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Perhaps the most common ancillary service in the coin laundry business is wash-dry-fold – or fluff and- fold, drop-off laundry, bundled services, etc. Whatever you choose to call it the big question is figuring out how to determine the pricing for this service? Do you visit the other local laundromats’ websites? Do you survey your prospects for a comfortable price point! Or do you pull a number out of a hat?

I prefer to conduct extensive research, and I advise my clients to do the same. By doing so, you’ll likely charge higher prices for this “luxury” service, which after all is targeted toward those with more money than time.

Before setting any drop off prices, I suggest the following steps:

Make a checklist of competing drop oft services within a one- to three-mile radius of your store.

Shop your competition. I would bring in 10 pounds of various laundry/ clothing Items to each location and try out their drop off services.

Upon picking up a finished order, I would take it back to my laundry and deconstruct it. Using a detailed checklist, I’d assess every aspect, including customer service, quality of product, presentation and pricing. (If you would like a copy of this checklist, email me at beverly kay l (@yahoo.com.)

I continue to be surprised by the number of laundry owners who have no idea who their competition is or what they charge, as well as the appearance of their finished products. If your drop off service is superior to the competition, why would you charge the same prices they do? How do you determine what prices to charge your customers? Here are some initial questions to ask yourself:

What are my actual costs of doing a 20-pound order?

What are my fixed costs, versus my varied costs?

Do I include “labor” in my pricing?

Do I save money using low cost “off”brands?

To save money, do I use only one machine to wash everything, regardless of the colors?

Do I use net bags, or do I tag everything so that multiple orders can be washed together in one larger machine?

Do I prefer to offer lower prices. which will usually result in more volume in turn, adding more labor, equipment usage and product costs to my bottom line?

According to a number of successful coin laundry owners who handle a substantial amount of dropoff laundry, a 20-pound, high-efficiency washer will cost approximately 31 cents per turn.

Depending on your water and sewer costs, of course. The cost of cleaning products will add about 30 cents to this figure. So, the total cost to wash one 20-pound load would be roughly 61 cents.

As for drying, natural gas prices vary throughout the country; however, for this example, let’s estimate the cost to be somewhere between about 40 cents to 65 cents – add another cent or two if dryer sheets are used.

Based on these averages, it will cost from S 1.00 to $2.00 to wash and dry a 20-pound load of laundry, using just one washer and one dryer.

Of course, the primary expense in any wash-dry-fold service is the labor involved. There are two schools of thought on this topic (1) labor is a fixed cost (a paid attendant is present whether or not she is doing wash-dry-fold), and (2) labor is a varied cost (and must be included in the expenses of the service).

Despite these opposing philosophies, best practices dictate that in nearly all cases labor should indeed be factored into your wash-dry-fold cost equation.

With my drop-off service, having checked out my competitors, whose wash-dry-fold services ranged in price from 85 cents to SUS per pound, I was determined to be the price leader by offering an extraordinary laundry experience – personalized, professional and promptly delivered.

How’ can you distinguish your drop-off service from the rest of the crowd, thus justifying higher prices?

Hiring and training your attendants to interact and educate your customers is the first thing. A properly answered telephone often can convert an inquiry into a regular wash-dry.fold customer.

Assisting customers, answering their questions, addressing their concerns and promoting the benefits of your convenient drop-off service should be automatic responses from your sales team. And finding ways to compensate your staff will only help to increase your drop-off revenue. Remember that compliments are always appreciated, but they don’t pay the rent.

Customers need to be made aware of the ways in which your drop-off service is unique. I always tell new customers (who are often shocked to learn) that we never combine orders, unless they request us to do so. Most customers, in their haste to get out the door, have no idea what procedures are taken to do their laundry. However, when they return to retrieve their orders, the finished products look good, smell good, and the price has already been determined.

Discovered that many laundries offer same-day service with no added charge, or just a small extra charge.

I wholeheartedly disagree with this philosophy. After all, if you’re doing a lot of wash-dry-fold orders, same-day service can place added pressure on your staff. resulting in excessive production errors such as lost and misplaced items- not to mention a reduction in the quality of the staff’s performance.

An unhappy, dissatisfied customer may just take his business down the street to your competitor.

If customers require same-day service, we will accommodate their wishes. but they will be charged substantially more because other orders will be delayed. Under no circumstances would I ask my staff to compromise our step-by-step procedures, which ”rush orders” often require in order to meet that deadline.

Next, how do you package the finished product? Too often, finished wash-dry-fold orders are stacked haphazardly – with inside-out socks draped over a pillowcase, towels carelessly folded, women’s and men’s underwear combined, etc. And this mess is then wrapped up in butcher paper, and sealed with strips of tape or placed in a black heavy-duty trash bag. How unsightly!

By contrast, when our customers return, we’ve packaged their laundry attractively and carefully organized, and arranged everything by category (socks. lingerie, T-shirts and underwear all bagged separately) for easy storage. Restructure your packaging procedures to make them eye-catching, and I’ll bet you too will create raving fans and returning customers.

Here are some additional ways to increase your drop-off laundry prices by thinking outside the box:

Charge more for same-day service.

Charge more for special products (eco-friendly soap, hangers, etc.)

Provide individual pricing for comforters, blankets, sleeping bags. duvets, car mats, etc Once again, see what your competition (including focal drycleaners) charge – and then Charge more.

How can you distinguish your drop-off service from the rest of the crowd, thus justifying higher prices? Hiring and training your attendants to interact and educate your customers is the first thing. A properly answered telephone often can convert an inquiry into a regular wash-dry..fold customer. Assisting customers, answering their questions, addressing their concerns and promoting the benefits of your convenient drop-off service should be automatic responses from your sales team. And finding ways to compensate your staff will only help to increase your drop-off revenue. Remember that compliments are always appreciated, but they don’t pay the rent. Customers need to be made aware of the ways in which your drop-off service is unique. I always tell new customers (who are often shocked to learn) that we never combine orders, unless they request us to do so. Most customers, in their haste to get out the door, have no idea what procedures are taken to do their laundry. However, when they return to retrieve their orders, the finished products look good, smell good, and the price has already been determined.

The following are questions we ask first-time drop off laundry customers so that they know we tailor our services according to their needs:

Do you have any product preferences- eco-friendly soaps, no dyes or perfumes. etc.?

Is chlorine bleach OK?

Do you want softener/dryer sheets?

Should everything be folded, or should hangers be used where appropriate? Is air-drying required?

As long as customer requests are reasonable, we’ll make it happen.

Our turnaround time is 24 hours. Through my research, I’ve towels carelessly folded, women’s and men’s underwear combined, etc. And this mess is then wrapped up in butcher paper, and sealed with strips of tape or placed in a black heavy-duty trash bag. How unsightly!

By contrast, when our customers return, we’ve packaged their laundry attractively and carefully organized, and arranged everything by category (socks, lingerie, T-shirts and underwear all bagged separately) for easy storage. Restructure your packaging procedures to make them eye-catching, and I’ll bet you too will create raving fans and returning customers.

Here are some additional ways to increase your drop-off laundry prices by thinking outside the box:

Charge more for same-day service.

Charge more for special products (eco-friendly soap, hangers, etc.)

Provide individual pricing for comforters, blankets, sleeping bags. duvets, car mats, etc.. Once again, see what your competition (including local drycleaners) charge – and then charge more.

Only 20 percent of laundromats offer delivery services. limiting your competition. You can charge higher prices for this convenient service. You can expand your customer base and include commercial accounts, which typically are easier to process.

Offer tiered pricing by differentiating between “basic”, “standard” and “premium” services. Customers love options and can decide what’s within their budgets.

Consider extending your business hours to handle more drop-off and commercial accounts, and to avoid interfering with your regular walk-in customers.

All it takes is a little research and some creative thinking – and you’ll be well on your way to increased wash-dry-fold profits.