Adamski
02-08-2010, 05:24 PM
Guys,
Yesterday was a phenominal sales day in my laundromat. I estimate that self serve customers processed between 3 and 4 tons of laundry that day. People just kept coming in and coming in until there were 15 cars in the parking lot throughout the afternoon. It was a sight to behold ... especially with my Premium Pricing Policy (PPP) and Dollar Coin Only (DCO) vend structure.
So why was the place so busy yesterday? What made yesterday different from other Sundays in February? What made it special? Certainly it wasn't due to advertising as I dropped my newspaper ads as of January 31st. I think it was a combination of factors all coming together in a Perfect Storm on a single day.
First, I was able to convince the County Road Commission to remove some tall trees that were right at the edge of the freeway right-of-way. Two of these trees had finally grown tall enough to obstruct my 45 ft tall pilon sign as viewed from the east. Those trees were removed about 2 weeks ago.
Second, a water main began leaking about a mile east of my laundromat. It was necessary for the township to shut down that main in order to make repairs. This caused a number of businesses to shut down including my closest competitor. My laundromat was unaffected by the shut-down.
Third, the weather was a balmy 28 degrees and sunny. It was the first Sunday of the month. People were out and about running errands and getting things taken care of. While folks on the east coast were hunkering down; Michiganders were enjoying a very nice day.
So, thanks to all three of these factors, my laundromat had a record breaking day. I had a new attendant on duty (her first shift after finishing her training) so I decided to stick around until things slowed down to a more normal level. I was very impressed with the way traffic flowed through the store. No one appeared to feel crowded or inconvenienced. There were no complaints about the dollar coins either (for anyone who might be curious about that). We took the time to aquaint newcomers to the various sizes of washers when necessary but, generally, everyone processed their laundry without issues. And there were all kinds of laundries from multiple sleeping bags to spreads to sandy work clothes to normal laundry. While one customer did choose to wait 5 minutes for our 80 lb washers to empty out; no one had to wait for any other washers or dryers throughout the day. Folks had places to sit, tables to fold at, carts to use, change, whatever they needed. It was proof positive that our Secret Laundromat Formula (SLF) works well when put to the ultimate test.
This also proves another fact. Months of advertising will not bring in additional customers until those customers want to wash clothes. When customers want to wash clothes, they don't need advertising to figure out where to go. They will show up at your laundromat if it is clean, visible and convenient regardless of your pricing or whether you're on quarters or dollar coins.
Yesterday was a phenominal sales day in my laundromat. I estimate that self serve customers processed between 3 and 4 tons of laundry that day. People just kept coming in and coming in until there were 15 cars in the parking lot throughout the afternoon. It was a sight to behold ... especially with my Premium Pricing Policy (PPP) and Dollar Coin Only (DCO) vend structure.
So why was the place so busy yesterday? What made yesterday different from other Sundays in February? What made it special? Certainly it wasn't due to advertising as I dropped my newspaper ads as of January 31st. I think it was a combination of factors all coming together in a Perfect Storm on a single day.
First, I was able to convince the County Road Commission to remove some tall trees that were right at the edge of the freeway right-of-way. Two of these trees had finally grown tall enough to obstruct my 45 ft tall pilon sign as viewed from the east. Those trees were removed about 2 weeks ago.
Second, a water main began leaking about a mile east of my laundromat. It was necessary for the township to shut down that main in order to make repairs. This caused a number of businesses to shut down including my closest competitor. My laundromat was unaffected by the shut-down.
Third, the weather was a balmy 28 degrees and sunny. It was the first Sunday of the month. People were out and about running errands and getting things taken care of. While folks on the east coast were hunkering down; Michiganders were enjoying a very nice day.
So, thanks to all three of these factors, my laundromat had a record breaking day. I had a new attendant on duty (her first shift after finishing her training) so I decided to stick around until things slowed down to a more normal level. I was very impressed with the way traffic flowed through the store. No one appeared to feel crowded or inconvenienced. There were no complaints about the dollar coins either (for anyone who might be curious about that). We took the time to aquaint newcomers to the various sizes of washers when necessary but, generally, everyone processed their laundry without issues. And there were all kinds of laundries from multiple sleeping bags to spreads to sandy work clothes to normal laundry. While one customer did choose to wait 5 minutes for our 80 lb washers to empty out; no one had to wait for any other washers or dryers throughout the day. Folks had places to sit, tables to fold at, carts to use, change, whatever they needed. It was proof positive that our Secret Laundromat Formula (SLF) works well when put to the ultimate test.
This also proves another fact. Months of advertising will not bring in additional customers until those customers want to wash clothes. When customers want to wash clothes, they don't need advertising to figure out where to go. They will show up at your laundromat if it is clean, visible and convenient regardless of your pricing or whether you're on quarters or dollar coins.