The laundry Adam opened is an example of the higher quality experience many of our Huebsch store owners are trying to create.
Commercial laundry equipment manufacturer Huebsch® has named Adam Dixon the latest recipient of its Store Owner of the Quarter award.
Dixon, who decided he needed a career change, closed his chiropractic practice and built Duck River Laundry in Shelbyville, Tenn.
“The laundry Adam opened is an example of the higher quality experience many of our Huebsch store owners are trying to create,” said Kathryn Rowen, North American sales manager for Huebsch.
“Adam has really gone the extra mile with this store and has had great success. We are proud to be associated with an owner of his caliber. He certainly has a bright future in our industry.”
Dixon’s brother, JD Dixon was instrumental in his considering a vended laundry business. JD is the owner of National Laundry Equipment, a Nashville-based Huebsch distributorship, and quite proud of the business Adam has created.
“Adam’s creativity, attention, and customer focus places him at the top of his local market and allows him to compete with success on a regional basis,” JD said. “His brand, the Duck River Laundry, is synonymous with technology, cleanliness and ease of use. I cannot wait to see how Adam pilots his business in the short and long term.”
From Adam’s side, he liked having an expert in the business to guide him from idea to grand opening, but he also felt that his experience working with JD was no different than any new investor his brother works with.
“He is focused on what is best for the client to ensure their success,” Adam said, adding that that is the same focus regardless if the customer is family or not. “The team at National Laundry Equipment provides really good customer service.”
Equally impressive, he said, was his experience with Huebsch Financial. Adam called the process “smooth, with no hassles whatsoever; it was easier than I expected.” The ease of financing the store left the entrepreneur free to concentrate on setting his business apart from others.
Adam’s goal was to provide an equally good customer experience for visitors to his 5,400-square-foot Duck River Laundry. The Shelbyville, Tenn., business, which opened in January of this year, offers drop off laundry services in addition to self-service. Open 24/7, the store is attended from 10-6 Monday through Saturday and 2-6 on Sundays.
While he has several competitors in the area, Adam said nobody is operating the caliber of store that he is – spacious, clean, high quality equipment that is easy to use and flexible, professional and just an inviting environment.
“I wanted to go in swinging,” Adam said of looking to raise the bar in his area of what a vended laundry could be. None of the nearby laundries offer a credit card payment or drop-off service. “We wanted to give as many options as we could.”
And the customer base seems to have responded quite positively to this high-quality environment. Traffic has been brisk since the store opened in January.
Adam does some marketing through Google AdWords, but he said Facebook has really helped create a buzz and the laundry enjoys a five-star review. Comments are even better, such as:
“Best laundry service in three counties!”
“These machines [emailed] me when my laundry was done! Loved it!”
“Great place, looks very new, clean and easy to use!”
The feedback is no accident, as Adam credits his employee with keeping the laundry looking its best and providing excellent customer service.
“My employee, Brandon, works hard to keep everything clean and running smoothly,” Adam said. He’s also chatted with customers himself and they tend to like the equipment and the results it delivers. That combination of a well-run business, combined with quality equipment is even drawing customers from a community more than 30 miles away and contributing to a 4.5-star rating on Google.
Once inside, customers can choose from 60 pieces of equipment to wash and dry their loads, including 20-pound capacity Huebsch washer-extractors up to large 80-pound models. On the drying side, single-pocket 35-, 55-, and 75-pound models get customers out the door fast with no bottlenecks.
While the store has taken off since he switched on the open sign, Adam is ready to tap into the technology built into the Huebsch Galaxy control to hopefully spread out the busy time and improve the overall profitability and flow of the store.
“Sundays we are just slammed. I’m ready to use some time-of-day pricing to redistribute that business,” he said, adding that he will also focus on building the wash-dry-fold business as well. This area also is known as the walking horse capital of the world. So Adam hopes to tap into that segment and build Duck River Laundry’s horse blanket and pad laundering business. The laundry also offers 10 percent discount for veterans and first responders.
Progress, however, is unlikely to stop there. Though he’s been in the business less than a year, Adam already knows he’s found his calling.
“This is what I want to do for a living. I’m thankful I found this industry,” Adam said.
