Jaeger Family Continually Improves Laundries

An Industry Leader in Innovation

Multi-store owner Art Jaeger arguably leads the industry in vended laundry firsts: He was the first to own a high-speed laundry, the first to offer ozone sanitization as a vended addition to the wash cycle, and the first to test and equip his stores with the new Continental Girbau (Continental) Genius Series soft-mount washers. He not only strives to provide customers with the ultimate laundry experience, he advances his stores with investments in innovative equipment, technologies and services. Recently, his son, Alex Jaeger, and daughter, Natalie Jaeger Rozen, got in on the game.

In doing so, Jaeger is the first laundry owner to test and invest in Continental Girbau’s new Genius Washer line — a high-speed, soft-mount line with the industry’s largest 10-inch touchscreen user interface and exclusive 360 Vision corner status light.

“Art believes in the benefits of high-performance equipment and works closely with our people and engineers to help us innovate machines with features that set laundries apart,” said Joel Jorgensen, vice president of sales at Girbau North America. “Then, he tests the machines in his laundries before they’re introduced to the market. His feedback is invaluable.”

“Aside from an excellent relationship with GNA staff, I became a major part of their reach out to customers to provide feedback on what operators and customers are looking for in equipment,” said Jaeger. “I’ve had the privilege to talk with Girbau engineers over the years and have seen so many of my suggestions become reality.”

Some of those suggestions helped craft the Genius line, which according to Jaeger, helps set his laundries apart from the competition.

There are also “Extras” — additional add-ons selected by customers to customize the wash process. Storeowners can design unique “Extras” to fit specific customer needs. The Jaeger family offers an “Extra Prewash” and “Extra Ozone,” for example. When a customer selects an “Extra,” the vend price elevates by $.50.

Using the Genius Washers, customers enjoy a 25-minute wash and 20-minute dry, which saves them 5–10 minutes compared with the previous machines.

“I’m happy to report that the Genius Washers continue to be the driver of that store and have achieved a 31 percent increase in daily turns.” Meanwhile, Santa Clarita Express Laundry Center has jumped 22 percent in daily turns.

“The number one comment from customers is that they wash better,” according to Jaeger. “The number two comment is how dry the extracted clothes are at the end of the spin. The number three comment is that the touchscreen is innovative and easy to use.”

Forty percent of customers choose an “Extra Prewash” or “Extra Ozone” compared with the 20–30 percent before the switch.

Jaeger increased the vend prices 15 percent on the Genius machines, but customers still flock to them.

“There’s no better way to differentiate your laundry from the competition or set it up to process full-service work or pickup and delivery than by investing in advanced equipment. Everything I’ve talked about ends at the Genius Series. It makes wash/dry/fold more functional and self-service easier,” said Jaeger.