LAUNDRY ROOMS: CLEANING UP WITH COINLESS CARD SYSTEMS, P.2

There are a few ways to structure the financial agreements. In a "route" arrangement, the laundry company provides the equipment and service, collects the money and pays the co-op either a fixed amount each month or a percentage of the monthly revenue. In an equipment-lease agreement, the co-op pays the laundry company a monthly fee to lease the equipment, but gets to keep all the money generated by the laundry room.

Or, the co-op / condo can purchase the washer, dryer and VTM machines itself, keeping 100 percent of the revenue. But Edward Kwitko, vice president of the Hicksville, New York, laundry-room firm the Hercules Corporation, says VTMs require much technical know-how in order to properly service them. "With the card system you have to deal with the software and reading the cards," he says. "You have to have the support." Hercules, for one, additionally allows residents to refill their smart cards online, using credit cards.

Make sure the shareholders know what to expect from the new system and how to use it. There's no going back to coins once the card system is installed, and it's almost impossible for a coin and a card system to coexist. Even though the card system isn't difficult to use, it's always a good idea to educate shareholders and answer questions.

Josh Siegel, who is both the property manager and a board member in his 239-unit Hempstead co-op, says his building made the switch to a coinless system installed circa 2002 by his town's Automatic Industries. To introduce the new cards, the board sent out a notice announcing a "grand reopening" of the laundry room, and invited the shareholders down to see what was new. In addition to the new VTM machine, Siegel says, Automatic installed new washers and dryers, changed the laundry room layout, installed new lighting and repaired the floors and ceilings.

"We actually had a fairly large turnout," Siegel notes, adding that shareholders at the annual meetings had consistently asked about laundry cards.

Unless your shareholders are particularly fond of quarters, there's no reason why your board shouldn't consider upgrading to a card system for your laundry room. In most cases it won't cost your building anything, you'll most likely get your laundry room spruced up, and there's a chance you could make some extra revenue each month. Think about it the next time you find yourself venturing beneath your sofa pillows with a flashlight.

Adapted from Habitat May 2004 . For the complete article and more, join our Archive >>

Illustration by Marcellus Hall