Not just a transaction, an experience

By Becca Anderson

Historically, customer interactions in this industry were fairly simple. Customers dropped off garments, picked them up later, and maybe talked to someone on the phone if an issue arose. As workable as that was, it is no longer enough.

Today’s customers expect things like:

• Real-time updates
• Control over timing
• Minimal waiting
• Digital convenience
• Contactless payment options
• Frictionless transactions

In short, the mindset has moved from the company saying, “We’re open when you arrive,” to “We’re ready when you are.” It’s a huge shift, and companies that have embraced it are the ones that customers stick with.

It’s not just dry cleaning plants that are feeling the pressure to step up, digitally. All sectors of the industry are affected. Let’s look at dry cleaning, laundry and laundromats to see how they are changing in this regard.

Dry Cleaning: The Fully Connected Customer Journey

Customers are very used to being able to click something on their phone and find out where something they have ordered is, and when it will arrive at their door. Call it the Amazon Effect, if you will. The assumption is that any transaction can be broken into steps, and the customer can follow those steps from initiation to completion.

Today, customers expect the same for their dry cleaning order. A quick text telling customers their order has been received, is being cleaned, is ready for pickup, or has been delivered is now normal for some cleaners. These notifications are automated, triggered by the computer system in the plant and the delivery van.

Pickup and delivery are especially sophisticated now. Customers can schedule pickup, track orders and pay without ever interacting directly with the company. Digital receipts make reordering easy, and saved histories mean preferences don’t have to be repeated every time.

Who’s doing it? CleanCloud, SMRT Systems, CleanTie and others have built their POS systems around the idea of alleviating all the friction points that used to irritate customers and counter people alike.

Dry cleaners are no longer just cleaning garments—they’re managing a customer experience timeline. The customer doesn’t just show up and hope; it’s scheduled, tracked, and predictable.

Laundromats: Self-Service Meets Smart Service

If you ask laundromat customers, none of them want to be there, but they definitely need the service. Ask a few more questions and you’ll discover the things they hate most about the process:

• No machines open when they need them
• Having to find coins or buy tokens or top up a card
• Feeling like they are wasting time

The new wave in customer-facing connectivity aims to eliminate these friction points through better use of technology.

Time-pressed customers who use a well-connected laundromat can pull up an app on their phones to see if machines are open for use before they even leave home. Once in the laundromat, they can get a text telling them that their washer or dryer is done, saving them continually walking across to check it.

Instead of carrying coins or buying tokens or cards, now customers can make mobile payments from their phones and start the machine right from their phone, as well.

Obvious benefits of a connected system are the ease of use for the customers, and the ability of the owner/operator to reward their repeat business with promotions and benefits through the app. The occasional free load earned by using the equipment a certain number of times is often enough to keep customers engaged and loyal.

Customers are looking for ways to make unavoidable chores easier and less frustrating. Think about the app on your phone at your favorite haircut shop that lets you get in line from home, tells you how long the wait is and notifies you when it’s time to head to the shop, and allows you to breeze in ahead of the walk-in line because you used the app. Laundromats are the latest beneficiaries of the technology.

The connected laundromat replaces uncertainty with a know-before-you-go experience.

Laundromats that also do Wash-Dry-Fold are using apps and point-of-sale systems similar to dry cleaners so that customers can track their orders. All sides of the industry benefit from what has been developed.

Industrial Laundry: B2B Connectivity

Customer connectivity for industrial laundries is less visible, but just as powerful. Rather than having orders picked up without any clear idea of what will happen to them, today’s laundry makes a point of keeping the customer in the loop.

They do it with:

• Client portals that allow hospitals, hotels, restaurants, spas and other customers to track orders and keep an eye on inventory.
• RFID linen tracking, so the customer knows where items are at any time, as well as usage rates and losses that require inventory adjustment.
• Usage and billing transparency, with invoices backed by clear data.
• Service alerts and reporting for the equipment operators, to help them stay ahead of situations that could hinder productivity.

The customers of an industrial laundry never see the machines. Digital transparency brings trust to the entire system when customers can rely on the process because they see reports, experience reliability, and know their service provider is accountable at any time.

Why all this matters

Nobody likes feeling out of control. The old customer model of only interacting with the company doing the cleaning at the beginning and end of the process gave them little control over the outcome. Now, customers track progress, receive updates, choose timing that is convenient for them, and interact quickly through digital interfaces.

Connectivity with customers isn’t about adding technology—it’s about removing friction. The best customer connectivity doesn’t feel like technology. It just feels easy.

---