Everet's Laundromat Newsletter October 2022

 

Everet's Laundromat Newsletter October 2022 Gotta love October baseball!

I'm a very important title Wow! The Packer season is not going like we hopped it would be, at least so far. Lets hope it turns around. In the meantime we have great October baseball!   There are lots of interesting laundry tips on the blog. Below are three of them. Just click on the link to open an article. Thanks for looking! Everet A Heck of A Nice Guy Featured Articles this Month It is going to start getting cold really quick (some of you in northern Wisconsin are laughing at that statement since you already got 12 inches of snow this month) homeless in your store might be an issue: dealing-with-homeless-when NOT in your store   Part 2: dealing-with-homeless-when-IN your store   The above articles might be a little controversial so here is a plain old tech tip: fixing-Maytag MHN33-f-number-errors if you have the older version: fixing Maytag MHN30-common-errors

Selling? Buying? Call Your Distributor (and maybe others)

 

Between November 2021 and the end of March 2022, 18 laundromats that I was working with changed hands. These 18 stores were owned by 14 owners. If you are looking to buy additional laundromats or sell the ones you own, let your distributor know that you are looking. As a salesperson working for a distributor, there are always people calling asking about getting a store or if we know anyone looking to buy. The main office gets calls and emails all the time from people looking for locations.
A lot of these calls are from "tire kickers," people who don't know how to get into the business and just looking for information. Sometimes calls are from other owners looking to get an idea of what their stores are worth in todays market. There are some of these callers that are legitimate buyers with the backing to buy. The company I work for is not a broker. I and the company do not act as a broker in these situations.
No commissions. No promises. If I find someone that seems to be a good candidate for buying your store I pass their information over to you and let you decide how you want to work with it. If you're selling a store I ask what information you are comfortable with me sharing with prospective buyers. If I talk to a legitimate someone that seems to be a good buyer, I pass their name over to you and you run with it.

Depending on how fast you want to buy or sell, this is also an opportunity to reach out to other distributors and open up some new sources for leads. They get leads too. Some might be the same, but others will be different. Can't hurt. Plus you get more information on other brands and stores and trends in the industry.

So what does the distributor or salesperson get from passing along a lead to you? One of two things.
The chance to help a current customer find another store and maybe sell some more equipment, or the opportunity to meet a new owner with the chance to sell equipment.
A third thing that I get out of it is the opportunity to learn something new.
I've learned that every owner, new or old, can teach me something about equipment, marketing, repairs, and all other aspects of store ownership. I've incorporated these ideas into my own experience or passed these nuggets of wisdom onto other owners to help them improve. Thank you for sharing.

Ev
A Heck of A Nice Guy

Everet's Laundry Newsletter September 2022

 

Everet's Laundry Newsletter September 2022 I hope everyone has had a great summer!

Huebsch There are lots of interesting laundry tips on the blog. Below are three of them. Just click on the link to open an article. Thanks for looking! Everet A Heck of A Nice Guy Featured Articles this Month A common problem of dryers not heating; the sail switch dryers-not-heating-clean-sail-switch   A common problem of dryers not heating; sensors dryers-not-heating-clean-sensors   Ever find torn bills in your changer? Stringing? stringing-bills   I know I said above there are three articles, however here is why you should read the ones that interest you, in my humble opinion of course! why-read-this-blog

Laundry Room Rule #4: Keep the Machines Working

Rule number four is an obvious one, however one that is harder to maintain than most.
This is because of the expenses involved in hiring a technician,
the skill level of yourself or your maintenance people, and the fact you are not able to stand next to the machines 24 hours a day so it is harder to know when machines get broken right away.


Perhaps as a landlord or building manager you do not see laundry machines as a valuable asset. Perhaps they have always been looked at as simply a convenience for your tenants. However I would like to offer a slightly different view. Pretend for a moment that you only have one washer and one dryer. Let’s say you charge two dollars for each one. So the average person who comes down to wash some clothes is going to spend at least four dollars. Two dollars to wash and two dollars to dry. Let’s pretend that the machines get used an average of once per day. That is a total of four dollars per day. Multiply that by 30 days in a month and you have $120 per month in revenue. Multiply that by 12 and you have $1440 per year. Let’s pretend the machine cost $1200 to buy. With just one person using it each day you have paid off that machine in less than a year. The rest of the time that you on that machine, outside of a percentage of money that you allocate towards gas and electric and water, the rest is all profit.
Now let’s pretend the washer is broken but the dryer works. You’re not losing two dollars, you are really losing four dollars. Most people are not going to just use one machine and not the other, especially since they do not wanna carry wet clothes around or have no place to dry clothes or have to wash clothes at your place and then carry wet clothes someplace else to dry. So for every day just one machine is down here losing four dollars. Let’s pretend the machine is broken because of some user error, part, or just simply unplugged by a tenant.
The machine is down for four days a month. Multiply that under $16 a month. That may not sound like much, but as a percentage of your income in an entire month it is over 10%. Take that $16 a month and times that by 12 and now you’re looking at $174 $172 in losses for the year. You’ve just delayed paying off your washer or dryer by that much longer. You have also inconvenienced your tenants and by forcing them to try a laundromat you might have lost the income from that tenant completely.


You may have noticed that I did not include any repair costs in the above scenario. Typically you would hope that you would not have many repairs and the ones that you would have you can take care of yourself. Things like coin jams, belts, door hinges, even control boards are things that anyone on your staff should be able to change. All of the machines today are generally easy enough to maintain that such repairs can be done by People on staff. This is why I like to encourage people when they have washing machines in an area that they can potentially be abused by tenants weather on purpose or by miss use, to purchase new machines rather than used. Used machines save you some money in the beginning, however they do not generally have a warranty for parts or service that last the length of the time that she would like that washer to remain in use. I personally think it is a much better investment on a new machine, because most companies offer a three or five year parts warranty on that machine when you buy it. I like to encourage people to purchase a new machine, and then order some spare parts. You get them for free, so take advantage of it. Order an extra belt, or buttons, or a soft drawer, or even a control board. Keep them handy in a nice place so that if something does break the odds are you will have a part to fix it faster than waiting for someone to mail things to you, especially in today’s supply chain situation.
When the warranty runs out continue to run the machines you purchased until either they break completely or you run out of spare parts. When either of those situations happens time to get a new machine.


Now I can’t see all of you that are reading this article, however I bet that some of you are thinking to yourself this guy is in laundry equipment sales, of course he is going to say we should buy a new machine. Yes it is true that I am in Laundry sales, however if you get a used machine and something breaks, already stashed, you have to wait for a service technician or at minimum find the part that you need to order and then wait for it to arrive provided that you know that the broken part you are ordering will indeed fix the problem if you get a used machine and something breaks, unless you happen to have the parts already stashed, you have to wait for a service technician or at minimum find the part that you need to order and then wait for it to arrive provided that you know that the broken part you are ordering will indeed fix the problem.
Let’s pretend best case scenario. Your washer breaks on a Tuesday. You notify a service company immediately on Tuesday that you need a service technician to come take a look. The service technician arrives Wednesday. They find the problem and order the part. The parts company gets the order on Wednesday and says they will overnight the part to you. The The part arrives on Thursday. The service technician comes back on Friday after you have confirmed with their company that the spare part did indeed arrive. Your washer is now been out for days. And the scenario that I mentioned above you’re looking at $16 of loss Plus the cost of the service person which is usually somewhere around $100 per hour and the cost of the part itself. When you buy new, the parts are included for free for a certain amount of time depending on the manufacturer. If you take my advice and place an order for some spare parts that you will commonly need, then you have them on hand and your washer will not be down as long and you are not out the cost of the parts for the service technician.
Keep the machines running and you keep the income flowing and your tenants happy. Happy tenants lead to less problems, and good tenants in the future.

Ev

A Heck of A Nice Guy

rule-2-keep-it-well-lit

rule-1-keep-it-clean

Laundry Room Rule #3 Keep It Safe

 

Rule #3: Keep your laundry room safe, seems like a no-brainer.
You as the landlord assume that your building is already safe and you have nothing but good people in it so you don’t need to worry about the laundry room right?

"Safe" means a couple of different things for this rule:

A. Keeping the laundry room well lit helps customers feel safe because they aren't tripping on anything, banging their shins on corners, slipping on soap and water on the floor, being able to find the room and machines (see previous post about rule #2: Keeping the room well lit rule-2-keep-it-well-lit).

B. A well lit laundry room is also safe because it helps keep stalkers and attackers from hiding in corners or behind machines. Have cameras in the laundry room, both visible and invisible, so if there ever is a problem you have evidence to protect the victim and yourself.

C. Good lighting means good advertising! 
A well lit laundry room allows customers to see how clean it is rule-1-keep-it-clean, and can give them a sense of home and hearth. It also reflects well on you as a landlord and the other tenants if everyone does their part to keep it clean. 

EV
A Heck of A Nice Guy

Everet's Laundry Newsletter August 2022

 

I'm a very important title

You might be asking yourself, "Why is Everet sending out the August newsletter when the month is almost over?" If you think the August edition is late, you should see how late the July edition is being sent!   There are lots of interesting laundry tips on the blog. Below are three of them. Just click on the link to open an article. Huebsch is offering instant rebates on equipment until September 16th. If you are interested in Huebsch laundromat equipment please let me know by contacting me through this email Thanks for looking! Everet A Heck of A Nice Guy

Featured Articles this Month Have you had to fix all 10 items on this list? I bet you have many times over by now, however you probably had questions at first on how to do some of these: 10-things-all-laundromat owners should be able to fix   We have a few years until the next Clean Show, however if you haven't attended one, I would highly recommend it: clean-show-tips-for-first-timers There are lots of old and new Maytag dryers out there. Did you ever forget what the error codes mean? Maytag-dryer-default-codes   I know I said above there are three articles, however here is why you should read the ones that interest you, in my humble opinion of course! why-read-this-blog

Upgrading On Premise Laundry Equipment

The following below is from the LaundryLux website.
LaundryLux is the North American distributor for Wascomat and Electrolux brand laundry equipment and has been in the business for roughly 80 years.
There is no specific author.
To read the article on their page you can either click the link or just read it below:
5-signs-to-upgrade-your-on-premise-laundry-equipment
Thanks!
Everet

Upgrading on-premise laundry equipment is a major decision for businesses that operate on-premise laundry facilities. Older equipment can be expensive to maintain and manage as they break down more frequently over time. This can require expensive service calls to function and cause delays in service, leaving a negative impression and poor experience for customers and staff.

Newer machines can help operations managers control costs, reduce the need for service calls, and lower the consumption of utilities. Upgraded on-premise laundry equipment can also streamline operations with better results, increased laundry capacity, and an improved laundry experience.

Not sure if your laundry operations are in need of an upgrade? Here are some key signs to look out for when considering new on-premise equipment.

Signs You Need To Upgrade Your On-Premise Laundry Equipment

1. Utility costs are high – and rising

One of the main advantages of upgrading to new on-premise laundry equipment is the potential to save on utilities. Laundrylux’s true commercial laundry equipment is engineered from the ground up with the highest quality parts available, to provide superior performance for commercial laundry needs.

By detecting the weight of your load, new washing machines from Laundrylux can lower water usage as needed by up to 30%. In addition, new machines can extract moisture in the washer more efficiently, so clothes need less time in the dryer, which reduces gas consumption.

Learn about the future of the laundry industry: The Universal Washer: Industry Game-Changer Debuts at Clean Show 2019

2. Service interruptions are more frequent

Broken or malfunctioning equipment is expensive – both for service charges, and the opportunity cost of lost revenue while machines are out of service. If your on-premise laundry equipment is breaking down frequently and service costs are rising, it may be time to look at investing in new machines.

3. You have considered outsourcing your laundry

If your business is frustrated by using old equipment, you’ve probably looked into outsourcing laundry services. While that might be an appealing short-term solution, there are many reasons why you should keep your laundry services in-house, including long-term cost savings, quality control, turnaround time, a lack of vendor reliability, and more. Instead of outsourcing, learn about the cost-effective ways to upgrade commercial laundry equipment.

4. Equipment is old

Even if your equipment is still functional, old laundry machines can hurt the customer experience. For businesses with customer-facing machines, such as a hotel guest laundry room, old and battered equipment can negatively affect the customer experience. To better satisfy your clientele, provide clean, well-maintained machines.

5. Your needs are growing

If your laundry operations are growing it may be a good time to upgrade your equipment. Newer machines are quicker and more efficient, improving results at a faster speed while extending the life of your linens. Moreover, upgraded laundry systems may be stackable or be smaller in size, allowing additional machines to fit within the available space.

Upgrading on-premise laundry equipment can help a business in a variety of ways: by providing better results, improving efficiency, and decreasing utility costs and service interruptions. If you are considering upgrading your on-premise laundry equipment, but are hesitating due to cost, consider a laundry equipment rental program that can provide machines with no up-front cost.

Contact with an expert at Laundrylux today to learn more about how you can affordably upgrade your on-premise laundry equipment to help your business run more efficiently.

10 Things All Laundry Room and Laundromat Owners Should be Able to Fix:

10 Things All Laundry Room and Laundromat Owners Should be Able to Fix:

Within the first 90 days of owning a laundromat an owner will probably run into most of these things. This list isn't all inclusive. We could probably expand the list to 100 things an owner needs to know how to repair. Hmmm...do I sense a pattern of future blog articles?

1. Clearing coin jams
At some point early on in your tenure someone will put a bent quarter in your machine, use a foreign coin, put nickels dimes and pennies into the coin slot, or feed the quarters too fast and not wait for the coins to drop into the coin box. Maybe the coin slides will just be dirty. Whatever the reason is you will have a machine that won’t start because customers can’t put quarters into it. Learn the quick ways to dislodge these stuck coins and the proper way to clear the jam

2. Clean out the drain pump Small chassis washers will often get socks, coins, hair clips, and other junk that goes down the hose from the tub to the pump. Learn how to clear this debris otherwise your washers won’t drain and will leave the clothes soaking wet.




3. Change broken selection buttons
Customers can’t select a cycle or press the “start” button they can’t wash their clothes and you can’t make money




4. Replace a door hinge
Door hinges on small chassis washers are easy to fix. Take the old one off and put the new one on. 5-10 minute repair keeps the washer running and making money. Repairing a hinge on a large chassis washer doesn’t have to be done very often so you will be forgiven if that takes you longer to change one the first time




5. Replace a User Interface (UI) board
Most UI boards are modular units and can be swapped out easily after you get though the usual myriad of screws to get to them. A little tricky because you want to remember to turn the power off first. I know most people don’t turn the power off to the machine completely, however I’ve inadvertently shorted a board because I didn’t turn off the power. I’ll admit I don’t always turn the power off on a small chassis, however on a large chassis I always turn it off.



6. Fix a broken door handle, door trim ring, door window
I know some of you are saying there are three things in this item rather than one.
In reality on todays frontloading washers all of these parts are replaced on the door with usually the same set of screws on the backside of the door



7. Replace a broken soap tray or tray parts
Soap trays often have dividers that break, drawer stops and retainer clips that break off causing the drawer to be able to be pulled all the way out, seals that go missing or get ripped off

8. Replace a broken door hook
Own a small chassis front loading washer? At some point a customer will have an unbalanced load in it and the door won’t open causing the customer to wrench the door open somehow to get their clothes out. Don’t worry the tabs are supposed to break off. Better to have to repair a small door hook than a whole door!

9. Replace a water valve in small chassis washers
A lot of screws and hoses need to be moved usually to get to these but another simple repair.

10. Clean the lint screens in the dryers
Besides vacuuming the lint traps and wiping them out daily I’m talking about cleaning the gunk out of the holes in the screen that gets stuck in there. There are several ways to do this and several cleaners that do a good job.

These are the basic items that if you can fix, it will save you a lot of money on service calls and lost revenue due to machines being down for a few days. I didn’t tell you the diagnostic symptoms or how to fix these things. They are all things you can reason out or watch online videos about.
Once you fix these different items, don’t get too cocky and think you are a major league repair technician. Once you think that is when you will try and do a major repair and either won’t be able to figure it out and need to call a service tech anyways, or you’ll do something dumb and fry a UI board because you didn’t turn the power off.

Until next time...it all comes out in the Washtub!
Ev
A Heck of A Nice Guy

Clean Show Tips for First Timers

 

2022 was my first year attending the Clean Show by the Coin Laundry Association.
This year it was held in Atlanta. My first impressions...it was BIG and like all of the other tradeshows I have been to in my career, well worth the information I picked up and provided.

If you are in the laundry industry I think you need to go to the Clean Show at least twice in your career.
The first time it is very easy to get overwhelmed with all of the things to do and see and people to talk to. I never knew there were so many ways to fold sheets for example. When you attend the second time you have a little bit more of an understanding of what you are running into.
So in advance of my article that I will write before my second trip, here are some pointers for first timers:

 

1. The show is bigger than you think. You can't see everything in a day. This show lasted four days, I would recommend going for at least three days. The exhibit all alone will take up most of that time



2. Bring two pairs of comfortable shoes. There is a lot of walking and standing. Wear one pair of shoes one day and the second pair the next day. Changing shoes helps cushion different parts of your feet making fatigue less severe. If possible change socks in the middle of the day before going out for the evening. You will thank me for it!

3. Bring a backpack/bag to carry stuff in that is functional for you. The tote bags and plastic bags given by vendors are nice, but not really practical for carrying water or food and they are hard to hold after a time. You want to have something you can sling over a shoulder to get it out of the way so you can talk and play with the equipment unencumbered.

4. Food in the convention hall sucks no matter what. It is convention food. Nothing will change that. Eat a good breakfast. Bring something light for lunch and then go out for a fun dinner.

5. Bring a big bottle of lemon water, plain water, or something with electrolytes. You'll need to drink after talking with everyone and the burst of sugar will help you get though the last 20 aisles of vendors everyday!

6. Speaking of eating and drinking, meet up for a drink or dinner with your customers, distributors, and friends. It is fun and you can learn a lot from each other, plus it gives you something in common to talk about besides work because you learn a little bit more about each other.



7. Attend at least one education session. There is always something you can learn from others. Take advantage of it and learn a few more ideas

8. Bring business cards. We're in the digital age, however cards are a good ice breaker for conversations, leads, and information. 

9. Be sure to write notes on the business card, not only about the company or product, but about the person you met with because I guarantee you it will be hard to remember who is who in the pictures a week later.



10. Ask questions of the company reps at the booth. You will get a lot of information you don't need and various salespeople wanting information to call you, but if you don't ask you don't learn. Besides, the sales person that works for a competitor or different equipment company today, might be your rep in the future!

11. At some point sit down and take a break, or even a couple, during the day where you just chill. Trade shows can be sensory overload times just like a casino. All the noise and gadgets can cause brain lock. Sit down and soak it all in and just relax for a bit before going back to the convention floor. 

12. Talk to your peers from another part of the country. I spoke to some amazing owners and salespeople. Since they were not close to me, we weren't competitors so there was a more easy free flow of information. There were quite a few that I got to hear their story and they were inspiring! Gave me some great ideas or made me look at situations in a different way.

13. When you are done for the day at the show and done for the evening with dinners and drinks, take some down time for yourself  at the hotel or house. Read a book, watch a movie, listen to music, draw, anything not related to laundry. It will calm your mind so you can sleep better, help recharge the batteries...SO YOU CAN HIT THE SHOW AGAIN THE NEXT DAY WITH ENERGY AND ENTUSIASM!

14. When you get back home, take a vacation day the next day. Your sleepy brain, messed up stomach from travel and convention hall food, and your aching feet will thank you!

Ev
A Heck of A Nice Guy