customers find the same disappointments at other locations will actually work against you.

CUSTOMER FEEDBACK WILL GUIDE YOU If you feel as I do, that you want to deliver to the public the best mat you can muster, then your brand can be a nice, profit-making benefit.

It shouldn’t just be about aesthetics. It should be about the entire customer experience.

Focus on providing exceptional service, maintaining cleanliness, and ensuring a comfortable, safe and welcoming environment. Train and incentivize your staff to deliver friendly, top-notch customer service and implement systems to address customer feedback and concerns promptly.

We all know about what I just suggested. However, your particular customers may also respond positively or negatively to other things that you may not have thought of. You may be able to guess that “not enough seating” is an issue to be solved, for example, but how do you know for sure what else your customers like or dislike?

Gathering feedback is important to help guide you toward what your customers really want and need, so stop guessing and simply ask them! A good customer survey, whether on paper or online, can really help with this.

HOW TO DEVELOP YOUR BUSINESS BRAND To really develop your brand, your mat must stand out in ways that differentiate it from your competition. I’m talking unique here. What is it about your mat that customers would seek out while passing up others?

It could be that each location has beautiful quartz folding tables, is air-conditioned, or has automatic entrance doors.

Maybe it’s got the biggest washers in town, offers high-speed extract that saves time, or showcases comfortable, roomy layouts.

Can customers find the same easy parking at each location?

The same high quality of professional employee service?

Do your mats offer anything unique in drop-off service, such as sock wrappers, or a unique, pleasant fragrance from their softener?

Whatever things your mats have that make them unique, customers should have the confidence that they will find these desirable attractions at each of your locations.

If you have multiple locations, try your best to deliver the same attractions, the same equipment, and the same level of professionalism in all of them. (This is what many fast food companies do. A Dunkin’ Donuts in New York City will be very similar to www.americancoinop.com

8/11/23 11:01 AM

a Dunkin’ Donuts in Los Angeles.)

This will build trust that customers will be satisfied no matter which of your locations they decide to patronize.

In other words, in order for you to really develop your brand well, there must be consistency of your brand’s unique attractive features throughout all your locations because … consistency builds trust.

I can’t tell you how many times I was able to retain customers who moved away from one of my New York City stores, only to start patronizing another location of mine near their new residence.

Also, if one of your mats goes down temporarily for any reason, customers can be directed to your other locations.

When you have multiple locations using the same name and logo, customers will perceive that you must be doing something good to be opening other locations, and they are right.

Similarly, each time a customer comes to your mat, they should get the same experience that attracted them there in the first place.

So, be careful about making too many radical changes without thinking them through first.

You may even want to ask what your customers think in another survey, before you go ahead!

REACHING YOUR TARGET MARKET Advertising your brand should be efficient so as to not waste your budget. A shotgun approach isn’t a very efficient use of your ad dollars, because not everyone you advertise to in a broad way will be interested in using your laundromat.

For instance, you can narrow your online advertising to just your ZIP code, or add a nearby ZIP code, but understand that most people won’t travel more than a few miles to you unless your mat is head and shoulders above any other competitor in the market.

Draw a ring around your location on a map. A city location may only require a 1-mile radius, while other less populated/dense areas may require going further out. Experiment with your service radius.

If there’s an area nearby that has poor laundromat facilities, target it.

Target the right demographics: the people who rent, because they’re much more likely to use a laundromat, especially if their landlords don’t offer laundry facilities or maintain their common laundry poorly.

Become an integral part of your local community by participating in events, sponsoring local initiatives, or partnering with neighboring businesses. Engage with customers on social media, respond to their queries, and foster a sense of community within your laundromat.

Building strong relationships with customers will strengthen your brand’s reputation and encourage loyalty.

And make sure that you use your brand and logo on everything the public sees.

WHY ARE LOGOS IMPORTANT? A logo is not just about identifying your brand. There are lots of customers who can’t read a word of English, and even more who are functionally illiterate. A logo that’s selfexplanatory—such as an image of a washing machine—will help these customers know

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SEPTEMBER 2023 AMERICAN COINOP 23

8/11/23 11:01 AM

POINTERS FROM PAULIE B you are advertising a laundromat.

Secondly, logos are important for creating mental retention. It’s much easier for people to remember and recognize a logo. Remember, “A picture is worth a thousand words.”

Your logo is up to your own imagination but I believe that it should be related to the laundry business.

To spark your imagination, try Googling “Laundromat Logos” for some ideas. It’s not wise to copy someone else’s logo, though. You may be forced to take it down, and worse.

I’ve seen lots of mats use some form of an animated washing machine, or a bunch of bubbles, around their name. You could also go “vintage” with an image of a washboard, for instance.

Or, you can go completely off the wall with a uniquely unusual logo that has nothing whatsoever to do with laundry. So, let me share the story of “The Happy Pumpkin Car Wash.”

Many decades ago, before I was even in the laundry business, a man bought a local car wash in my neighborhood. There were three other competing car washes in the area.

After the man took over his car wash, he cleaned it up and installed some new things to make it better. Overall, it wasn’t head and shoulders above the rest, but he had raised it up to an equal, if not slightly better, car wash than the three competing businesses.

But what he did with its logo was brilliant.

He changed the business name to The Happy Pumpkin Car Wash and placed a big sign on the roof in the shape of a smiling pumpkin.

Aside from the pumpkin logo on his smaller signs and his business cards, that was about it!

The Happy Pumpkin ended up becoming the most popular car wash in our area, because of the name. It created buzz. People would laugh and say, “What a ridiculous name for a car wash,” but they never forgot it! So, whenever somebody needed a car wash, they thought of the Happy Pumpkin.

The owner eventually died, and the new owner—thinking the name was stupid—changed it. Guess what? The car wash eventually closed.

Getting back to the makings for your business logo, be sure to register your creation

with the U.S. Copyright Office (https://www. copyright.gov). It’s not difficult or expensive to protect this vital asset.

Post all your store locations under the same logo on all printed and online materials. What good is brand development if customers are not aware that they can get the same or similar treatment at another of your locations?

Once you have branded your mat, do everything you can to maintain that identity so that it’s held in high esteem by as many people as possible. People will remember your brand, so you want them to remember only good things.

Brands work most effectively, I believe, if you are operating a high-quality laundromat in the upper end of your market.

What impressions does your brand elicit from your customers?

Paul Russo owned and operated multiple laundromats in New York City for more than 40 years before retiring in 2018. You’re welcome to direct any questions or comments for Russo to Editor Bruce Beggs at bbeggs@atmags.com.

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Distributors Gearing Up for Fall Show Season

ummer runs its course this month, which means a calendar full of opportunities for vended laundry owners and investors to attend distributor special events and open houses is right around the corner.

Here is a brief rundown of events through October as reported to American Coin-Op. Call, email, or visit the website listed for details and registration information. In many cases, space is limited.

Sept. 8 — Alliance Laundry Systems Distribution West Fall Laundry Festival in San Diego; https://distribution.alliancelaundry. com/event/west-region-fall-show/.

Sept. 9 — Alliance Laundry Systems Distribution West Fall Laundry Festival in South Gate, Calif.; https://distribution.alliance laundry.com/event/west-region-fall-show/.

Sept. 9 — ACE Commercial Laundry Equipment So. Cal. Warehouse Show/Sale in Westminster, Calif.; 887-630-7278, https://aceaundry.com.

Sept. 9 — Coin-O-Matic Service School: Maytag Stack Multi-Load Dryers in Alsip, Ill.; https://www.coinomatic.com/commercial-and-

www.americancoinop.com

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coin-laundry-repair-service/service-schools-23.

Sept. 12 — Advanced Laundry Systems/ Dexter Service School Open House - Texas in El Paso; https://www.advlaundry.com/ dexter-training.

Sept. 13 — Alliance Laundry Systems Distribution West Fall Laundry Festival in Las Vegas; https://distribution.alliancelaundry.com/ event/west-region-fall-show/.

Sept. 14 — Advanced Laundry Systems/ Dexter Service School Open House - Colorado in Golden; https://www.advlaundry.com/ dexter-training.

Sept. 16 — Alliance Laundry Systems Distribution West Fall Laundry Festival in San Francisco; https://distribution.alliancelaundry. com/event/west-region-fall-show/.

Sept. 19 — Commercial Laundry Equipment Co. Fall Service School in Richmond, Va.; https://commlaundry.com.

Sept. 21 — AAdvantage Laundry Systems Service School in Raleigh, N.C.; https://www. aadvantagelaundry.com/commercial-laundryequipment-raleigh-durham.

Oct. 3 — Western State Design Service School in Cerritos, Calif.; https://www.

westernstatedesign.com.

Oct. 5 — Western State Design Service School in Hayward, Calif.; https://www. westernstatedesign.com.

Oct. 10 — Western State Design Service School in Portland, Ore.; https://www. westernstatedesign.com.

Oct. 12 — Western State Design Service School in Phoenix, Ariz.; https://www. westernstatedesign.com.

Oct. 14 — Coin-O-Matic Service School: Speed Queen Commercial Dryers in Alsip, Ill.; https://www.coinomatic.com/commercial-andcoin-laundry-repair-service/service-schools-23.

Oct. 17 — AAdvantage Laundry Systems Service School in Garland, Texas; https://www. aadvantagelaundry.com/commercial-laundryequipment-garland-tx.

Oct. 18-19 — Gold Coin Laundry Equipment Founder’s Day Sale in Jamaica, N.Y.; https://www.goldcoinlaundry.com.

Oct. 19 — Scott Equipment Service School in Houston, Texas; https://www.scottequipment.com/.

Refer to the AmericanCoinOp.com Calendar 24/7 for the latest events information!

SEPTEMBER 2023 AMERICAN COINOP 25

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PRODUCT NEWS «

CURBSIDE LAUNDRIES UNVEILS RETURN ON ADVERTISING SPEND (ROAS) MODULE

Curbside Laundries, which provides advanced laundry business and POS solutions, introduces the Return on Advertising Spend (ROAS) module.

The new module enhances Curbside’s software and offers laundromat owners what the company describes as “unprecedented visibility” into the effectiveness of their digital advertising campaigns.

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Laundromat owners will be able to see the names of every customer acquired through advertising, how many orders they placed, and how much they spent over time, the company says. By providing detailed insights into customer behavior, spending habits, and the performance of individual advertising campaigns, the ROAS report enables businesses to make informed decisions, optimize marketing investments, and enhance overall profitability.

Laundromat owners can gain valuable data on customer spending, order frequency, and the specific digital ad campaigns that drive the most conversions.

By tracking customer spending over time, laundromats can focus on building longterm relationships, convert-

ing new customers into repeat clients, and fostering brand loyalty, the company says.

Businesses can measure the true impact of their marketing efforts and channel resources effectively to drive revenue growth. The report also identifies prospective customers who clicked on ads but haven’t placed an order yet.

Matthew Simmons, who co-founded Curbside with brother Aaron, observes, “Numerous laundry owners spend thousands of dollars per month in advertising and they had no idea if their ads are working. With our new report, laundry owners will know to the penny how much revenue they are making from their digital ads.”

“Wash and fold and pickup and delivery is a retention business,” adds Aaron. “This report reveals the lifetime value of new customers acquired by advertising.”

www.curbsidelaundries.com

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8/11/23 11:05 AM

PRODUCT NEWS «

KIOSOFT LAUNCHES LATEST ADD VALUE STATION INNOVATION

KioSoft introduces the AVU Touch 17 Kiosk to its lineup of Add Value Stations for laundry. It is a rear-loading, high-security kiosk that features a large, interactive, 17-inch touch screen with a friendly and intuitive interface.

The “Touch 17” features a Smart Dispenser, offering customers an easy, one-step process for purchasing a Cloud Laundry Card (or multiple cards at once) and adding value to the card(s). The Smart Dispenser also provides increased capacity (350 cards), effectively reducing refill runs for technicians, the company says.

KioSoft says the AVU Kiosk Series is one element of its full lineup of digital laundry payment solutions. Its innovative, fullsystems approach, providing laundry operators with a feature-rich solution, is what sets the series apart.

This difference includes wirelessly connected systems for health monitoring, support capability, and reporting to KioSoft’s Washboard portal. Additionally, all readers support both contactless cards and mobile payment with the company’s free CleanPay Mobile app – boasting over 6 million users worldwide.

Because all KioSoft products have been EMV-certified since the

standard came to the United States, there is no need for an expensive upgrade, the company says. Furthermore, its kiosks are now certified to accept EBT payments for utmost versatility.

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NEWSMAKERS EVI INDUSTRIES TO ACQUIRE ALCO WASHER CENTER

FEINSTEIN PROMOTED TO AMERICAN COINOP PUBLISHER

Commercial laundry and drycleaning equipment distributor EVI Industries Inc. reports it is in the process of acquiring New Castle, Pennsylvania-based ALVF Inc., doing business as ALCO Washer Center, a distributor of commercial laundry products and a provider of related technical installation and maintenance services to vended and on-premise laundry customers. Terms of the pending deal were not announced.

Through ALCO, Miami-based EVI says it will increase its customer base and expand its distribution and service footprint in the Northeast.

Upon closing, ALCO will join EVI’s Northeast Group. Consistent with EVI’s operating philosophy, ALCO will continue to operate under its current name and from its present location, and have the full extent of EVI’s resources with which to execute on various growth opportunities in its region.

The transaction is expected to close upon the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

Once completed, it will mark EVI’s 25th acquisition of a successful, family-owned commercial laundry business, EVI adds.

American Trade Magazines LLC (ATM), the Chicago-based parent company of textile care B2B publications American Coin-Op, American Drycleaner and American Laundry News, announces a change in leadership.

Effective August 1, Associate Publisher and National Sales Director Donald Feinstein has been promoted to publisher, assuming responsibility for the group’s editorial, production, circulation, promotions and sales operations.

Charles Thompson, the longtime head of ATM, remains company president while taking a step back from overseeing day-to-day operations.

He joined the publications group in 1989 as a regional sales manager for then-parent company Crain Communications and earned promotions to national sales manager, associate publisher and Feinstein publisher.

Thompson acquired the magazines from Crain in 2011 and retained Feinstein and two other ATM veterans to ensure the publications’ continuity.

“Don has led our company’s sales department for more than a decade,” Thompson says. “And, as associate publisher, he’s excelled at handling many of a publisher’s duties. He’s earned the opportunity to take this next step in his career and I’m excited to watch his continued growth as an executive and a leader.”

Feinstein, a graduate of Drake University, joined the ATM team in 2001 as production manager before shifting to ad sales as a regional manager in 2005. When Thompson acquired the magazine group, Feinstein was named national sales director, then several years later added the duties of associate publisher.

“In every position I’ve held with American Trade Magazines, I’ve had the opportunity and pleasure to interact with our industry’s leading manufacturers and distributors, as well as the amazing audience of laundry and drycleaning business owners, facility administrators and managers that our magazine group serves,” he says. “I look forward to building on those relationships and continuing ATM’s tradition of industry service that Charlie has set.”

The American Cleaning Institute (ACI) unveiled a new downloadable safety resource for laundromat customers during childhood injury prevention convention PrevCon 2023 in late July. (Graphic: ACI)

ACI OFFERS FREE SAFETY FLYER TARGETING LAUNDROMATS While convening with hundreds of top safety experts and partners at a childhood injury prevention convention, the American Cleaning Institute (ACI) launched a new resource to promote the safe use of liquid laundry packets in our nation’s laundromats.

During the Safe Kids Worldwide Childhood Injury Prevention Convention, or PrevCon, ACO highlighted its Packets Up! Campaign.

Now in its 11th year, the effort works to help reduce the number of unintended exposures to liquid laundry packets among children.

ACI launched a new downloadable flyer titled “Laundromat Safety 101: Keep Your Packets Up” that reminds consumers to use laundry packets safely while keeping them out of the reach of children during trips to their laundromat. Information is presented in English and Spanish.

It’s available on the ACI website at https://media.acihq.org/gsp/gs/ mediaobjects/docs/Laundromat.pdf.

“The American Cleaning Institute and the cleaning products industry are committed to supporting and educating all consumers, parents and caregivers on critical injury prevention measures,” says Melissa Hockstad, ACI president/CEO. 28 AMERICAN COINOP SEPTEMBER 2023

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NJDOL TEAMS WITH CLA TO EDUCATE LAUNDROMAT OWNERS As part of its ongoing Strategic Enforcement initiative focused on the retail, coin-operated laundromat industry, the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (NJDOL) has partnered with the Coin Laundry Association (CLA) to provide hands-on help to laundromat owners to increase awareness of workers’ rights and share best practices that eliminate worker exploitation and prevent repeated violations of the state’s wage and hour laws.

“Communication, education and engagement with industry stakeholders plays a huge role in enhancing compliance across this industry,” says Labor Commissioner Robert Asaro-Angelo. “We’ve made it a priority to provide dedicated outreach and tailored education to laundromat employers so they can remain compliant with state labor laws.”

Efforts include a joint presentation that featured NJDOL Wage and Hour Division staff and CLA leadership, who discussed topics such as Earned Sick Leave, minimum wage, overtime, and misclassification. (continued on page 32) www.americancoinop.com

8/15/23 9:21 AM

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NEWSMAKERS (continued from page 28) “We believe that all small businesses should adhere carefully to all state and federal labor laws and requirements, and we look forward to facilitating more education for our members with the aim of taking the best possible care of laundromat employees,” says Brian Wallace, CLA’s president and CEO. Working with CLA has allowed NJDOL to directly communicate important updates and best practices for compliance with Garden State laundromat owners, the agency says. CLA has co-hosted outreach events, posted current state laws and regulations on its website, shared a video message with CLA members and subscribers via social media, and included information about NJDOL’s Strategic Enforcement initiative in its publication.

New Jersey employers and employees can learn more about earned sick leave at mysickdays.nj.gov and wage and hour compliance by reviewing the state’s wage and hour laws.

and delivery. Brian Wallace, Coin Laundry Association president, talked about current industry trends, and Eastern Funding’s Tony Regan (a member of the American Coin-Op Advisory Board) provided a comprehensive overview of growth financing within the industry.

ESD PROMOTES SHULICK TO VP OF CORPORATE AFFAIRS Less than three years after joining ESD Inc. as Corporate Affairs, Compliance and Analysis, the company has promoted David Shulick to vice president of corporate affairs, the provider of vended laundry payment systems reports.

For just shy of 20 years, Shulick ran his own law firm before deciding to join the ESD team. Just before his third-year anniversary at the company, ESD announces the promotion.

“It’s fantastic to continue to grow with a family-owned and -operated organization with more than 50 years of experience in the industry,” Shulick says. “Leveraging my decades of experience in law, I look forward to helping ESD Inc. continue to provide the most secure and reliable payment solutions to the ‘Worldwide Vended Laundry Industry.’”

Shulick is deeply committed to community, cultural and educational initiatives, ESD says. He has an extensive service record with recognized organizations including being a benefactor for the U.S.C. Spielberg Shoah Foundation and a board member of the Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association and Operation Understanding.

CLAY JOINS WASHDRYFOLD POS TEAM AS SALES REPRESENTATIVE HappyNest partners from across the United States came together in Rhode Island to discuss effective strategies for building the growth of laundry pickup and delivery during the company’s 2nd Annual Conference. (Photo: HappyNest)

HAPPYNEST PARTNERS GATHER FOR SECOND ANNUAL CONFERENCE Tech-enabled laundry pickup and delivery service HappyNest hosted its 2nd Annual Partner Conference in early July, gathering more than 50 partners from across the United States for three days of idea sharing and networking in Newport, Rhode Island.

HappyNest supports more than 130 laundromat partners in 38 states in bringing the next-day pickup and delivery laundry service to residents and businesses across the nation. The company reports it processes over 25,000 pickups and over a half-million pounds of laundry every month.

Partners shared ideas surrounding growth, staffing, operations, and industry trends. CEO and founder John MacKrell called the event “a great success.”

“It was a collaborative, productive, and exciting few days to bring together HappyNest partners and share information, pass ideas back and forth, and get feedback from our partners,” he says.

During the conference’s two and a half days, partners had the opportunity to speak with members of the HappyNest team in the Partner Support, Customer Service, Commercial Sales, Technology, and Marketing departments.

Partners Ralph Myers (Jacksonville, Fla.), Charlie Russell (Baltimore) and Mark Hardaway (Los Angeles) spoke on their experiences with recent HappyNest initiatives. A Q&A session allowed partners to share successful strategies and methodologies on staffing and growth; panelists included Hardaway, Charles Measley (Ocean Township, N.J.), Amber Knott (Mobile, Ala.), and Eli Carey (Denver).

HappyNest also welcomed some guests from the laundromat industry to contribute their thoughts on the future and growth of laundry pickup 32 AMERICAN COINOP SEPTEMBER 2023

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In response to increased demand for its hardware, software and credit card processing solution, Wash-Dry-Fold POS reports it has added Rebecca Clay to its team as a sales representative.

She’ll be taking calls with laundromat owners inquiring about purchasing a system from the company. To ensure that team members like Clay grasp the challenges that laundromat owners face daily, Wash-Dry-Fold POS follows a unique approach to training.

Immediately after her hiring, Clay underwent immersive, hands-on training as an attendant at Liberty Laundry, the Oklahoma laundromat where Wash-Dry-Fold POS was originally developed.

Clay By spending time in the trenches and gaining a deep understanding of the daily routines, Clay gained real-world laundromat experience that will enable her to better empathize with the laundromat owners she’ll be serving, according to the company.

“I’ve been folding clothes, using the POS system, and learning the ins and outs of helping self-serve laundromat customers,” Clay says. “The ladies I’ve been working with are amazing.”

She brings a solid banking background to the table, the company says, having skillfully handled sensitive payment information. Her résumé also showcases her experience in managing a local business and handling administrative responsibilities at a local university.

The decision to integrate Clay into the team stems from the company’s commitment to delivering simple solutions that laundromat owners actually need, according to Wash-Dry-Fold POS co-founder Ian Gollahon.

“Wash-Dry-Fold POS helps real laundromat owners solve actual everyday problems in their laundromats. That’s why every person on our staff needs experience working in a high-revenue laundromat,” he explains. www.americancoinop.com

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