When you decide to add drop off laundry services to your service offerings in your laundromat one of the most important items to consider is how to handle the laundry once it has been left by the customer. You and your staff certainly never intend for there to be mix-ups when it comes to your client's property and planning ahead and thinking through the process once the items are brought in for service can help you avoid this common issue.
As we mentioned before in our previous posts, ensuring that you have enough staff and equipment to make this service successful in your laundromat is key. Establish a workflow for your client's laundry once it has been left in your care. Having a process that employees know and understand will not only expedite the turnaround time of the service for your customers, it will also help your staff process incoming and outgoing orders more quickly and efficiently.
Making this workflow simple and easy to follow begins with your business' point of sale system. Every customer needs to have an account in your system. Whether they are a one-time customer or a weekly drop off client, creating a customer account in your system allows you to collect all the information you need to contact the customer and helps you track any notes the customer has about how their laundry should be processed. Once you have collected the customer's information and notes for their service, the most important piece of the workflow occurs.
Developing a system for tracking your customer's goods as they work their way through the sort, wash, dry, fold process is necessary. There should be a clear and easy to follow system which will allow employees to tell, at a glance, which customer's goods are in the wash, which are drying and which are ready to be picked up. You could even develop a color coding system to help your staff keep track of each order, no matter what stage it is in.
Designating two machines for drop off service helps ensure that there are no mix-ups when it comes to customer orders. Clearly mark these machines so that your staff doesn't have to wait for general laundromat customers to finish their loads or worry about mixing a left behind item in with a customer's drop-off load. Assign one rolling laundry bin, basket or rack per customer while the clothing is making its way through the cleaning process. This will help keep your customer's items separated from other drop-off customer's orders.
Consider how and where you will store your customer's items for pickup once they have completed the wash, dry and fold process. Many laundromats utilize clear plastic bags that have been tagged with the name of the client and a count of how many bags are in the customer's order. For items that must be placed on hangers, these hangers are tagged, rubber banded together and the items covered with a protective plastic bag, much like you would expect to see from a dry cleaner. Setting up racks or designating an area in the laundromat for drop off service customers' goods will help your staff pull the orders quickly and easily when the client returns to pick up.
Affordable Coin Operated Laundry Equipment in Greensboro, NC | T & L
Whether your laundromat needs more laundry carts to help your employees keep up with wash, dry, fold orders or new equipment to meet increased customer demand, make T & L Laundry Equipment your first call. With more than 40 years of commercial laundry experience and exceptional product knowledge our staff can help you choose the right equipment for your business. Call and schedule your appointment with a T & L representative today to learn more about the best commercial coin operated laundry equipment in Greensboro, NC!
