customers hoarding access to machines

[Marianne]

I have a small, partially attended 24 hour laundromat. Sometimes a single customer will come in with enough laundry to use all the washers more than once. Usually these power washers leave enough machines free for the other customers. Occasionally though, one will get really disagreeable and not let anyone do a load or two until she has finished all her washing. When I am there, I can usually break that up. Today my attendant had a particularly nasty power washer that refused to cooperate.
What would you do?

[petefritz]

I would buy the power washer a soda, and be thankful I had a high volume customer every week. If you are worried about the single load person, have the attendant offer to start that person's wash as soon as a washer is available. kind of a free wash/dry fold.
If I am at a l'mat and it is full, I always offer to start a wash, or put stuff in a dryer, if they are full. You make more off the power washer, so treat them with a golden glove.

[PeterH]

I think it depends on the store volume at the time. I'd be very thankful for a power wash during the weekday morning or afternoon, but in the evening or weekend, I'd have to say something. While you have to love on your pw's, you have to take your regular, repeat customers into account.

I think if a pw took up all the washers, the next customer in the store then has dibs on the washer when it comes open. In other words, the single customer waited for a machine, the pw can wait again if they have more to do.

I think we've all see this happen with our big machines, comforters lined up 2-3 deep for a wash and yet everyone is quite civil waiting on the big washer. The attendants and owner need to enforce this civility to the rest of the store...

And, referring to a different thread on this board, I bet there's no real problem taking up the washers, but a real problem when they hog the dryers!

-ph