Dry Only Customers

[chcutler]

The store is located in the south bronx NY where laundromats are on every corner and there are extreme price wars. The going rate in the bronx is 25 cents / 8 min. I have thought about doing cycle pricing on the dryers, however I have found that many customers simply toss in a few items for 2 quarters and then leave. Also if a customer pays $2 for a cycle and their clothes come out still damp, they then have the pay another $2 for a full cycle? Customers here are uneducated and impossible to deal with and I fear the issues full cycle pricing will cause.

Anyone have any thoughts?

[subati]

Originally Posted by chcutler

The store is located in the south bronx NY where laundromats are on every corner and there are extreme price wars. The going rate in the bronx is 25 cents / 8 min. I have thought about doing cycle pricing on the dryers, however I have found that many customers simply toss in a few items for 2 quarters and then leave. Also if a customer pays $2 for a cycle and their clothes come out still damp, they then have the pay another $2 for a full cycle? Customers here are uneducated and impossible to deal with and I fear the issues full cycle pricing will cause.

Anyone have any thoughts?

You are renting the dryer at 25 cents / 8 mins. If someone overruns their meter, then the laundrycops will tow away the laundry. We have a sign that says the next customer will remove your laundry from the stopped machine if necessary. We see many customers remove other customers' laundry from machines all the times. If some one complains, we point to the sign. Problem solved. People are not impossible to deal with.

[Adamski]

Cutler,

Everyone here has struggled with pricing decisions at one time or another. Trying something that's different than the norm takes fortitude and the perseverance to make it work. Breaking new ground doesn't mean you're stuck with the results you achieve. If things don't work out, you simply need to make adjustments that eventually achieve success. It sounds like a lot of work, I know. However, as long as you're looking out for your customers' long-term best interests; you will succeed. In the end, your customers will be happier and you'll make the profit you deserve.

Just so you know, I have never urged others to do something that I have not already succeeded in doing myself. If it's not a good idea for me; it's probably not a good idea for you either. I won't mention any examples of what I'm referring to because I don't want to get pulled over by the BBPD (Bulletin Board Police Dept) but long-time readers know everything I've done that goes completely against what is considered "normal".

[mjwalsh]

Originally Posted by Adamski

I won't mention any examples of what I'm referring to because I don't want to get pulled over by the BBPD (Bulletin Board Police Dept) but long-time readers know everything I've done that goes completely against what is considered "normal".

Larry & others,

It has been almost 2 years now since we updated our 16 single pocket ADC 285 dryers with a bonus of 3 minutes for using a DOLLAR COIN. Along with the "G force factor" ... that ... clearly has encouraged full cycle drying! We have had a significant number of customers bring their clothes in wet & use our completely rebuilt & modified dollar-quarters coin accepting 1092 G force (verified) 60# extractor & proceed to dry only ... so far it has worked out. To be prudent five months is "too early to "crow" too much! Hopefully, those customers come when we are not too busy though!

Because we all know that I like full disclosure: Similar full cycle encouragement ... can be achieved with other payment methods. More thorough pluses & minuses of those systems should be discussed under payment methods. When the new & more vulnerable get there ... we encourage them to verify to see if a specific statement applies to their part of the country or specific locality.

mike

[CanCanCase]

Larry and others:
To clarify, Chad suggested a card system as a solution to the OP's problem. While he didn't particularly elaborate as to HOW a card system solves the problem, he also didn't make any negative or derogatory remarks to promote his payment system of choice or try to "bring down" other methods.

My comment to Larry was intended to be somewhat light-hearted and refers to his reference to "lousy quarters." To paraphrase the AUP, negative comments shouldn't be posted... you can still make the same point about undercharging for dry time without constantly referring to quarters as "lousy."

Sorry for my bad example of what NOT to do... the point is, if your point can be made in a positive manner, great. The board doesn't allow negative comments, so to make a point about quarters, let's just refer to them as quarters. To make a point about dollar coins, let's just call them dollar coins... Besides, have you ever seen a quarter infested with lice or bedbugs? I haven't. Can I buy more with a regular quarter or a "lousy quarter"? ;-)

-Case

Originally Posted by Adamski

Case,

I thought you wanted to keep this thread on track.

$500 worth of dollar coins are only 29% of the weight of $500 worth of quarters. That's a 71% weight reduction.

There really never was a supply issue for me. In fact, I'll be picking up 2,000 dollar coins tomorrow.

Now, as we return this thread back on track ... you might want to caution others about recommending a card system to solve the OP's problem.