Ishmael's data exchange

One year ago “Drill Baby Drill” was a small chant that help the republican party to push their efforts for more domestic drilling. What ever happened to “Drill Baby Drill”?

Oh yeah, Oil peaked at $150 a barrel last year and now is stable around $40 a barrel. Drill no more since republicans sure got told when investors came to their senses.

Maybe they should have followed this guy:  http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/science/07/08/pickens.plan/index.html

There’s this laundry mat on 47th and Lake Park (in Chicago) that is open 24 hours which I go to quite often.

Unfortunately, I do not visit this laundry mat to wash my laundry. I visit it because it is the only place that is open after business hours that has quarters. However, if this place had cheaper washer and dryers, like free drying on the North Side, I would bother to bring in my laundry in the low security area.

I recently discovered that “Management” has posted a sign stating “You’re not supposed to come in and get change unless you are planning on using the machines within the facility.”

Whoa whoa whoa.

There must be a huge expense in changing those dollars to quarters to even post that as a suggestion!

They’re trying to put a band-aid on internal bleeding; Management is missing the broader picture.

Problem 1:  The currency exchange is only open during normal business hours and is closed on Sunday. Yet, the laundry mat is open 24 hours and has many customers on Sunday.

Problem 2: Most of the surrounding tenant buildings have washing machines and dryers where it is cheaper to do your laundry rather than at the laundry mat that has quarters

Problem 3: None of the tenant based laundry rooms have a change machine.

Problem 4: Walgreen’s does not have enough quarters to give out $5 worth of quarters. (It is open longer than the Currency Exchange)

Problem 5: There’s only one staff member to enforce the rule.

Good luck enforcing that policy!

Today I overheard a woman talk about her trip to a local laundromat that turned out to be one of the most biggest mistakes she has ever made.

She attempted to wash her clothes: a simple concept. To wash her bright colored clothes she had to pay $5.50 for one load compared to $5.25 for the smaller washer. She set the washer on hot water and left the washer to attend to another task. When she checked on her load she discovered that the machine had switched from hot water to warm water. Thinking it was just a mistake she pressed the hot water button again to have the machine dispense hot water yet to only find out the machine reverted to using warm water.

Frustrated with the machine she asked the attendant about why the machine refused her request of hot water. The attendant impolitely informed her that she had to add an additional twenty-five cents to use hot water. He also informed her of the hard-to-find sign that is posted on the side of the machine that informs the user of the need to deposit an additional twenty-five cents to operate the washer.

A laundromat on the south side of Chicago that requires $5.50 is ridiculous. A business cannot expect to thrive when it doesn’t attempt to cater to a customer.