The latest video from our friends at Electrolux showcases the benefits and newest improvements in their commercial dryers. Ernesto Rodriguez, Director of Product Education, just visited the BDS Laundry Systems’ office for a service school and now he walks us through how Electrolux commercial dryers can give your laundromat a competitive edge. The competitive edge you’ll achieve with Electrolux commercial dryers paired with Electrolux washing machines can help your coin laundry save money, provide customers a wide range of drying programs for a better clean and much more. Commercial Electrolux dryer benefits include: Save up to 40 percent in Natural Gas usage when Electrolux commercial dryers are paired with Electrolux’ High G-Force washers with increased load capacities, faster drying times and less wear and tear on garments. The Compass Pro Micro Processor allows laundromat owners to create multiple drying programs giving customers the perfect dry for any type of garment including comforters, uniforms, sheets, even dog beds and more. The unique Compass Pro Micro Processor also allows coin laundry owners to create time of day pricing and promotion prices with ease using a real-time machine clock. The latest commercial Electrolux dryers feature reversing cylinder technology which significantly reduces tangled garments…

Every investor is looking for a return on their investment however, not every investor knows how to properly value their business. Don’t miss out on a buyer or leave money on the table by presenting a poor laundromat value. The laundry business is unique and following several industry-specific factors and characteristics will help improve and determine the value of your laundromat, according to our laundry experts and those asked in the February issue of Planet Laundry. What affects the value of your laundromat? The number one factor affecting the value of any laundromat is the cash flow. Buyers and investors alike are looking for a three to four year return on their initial investment meaning your books must be in the black year over year. The lease is also very important when gauging the value of the laundromat. The best lease for a buyer is between a 10- to 20-year agreement ensuring the goodwill of the landlord and store owner as well as securing an owner friendly rent rate. The 10- to 20-year lease is the best of the best but anything higher than a five-year agreement typically translates to a higher valuation. Although the age and condition of laundromat…

Attendants at laundromats do much more than supervise customers. A great laundromat attendant can increase revenue by as much as 20 percent, according to coin laundry surveys. Staffing laundromat attendants also helps increase store revenue by offering additional services like wash, dry and fold programs, keep the store clean and properly stocked, perform daily maintenance tasks, answer operational customer questions and promote loyalty programs all while welcoming customers with a friendly face. Roughly 60 percent of laundromats nationally are staffed with full-time or part-time attendants, according to Planet Laundry, if your store falls into this category it’s crucial to find the right person or people to oversee your business. Follow some of these laundromat hiring tips to help you find the perfect attendant. Personality is everything: Greeting customers with a smile speaks volumes about your business. It’s much more difficult to teach someone how to be friendly than it is to perform small daily machine maintenance tasks. Look for a kind, people-person. General screening checklist: As you’re preparing for an interview you should look out for two things before even speaking to the candidate – 1) is there application filled out correctly? 2) do they arrive on-time and are they…

A gridlock in any on premise laundry rooms from hotels to athletic facilities is a production and money draining problem. It’s difficult for most laundry room managers to acknowledge where the bottleneck begins because they’re too involved in the day to day operation. The solution? Take a step back and look at how the on premise laundry operates from a bird’s eye view. American Laundry News spoke about this issue with J.R. Ryan, president of laundry consulting firm TBR Associates. Ryan noted there are two sources of on premise laundry gridlock – internally by equipment, people and policies or externally where the demand is greater than the laundry room capacity. When analyzing the on premise laundry room operation from a bird’s eye view take a deep dive into the following aspects: Work coming in from initial gathering of garments to into the laundry room. The speed in which garments are sorted and placed into the washing machine. The throughput from wash and dryer based on recommended machine production standards. Final touches including flatiron, folding, etc. The machines in every on premise laundry need to work together where the washing machines can’t outpace the dryers or the clothes will literally pile…

More laundromats are beginning to reap the benefits of offering a wash and fold drop off laundry service. Not only is this a great way to earn additional revenue for your store but customers love the service because it saves them time and energy. This is a great service for all types of people whether they live in a home or apartment with access to a laundry machine or not. Everyone leads busy schedules and allowing customers to drop off their laundry on the way to work and pick it up after a long day provides an extremely convenient solution to a necessary yet tedious task. If you’re interested in offering this service in your laundromat here’s what you need to know. Decide on hours: The best way to implement a wash and fold drop off laundry service is to staff a morning attendant between 7 and 11 to catch the drop off before work crowd and to start the wash process and an afternoon attendant between 4 and 8 to finish the wash process and prepare the customers’ orders for pick up after work. Training staff: Whether you currently have a couple part-time staff members or need to hire…