Well, one day, while folding my weeks worth of laundry...yes, a whole weeks worth, washed, dried, laid out on the bed until it's all done then a marathon folding...I thought, "You know, I actually kind of enjoy this. I wonder if I could do a business of this?" I talked it over with a friend who occasionally uses the laundromat drop off service and she said, "I'd use you!" I talked it over with Michael and he told me to go for it. So, tomorrow, my friend is dropping off her laundry. Here we go!
Any advice? Do I ask people how they normally do their laundry? Like,
- "Do you dry your jeans? Do you dry your button down shirts?" We don't. I hang all that to dry...then I don't need to press Michael's shirts! Or do I just do theirs like I do mine?
- Is there such a thing as asking too many questions? Or is it good form to make sure they're going to be happy? I have pondered through all these things for about 3 weeks, until Michael said, "Just get going and get the cash flowing!" So, I am flying by the seat of my pants.
- I am charging the same price as the laundromat, $1.25/lb. Should I charge slightly less, like $.05-$.10/lb less, making a weeks laundry, about $5 cheaper then the laundromat charges? Michael is suggesting I offer more, like pick up and drop off service and charge more like $1.50/lb for the extra work of p/u and d/o. I need ideas here.
- What would you pay if you needed the service? This friend of mine and her husband both work demanding jobs, so family time is important when they can get it. For them, having someone else do their laundry is good.
3 comments:
Why don't you make up a little form to put in with the laundry when you return it ... sort of a satisfaction questionnaire type thing asking them how they felt about it. You could also do a preference form to give them before they give you their laundry - e.g. like how they want their things done - folded, on hangers, do they want it all ironed, or just shirts ... sort of like what you have when you are using a laundry service at a hotel hehehee
All the best!
I thought of that, Rachel. Thanks for the encouragement. I am anxious to see how this goes. I just feel the need to add a little to the income, you know?
I like the idea of a form for them to fill out.....its important to ask if there are any special instructions.....especially if the tags are not readable or cut out. You could tell how you do your laundry and tell thats how you will do theirs unless they tell you otherwise.
Happy washing!
Post a Comment