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Coin-Op 101

toilet paper roll

Flushing Out the Restroom Issue (Part 2 of 2)

PEMBROKE, Mass. — Let’s examine a delicate subject: the bathroom for customers in your store(s). You have four choices. You can have no public restroom, and...

restrooms

Flushing Out the Restroom Issue (Part 1 of 2)

PEMBROKE, Mass. — Let’s examine a delicate subject: the bathroom for customers in your store(s). You have four choices. You can have no public restroom, and...

washer with wrench

Weigh Your Options When Buying Laundry Equipment

CHICAGO — The cost of iron for new products is going up dramatically. Meanwhile, increasing utilities cost and escalating rent are eating up laundry profits. I...

Make This Tax Season Work for Your Benefit

PEMBROKE, Mass. — Tax time is here again. You know the drill. You gather up all your paperwork, ledgers, computer reports, and the like, and drop them off at your...

Solomatic seating by CACO Mfg. Corp.

Trends in Laundry Furnishings

CHICAGO — The general structure of chairs and tables typically found in coin laundries today really hasn’t changed much in recent years, but the palette of...

blueprint model

Store Creation: Build New or Rehab? (Part 2 of 2)

CHICAGO — You’ve come to a point where you’re considering opening a new coin laundry. But should you build it from the ground up, or should you look at...

Store Creation: Build New or Rehab? (Part 1 of 2)

CHICAGO — You’ve come to a point where you’re considering opening a new coin laundry. But should you build it from the ground up, or should you look at...

Tumbleweed Laundry's Dexter washers

Tumbleweed Monopoly (Part 2 of 2)

MARFA, Texas — A well-known business strategy is to run two businesses under one roof, share the overhead, and mingle the clientele. Perhaps the best example of this...

Tumbleweed Laundry

Tumbleweed Monopoly (Part 1 of 2)

MARFA, Texas — A well-known business strategy is to run two businesses under one roof, share the overhead, and mingle the clientele. Perhaps the best example of this...

blueprint-model

Rehabbing Existing Laundry is Popular Trend

CHICAGO — Over the past year, I have seen more born-again laundries than ever before. The banks are leveraging—or, should I say, overleveraging—the...

businessman

In Tough Times, The Tough Get Going

PEMBROKE, Mass. — At almost every Laundromat I stop at these days, I hear roughly the same thing: “These are tough times. The country has 12% unemployment....

credit card

Cashless Systems: Q&A (Part 4 of 4: Web Exclusive)

CHICAGO — Making the decision to shift your store’s payment system from coin to cashless, or to a hybrid, can require a great deal of research and planning....

credit card

Cashless Systems: Q&A (Part 3 of 4)

CHICAGO — Making the decision to shift your store’s payment system from coin to cashless, or to a hybrid, can require a great deal of research and planning....

credit card

Cashless Systems: Q&A (Part 2 of 4)

CHICAGO — Making the decision to shift your store’s payment system from coin to cashless, or to a hybrid, can require a great deal of research and planning....

credit card

Cashless Systems: Q&A (Part 1 of 4)

CHICAGO — Making the decision to shift your store’s payment system from coin to cashless, or to a hybrid, can require a great deal of research and planning....

for sale sign

Playing ‘For Sale by Owner’ Game is Risky

CHICAGO — “You got the best deal ever.” The new buyer told me that was the seller’s comment when they closed the deal and began to walk away from...

argument

Resolving Conflicts

PEMBROKE, Mass. — I recently spent time at a Laundromat and observed these dynamics. The wash/dry/fold person was going about her task as if in a trance. Every so...

social network

Paint Picture of Your Store for Customers (Part 2 of 2)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — It’s no secret that millions of people, and an increasing number of businesses, interact on social media sites on a daily basis, sharing...

social network

Paint Picture of Your Store for Customers (Part 1 of 2)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — It’s no secret that millions of people, and an increasing number of businesses, interact on social media sites on a daily basis, sharing...

Creating a Visual Identity

PEMBROKE, Mass. — “Why should I spend money on an identity when I spell out exactly what we are?” That’s the question one store owner asks as he...

for sale sign

Building from the Ground Up?

CHICAGO — An American Coin-Op columnist recently suggested that buying an existing business is always the way to go. “Why would anyone want to reinvent the...

pic of Fetts

Multiple Stores, Multiple Family Members (Part 2 of 2)

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Randy and Tami Fett own four self-service laundries in the St. Paul, Minn., area. Like others, Randy was involved in a variety of businesses before...

pic of Fetts

Multiple Stores, Multiple Family Members (Part 1 of 2)

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Randy and Tami Fett own four self-service laundries in the St. Paul, Minn., area. Like others, Randy was involved in a variety of businesses before...

renteria logo

Light at the End of the Tunnel?

CHICAGO — During the past several years, our industry, like other industries, has been affected by financial problems. However, there appears to be light at the end of...