How to add wash-and-fold to a self-service laundromat

Wash-and-fold, called a service wash in much of the UK, uses the machines you already own. The customer drops off a bag, you wash, dry and fold it, and they collect it later or have it delivered.

It reaches people self-service doesn't: those who don't have time to sit with a load, or who would rather pay than spend an evening at the store. It's also the service most customers expect to book and pay for on a phone, which means each order can leave you a name and a way to reach them again.

It does need people. Every bag has to be weighed, washed, folded and handed back by someone, so the question isn't whether to staff it but how much, and when.

You don't have to offer wash-and-fold all day. Pick drop-off hours when someone is already in the store, such as the morning shift, and promise a turnaround you can keep from those hours alone.

If the store is unattended today, consider a fixed drop-off window on a few days a week, staffed by one person who also covers cleaning and maintenance during it. That gives you real orders to measure before any new hire.

Most stores charge by weight, per pound in the US and per kilo in the UK, or by a standard bag. Weight is fairer on mixed loads; a bag price is easier to explain and needs no scale at the counter.

Work out what one unit costs you: the attendant's time to wash and fold it, water, power, detergent and the bag it goes home in. Price above that with a margin, then check where you sit against nearby stores. Set a minimum order so one shirt doesn't take a machine and a person's time for almost nothing.

Decide what costs extra before the first order arrives: duvets and bulky items, delicates, ironing, and same-day turnaround.

Every load is washed on its own, so one customer's clothes never mix with another's. Tag each bag with the customer's name and order as it comes in.

Write a short policy on lost or damaged items, items left in pockets, and garments you won't accept, and show it before people pay. It protects you and it saves the conversation at the counter.

Say how long you'll keep an order that hasn't been collected, and what happens after that.

A drop-off service that only works at the counter is limited to people who already walk past. Online ordering lets customers book a drop-off or a collection, choose options and pay before they arrive.

Paying in advance cuts no-shows and disputes about price. And each online order gives you a name, contact details and an order history, which a cash drop-off doesn't.

Track orders by day and by hour for the first few months. The pattern tells you when to extend hours, when a second person would pay for themselves, and whether collection and delivery are worth adding.

Hire for the demand you can see, not the demand you hope for. Adding hours one block at a time is slower than hiring a team on day one, but it doesn't leave you paying people to wait for bags.