Several decades ago, doing your laundry at a laundromat wasn’t much fun. Many were unattended, dark and dingy. Frankly, it could be a little unnerving if you were the only customer there later at night.
Thankfully, things have changed. Today, more laundromats are attended, have better equipment and lighting, offer increased services and are more aesthetically pleasing.
But while walls painted soothing colors and seating that is actually comfortable make things a bit more pleasant for your customers, those items aren’t what make customers come back week after week.
What keeps people coming back is stellar customer service and smiling staff members who are eager to help. In fact, Salesforce research shows that 90% of customers say the experience a company provides is as important as its product of services.
So what you can you do improve your customer service?
It starts with hiring the right people. Look for people who are helpful, dependable, pleasant and attentive. Once hired, train them to do things your way. That includes setting high expectations and rewarding staff for going above those expectations. It could be as simple as thanking an employee for coming in when another employee called in sick, adding an employee recognition program or giving them a gift card to show you’ve noticed their hard work.
Research from Gallup and Workhuman finds that employees who receive recognition on the job are 45% less likely to leave their jobs. Younger workers, in particular, say appreciation is key.
Secondly, lead by example. When in the store, owners should exemplify quality customer service. That could be as simple as opening the door for a customer, particularly if they’re struggling to carry in a big basket of laundry. And when they’re done, offer to take their belongings back to their vehicle. This type of behavior often goes a long way toward inspiring employees to follow suit.
Next, utilize technology. Speed Queen’s Insights allows you to earn customer loyalty and retention with a user-friendly app that makes payment easy, but also allows customers to monitor wash and dry cycle status and receive a notification when their cycle is done. Plus, its Customer Relationship Management system allows owners to fast track their marketing and create campaigns via text, email or in-app messages to drive customer behavior.
That same technology can enable more robust incentive programs, with employees earning rewards points for not only wash-dry-fold performance, for example, but also for signing up customers for loyalty programs. (According to World Metrics more than 80% of laundromat owners have implemented loyalty programs to retain customers.)
Fourth, offer services or options your customers want. Is it wash, dry, fold services, drycleaning or newer equipment that gets your laundry clean faster and more conveniently? Even free WiFi can be a big draw, with more than 70% of laundromats offering Wi-Fi to attract customers and enhance their experience, according to World Metrics.
Lastly, listen to customer feedback and react to it. Thank your customers for their feedback, and then share that feedback with managers and make the necessary changes when possible.
Learn more about how Speed Queen can help you.
