Content about Wire Survey

CHICAGO — Just shy of one-third of those responding to this month’s American Coin-Op Wire survey say they are planning to attend Clean ’13 in New Orleans, while another 14.3% are unsure at this point.

Approximately 54% of those responding to the unscientific survey say they will not be attending the biennial event slated for June 20-22 at the Morial Convention Center.

Asked about the biggest factor in favor of attending (whether they were personally planning to attend or not), 32.1% of respondents named “Exhibits of equipment and supplies.” Roughly 14% listed “Combining business and pleasure” as the chief factor, while 7.1% look to Clean primarily for its “networking and socializing” opportunities. Just 3.6% of respondents see “educational sessions” as the main factor in attending. The top response, however, is “It’s all of the above,” with 42.9%.

The Clean Show has been shortened from four days to three this year, which is OK with 78.6% of respondents. Just 7.1% “don’t care for this change”—“Include Saturday and Sunday in the schedule (and) make it four days if necessary,” says one operator—and the remaining 14.3% are “indifferent.”

Among operators who do not plan to attend this year’s event, 52.4% “Can’t afford the cost,” 28.6% “Can’t spare the time,” and 4.8% have “made other plans.” The remaining 14.3% have “other” reasons, some of which include disliking the host city, having no expansion plans this year, and working two jobs besides running his/her laundry.

Among the eight educational sessions being sponsored by the Coin Laundry Association (CLA) throughout the event, Coin Laundry Trends for 2013 is garnering the most pre-show interest among respondents, at 29.6%. Other popular topics are The Keys to Successful Multiple Store Management (18.5%), Ask the Laundry Experts (18.5%) and Best Practices for Wash, Dry, Fold and Commercial Accounts (14.8%).

While American Coin-Op’s Wire survey presents a snapshot of the audience’s viewpoints at a particular moment, it should not be considered scientific. Subscribers to Wire e-mails—distributed twice weekly—are invited to participate in an industry survey each month. The survey is conducted online via a partner website, and is developed so it can be completed in less than 10 minutes.

The entire American Coin-Op audience is encouraged to participate, as a greater number of responses will help to better define owner/operator opinions and industry trends.

CHICAGO — Nearly three-quarters of laundry operators are pleased with the overall condition of their stores, according to the results of this month’s AmericanCoinOp.com Wire survey, and many point to their equipment and cleanliness as the primary reasons.

Approximately 73% say they are pleased with their store’s condition, 23.1% are not pleased, and 3.8% are unsure.

What’s your store’s best feature? Among respondents, it’s primarily having equipment that’s “always operational” (40.7%) or the store is “very clean” (33.3%). Others pointed to having a “great equipment mix” (11.1%), the “best attendants” (7.4%), or the “lowest prices around” (3.7%).

But if you look at the best, you also have to consider the worst, and opinions are mixed when it comes to singling out their store’s weakest point. While respondents were presented with seven common possible answers, the largest percentage (33.3%) said it was something else: not having enough space, finding the right advertising source, lacking parking space, outdated lighting or not having WiFi service, for example.

Nearly 19% said their store’s weakest point was having high prices, 14.8% said it was being unattended, and 11.1% said they struggle to keep it clean. Equal shares of 7.4% pointed to a lack of varying equipment sizes, not offering extra services, and lacking customer amenities.

When respondents visit another coin laundry, the first thing that most of them (48.1%) notice is whether the business is clean or dirty. For 22.2%, the first thing they look at is the number of people doing laundry there. Equal shares of 11.1% are looking at the equipment mix or the presence of out-of-order signs, and the remaining 7.4% have their eye on the store’s look (color scheme, décor, etc.).

If they were given the money to make one major improvement at their laundry, 55.6% of respondents would add some new washers/dryers. Roughly 15% would give their store’s interior a facelift (new paint, tile, lighting, etc.), and 11.1% would add customer amenities (such as seating, a lounge area, air conditioning, TV, etc.). Smaller shares would hire extra help, bring in a maintenance person to fine-tune their operation, or something else.

While the Wire survey presents a snapshot of readers’ viewpoints at a particular moment, it should not be considered scientific.

Subscribers to Wire e-mails—distributed twice weekly—are invited to take the industry survey anonymously online each month. All self-service laundry owners and operators are encouraged to participate, as a greater number of responses will help to better define operator opinions and industry trends.

CHICAGO — More than two-thirds of self-service laundry owners and operators polled in the last American Coin-Op Wire survey of 2012 said their business was better (“much better,” 18.6%; “somewhat better,” 48.8%) this year than it was in 2011.

Roughly 28% said their business was better than they had expected, while another 51.2% said it was about what they expected. The remaining 20.9% of respondents said their business was worse than expected.

Operators whose business rose attributed it primarily to installing new equipment (50%), a larger customer base (34.4%) and/or raising prices (31.3%). Better marketing efforts (25%), lowering costs/expenses (18.8%), offering new extra services (18.8%), and decreasing competition (15.6%) were other important factors. (Respondents could choose from any or all among several suggested factors or offer their own.)

Among respondents who said their business worsened in 2012, a declining customer base and increasing costs/expenses were the biggest reasons, each selected by 45%. (Again, respondents could choose from any or all among several suggestions or offer their own.) Following closely was customers cutting down on the number of visits, cited by 40%. Other significant factors were competition cutting into business (20%), “other” (20%), and lower extra-service income (15%).

Roughly two out of five operators (41.9%) said they raised washer and/or dryer prices in 2012.

Finally, respondents were asked how they would grade their 2012 management performance. Approximately 47% gave themselves a B, and another 27.9% gave themselves an A. Roughly 19% said they only deserved a C, while the remaining 7% were unsure.

The Wire survey presents a snapshot of readers’ viewpoints at a particular moment but it should not be considered scientific.

Subscribers to Wire e-mails—distributed twice weekly—are invited to take a brief industry survey anonymously online each month. All self-service laundry owners and operators are encouraged to participate, as a greater number of responses will help to better define operator opinions and industry trends.

CHICAGO — If U.S. voters side with the majority of coin laundry owners who responded to October's AmericanCoinOp.com Wire survey, Mitt Romney will be elected the 45th president of the United States next month.

Roughly 71% of coin laundry owners polled in the anonymous, unscientific survey say they are supporting the Republican ticket of Romney and running mate Paul Ryan. Roughly 21% are supporting Democratic incumbents Barack Obama and Joe Biden, and 7.1% are not sure at this time. No one who took the survey said they would not be voting for president, or that they are supporting a third-party or write-in candidate.

The state of the economy will be most influential in helping 42.9% of store owners decide how to cast their vote next month. (Respondents were asked to pick one issue from a list of 19, including “other.”) Next, in a tie for second at 17.9% each, are debt management and “other.” (Among respondents who picked “other,” most said more than one issue would influence their choice.) Equal shares of 7.1% see Social Security/Medicare or taxes as the key issue, while equal shares of 3.6% will be most influenced by homeland security or by a candidate's experience.

No matter who is elected next month, they will have a lot of work to do. Regardless of who's elected, what is the one issue that you think the administration must address immediately?

Among respondents, their answers most often related to the economy, government spending and job creation. Some examples:

• “People do not need our service when they do not have to go to work every day.”
• “Just like in business, you must have throughput to survive. Our government is killing—through taxes, regulations and simple lack of accountability—the production in our country.”
• “Our recent trend toward big...big...bigger government and the control the federal government wields in our personal and business lives.”
• “Until every average (not Mitt's average) American has a job and has money to spend, the economy will not pick up. Why haven't we had a WPA type of program where the government pays to rebuild our infrastructure and creates jobs, instead of giving the money to the banks who will not lend?”

While the Wire survey presents a snapshot of readers’ viewpoints at a particular moment, it should not be considered scientific.

Subscribers to Wire e-mails—distributed twice weekly—are invited to take the industry survey anonymously online each month. All self-service laundry owners and operators are encouraged to participate, as a greater number of responses will help to better define operator opinions and industry trends.

CHICAGO — How does the customer base for your coin laundry compare to the base of last year? Is it larger or smaller? Nearly half of the store owners who took this month’s AmericanCoinOp.com Wire survey—47.8%—say their customer base has expanded in the last year. Approximately 39% say their customer base hasn’t grown during that time, and the remaining 13% of respondents are not sure.

Do you believe there are more people using coin laundries in your area than there were last year? More than half of survey respondents—52.2%—say no. Approximately 39% say there are more people using coin laundries in their area, and 8.7% are unsure.

It’s often said that people have less free time and thus are more likely to try a coin laundry once or twice, but this month’s survey results don’t really bear that out. Roughly 59% of respondents say they haven’t seen a bump in business to indicate that people are more likely to try a coin laundry due to busyness. Roughly 36% say they have seen increased business related to this, and 4.5% are unsure.

Why won’t more people give coin laundries a try? Two-thirds of survey respondents say there’s no need for them to visit a coin laundry if they have access to equipment at home. Nineteen percent say it’s became people are creatures of habit, 9.5% say it’s because coin laundries are dirty, and 4.8% believe it’s because they don’t know how to use the equipment. No one who responded to the survey believes it’s because people don’t want to mingle with others, or that coin laundries are too expensive.

If you didn’t have to use a coin laundry, what would be the most important factor in attracting you to a store? Among Wire survey respondents, it would be a bright, clean store (43.5%). Gaining the ability to shorten wash/dry time would be key for 26.1%, while having the opportunity to use unique equipment to handle a variety of needs would draw 17.4% of respondents. Smaller shares would be attracted by inexpensive prices (8.7%) or convenient hours (4.3%).

Approximately 61% of respondents believe about the same number of people will be using coin laundries a decade from now. Roughly 26% say there will be more people using them, and 13% say there will be fewer people using coin laundries.

While the Wire survey presents a snapshot of readers’ viewpoints at a particular moment, it should not be considered scientific.

Subscribers to Wire e-mails are invited to take the industry survey anonymously online each month. All self-service laundry owners and operators are encouraged to participate, as a greater number of responses will help to better define operator opinions and industry trends.

CHICAGO — While a majority of respondents to this month’s AmericanCoinOp.com Wire survey are happy with their distributor(s), there are still sizable shares that might be looking for the services and support they need elsewhere.

Approximately 60% of self-service laundry owners are happy with their distributor(s) — 29.6% said they were “very happy” and 29.6% said they were “somewhat happy.”

Roughly 19% are “somewhat unhappy” with their distributor(s), while the remaining shares of 11.1% are “neither happy nor unhappy” or “very unhappy.”

Approximately 41% of respondents rely on distributors for advice, and 60% of them are satisfied with the advice they get.

Respondents say they rely on distributors for parts ordering and requests, tech support, and operational advice, among other services.

“(My distributor) is not just trying to sell equipment but help me be a better owner so that my bottom line will increase and (I’ll) be able to upgrade equipment,” says one respondent.

Only 29.6% of operators are opposed to changing distributors, while another 29.6% are not sure how they would react if the opportunity to make a change arose.

Approximately 19% would change distributors if the opportunity arose, and 22.2% would strongly consider making the change.

“I own three Laundromats and contacted five distributors last month for new equipment. Two salesmen came to talk in person, the others called me. None provided any advice, just prices, and noneof them has contacted me since,” says an operator. “I don’t have a problem mixing brands of equipment, so I’ll decide by myself what to buy. I really do hate ordering thousands of dollars worth of equipment from someone who doesn’t really care if they make a sale or not.”

One operator in the Southwest had no choice but to seek out another distributor. “Our distributor pulled out of Texas without warning (and) left us high and dry.”

If you’re a distributor and don’t offer service schools, open houses, etc., you might want to reconsider. Thirty-seven percent of respondents are “very interested” in these events, and 25.9% are “somewhat interested.” Roughly 15% are neither interested nor disinterested in distributor events, and 14.8% have little interest. Only 7.4% have no interest in such events.

While the Wire survey presents a snapshot of readers’ viewpoints at a particular moment, it should not be considered scientific.

Subscribers to Wire e-mails—distributed twice weekly—are invited to take the industry survey anonymously online each month. All self-service laundry owners and operators are encouraged to participate, as a greater number of responses will help to better define operator opinions and industry trends.

To sign up for the Wire, click the “Subscriptions” button at the top right-hand corner of this page and follow the instructions.

CHICAGO — How safe do you consider the neighborhood where your laundry is located? Do you think your customers or employees feel safe in your store while doing laundry or working there?

Nearly three-quarters of respondents to this month’s AmericanCoinOp.com Wire survey describe their neighborhood as “somewhat safe.” Roughly 19% say their neighborhood is “neither safe nor unsafe,” and the remaining 7.4% describe theirs as “extremely safe.”

No one who took the survey described their neighborhood as “somewhat unsafe” or “not safe at all.”

Yet, more than 40% of operators say they, an employee or a customer have been a victim of crime at their laundry. Most of these incidents involved burglaries or robberies. An employee was threatened with a knife in one case, while an attendant was pushed to the ground in another.

A surveillance system is the most popular safety-related feature or practice utilized by respondents (77.8%). Other popular choices are employees/owner watch store (48.1%), alarm system (44.4%), signage (33.3%) and some type of weapon (29.6%).

Thirty-seven percent of operators who responded to the survey have brought a firearm to their laundry. Among those who haven’t, 35.3% said they would consider carrying a firearm while there.

While the Wire survey presents a snapshot of readers’ viewpoints at a particular moment, it should not be considered scientific.

Subscribers to Wire e-mails—distributed twice weekly—are invited to take the industry survey anonymously online each month. All self-service laundry owners and operators are encouraged to participate, as a greater number of responses will help to better define operator opinions and industry trends.

To sign up for the Wire, click the “Subscriptions” button at the top right-hand corner of this page and follow the instructions.

CHICAGO — When a new coin laundry opens in the area, more than one-third of operators (35.6%) fear that the new store will be more attractive or larger than their own, according to the results of this month’s AmericanCoinOp.com Wire survey. Roughly 29% of operators surveyed say they don’t fear competition.

A new store offering cheaper vend prices is the worst fear for 13.3% of operators. Roughly 11% fear a store with a better equipment mix, 6.7% fear one that offers higher-quality equipment, and 4.4% fear a store that is cleaner than theirs. No one polled fears a store with all of its machines in working order.

When going head to head with a competitor, 31.8% of laundry owners consider the cleanliness of their store to be their greatest strength. Equal shares of 15.9% lean on 1) reasonable prices and 2) having every machine up and running. Another 11.4% rely on the size and/or layout of their store.

Smaller shares look to having the ideal machine mix (6.8%) or plenty of customer amenities (4.5%). None said “good marketing” is their greatest strength. Among the 13.6% who selected “other,” they named things such as customer service or having an attended store. Still other respondents said every option was their greatest strength.

Roughly 53% admitted they would take a “mild hit” if a “good” laundry opened in their area this week, with another 22.2% saying they would suffer a “major hit.” Approximately 13% would lose little, if any, business, and another 2.2% would lose no business. The remaining 8.9% was unsure.

Approximately 61% of respondents believe there are too many self-service laundries in their respective areas. Roughly 34% don’t believe there are too many stores, and 4.5% are unsure.

The Wire survey presents a snapshot of readers’ viewpoints at a particular moment, but it should not be considered scientific.

Subscribers to Wire e-mails—distributed twice weekly—are invited to take a brief industry survey anonymously online each month. All self-service laundry owners and operators are encouraged to participate, as a greater number of responses will help to better define operator opinions and industry trends.

To sign up for the Wire, click the “Subscriptions” button at the top right-hand corner of this page and follow the instructions.

CHICAGO — Nearly 58% of self-service laundry owners and operators polled in the last American Coin-Op Wire survey of 2011 said their business was better (“much better,” 20%; “somewhat better,” 37.8%) than it was in 2010.

Taking the economy into consideration, 29.5% said their business was better than they had expected, while another 47.7% said it was about what they expected. Roughly 21% said their business was worse than expected, and the remaining 2.3% said they didn’t know.

Operators whose business rose attributed it primarily to installing new equipment (46.2%), a larger customer base (42.3%) and/or raising prices (30.8%). Better marketing efforts (26.9%), decreasing competition (19.2%), offering new extra services (15.4%) and lowering expenses (7.7%) were other important factors. Some 23% pointed to “other” reasons, and most of their comments dealt with keeping stores clean and equipment in operation. (Respondents could choose any or all among several suggested factors or offer their own.)

Among respondents who said their business dropped in 2011, two-thirds (66.7%) blamed the decline on customers cutting down on the number of visits. Other significant causes were a decreasing customer base (61.9%) and rising expenses (52.4%). Also cited were “other” (19%), lower extra-service income (14.3%), and competitors cutting into their business (9.5%).

Two out of five operators said they raised washer and/or dryer prices in 2011.

Finally, respondents were asked how they would grade their 2011 management performance. Sixty percent gave themselves a B, and another 24.4% gave themselves an A. Roughly 11% said they only deserved a C, while 4.4% gave themselves a D.

The Wire survey presents a snapshot of readers’ viewpoints at a particular moment, but it should not be considered scientific.

Subscribers to Wire e-mails—distributed twice weekly—are invited to take a brief industry survey anonymously online each month. All self-service laundry owners and operators are encouraged to participate, as a greater number of responses will help to better define operator opinions and industry trends.

To sign up for the Wire, click the “Subscriptions” button at the top right-hand corner of this page and follow the instructions.

CHICAGO — Approximately 21% of self-service laundry operators polled in this month’s Wire survey say they operate a cashless store, but 57.1% believe there will be a “higher” or “far higher” percentage of cashless stores operating in five years.

Among the 78.6% of operators who don’t operate a cashless store today, cost is their primary reason, chosen by 37.1%. Other respondents say their customers wouldn’t be comfortable with the technology (11.4%) or they purchased an existing coin laundry (11.4%).

Smaller shares say they’re not comfortable with the technology (8.6%), customers would rather use coins (8.6%), and they don’t want to hire an attendant (2.9%).

Twenty percent of those polled selected “other” reasons, with their explanations including the desire to “see” currency, not wanting to make customers carry another card in their wallet, and a lack of local competition making the shift to cashless unnecessary.

If they opened a cashless store, 51.2% say they would most enjoy not worrying about collections, and another 20% would enjoy new marketing opportunities. Being able to change prices quickly or having customers pay for their service in advance would be most enjoyable to equal shares of 4.9%.

Roughly 20% picked “other,” with many saying they would enjoy all of the reasons presented in the survey. One operator would most enjoy “not being jacked by bra-wire thieves.”

Approximately 10% of operators polled believe there will be a “far higher percentage of cashless stores” five years from now, and another 47.6% believe there will be a “higher percentage.” Roughly 29% believe there will be “about the same” percentage, 9.5% a “smaller” percentage, and 4.8% a “far smaller” percentage.

While the Wire survey presents a snapshot of readers’ viewpoints at a particular moment, it should not be considered scientific.

Subscribers to Wire e-mails—distributed twice weekly—are invited to take a brief industry survey anonymously online each month. All self-service laundry owners and operators are encouraged to participate, as a greater number of responses will help to better define operator opinions and industry trends.

To sign up for the Wire, click the “Subscriptions” button at the top right-hand corner of this page and follow the instructions.

CHICAGO — Two-thirds of self-service laundry owners and operators who have entered the realm of “new media” use a website to promote their stores, according to July’s AmericanCoinOp.com Wire survey. Respondents were asked to identify which of several new-media tools they use.

More than 45% use Facebook, roughly 18% use e-mail marketing, 12.1% use Twitter, and 6.1% use “Other.” No one who took the survey uses text messaging as a promotional tool. Slightly more than 21% said they don’t use new-media tools.

“A website with keywords is a must-have for laundry owners now,” wrote one respondent. “It’s the main way that customers look for Laundromats in their area. Yellow Pages are so yesterday!”

Another countered that they’ve never had a customer find them through the Internet. “The media source that has worked best for us is GPS. I once had a couple come in to wash some items who said they entered ‘Laundromat’ in their GPS, and it pulled us up.”

Attracting new customers (84.6%) is the reason that most use these new-media tools, but more than half (53.8%) use them to publicize promotions. Educating customers (42.3%) and increasing customer loyalty (30.8%) were the other choices from which respondents could choose.

Do the tools satisfy the users’ marketing goals? Roughly 47% said “sometimes,” 33.3% said yes, and 20% answered no.

While the Wire survey presents a snapshot of readers’ viewpoints at a particular moment, it should not be considered scientific.

Subscribers to Wire e-mails—distributed twice weekly—are invited to take a brief industry survey anonymously online each month. All self-service laundry owners and operators are encouraged to participate, as a greater number of responses will help to better define operator opinions and industry trends.

To sign up for the Wire, click the “Subscriptions” button at the top right-hand corner of this page and follow the instructions.