Laundromat Curbside Pickup: How to Set Up a Premium Service
Convenience is the currency of modern retail. The laundromat that makes laundry the most convenient wins. And nothing says convenient like staying in your car.
Curbside laundry pickup — where customers drive up, hand off their laundry, and pick it up without leaving their vehicle — has moved from novelty to expectation in many markets. Here's how to set it up properly and make it a real revenue driver.
Why Curbside Laundry Pickup Works
The same customer who uses your drop-off wash and fold service will pay more for curbside. They already value convenience over cost — that's why they're not doing laundry at home. Curbside takes that value proposition one step further.
The customers who love curbside pickup tend to be high-value customers: busy professionals, families with young children, people with mobility challenges, and anyone who values their time enough to pay for it. These customers are loyal. They find a service that works for them and they stick with it.
The Two Curbside Models
True Curbside (Customer Stays in Car)
The customer drives up to a designated curbside spot, a staff member brings their laundry to and from the car. They never get out of the vehicle.
This is the premium experience. It's also operationally more complex — you need designated spots, staff awareness of arrivals, and a way for customers to notify you they've arrived.
Enhanced Pickup (Faster Walk-In Experience)
The customer parks in a designated pickup spot and walks to a pickup counter. The order is pre-pulled and waiting. The interaction takes 60 seconds.
This is a middle ground between regular walk-in and true curbside. It's easier to operate and customers still appreciate the speed and convenience.
Setting Up True Curbside Service
Step 1: Designate Your Spots
Choose parking spots closest to your entrance and mark them clearly. A sign reading "CURBSIDE PICKUP — Text [number] when you arrive" or numbered spots with signage work well.
Gorilla POS supports numbered curbside spots. Customers select their spot number in the customer portal, which notifies staff automatically.
Step 2: Create Your Arrival Notification System
Customers need a way to tell you they've arrived. Options:
Text the store: Simple and accessible. Customers text a phone number. Staff get notified.
Customer portal arrival button: When the customer's order is marked ready, they receive a link in their pickup notification. They click "I've arrived" and select their curbside spot number. Staff is notified immediately.
Gorilla POS handles this automatically — the customer notification includes an arrival link, and staff see spot notifications on the POS.
Step 3: Define Your Service Area
Curbside works best when the distance from your sorting area to the parking spots is short. If staff are walking 200 feet through a parking lot, the experience degrades for everyone.
If your layout doesn't lend itself to true curbside, the enhanced pickup model may work better for your physical space.
Step 4: Staff the Service
Curbside pickup requires a staff member who can leave the counter when a customer arrives. In a busy laundromat, this means having enough coverage that one person can step away for two minutes without creating a problem.
Build curbside staffing into your scheduling. During your peak curbside windows (typically morning and evening commute hours), make sure you have coverage.
Step 5: Price It Appropriately
Curbside is a premium service. Price it as one.
A common pricing model: add a flat curbside fee ($3-5) to the regular wash and fold price. This covers the operational cost and reflects the additional value delivered.
Some laundromats price curbside at a percentage premium on top of the wash and fold price. Others offer it free as a loyalty benefit for top-tier customers.
Whatever you charge, the key is that curbside should be positioned as a premium — not an afterthought.
Scheduling Curbside Windows
Not all hours are equally good for curbside. The operationally simplest approach is to offer curbside during specific windows — say, 7-10 AM and 4-7 PM — when you have sufficient staffing and customers are most likely to use it.
Gorilla POS lets you configure curbside availability by day and time. Customers can only schedule curbside pickup during your configured windows.
Marketing Your Curbside Service
Curbside laundry pickup is still new enough that customers often don't know it's an option. Marketing it well makes a significant difference in adoption.
Signage at the store: "Curbside pickup available! Schedule online at [URL]." Customers who visit in person are your most likely early adopters.
Social media: A short post or video showing how curbside works — customer pulls up, hands over laundry, drives away — is shareable and compelling.
Google Business update: Add curbside pickup to your Google Business profile. This appears in search results and helps customers find you specifically for this service.
SMS to existing customers: Your existing wash and fold customers are your best curbside prospects. A simple text letting them know curbside is now available often generates immediate bookings.
Curbside Pickup as a Differentiator
In markets where multiple laundromats compete for the same customers, curbside pickup can be a genuine differentiator. If you're the only laundromat in your area offering it, customers who value convenience will drive past competitors to use you.
The operational investment to set up curbside is modest. The customer loyalty it generates can be significant.
See how Gorilla POS handles curbside pickup. Book a free demo at gorillapos.com/demo