Pair your great technology with great service
So much is made about the importance of technology in today’s laundromat. Certainly, there’s no way to minimize the impact of touchscreens, apps, and cashless payment, but the pinnacle of technology likely can’t help a store that is underachieving in the “little things.”
Bottom line: want to recoup the best return on your equipment technology investment? Deliver excellence in customer service.
Are attendants attending?
We want staff to be helpful, pleasant and attentive. Creating that environment starts with good hiring. It extends into solid training, which is where some businesses miss the mark.
This is foundational, the baseline to setting the stage for high-quality customer service. However, it’s by no means where it stops. Great store owners strive for truly exceptional customer service.
Sometimes the exceptional customer service doesn’t come without incentivizing employees to be on their best behavior. Some naturally embrace the grasp of the truly inviting customer service experience while others may struggle to keep up. Providing rewards for going the extra mile or even fixing an error may be that push for employees to step it up.
Customer service employees tend to work best when their hard work is being recognized and acknowledged. It can be as simple as pulling them aside to compliment them for a situation they handled well, or for their politeness. Other times, employees could be rewarded by completing tasks for raffle tickets and the chance for a larger, tangible prize.
Stay in contact
Today’s apps make it easy to stay in contact with customers. Specials tailored to customers, and a happy birthday/anniversary message with a discount code can help your clients feel valued. Don’t forget to use that functionality to ping those customers you haven’t seen in some time. Perhaps they had a poor experience and need a reason to give your laundry a second chance.
Even a seemingly “little” thing like encouraging attendants to learn the names of loyal customers can go a long way.
Don’t just put it on the employees
Never stop learning as an owner. The business will not grow unless you do. Seek out new ideas and ways to give your customers more than just basic tools that wash and dry. Work toward providing higher-capacity machines for high-capacity jobs for better retainment. Without 40-, 60- or 80-pound washer-extractors, you aren’t giving what your customers came for. Likewise, make sure those high-tech controls are giving a wide range of options for customers to tailor the cycles.
While providing these machinery upgrades, consider ease of access too. Installing automatic doors and carts will create an efficient laundromat without making the process seem like the chore it has always been assumed to be.
Make the cart system easy and streamlined for guests to know which machines can fit a certain amount of laundry. Take guesswork off the table and simplify it for them by creating a system that essentially says, “If this cart is filled, it’s a perfect 60-pound load.”
Make it easy on yourself by making it easy for your customers. Streamline the laundry process by providing a seamless and stress-free experience.
