As customer expectations evolve, connectivity is changing how laundromats operate, communicate, and support their customers.

By Jeff Moak

How many of us have walked into our laundromats to find water on the floor or a handwritten “Out of Order” sign taped to a dryer? Probably most of us over the years. But you know what’s changed? Instead of discovering the problem after the fact, we now receive notifications through email or text telling us there’s an issue with a machine—maybe a slow drain error on a washer or a redistribution issue on a dryer.

The customer may still choose to tape a handwritten sign onto the machine when the store is unattended, but the machines themselves have increasingly part of the attendant team, communicating what’s wrong before we even arrive.

In many cases, the notification I receive is more accurate than the description I might get from a customer, or even a staff member. That doesn’t mean connected machines replace attendants. They simply add another layer to how we operate and support our stores.

The Grapevine Has Changed

Today, attendants can submit service tickets directly through systems like CleanCloud, automatically notifying management about issues in real time. Other platforms, such as Pocket Track, allow operators, managers, and service technicians to track machine issues, service status, parts ordering, and maintenance scheduling from anywhere. Pocket Track even allows customers to report problems directly through an in-store kiosk.

What I like about systems like Pocket Track is that operators don’t need to completely replace older equipment to benefit from connectivity. Even older or unattended stores can improve communication, track issues, and receive notifications without the cost of a full retool. That matters in an industry where many owners are upgrading gradually rather than rebuilding stores from scratch.

Whether it’s machine alerts, payment systems, remote monitoring, or customer communication, laundromats are becoming part of the same connected world customers already experience everywhere else. The expectation today is that our laundromats operate like the other businesses our customers frequent every day.

The topic of connectivity in our stores touches on what I spoke about in my April column about a “changing industry” and some owners who are being left behind. When a customer walks into your store, they don’t want to walk into a poorly maintained museum—they’re looking for familiarity.

Payments Canada reports that cash payments now account for only 11% of all payment transactions. The operator who only offers a change machine for quarters and loonies used to start machines is no longer offering customers what they’re looking for. I’m not an advocate for completely cashless laundromats (or even fully coinless laundromats) but offering options beyond coins is clearly what customers expect today.

Modern payment systems like Tangerpay, offering mobile payments as well as kiosks to start machines, are on the rise, and my own experience in our stores shows the trend quickly moving away from coins. These systems allow customers to check how busy a store is, receive notifications when their wash is complete, and even download receipts directly to their phones.

Connectivity Behind the Scenes

It’s not just the customer experience that improves through connected payment systems and notifications — it’s the operational efficiencies gained by the store owner as well.

Modern laundromat operators now have access to real-time usage data, revenue reporting, remote price updates, and the ability to support customers without physically being in the store. If a customer calls saying they lost money in a washer, we no longer have to guess what happened, or drive to the store to investigate. We can verify whether a payment was made, whether it was successfully vended to the machine, and whether the machine started—all in real time.

That level of real-time visibility doesn’t just improve customer service; it also cuts down on fraud and allows operators to resolve issues quickly and accurately. I don’t need to be in the same town, province, or even country to support my stores. I can literally be relaxing on some island while still remotely assisting customers and monitoring operations.

Let’s face it, our customers expect someone to be available when there’s an issue. We’re one of the only businesses built around expensive equipment where often there are no staff present at all. We still take customers’ money, we still provide a service, and when there’s a problem, customers expect support while it’s happening.

Connectivity is what allows many of us to run hybrid attended stores while still offering an attended experience.

Connectivity hasn’t just changed how laundromats communicate with operators; it’s changed how operators are expected to communicate with customers.

When a customer drops off laundry for Wash & Fold, does a handwritten order ticket still work? Sure, it gets the job done. But when the customer arrives early because someone forgot to write down the pickup time, or when they return on their next visit and are asked all the same preference questions again, that’s when the experience starts to feel outdated.

Customers now expect their order status to be available through an app, to receive notifications when their laundry is ready, and have their preferences already saved in the system. The goal isn’t to remove personal interaction from the counter experience. If anything, we should be leaning further into it.

These systems simply add another layer of convenience for both the customer and the operator.

The Connected Laundromat

Laundromats used to operate independently from the connected world around them. That’s no longer the case.

The decision to upgrade systems and embrace connectivity is something operators should already be thinking about, because customers already have. They expect the same level of convenience, communication, and accessibility they experience from the other businesses they interact with every day.

Connectivity isn’t just making laundromats easier to operate; it’s helping modernize the customer experience at the same time. And as expectations continue to evolve, the stores willing to embrace that shift are the ones most likely to stand out.

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