Topic: Coinmach, Mac-Gray, or some other laundry room provider?

I have a 126 unit property with no laundry room facilities. I am considering adding laundry room(s) to the property and it seems that Coinmach and Mac-Gray are the two big players in laundry systems. Is that right, and can anyone share their experiences with either Coinmach or Mac-Gray, OR any other provider you have worked with you think I should look into?

I have used both companies in different positions and had the same good experience. Easy to get your money, prompt servicing of broken machines, and no difficulties. There might be other good companies but I would stick with one of these 2 since they have a proven track record.

One thing not to do is consider doing it yourself. I was a PM at a property that owned its machines, though they were old. We spent so much money on outside repairs, had unhappy residents with the frequent downed machines, and doled out quarters as best we could to people who "lost money." And then carrying that damned bag of quarters to the bank was ridiculous. Plus, the bank took a 5% fee for running them through their coin counter!

We have our own machines, serviced 90% by on site maintenance. Oldest machine is 21 years old.
As long as the tenants don't overload the machines they seem to last a while before trouble.

Most banks have coin counters for public use, only an account is needed to avoid fees. B)

I have worked with Coinmach for the last seven years. Their techs are awesome, scan app on my cell phone makes it so easy to order maintenance. Maintenance is performed within 24hrs. I request that I receive a 24 hr notice prior to coin collection and they have always called. I have 100 apartments spread out in 6 buildings with 9 laundry rooms. I send my janitor with the coin collector for extra protection since they are carrying $$$ with them. I highly recommend them.

My arrangement with Coinmach was even easier. They collected the money and sent us a check. There was a sticker on each machine with a number and residents could call the 800 number directly with the machine number and report it themselves. Also, if they lost quarters, they called Coinmach and got their money back from them. We did nothing but bank the check. It was great.

I've had several discussions with others about the "profit" of laundry rooms. They can make a little money, but it is more a convenience for your residents. It's a mistake to put too much effort into trying to make laundry profit. The real profit is in the apartments and that should always be the focus.

I manage a community with 91 units. We use Mac-Gray and love them. They are very polite on the phone and have the quickest and most courteous service I have ever encountered. I highly recommend them.

Elisha Mungia
Autumn Chase Apts

Gerald,

Where is your property located? It is material with regard to the level of service that you would expect to receive.

While we have only a 220 unit site we operate completely cashless with smart card activation and Interac money transfer from the user's bank account to ours. We actually converted the laundry room into an apartment and the lobby rental office became the laundry room. Revenues have increased from $100/day to $165/day. The new laundry equipment, card readers and Interac payment kiosk were paid off within 2 years.

If you are in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland, West Virginia or parts of New York there is National Laundries and Continental Laundries

Continental is now owned by Coinmach

We closed our deal with Mac Gray a few months ago. We looked into different vendors and Mac Gray was by far the best with contract terms, up front leasing capital(money for remodeling), wireless credit card system and installation. Our revenue is up about 20% with the new laundry room. If we have a problem they are out the next day to fix it.

www.wrcbtv.com/story/23692384/csc-servic...gray-for-524-million

CoinMach now owns MacGray. You would be better off using a local laundry route vendor than a large corporate, share holder driven company. Local company will be focused on providing good service and long term working relationship

1 wrote:

Continental is now owned by Coinmach

Are you thinking of the merger between Coinmach and Mac-Gray?

Read the contract thoroughly before you sign anything. Avoid/strike out automatic renewals and other unfair clauses, such as right of first refusal.

Have you considered installing in-unit equipment? The LG combination (all-in-one) washer/dryer operates on 120-volts, requires no outside vents, has the discharge rate of a dishwasher, and generally has an ROI OF 18 to 28 months, depending on base rents and market conditions.

Yankee Equipment in New England is a small but up and coming route player. Simple agreement. They have been building commercial laundries for years. They are very responsive.

Gerald,

Did you ever do anything with this knowledge?

I've been out of the industry for several years and trying to get up to speed on this. Was Mac-Gray bought by CoinMach or CSC Service works? Or are they they same company? Any other national companies out there now?

I dont like the service of Coinmach I would use someone else. I am looking for another company for the apartment complex I manage. They wont give you a specific time or date of service and that isnt acceptable.

We've been waiting here for more than two weeks for service
unable to do laundry in our 22 unit coop. I wouldnt recommend
Coinmach. Horrible service.

I think CSC bought graymac, I can only tell you this, if you go to the Better Business Bureau you see they've had like 275 complaints and three years & they've only satisfied 148 of those complaints