Pricing Summer Camp Laundry

[dlv14]

I want to try to break into the market of summer camps, but I am struggling with pricing. This would be a pick-up/delivery, wash-n-fold service. In a very brief conversation with a camp director she mentioned they do 385 bags per week (4 kids per bag) and their current laundry provider was giving them 40-lb bags. She said she paid about $19,000 for the entire summer (7 weeks). This works out to less than $.20 per pound! We get $1.00 per pound in our store. If she is being truthful in her information, at these prices after paying staff and supplies there would be no profit and I would lose money. Are these truly the going rates for camp laundry or can you advise me on another method of charging camps?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[brucehwalker]

A word of advice. You will never lose money on a deal you don't win. Price it to where you make money or walk away. If you can't make anything at it, all you have is a time consuming, expensive hobby. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif I price my pick up and delivery at 1.40 per pound. If they want it they pay it. Try to inquire about the quality they have recieved, lost items, etc. Call other camps. Call their service provider and ask them.

Here is a link to a very sharp business who does tons of laundry for boarding schools and camps. http://www.eandrcleaners.com/home_office_delivery.asp Call them and pick their brain.

[millenniumplus]

Agree with Bruce. Anyway, what we have learned over our WDF years is to just say "no" at times.
Especially if there is no money to be made (or if we will lose money). Sounds like a great deal where she
is at. If you charge $1.00 and can reduce your rate a little to make it more attractive to get the business
and still make money, that would be an idea. To answer another one of your questions I do not know if
there is a so called, "laundry camp rate". We charge our normal WDF to any type of account. We have
compromised our rate several times by charging 5cents a pound less because the accounts were basic
blankets which are so easy to wash,dry and fold. None the less, call around and see what your competitors
are doing.

[petefritz]

19k for seven weeks? You want to walk away from that? what is you water/sewer cost, that would be the question

[dlv14]

Water/sewer costs are not the issuue at all. It's labor costs. This job would be aprox. 11,600 lbs/ week. If you do the numbers on how much laundry an employee can process per hour, multiply by # of employees and $ per hour of labor. About 90% of the 19K goes to labor alone. That means the remaining 10% has to cover water/sewer, soap, supplies, transportation (gas prices being over $2.00/gal for regualar in this area), and profit for me? What profit?!?

My initial question was posted to see if anyone could determine if this camp director was being truthful in their numbers and to see if anyone can tell me what they charge summer camps, because from my calculations there is no way this would be a profitable deal.

Thanks for your reply. I'm still unsure as to what to do with this so any other responses are welcone!

Thank you!

[mainstreet]

It's probably too late in my reply as the summer has already begun. However, we just took on a summer boys camp. There are 400 kids. We decided to do a "personalized" service. Each child received 2 mesh laundry bags (one blue, one white --- darks and whites). We tied a ribbon to each bag and wrote name and bunk # on ribbon with a "laundry" pen (that can withstand being washed and dried). The camp paid for the bags (as they were very disatisfied with the "bulk" service they were receiving and loved our "personalized" idea. Anyway, we charged only $.61 per pound. We have 6 six load machines, 5 four load machines and 5 two load machines as well as three 75 lb. dryers. We will have a total of 800 bags of laundry to do per week (each bag weighing approximately 5-7 lbs). We haven't begun yet, but definately see it as profitable. We also offered the camp one evening per night for their staff to do their laundry. We gave them a key and they will come in every Thursday night from 9:30pm to 1-2am . About 100 staffers. They will pay full price! We figure approx. $10pp would be an additional $1000 per week. Take out about 1/3 for utilities and that's not a bad profit! Sorry reply was too late. I will let you know the "actual" when the summer is over and whether it was worth it or not.

[Poughkeepsie]

I follow what you are doing until you dry them.
Do you dry them in the net bags? My experience is clothes don't dry in net bags.
Are you folding the clothes?
I am very interested in your response, I do camp laundry and would like to know how other services do it.
Thanks,
LOU

[mainstreet]

Yes, we will be drying them in the mesh bags (using our three - 75 lb. dryers) then folding them from the bags. We purchased the large mesh bags but each bag will only have approx. 5-7 lbs. of clothes in them so we are hoping the drying time will not be too long. We are doing our first pick up on Monday the 5th. I will let you know how things go and how things worked out.
Laura

[Poughkeepsie]

Okay, it's about three weeks now, how is everyone doing.

div14- did you take the account?

mainstreet-are the net bags working for you?

Thanks,
LOU