WASH DRY FOLD: STEP-BY-STEP

Use the following tips for professional looking wash dry fold orders. Then, give new customers a “first time free try” to build your drop off business.

q       Start with a supply of wash dry fold tickets. Use the type that are numbered at the top and that come with three-part or NCR (no carbon required) paper. Weigh the incoming order while the customer watches, and note the number of pounds and the cost on the ticket, along with the customer’s name and telephone number. Then give one of the ticket copies to the customer. With a three-part ticket, you should keep the top original copy, the customer gets the second copy and the third stays in the ticket book.

q       Sort the clothes according to light, dark, towels etc. As you sort the order check all of the pockets and use a pre-spotting spray as needed. Wash orders in front loaders whenever possible. They give an excellent wash with three rinses, are reasonable on water consumption, and dispense fabric softener automatically. Use a cold-water wash and cold-water rinse to minimize utility costs, and to avoid unnecessary shrinking and colors running.

q       Use tabs marked with the ticket number and tape one to each machine used for the order. Also tab any hamper or basket belonging to the customer. These numbered tabs are important in helping to remember which machines correspond to each order. This system also helps keep attendants honest by making it difficult to take in orders without writing out a ticket. Tabs follow the order from the washers, to the dryers, then to the rolling carts, then the folding tables.

q       Require petty cash slips for each wash dry fold order. The attendant notes the customer’s name and ticket number on each slip and tracks how many quarters she used to process the entire order. (This forces the attendant to account for the exact amount of your money she uses for each order. It is also useful on the day you take money from the washers and dryers: prior to notating how much that week’s coin totaled, subtract the money used to process the drop off so you are only counting customer money, not your own, in your books.)

q       Remove dry clothes immediately after the dryer stops and drape each garment neatly over the edge of the cart. Hang trousers and button-down shirts, and fold the rest uniformly. Fold each item into a square to make it easy to stack into bundles later for a nice presentation. Stack the folded items into neat bundles, with like items together and larger items on the bottom. Wrap each bundle with clear plastic or brown wrapping paper, both available in rolls, and tape shut securely. Arrange hanging with like items together and face each item the same way. Use a twist tie to secure the hangers, tied loosely enough to prevent clothes from wrinkling. Cover hangers with a plastic “dry cleaning” type of bag. Mark all items with the customer’s name and ticket number. Put folded bundles back in customer’s hamper. Keep entire order together until it is picked up.

q       Lastly, keep a notebook in numerical ticket order and note the ticket number, customer name, date dropped off, dollar amount of the order, and date picked up. This book helps you track your weekly drop off sales easily. If a customer arrives without a ticket and wants to pick up their order, have them sign this book. Then if someone else, a spouse etc., brings in their ticket later, you can show that the clothes were picked up, by whom, and on what date.

q       Save your ticket books and original tickets, banded together by week. Also save each notebook as it is finished. They will be valuable in the future when you sell your laundry and the buyer asks for proof of your drop off sales.