PUBLISHED June 26, 2024
Who Should Be Responsible for New Laundromat Equipment Problems?
A repetitive critique found in many forums of Laundromat owners is the issue of new equipment failures or improper initial operation. What is not widely understood is the correct buyer response that eventually cures these problems. Who should be held responsible for startup issues and frequent failures on installation?
A little background on the widely used distribution network of manufacturers of equipment will bring a little clarity. Although recently some manufacturers have moved toward direct factory distribution, the industry standard is privately owned distributors who have agreements with manufacturers to distribute their equipment. Some Laundromats owners may not realize that manufacturers sell their products to distributors or “aka” dealers. Distributors buy the product from the manufacturers and are given significant discounts and often exclusive territory to represent the factory.
In return, distributors are to provide training to their installation and service personnel, offer service schools to customers, be knowledgeable in installation, equipment programming, stock common parts, handle complaints and generally be the contact point for the factories.
Although the ultimate price of buying a Laundromat equipment to build or refurbish a store can seem monumental, most Laundromat owners don’t realize how little is earned by the distributors after negotiated a lower price on a sales agreement. Customers continually negotiate for lower prices and the results of lower price are not passed on to factories but only to the local distributors. Compared to other distribution businesses, the final profit margin for the distributors can be quite low.
Some distributors handle their obligations very well, others not so much, but keep in mind the selection of a distributor with a strong support reputation is important. Do you spend as much time verifying the reputations as you do in negotiating the price? Does anyone think so much money is made by factories that they can afford to have a repair staff person on call to jump on a plane and fly to your location to solve your problems? The factories already paid for this service with the distributor discounts provided to distributors.
Some Laundromat owners refuse to use the contractors or staff of the distributor to do a proper installation. Sometimes these buyers are met with a cold shoulder or a slow response when they have complaints. The distributors need to earn money to pay their staff and you’re asking for free service. When untrained and inexperienced installers fail to read the factory provided installation manual or make another type of installation mistake, the Laundromat owner wants to blame the distributor or the factory; some owners even claim the equipment is "poorly made, and criticize it in public forums.
Everything manufactured by any factory will produce some problems, and I can honestly say as someone who has distributed a large number of a wide range of brands over fifty years including Wascomat, Huebsch, ADC, Cissell, Primus and Dexter that no manufacturers are building "junk products" for our industry. There is absolutely no brand or model that is vastly more reliable or durable. Each has a its own advantages and operational issues.
If you have equipment failure you have limited cost protection because factories provide warranties; parts warranties, not labor warranties. If you want a labor warranty buy it from your distributor or your installation contractor. Before blame is tossed around, maybe a closer look at which distributor sold the equipment and your own decisions on installation issues might be wise and fair. In my experience, most startup issues are a result of poor installation techniques and inexperienced and untrained installers.
If you select to hire a “cheaper” installation team with no experience in initial setup and programming needs, you should be responsible to pay for the distributor to service and correct your problems. If the problem exists after using distributor installers, then the distributor should solve your problem. If the distributor recognizes that the issue is a result of factory problem, the distributor should be contact the factory to assist.
Would you expect Home Depot to be responsible for sending out a repairman for free to explain “it’s necessary to plug the television into an electrical outlet” in order to work? Why would expect the lack of knowledge of your hired installers is a problem that should be solved for free by the crew of the distributor?