Laundromats in Poland? Good business venture or not?

what world do you live admm, poles have a unique way of cheating, first they will try to remove coins from the machine, then they will try to put a washer the size of a coin to use the machine, and then for good measure they will damage the machine, in the mean time urinating and doing no 2 in the machine to leave there mark, believe me give this idea a miss. Most hotels offer laundry and dry cleaning facilites.

Actually - this is very true. Look at the state of communal areas in Poland - if Poles respected the property of others, why is almost every single property fenced off?

It is a very sad reality in Poland in that there is no respect for something that isn't clearly belonging to someone. If you go to Kostrzyn, then go to Kustrin-Kietz, you can clearly see the difference in mentalities - Poles will wall off their gardens, whereas Germans will allow people to walk onto their laws if they want. The difference is that the Germans will know not to go there, whereas the Poles will stamp all over it even though it clearly belongs to someone.

There's a good reason why self service solariums didn't take off in Poland despite the popularity of solariums in Poland.

Essentially, as has been said above - you will have problems with undesirables hanging about if you don't have someone on site.

Well Kustrin is just on the Polish-German border and if Poles have the problem with other Poles the Germans should have had an identical reaction. To be honest eastern part of Germany is very simmilar to Poland and I havent noticed that difference. You probably think of new houses built far from other houses which is popular in PL.

I would also fence my house if I had one. Only because of living in communist era blocks force you to share every sq meter with incredilble ammount of people. I want to have somehing that is mine and only mine.

I will not change your perception of Polish people as you have a stabilized one i see. But I fully disagree with the statement "Polish people just don't respect the property of others and that's not going to change anytime soon" My God its insane. How they do that? By building fences? Tell me I do really want to know. Maybe just havent noticed something living in the same country all my life.

"Polish people just don't respect the property of others" ... so me, my family, my friends and my neigbours. Are you one of these people who say when seeing for example German holligans "oh that are hooligans", and when see some Polish hooligans "oh that are Poes"?

Admn:
1) "I am sure that you should forget about it. Everyone has a machine in their flat. My friend rent an appartment without it when started working and moving to one of major cities. Altougth she had no money earned yet, she went for a loan and bought one immidiately. Thats just the way Poles live and are used to it. "

That's not a valid argument against laundromats. That's like arguing that fast food chains wouldn't work in Poland b/c all Poles eat home made sandwiches all the goddamn time.

The reason why she had to get a loan to buy a machine is b/c she had no alternative, like a laundromat. By the way, few things are more pleasing to the human nostrils than that buttery sandwich smell that's so common on Polish trains...

As for your claim that Polish people are respectful of the property of others. I'm sorry, but your position is just ridiculous. Although you and your family and your friends may very well be respectful of the property of others, many, many of your compartriots are not. Respect for people's property, private property ownership, property rights -- things like these just aren't yet that deeply ingrained into Polish culture like they are in cultures to the West. As happy2 correctly pointed out, Polish people have a penchant for cheating/stealing, especially in creative ways. I believe that this is something that is rewarded in Polish culture -- people brag about doing such things, and people believe that such a person is clever and is capable of getting things taken care of even in adverse circumstances. Wherease in places like Germany or Sweden such a person is considered a thief pure and simple -- they used to cut people's hands off for stealing over there...

Italy is a good example of a country where, like in Poland, petty theft is common.
Yet, you will find unattended 24/7 laundromats in Italy. So, although theft/vandalism are good arguments against laundromats in Poland, they are not sufficient. A laundromat prioprietor in Poland must expect theft and vandalism and plan appropriately. Anyone ever hear of insurance? Passing on costs to customers?

Maybe that's why some women deliver arms

Quite. Hence the huge number of security guards, working in places you sometimes wouldn't expect.

If launderettes/laundromats appeared in Poland (there are actually one or two already) it's hard to imagine them without a security guard.

Well even in UK they have a supervisor.

On the question of poverty and price, I lived in one of the roughest areas of Glasgow and there were several, well used laundromats (despite what Edinburghers might think).

I agree with the idea that Poles do not have much respect of a stranger's property. There is definitely a difference in this regard between Germany and Poland. Property is much more respected in Germany.

Laundromats in tough cities in the U.S. are not guarded but are tended to by a supervisor, employee or the owner. Someone being present would ensure a more pleasant visit for customers and would help prevent vandalism. Also, due to the blatant disregard by most Poles toward any type of public service or property, I would never leave a laundromat in Poland unattended; not in any city. The behavior of Poles is changing, but still has some way to go.

I feel that operating a laundromat in Poland is a good idea. The difficulty would be finding the capital to launch such an enterprise. Polish banks are not exactly handing out loans.

WarsawWasRaw: I agree with almost everything you have said. You seem to be a keen and colorful observer of Poland.

Admm: No, not every Pole has a machine in his or her flat.
As visitors to your wonderful country, we (outsiders) have a fresh perspective on things and this allows us to see things more objectively. Although, we (outsiders) are sometimes blinded by the fact that we so strongly compare Poland to our larger, richer and much more developed countries. Sometimes this distorts our perception of Poland.

jonsbrooks: No, I have not yet moved forward with the venture. At the moment I am busy working on a different business adventure; one that is 100% vandal-proof.

Thanks for all the wonderful comments by everyone. All opinions are welcome on this subject.

One more thing...I love Poland.

Restaraunt/Bar/laundrette! This works very well in the US, people take their laundry here and whilst waiting for it to be ready, they have their lunch or dinner along with some refreshment. making this more of a pleasure than a triesome task

Not sure if it's still around, but there was one in Wroclaw.

Also, there are many families on the dole that do laundry in their city apartments with the tax payer funding the water and electricity to allow those things to run 24/7... You would have some competition with zero overhead...

Nice idea, but if I had to use a laundrette, Id much prefer to just do a service wash and enjoy a drink somewhere else.


Usually some old dear..Not exactly security, I dont think laundrettes are particular targets for vandals in the UK.

I am not sure I understand that?

welfare families do laundry cheap....

but how? what runs 24/7? where?

washing machines. the apartment above mine was owned by the city for a while. they had a family in there that would run their washing machine 24/7 because they didn't have to pay for water or electricity. They had a side business washing clothes for people, restaurants, you name it. Always big containers of clothes being shuffled up and down the stairs..

OK, so you mean "mieszkania komunalne" (communal / council housing). I finally understand! Why didn't you inform the city council about this? I must say they were very ingenious, though not extremely honest!

They're out and the apartment has been sold. Was a bunch of breeders. Curious as to how often this happens...

One a side note, anyone have statistics on how much of the housing stock is government owned?

Never heard of such practices myself...

I agree with you there darius,there is a laundromat on ulica Dieta in Krakow every time I have passed there is no one inside.

There is a public laundromat in Krakow (ul Dietla). I use it and so do many other people. You can leave your washing there for a service and pick it up later. It has a bar where you can have a drink and relax.

It is attached to a small hotel, so has plenty of business from students/foreign visitors.

As for this unbelievably stupid thought that I don't want to wash in a public machine in which someone else has washed their clothes the answer is simple - wash at 100 degrees -it kills al known germs.

I suppose those peculiar people will never ever use a public toilet - because someone else sat on it before you and we can only imagine what they did. There are more germs on a public toilet seat than there ever will be in a washing machine.

Grow up.


...Have you actually been in? Have you ever done your washing there?
The washers and dryers are going like the clappers all the time.
The girl behind the bar is always doing service washes. The place is busy.
Not everyone has a washing machine. In my case I don't want one as yet, as I'm only in Poland for a few weeks at a time.

If you cant affort your own washingmachine in Poland then shame on you !

No and No, I have only been passed it on numerous occasions,so if you say it is going like the clappers - you have the upper hand on that. Going back to the point of Poles and their need for cleanliness - if you had been here longer you, would understand.

For a start, I don't believe in consumerism - if I NEED something I buy it. I will never buy something because a neightbout has it.

And ...Nice of you to express an opinion about me and about something you know sweet f.a. about.
I am in Poland for few weeks at a time - why would I need a washing machine? I can go to a laundrette and wash what I need in one wash.

I am also renovating a flat - why would I want to go through the trouble of connecting a washer now when I will be changing everything round anyway.

Before you make a comment or express an opinion - try to get your brain in gear and don't write/speak until you know something about the situation.


...How many weeks, years, decades is longer? I am in Poland approx 13 weeks ieach year - how long do I need to be in a country to assess that generally Polish people do not wash as often as they need to. Next time I meet someone who smells - I will tell them .....

if you dont start it, Some one els will do it for you..

I find the comments that everyone has a washing machine surprising. I rented a nice flat in Krakow some years ago which didn't have a washing machine - in fact many of the flats I saw at that time were without one. The landlord assumed I would hand wash my clothes.

My impresson at the time was that most poles either use a friends or parents machine - or nothing at all....

Laundromats are common place in London and I somehow doubt there are less washing machines per head of population there then in Krakow for example.

I think laundromat would do very well - I would have certainly used it.

I guess you would have to explore the fixed costs and how much you need to charge to
cover these. Maybe the reason there not common is simply because the cost of
running one is too high in Poland?

when was that?? i've never seen an apartment in Krakow without a washing machine... weird...

This was about 2004. It was an apartment in a relatively new block.

At the time I new other foreigners who were renting who had the same problem.

One day out of frustration I took all my laundry to the dry-cleaners. It cost
me 70 zl to have it done!

the whole central europe area hardly has laundromats

you'll have to make a cultural change

hope you have a lot of money and a few decades of spare time

It's probably not even a cultural change, but rather an issue of cost - the machines are going to be priced at Western levels, yet you'll have to charge Eastern prices.

Same problem is seen in many other areas.

Back to the laundromat question do people have dryers in their homes?Just looking for some feed back,I was in Poland visiting my family and they all dry their clothing on a line outside.Is that common? I was thinking of starting a business there, because when it rained the clothing in the homes took a while to dry. The country is moving forward economically and they are enjoying some new luxuries coming from the west, I believe this may be one of them.

Thanks for your input.