5 ms·

I'm under the impression that pick-up-and-drop-off laundry has been a common business in larger cities for the last, oh, century or more? Is this just a "...yea

by wiml 13y ago

I'm under the impression that pick-up-and-drop-off laundry has been a common business in larger cities for the last, oh, century or more? Is this just a "...yeah, but this time it's on the Internet!" business model?

prawn 13y ago
If it wins business, so be it. Same's worked with home cleaning. Established dinosaurs aren't moving quickly enough or don't understand what users want in sites/apps in many cases, IMO.
pbreit 13y ago
To an extent you are correct although your snarky tone is lame. The same could be said of towncars and taxis, for example, but Uber has absolutely brought a new spin to the market taking large advantage of the internet and mobile to organize constituents and offer enhanced service. I don't think laundry has quite the opportunity but I don't find it necessary to belittle the effort here since there is obviously room for improvement.
- pbreit 13y ago
  Reason for downvotes?
  - mikeg8 13y ago
    The first comment, while maybe a bit "snarky", is still very relevant and right on point. The first line of your response is why you're getting down voted. Little bit of snark > calling a comment lame.
    - pbreit 13y ago
      But being snarkily sarcastic is lame while calling something out straightforwardly is not.
      - mikeg8 13y ago
        I'd say the downvotes you're receiving might mean this community disagrees with you... but I'm just a messenger. You asked the question.
        pbreit 13y ago
        Wow, I guess that's possible. But I wasn't that disagreeable with the post I replied to. I said it had some merit, identified a solid example to support my contention and then still hedged back towards the OP's side.
        foobarbazqux 13y ago
        I know that downvoting hurts (no sarcasm), but just try and remember that they're internet points. If you took out "although your snarky tone is lame" and "I don't find it necessary to belittle the effort here since" you would have been fine. Complaining about downvoting is also against the guidelines, even though everyone does it now and then.
- prodigal_erik 13y ago
  Half the time I called a taxi dispatcher, the driver simply didn't bother showing up (probably found a fare on the way). Towncars want a reservation measured in hours. The new spin is having a critical mass of reliable drivers nearby. Technology is cool (especially GPS) but Uber could have worked over radio.
jes5199 13y ago
The crazy thing is, I kinda need a laundry service, but I have no idea how to find one. Do I just go on yelp? It's a form of business I've never used, so it makes me sort of anxious to try it. Startups that make interactions with businesses less anxiety-provoking tend to get my money. Take Uber for an example: there are Taxis all over SF. But hailing one is intimidating. So I'd rather push a button. The difference in fees don't matter much to me. I'm paying Bay Area rent, remember! The money I spend on laundry and taxis and food delivery and whatever is basically a rounding error - too small to meter.
- bobwaycott 13y ago
  $9K (cost of Prim over the length of time it takes to get your money out of a washer & dryer) is too small to meter?
  - jes5199 13y ago
    9K over, what, four years? Yeah. I wouldn't even notice that.
    - bobwaycott 13y ago
      2.5 years (well, at 4 loads per week, and given low-end units @ $800 total). Still. $800 over 2.5 years vs $9K over 2.5 yrs. Or, to be a tad more accurate, $0.76/load vs $25/load. That's an interesting meter you have.
      - jes5199 13y ago
        Well, it's not really fair to compare the cost like that. I don't have a laundry line-item in my budget that I have to justify to a comittee- but I do have hundreds of dollars to spend on dumb ideas every week. Spending some of my disposable income on getting my laundry nicely cleaned and folded might be enjoyable enough to justify. In the same way that I know I can cook dinner at home for just a few dollars, I still go out to restaurants several times a week and spend $20 or more on a meal. Sometimes I'd juat rather not cook, and I won't really notice the difference in the price, at least not in any long-term sense.
Nursie 13y ago
Yeah, I was wondering. It might have a nice web frontend, but otherwise... I was using a service like this in London about five years ago, and I'm pretty sure it's been a available as a service for as long as there have been people wanting clothes cleaned.
- yalooze 13y ago
  Do you remember any information about the service? Was it just a local laundromat/dry cleaner that did it? I'm looking for something just like that in London.
  - Nursie 13y ago
    The one I used serves a number of postcodes in East London (and had another location in Essex) and was called "The Ironing Board". They charge by weight, their site is here, but you have to call them rather than arrange it via the web - http://www.theironingboard.com/ http://www.theironingboard.com/ I would expect there to be others in other parts of the city. I could be wrong :) --edit-- It looks like they've been doing it for 21 years!

by wiml 13y ago

prawn 13y ago

If it wins business, so be it. Same's worked with home cleaning. Established dinosaurs aren't moving quickly enough or don't understand what users want in sites/apps in many cases, IMO.

pbreit 13y ago

To an extent you are correct although your snarky tone is lame. The same could be said of towncars and taxis, for example, but Uber has absolutely brought a new spin to the market taking large advantage of the internet and mobile to organize constituents and offer enhanced service. I don't think laundry has quite the opportunity but I don't find it necessary to belittle the effort here since there is obviously room for improvement.

pbreit 13y ago
Reason for downvotes?
- mikeg8 13y ago
  The first comment, while maybe a bit "snarky", is still very relevant and right on point. The first line of your response is why you're getting down voted. Little bit of snark > calling a comment lame.
  - pbreit 13y ago
    But being snarkily sarcastic is lame while calling something out straightforwardly is not.
    - mikeg8 13y ago
      I'd say the downvotes you're receiving might mean this community disagrees with you... but I'm just a messenger. You asked the question.
      - pbreit 13y ago
        Wow, I guess that's possible. But I wasn't that disagreeable with the post I replied to. I said it had some merit, identified a solid example to support my contention and then still hedged back towards the OP's side.
        foobarbazqux 13y ago
        I know that downvoting hurts (no sarcasm), but just try and remember that they're internet points. If you took out "although your snarky tone is lame" and "I don't find it necessary to belittle the effort here since" you would have been fine. Complaining about downvoting is also against the guidelines, even though everyone does it now and then.
prodigal_erik 13y ago
Half the time I called a taxi dispatcher, the driver simply didn't bother showing up (probably found a fare on the way). Towncars want a reservation measured in hours. The new spin is having a critical mass of reliable drivers nearby. Technology is cool (especially GPS) but Uber could have worked over radio.

jes5199 13y ago

The crazy thing is, I kinda need a laundry service, but I have no idea how to find one. Do I just go on yelp? It's a form of business I've never used, so it makes me sort of anxious to try it. Startups that make interactions with businesses less anxiety-provoking tend to get my money. Take Uber for an example: there are Taxis all over SF. But hailing one is intimidating. So I'd rather push a button. The difference in fees don't matter much to me. I'm paying Bay Area rent, remember! The money I spend on laundry and taxis and food delivery and whatever is basically a rounding error - too small to meter.

bobwaycott 13y ago
$9K (cost of Prim over the length of time it takes to get your money out of a washer & dryer) is too small to meter?
- jes5199 13y ago
  9K over, what, four years? Yeah. I wouldn't even notice that.
  - bobwaycott 13y ago
    2.5 years (well, at 4 loads per week, and given low-end units @ $800 total). Still. $800 over 2.5 years vs $9K over 2.5 yrs. Or, to be a tad more accurate, $0.76/load vs $25/load. That's an interesting meter you have.
    - jes5199 13y ago
      Well, it's not really fair to compare the cost like that. I don't have a laundry line-item in my budget that I have to justify to a comittee- but I do have hundreds of dollars to spend on dumb ideas every week. Spending some of my disposable income on getting my laundry nicely cleaned and folded might be enjoyable enough to justify. In the same way that I know I can cook dinner at home for just a few dollars, I still go out to restaurants several times a week and spend $20 or more on a meal. Sometimes I'd juat rather not cook, and I won't really notice the difference in the price, at least not in any long-term sense.

Nursie 13y ago

Yeah, I was wondering. It might have a nice web frontend, but otherwise... I was using a service like this in London about five years ago, and I'm pretty sure it's been a available as a service for as long as there have been people wanting clothes cleaned.

yalooze 13y ago
Do you remember any information about the service? Was it just a local laundromat/dry cleaner that did it? I'm looking for something just like that in London.
- Nursie 13y ago
  The one I used serves a number of postcodes in East London (and had another location in Essex) and was called "The Ironing Board". They charge by weight, their site is here, but you have to call them rather than arrange it via the web - http://www.theironingboard.com/ http://www.theironingboard.com/ I would expect there to be others in other parts of the city. I could be wrong :) --edit-- It looks like they've been doing it for 21 years!