An American laundromat owner who has expanded in the past few years, gained a lot of experience with ‘retooling’ the stores. He found out that it is a learning process, and that it takes time to identify the best practices. CINET presents his main tips:
- Give customers more choices. For instance, various payment methods – credit cards, cash, coins, and through their phones.
- Whether it is for adding enough air conditioning capacity to cool down a store or to redesign space usage, hire a quality architect and experienced engineers. They are worth it!
- Replace everything that needs to be replaced. If something looks old, it probably is old. New plumbing, electrical and other infrastructure will initially cost a lot, but it may cause less problems later.
- Flooring gets damaged when it is laid before painting or the instalment of laundry equipment. Therefore be patient and install the floors at the end of the process.
- Ask questions with a number of reliable contractors. The resources, information and experience available will help in each retooling process and in the overall decision-making.
Last but not least, keep the customer in mind. From convenient hours to a look and feel that will bring them back. To your laundry..!