Why My Dad Was Obsessed With Friday Nights in Laundry

I used to think my dad was obsessive about Friday nights.

Without fail, we'd be in the store until 10 pm or 11 pm almost every Friday, checking every machine, replacing worn belts, cleaning drains, and making sure everything was perfect for the weekend. I'd be tired, ready to go home, and honestly a little annoyed. "Dad, can't this wait until tomorrow?"

He'd always give me the same look and say, "Son, you have to understand what it costs us when a machine goes down on the weekend."

I thought I understood. A repair bill, some lost quarters, how bad could it be?

Then I learned the hard way, and it completely changed how I think about downed machines.

The $35 Water Valve Disaster

Several years ago, one of our busiest 40lb washers went down around 2:30 PM on a Friday afternoon. The issue? A $35 water valve had failed. Simple fix, of course.

Except I didn't have the part in stock. The distributor was closed until Monday. What I thought would be a quick Friday repair became a three day revenue nightmare.

That $35 water valve ended up costing me $2,117.44. Let me break down exactly how.

The Three Hidden Layers of Downtime Costs

Most owners stop calculating after the repair bill. But there are actually three layers of costs that compound during machine downtime, especially on weekends when laundromats experience their highest foot traffic, with peak times spanning from late morning to late afternoon on Saturday and Sunday.

Layer 1: The Obvious Costs

• Repair bill: $195 labor + $35 water valve = $230
• Lost revenue: That machine normally does 5 turns Friday, 6 Saturday, 9 Sunday. Missing 17.5 turns at $6.50 each = $113.75 in direct lost revenue

Subtotal: $343.75

Layer 2: The Hidden Costs

• Staff time dealing with complaints: Friday afternoon through Sunday, my team spent 20 hours explaining the situation, directing clients to other machines, and managing frustrated clients. At $17.50/hour, that's $350 in labor costs I hadn't anticipated.
• Lost clients: About 75 clients needed a 40lb machine over the weekend. With one machine down, the remaining 40lb machines were constantly occupied, creating wait times. When clients see all the machines they need are busy and there's a line, many just leave to find another laundromat. If just 8 clients (about 10%) decide to go elsewhere instead of waiting, that's 8 clients × $15 average visit × 2 monthly visits = $240 in future lost revenue.

Subtotal: $590

Layer 3: The Really Hidden Costs

• My time: I spent 7 hours over the weekend managing this crisis instead of working on growth initiatives. At $150/hour, that's $1,050 in opportunity cost.
• Secondary revenue impact: Those 17.5 lost wash clients would have also generated dryer revenue (typically 45% of washer income) = $51.19, plus vending purchases, detergent sales, and potential positive word-of-mouth that never happened = $133.69

Total Real Cost: $2,117.44

Why Weekend Downtime Hurts Most

The average laundromat makes between $450-$500 per day, but weekends can account for 40-50% of weekly revenue. The busiest hours for a laundromat are typically weekends, while Tuesday through Thursday are the least busy days.

When you lose a major machine during peak hours, you're not just losing that machine's revenue, you're creating a bottleneck that affects your entire operation.

Thinking about the thinking of laundry:
When you realize that a broken machine impacts every client interaction and revenue stream, you start to see maintenance as profit protection, not just expense management.

Your Weekend Protection Plan

Here's what you can implement this week:

1. Create a spare parts inventory: At minimum, stock water valves, door latches, belts, etc. for your most used machines
2. Establish Thursday/Friday maintenance routine: Preventive checking can save hundreds
3. Build relationships with weekend repair services: Know who you can call for emergency repairs
4. Train staff on basic troubleshooting: Sometimes, a simple fix can get you through the weekend

Bottom Line

My dad wasn't being obsessive about those Friday nights. He understood something I had to learn. In the laundry business, an ounce of prevention really is worth a pound of cure, especially when that cure costs you the weekend's peak revenue.

Now I'm the one working Friday nights, making sure everything's ready for the weekend rush. And when the next generation is ready to help in the business, I'll probably drive them just as crazy as my dad drove me.

Some lessons are worth passing down.

That's all I got for you today.

Waleed

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Echoing the thoughts of Benjamin Franklin.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Footnotes: ¹ American Coin-Op survey on laundromat peak hours, 2023
² Laundromat Resource industry data on daily revenue averages, 2023
³ Coin Laundry Association research on dryer-to-washer revenue ratios
⁴ Commercial laundry maintenance industry reports, 2024