Ensuring common-area laundry equipment is reliable and well-maintained is an essential component of resident retention.
For many renters, laundry amenities aren’t the primary reason to sign a lease. However, if the equipment does not work properly, it could be a reason residents leave.
For the working mom whose daughter needs her white blouse for the upcoming concert or the career-driven man who needs his lucky blue shirt for an important business meeting, seeing “Out of Order” posted on a washer or dryer is unacceptable. With today’s competitive rental market, in which many apartments offer in-unit hook-ups, machines consistently not working properly can spur residents to search for another place to live.
“A good laundry amenity won’t sell the lease, but a bad one will lose it,” says Mike Clark, Principal, Alpha-Barnes Real Estate Services. “Because you are competing with the convenience of in-unit equipment, it is critical that the community laundry offers as much convenience to residents as possible.”
While some residents prefer in-unit laundry facilities, owners and managers should be aware of potential unforeseen problems with in-unit equipment.
“It is difficult enough to run a property maintenance program without adding the maintenance of laundry equipment to the scope of services,” Clark says.
By utilizing well-designed, reliable common area laundry equipment, owners will see a decrease in maintenance calls for issues with in-unit laundry equipment and less apartment damage from improper use of in-unit machines.
Small-to-mid-sized property owners and managers should consider that commercial equipment found in successful, functional and modern common area laundry rooms differs from what is sold at appliance retailers. Commercial devices require far more technical understanding than many community maintenance persons have.
Avoiding machine malfunctions or correcting such issues quickly goes a long way toward enhancing residents’ satisfaction. This is why it’s important to partner with route operators who not only provide modern, efficient laundry equipment, but who offer fast and high-quality customer service and machine maintenance.
Secrets for Service Success
Apartment managers should consider three important attributes when appraising laundry service providers: multifamily focus, industry-leading technologies and customer service management.
Selecting a laundry service provider dedicated to the multifamily industry will help property owners and managers make sure that the needs of their community are met. Multifamily route operators understand what technologies residents are seeking in laundry rooms, as well as the revenue potential and utility savings an owner can receive from common-area laundry rooms.
Owners should choose a route operator that will seek leading technologies to improve the community’s bottom line and one that employs a team of specialized maintenance engineers who not only possess the skill set to quickly fix the majority of equipment malfunctions, but understand the importance of maintaining and fixing machines in a timely matter.
Today’s machines are complex, using microprocessors and sophisticated machine controls requiring back-office support. If a community’s maintenance workers are trying to fix a problem on a machine without proper training, the community likely will pay more in the long run.
To help address customer service management, some leading laundry service providers employ a centralized call center to respond to all customer service issues and requests. Call centers, operating in real time, can adjust service schedules for the most logical and timely response and provide the precise location of a down machine on a property as well as any previous service calls on that machine, says Joe Tamney, Director of Training and Development for Coinmach, a major route operator.
Combining this information with the system’s ability to request inventory not typically stocked on the service trucks from the closest regional warehouse ensures the technician is fully prepared to resolve the equipment issue with one visit, he says. Having a single point of contact to process incoming calls and deploy service technicians further delivers greater efficiency, improves response time and reduces down time.
Continuing education and training also is vital. Sophisticated laundry service providers understand the importance of employing the best service engineers and ensuring they have received optimal training. The top technicians train with the manufacturer of the equipment they will be working with, allowing them to gain in-depth knowledge about the equipment from the experts who designed and produced it.
Brenda Henke is Director of Training and Technical Communications at Alliance Laundry Systems in Ripon, Wis. She has more than 30 years of experience in developing service training for advanced laundry technologies. For 22 years she has been an instructor at Moraine Park Technical College in Fond du Lac, Wis., where she has assisted in the development of various associate degree programs. She can be reached at Brenda.henke@alliancels.com.
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Top-Line Training for Engineers Vital for Fast Laundry Repair
Alliance Laundry Systems, the manufacturer of Speed Queen Multihousing and other leading laundry technology brands, recognized the need to provide top-of-the-line training for engineers servicing its equipment.
The company developed a training program, and more than 900 technicians have participated since it launched in 2009.
The program was developed based on the principals the auto industry uses to train its workers. Both industries have a significant focus on quality control and customer satisfaction and have similar challenges as large-scale manufacturers.
Alliance also tapped Coinmach, a nationwide laundry service route operator, and Coinmach’s Center of Excellence (COE) to provide multifamily-specific content for the program. The COE is a state-of-the-art nationwide call and service dispatch center that is managed by Coinmach. Employees at the center go through extensive training programs, including programs on quality customer care, common washer and dryer maintenance issues, and reimbursement and problem solving resolution.
Alliance’s program helps engineers become experts on repairing Alliance’s machines quickly and correctly. Skills students learn include:
• How Products Work (theory of operation)
• Installation of Product (including gas and electrical requirements)
• Preventive Maintenance
• General Mechanical Repair
• Electrical Understanding and Analysis
• Diagnosis/Troubleshooting
• Repair Techniques and Procedures
Engineers also learn soft skills such as professionalism and customer relations. —B.H.