WDF has dropped off-Any reason why?

[eighty20]

Hello All,
We were averaging 115 pounds a day Oct-Dec. In 2009 we are averaging 86 pounds a day. Any reason for the 25% drop off? We even started a loyalty WNF program in January.
Since this is my first year in the biz, I am not sure in this is a slow season for WDF or just economy is hurting people?

In Oct-Dec, WDF was covering the payroll. Now I am $600 short.

Any ideas?

Paul
(New Jersey)

[Howard]

Well for many WDF is a luxury - they have washers at home but don't feel like using them. With the economic slowdown (caused by Obama --not inherited anymore) people are cutting back on luxuries. Obama now has created his own Bear Market - down over 20% since he took office.

[SonomaJoe]

I'll stay away from politics, but I have also seen a 25% decrease on lbs per day. We did raise our prices 20% (from $1.25 to $1.50) on Jan 1, so the revenue is similar

[jpb]

[ QUOTE ]
Obama now has created his own Bear Market - down over 20% since he took office.

[/ QUOTE ]

And down over 30% since he was elected.

[merlin3]

Post deleted by Michael at CLA

[Ned]

Howard,

"With the economic slowdown (caused by Obama --not inherited anymore)".... Howard, please let's not get off into the realm of science fiction here. We're all entitled to our opinions, let's just not couch our opinions as fact.

Ned

[Sudds]

The subject line sparked my curiosity. The economy is putting a significant dent on everything. As stated earlier, WDF is a luxury that can be forgone. Standard laundromat services cannot.

[eighty20]

So do I:
Take the 20% hit from my pocket? ($500/month)
Raise prices?
Lower Expenses? (Cut hours)

Since I pay 28% of my gross to the attendants, it is imperative that WDF does well.

Thanks,
pm

[Howard]

[ QUOTE ]
So do I:
Take the 20% hit from my pocket? ($500/month)
Raise prices?
Lower Expenses? (Cut hours)


Since I pay 28% of my gross to the attendants, it is imperative that WDF does well.

Thanks,
pm

[/ QUOTE ]

The first thing you do is write your congressmen and senators and the chief idiot in the whitehouse and tell them to stop talking and do something constructive other than threaten to tax the rich and redistribute wealth. Then you should probably spend some money and do some advertising. A webpage, if you don't already have one, is a great way to pull in more WDF. What local papers do you have that you can place an ad in? Are their opportunity for flyers or joint ads with another business. You need to raise your volume and you will need to spend some money to do that.

Also just hope that the idiot-in-chief and his tax cheat treasury secretary stop talking, everytime they open their mouths the market tanks and that makes people feel less secure and they cut back more on spending.

[Jack10]

Seems most of us are thinking alike. Just remember in about a year and half, we again have that great voice to change this country and our businesses. Please write your congressman and not just talk about it.

[Ned]

So, Howard, you are entitled to your opinion, but you are not entitled to manufacture the facts. If a Rush-Limbaugh style rant makes you feel better, good for you, but polluting this board by calling somebody the "idiot-in-chief" doesn't do anything for anybody.

So, many years of systemic abuse of the financial systems - subprime mortgages, securitized collateral, derivative swaps, lax or non-existent regulations and uncontrolled hedge funds, lack of an 'up-tick' rule to keep short sellers under control, huge & unwarranted bonuses on Wall Street, Ponzi schemes, a housing collapse, slowing growth in key industries, a global recession, huge job losses over the last year - the gathering momentum of all these forces and you blithely say about someone who's been in office for 6 weeks - "He's created the problem!" - is an enormous leap beyond logic... I suggest we all get back to washers & dryers & W&F issues...

Ned

[Sudds]

So regardless of the politics end of it. This is the time to focus on the customers, provide the best customer service, and make sure they will return to your store.

[Howard]

[ QUOTE ]
So, Howard, you are entitled to your opinion, but you are not entitled to manufacture the facts. If a Rush-Limbaugh style rant makes you feel better, good for you, but polluting this board by calling somebody the "idiot-in-chief" doesn't do anything for anybody.

So, many years of systemic abuse of the financial systems - subprime mortgages, securitized collateral, derivative swaps, lax or non-existent regulations and uncontrolled hedge funds, lack of an 'up-tick' rule to keep short sellers under control, huge & unwarranted bonuses on Wall Street, Ponzi schemes, a housing collapse, slowing growth in key industries, a global recession, huge job losses over the last year - the gathering momentum of all these forces and you blithely say about someone who's been in office for 6 weeks - "He's created the problem!" - is an enormous leap beyond logic... I suggest we all get back to washers & dryers & W&F issues...

Ned

[/ QUOTE ]

Ned Ned Ned.... he did not create the problem those seeds were sown by Barny Frank, Chuck Shumer, Alan Greenspan and Slick Willy Clinton. The idiot-in-chief has simply thown gasoline on the fire. His soak the rich rhetoric will just kill the economy even more - which is the point I was getting out. This foolish talk will just kill consumer spending. I was talking with a 98 year old WDF customer today and we talked about now versus the depression, and she is shocked at how the government and press are bad mouthing the economy -- nothing like that ever took place in the 1930's. If voters are not smart enough to get rid of the idiots (Obama, Reid, Pelosi, et. al.) this country will become a third world mess. And that relates to our business as people will start going down to the streams to wash their clothing instead of coming to laundromats.

[epic02]

Way to put it Ned.
Kenny

[Adamski]

Howard,

I was just reading an article yesterday about how Obama invited an independant-thinking Republican Senator and his wife and 2 kids (along with a few, similiarly inclined other Republicans) to the White House to watch the Super Bowl. The staff served hamburgers and hot dogs and Barack passed around cookies as well. The intent was to try to get at least a few Republicans to support his Stimulus bill. At about the same time, Pelosi was shooting her mouth off about how it was HER Stimulus bill and she was not interested in discussing it with Republicans. Well, as you now know, NO Republican signed on to the Stimulus bill.

It appears that with Democrats in charge of the House, Senate and Executive branches; there is still plenty of disagreement and conflict drifting throughout Washington.

I hope the Democrats pull this economy through because if they don't ... well, that outcome is just too horrendous to think about right now.

Larry /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

[Howard]

Larry: they are so screwed up in DC I doubt they can find their feet without a committee. I think I am just going to sell the store and be done with it, I've had it with regulations and the continued attack on the small business owner who provides most of the jobs. This Robinhood approach of take from the rich and give to the lazy is crazy. In NYC they want to raise income taxes of the top 1%, they already pay over 40% of all the taxes. There are only 42,000 of them out of a population of something like 8 million. Imagine what happens to NYC is 10,000 of them say screw it and move out of the city - can you say bankrupt NYC - again.


Don't like my opinion - here is what economists say:

News Alert
from The Wall Street Journal


March 11, 2009

Obama and Geithner are failing in their efforts to revive the economy, according to participants in the latest Wall Street Journal forecasting survey.

A majority of the 49 economists polled is dissatisfied with the administration?s economic policies. On average, they gave the president a mark of 59 out of 100, and although there was a broad range of marks, 42% of respondents graded Mr. Obama below 60.