The Legend In Coin Flow - Case studies Laundry operators employ various multi-coin acceptance formats - Imonex
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The Legend In Coin Flow ®
Case studies
Laundry operators employ various multi-coin acceptance formats
tailored to their individual markets and management goals
enhancing both the customer experience and their bottom line.
Dollar Coin / Quarter @ Attended Laundry
Case Study: Laundry Basket
Location: Washington, D.C.
Laundry Owner: Ron Kabran
Operation: Fully-Attended
Dispense Format: Dollar Coins and Quarters
Multi-Coin Acceptance: Dollar Coins and Quarters
Imonex Customer Since: 2014
“F lexibility— that’s the key,” says Ron Kabran. “It’s a nice
feeling not being tied to a collection schedule.”
The routine of this seasoned veteran isn’t tethered to money
vaults ready to overflow with quarters after a few days’ time
following his switch to dual coin acceptance bringing higher
denomination dollar coins into the vend mix at both washers
and dryers.
Growing up in the family coin-op
biz during the heydays of ’60s and
’70s, Kabran knows a thing or two about transitioning from dimes to
quarters and, more recently, to dollar coins. He understands customers
are creatures of habit, gravitating to multi-load washers and spending
what’s dispensed at the changer.
To reduce coins but maintain quarter-increment pricing options at his
two Laundry Basket coin-ops in the nation’s capital, a mixed dual hopper
payout of dollar coins and quarters — backed by a twin hopper dollar coin
dispenser, as well as a dedicated floor changer to break $1 coins into 4
quarters — are employed to facilitate the flow.
With dollar coins circulating throughout the store Kabran still collects,
just not as often. And, for his loyal clientele, a welcome change. “Not
having to put 28 quarters into a machine — it was ridiculous,” he says.
Dollar Coin / Quarter @ Attended Laundry
Case Study: west morton express
Location: Jacksonville, Illinois
Laundry Owner: C.J. Flynn
Operation: Fully-Attended
Dispense Format: Dollar Coins and Quarters
Multi-Coin Acceptance: Dollar Coins and Quarters
Imonex Customer Since: 2012
“I
t’s easier to put in 6 to enhance the customer them more familiar with the
dollar coins than 24 experience and reduce the usage of the dollar coins,” the
quarters,” remarks frequency of her collections at veteran owner explains.
C.J. Flynn, who operates West the full-service facility.
Morton Express Cleaners Her public relations effort has
& Laundromat located in To better acquaint traditional paid off, with more of the higher
Jacksonville, Illinois, just west quarter-only laundry patrons denomination coins making
of the state’s capital Springfield. with the simplicity of fewer their way into the machine
coins to start the store’s high money boxes.
Flynn’s move to dollar coin/ capacity washers, Flynn’s
quarter dual acceptance on staff engages first-timers in “It helps collecting dramatically,”
the store’s lineup of 12 front conversation during their visit. she reports. “You don’t have to
load washers was designed “My attendants go out to make do it as often.”
Dollar Coin / Quarter @ Attended Laundry
Case Study: Maytag just like home
Location: Bourbonnais, Illinois
Laundry Owner: Bruce Page
Operation: Fully-Attended
Dispense Format: Dollar Coins and Quarters
Multi-Coin Acceptance: Dollar Coins and Quarters
Imonex Customer Since: 2014
Enhancing the customer experience at the
coin drop was a top priority for Page, who was
seeking “the easiest payment system” for front
load washers topping out at 60-lb. capacity and
commanding $6 vends. Following installation of
Imonex single inlet $1/25¢ coin drops, customers
could opt to deposit just six $1 coins instead of
W
plunking in a burdensome 24 quarters.
hen Bruce Page caught wind of a new
loyalty card-operated laundry breaking Transitioning to a dual coin format received
ground across the street, he used the “total acceptance,” the operator reports, made all
lead time to kick off his quarter-only store’s the more easier by mixed change dispensing and
top to bottom modernization with upgraded keeping whole dollar as well as quarter-increment
machinery, a new automatic front door entryway, vend price flexibility in place at the 30 washer/40
eye-catching décor, and an easier way to pay for tumbler pocket laundry.
washers and dryers with higher denomination
dollar coins. The strategy paid off, and Maytag Page’s weekly collections reflect customer
Just Like Home Laundry remains a formidable habits: “The larger the machine, the higher the
competitor to the newer kid on the block. percentage of dollar coins that are used,” he says.
Dual Coin / Dual Token @ Partially-Attended Laundry
Case Study: Laundry Express
Locations: Eau Claire and La Crosse, Wisconsin
Laundry Owner: Richard Warner
Operation: Partially-Attended
Dispense Format: $1 / 25¢ Coins & $1 / 25¢-valued Tokens
Multi-Coin Acceptance: $1 / 25¢ Coins & $1 / 25¢-valued Tokens
Imonex Customer Since: 2009
F
ormer quarter-only of his La Crosse, Wisconsin,
operator Richard Laundry Express was duplicated
Warner’s desire for three years later in nearby Eau
non-cash refunds, marketing Claire during rejuvenation of the Tokens account for
opportunities, and a credit 61-machine venue. approximately 15% of
card option led him to initiate transactions, Warner reports.
dual coin and dual token Twin multi-denomination In addition to patrons, a county
acceptance at both a new and changers dispense a dollar agency regularly makes bulk
rehabbed laundry. Successful coin and quarter mix, while purchases to assist the needy.
implementation of the multi- a dedicated token dispenser
coin format at the 2009 debut pays out a blend of dollar- and The veteran owner considered
quarter-valued tokens card systems, but opted for
for $5, $10 and $20 tokens as an economical
bills at the same ratios. alternative and, more
importantly, to provide his
Proprietary paper customer base a payment
“token notes” in $2 format that followed a familiar
and $5 denominations transactional experience
— redeemable at handling coinage. Warner says
the dispenser — the transition from quarter-only
are strategically to dual coin/dual token “wasn’t
employed for refunds, a difficult learning curve for
seasonal promotional patrons,” adding, “For right now,
mailings and in-house I think what I’ve got is working
customer appreciation about as good as it can for my
campaigns. market.”
Dollar token / Quarter @ Attended Laundry
CASE STUDY: IN & OUT LAUNDROMAT
Location: Lowell, Massachusetts
Laundry Owner: Jack Lanning
Operation: Fully-Attended
Dispense Format: Dollar-valued Tokens and Quarters
Multi-Coin Acceptance: $1-valued Tokens / Quarters / $1 Coins
Imonex Customer Since: 2015
“W
ith tokens you’re holding to an equal 16-16
making money dispense mix for $20 bills.
from the get-go,”
smiles Jack Lanning, whose 24 On the other side of the
front load/24 tumbler laundry coin, to help encourage
was designed with multi-coin token circulation during
capability in mind. He looked In & Out Laundromat’s
into proprietary card systems infancy, dryers were
before opening the store, but programmed offering
nixed the idea after running bonus minutes for
the numbers on the high cost of $1-valued token insertions.
entry. With token patronage
ramping up and high
A dollar-valued token/quarter extract washer loads
mixed payout from twin dual requiring shorter tumbler
hopper bill changers eventually cycles, the bonuses
got the nod from the first-time were phased out. Dryer
operator. promotions carried on with
half price “Happy Hour”
Desirous of minimizing specials on selected days.
token refund requests while
maximizing patronage of The genial owner and his
incremental-priced wash cycle staff greet newcomers
modifiers, Lanning tweaked with a handy token tote
the “80/20 Payout Rule”. He when they step up to the
found his sweet spot in this dispensers. And with
Massachusetts market by paying one token-coin hybrid
out more quarters than dollar- comfortably under his belt,
valued tokens for $5 and $10 it’s on to Store Number Two
bill changer transactions, while for Lanning.
DOLLAR COIN / DOLLAR TOKEN @ PARTIALLY-ATTENDED LAUNDRY
Case Study: CHEETAH SPEED LAUNDRY
Locations: Mobile, Alabama
Laundry Owner: Linh Nguyen
Operation: Partially-attended / 24 hours
Dispense Format: $1 Coins / $1 Tokens
Multi-Coin Acceptance: $1 & 25¢ coins / $1-valued Tokens
Imonex Customer Since: 2017
M ulti-store operator Linh Nguyen streamlines
payment and keeps credit card costs in
check at his growing Mobile, Alabama, chain by
employing dollar coins and dollar-valued tokens.
Nguyen embraced dollar coins early on, but
held off implementing whole dollar vend pricing With his drops having built-in token capability,
when side-by-side designed drops failed him. Nguyen expanded changer banks with a one-stop
Discovering Imonex’s single inlet solution credit card-to-token dispensing option. “It’s an
convinced him to move forward and retrofit. alternative way to offer credit card payment to
customers without paying a huge credit card fee,”
The savvy operator favors a variety of machine the owner says. “The most important thing is
brands and capacities at Cheetah Speed Laundry you don’t have to maintain and repair a bunch of
to keep things running fast. Adapting new readers. One token machine can compete with 40
acceptors was completed in short order by to 50 credit card readers.”
Nguyen, who installed the quarter/dollar plus
dollar-valued token drops on everything from top
loaders to large tumblers.
Quarter token / Quarter @ Partially-Attended Laundry
Case Study: Clean Laundry
Locations: Waterloo, Iowa
Laundry Owners: Phil and Ethan Akin
Operation: Partially-attended / 24 Hours
Dispense Format: Quarter-valued Tokens and Quarters
Multi-Coin Acceptance: 25¢-valued Tokens / Quarters
Imonex Customer Since: 2014
W
hen tokens first rolled Ethan to debut the first
into self-service of a string of venues that
laundries back in the lose the suds but keep the
1980s Phil Akin embraced the clean — and the tokens.
format like no one else. His
iconic 121-unit Duds ’n Suds Front and center at
theme store chain gave the Clean Laundry is a
industry a much-needed shot bank of multiple token
in the arm with its “Good Clean dispensers and coin
Fun” formula of bleach and beer. changers where patrons
Now, after a decades-long hiatus, can opt to receive quarter-
he has joined forces with his son valued tokens using
cash and credit/debit
cards or, alternatively,
get traditional quarter
payouts to do wash and
dry. To encourage token
circulation, the Akins offer
bonus payouts of four and
eight extra tokens on $10
and $20 transactions,
respectively, with bill insertions The younger Akin, who oversees
or card swipes. Clean Laundry’s day-to-day
operations, reports that tokens
All 34 front load washers and boost transactions at washers,
matching dryer tumbler pockets dryers and vending machines
are fitted with Imonex multi- throughout the store, noting
coin-ready acceptance drops to “tokens make customers feel like
accommodate insertion of both they’re getting a deal because of
coins and tokens. our discounts.”
Dollar token / Quarter token @ Attended Laundry
Case Study: super suds
Location: Long Beach, California
Laundry Owner: Aaron Simmons
Operation: Fully-attended
Dispense Format: Dollar-valued and Quarter-valued Tokens
Multi-Coin Acceptance: Dollar-valued and Quarter-valued Tokens
Imonex Customer Since: 2014
I
nside this 8,000-square-foot Tokens also play a role in Super
SoCal mega store customers Suds’ Rewards Program, where
and a team of drop-off points can be redeemed for free
laundry specialists activate all wash and dry cycles.
185 machines exclusively with
customized brass $1-valued and Simmons says converting
25¢-valued tokens. from an archaic quarter-
only payment format to dual
This high volume, full-service token acceptance is a game
facility regularly processes over changer. “Our customers
a half-ton of wash-dry-fold greatly appreciate the ability
laundry orders on a daily basis to use the $1 tokens to start
with no cash bank — strictly our larger machines as it saves
tokens — enhancing employee them a lot of time, frustration,
safety and security, especially and the need to carry around a
during the overnight work shift. huge handful of quarter-valued
tokens. As a laundry owner, I
Tokens are available through see my staff taking less time to
bill changers and a dedicated start machines and more time
credit/debit card acceptance to spend processing our wash
dispenser for the convenience and fold orders. I also benefit machines as often or empty the
of cash and non-cash carrying in time savings by not having to coin boxes on our washers and
patrons. fill the hoppers on our change dryers as frequently.”
Dollar coin @ unAttended Laundry
Case Study: washin oxford
Location: Oxford, Alabama
Laundry Owner: Ken Barrett
Operation: Unattended / 24 hours
Dispense Format: Dollar Coins
Multi-Coin Acceptance: $1 & 25¢ coins /$1-valued tokens
Imonex Customer Since: 2012
P
atrons washin’ at this token giveaways to local
unmanned round- law enforcement personnel,
the-clock Alabama has kept this Alabama town
laundry won’t find any how-to buzzin’.
instruction signs spelling out
Dollar-valued tokens are
Ken Barrett’s self-described
also utilized for customer
“Dollar Coin Mostly” format.
refunds and redeemable
That’s because this savvy chain
at all of Washin Oxford’s
operator kept things simple
multi-coin capable
and intuitive for English and
machines. And when
Spanish-speaking clientele
collection day rolls around,
when he built out his latest
sorting of the “Dollar
store.
Coin Mostly” bucketfuls
Customers are self-guided by is handled efficiently with
LED displays counting down a high speed, compact
the coins inserted into any counter/offsorter placed
of the 23 front loaders and on a tabletop in the back
20 full-cycle vended dryer room. “My sorter saves a
tumblers conveniently priced lot of time and gives me an
in whole dollar amounts. His accurate count of how much
dual hopper $1-$20 bill changer was actually put in the
dispenses only $1 coins and machines each week, ” the
requires no payout sign. And operator notes.
those stoppin’ by with quarters
in hand for washin’ and dryin’ Barrett has embraced multi-
can step up to deposit those coin acceptance at his other
small denomination coins as Alabama stores as well. “I
well in the single inlet Imonex think the best part is not
multi-coin-ready drops featured worrying about being a few
on all machines. days late for the normal
collections. Flexibility
A Grand Opening raffle drawing is why I got into this
with prizes of up to $100 in industry,” he says. “That
golden brass dollar tokens, as unexpected busy weekend is
well as free multi-pack laundry never a problem for me.”Dollar Coin / Dollar Token @ Unattended Laundry
Case Study: Peanuts
Location: Augusta, Georgia
Laundry Owners: Steven Dawkins and Casey Norman
Operation: Unattended / 24 hours
Dispense Format: $1 Coins / $1 Tokens / Secondary Quarters
Multi-Coin Acceptance: $1 & 25¢ coins / $1-valued Tokens
Imonex Customers Since: 2006
S
teven Dawkins enjoys more coin changer
time atop a Harley with programmed
wife Beth while his Peanuts to pay out
Coin Laundry customers cruise dollar coins
through vends thanks to shifting for $1-$20
gears to higher denomination bills, and four
coins and tokens. quarters if a
dollar coin is
Dawkins, who started with subsequently
a lone self-service coin-op/ inserted into
car wash tandem 17 years ago, the changer’s
throttled up recently when son- coin slot.
in-law Casey Norman joined
in to expand operations to six Patrons
laundries and four car washes. walk in with
Their early experiences in the quarters, bills,
wash bays convinced them to or credit/debit clientele’s patronage of dollar-
install over 200 Imonex multi- cards and can activate 35 whole valued tokens offered alongside
coin acceptance drops into dollar-priced washers and 42 $1 coins. “You’ll see them walk
all of the newest unattended quarter-increment-priced dryers right up, swipe their card, hit
stores built from the ground up, seamlessly using coins or tokens the button, get the tokens, and
including the latest in Augusta, — without staff assistance. go back to the machine — they
where coinage is minimized and Three months after debuting, figured it out.”
credit cards welcomed. token transactions at this
24-hour store were up to 25%
The partners desired both of total revenue and growing.
multi-coin and credit card The single step card-to-
acceptance at their most recent token option helps cash-
venue, but without the sky strapped customers obtain
high price tag. Their answer: high denomination laundry
Imonex dollar coin/$1-valued coinage without ATM fees,
token/quarter-capable coin Dawkins notes.
drops fed by a single-point,
dedicated card-enabled token “I was kind of shocked. I
dispenser mounted alongside a thought we’d have to train
dual validator, four-hopper bill/ them,” Dawkins says of hisYou can also read
