We chose this laundromat mainly because it advertised air conditioning, which it does have. Unfortunately, the experience was ruined by the attendant's behavior.
We had 3 standard 13-gallon kitchen trash bags of laundry, which properly fits in one large $8 commercial washer. Despite this, the attendant aggressively policed us and insisted we needed to use more machines, even pushing us toward using three machines, which was unnecessary and expensive. We calmly offered to split into two machines, but he continued to insist on more.
What was especially frustrating is that he had drawn a physical line on the medium commercial washer, claiming clothes could only be loaded up to that line. That rule makes no practical sense. Commercial washers are designed to be loaded based on capacity and tumble space, not an arbitrary half-full line. If machines are not meant to be used properly, then they shouldn't be offered -- not used as a way to force customers to spend more money.
To make matters worse, a local customer inserted himself into the situation, translating our English to the attendant without being asked. The two of them were laughing and commenting while looking directly at us, which was extremely uncomfortable and disrespectful. Other customers who came in later with similar or larger loads were not policed the same way, which made the difference in treatment noticeable.
This felt less about protecting the machines and more about over-policing and upselling. Laundry should be straightforward -- customers should not be pressured into using extra machines or made to feel uncomfortable for doing a normal load.
If we had known we'd encounter this kind of treatment, we would have happily gone elsewhere, AC or not. read more
