Stopping the free drying

[Rigo]

We just purchased a mat last week that is a year old. This location has been running free dry since it opened and there is a competitor across the street that is also running the free drying. What is the best way to stop the free drying and not lose customers?

I was thinking of charging .25 for 20 minutes to ease the customers into paying for drying without shocking them and then within 8 to 12 months dropping it to 10 minutes for .25. Are there any other recommeations?

[petefritz]

Send a letter to the guy across the street. This board prohibits price fixing, but announcements of price increases are very legal.
Try dropping wash prices substantially for 3 months, while charging a reasonable price to dry, like any other mat.
People know what it costs them to do laundry, so your total sum will have to be close to the high wash/free dry going on now.

[Danlaundry]

Try to make free dry days instead of all the time. For example the weekends are more busy so do not offer free dry then but only on the slower days