Condo Media - May 2021 - 27

WHAT'S IN IT FOR ASSOCIATIONS?
The benefits of the Plain Silver Laundry Payment
system aren't limited to individual users. It has
advantages for associations with public laundry
facilities, too.
" A lot of residents are looking for upgraded
payment systems where they don't have to go
find quarters, " says Aaron. " There are a lot of
other systems out there where you would have to
replace the equipment or add in a very expensive
credit-card system. Ours is very inexpensive, and
we can add it to existing equipment, which a lot of
others cannot. You don't have to spend a fortune to
upgrade your laundry. "
Additionally, Plain Silver makes laundry budgeting easy. They don't have a heavy upfront charge,
and they don't take a percentage of the transactions.
Instead, once the hardware is installed in the machines,
they charge a flat monthly fee, which includes the lease
of the equipment and all credit-card fees, no matter how
much or how little the machines are used. " Because it
includes everything, you have a fixed cost that you can
predict and manage, " Aaron says.
CASES IN POINT
That's a benefit appreciated by Wendy Heyman,
owner of SGH Property Management in Boston.
" It's perfect for us because you can use a machine that
you already have. You don't have to buy a new machine.
You don't need WiFi. And they don't charge very much
for it, so it's very affordable, " she says.
She adds that the need for an alternative to coins
became urgent during the pandemic. " I have a building
that didn't know what to do with their quarters. Because
of COVID, the bank wouldn't take them. So it's a perfect
solution. They're on a budget, and it doesn't cost that
much. So it was such a no-brainer to do it. "
Aaron notes that people can still use coins in the
machines if they prefer. And the app isn't tied to a specific
address, so it's transportable to associations with multiple
properties in multiple cities. Further, it's downloadable in
20 languages and counting. That's significant not only for
non-English speakers who use the app, but also for those
who need to report the rare glitch.
" This system has tech support through the app, " says
Dennis. " We found out that our users prefer to communicate via text and email. When we released the app
in multiple languages, our users started writing to us in
a bunch of different languages. It's kind of fun, actually.
And it improves the quality of the care they're getting,
because we know about problems that they wouldn't
otherwise have reported. "
" They are super responsive, " says Ken Vennard,
director of property management for the Boston-based

The PLAIN SILVER LAUNDRY PAYMENT APP makes it easy
to pay for laundry from any smartphone - even in areas with
no cellular reception.

Mount Vernon Company. " They're a local small business, and they do the whole thing themselves. If there
are ever hiccups, they always reach out to the residents
directly. So that's nice. "
Vennard came to Plain Silver through Commonwealth
Appliance. When the MacQuilkens outlined the advantages of the app - namely, increased laundry revenue
and ease of use for the residents - The Mount Vernon
Company rolled it out in a few buildings. It proved so
popular, they installed it on existing machines in all
the buildings it owns and manages. " Everyone loves it.
Especially with COVID-19, no one wants to go out to the
bank and find quarters, " says Vennard. " Residents really
like the convenience of being able to load value onto an
app on their phone. I think we've seen a drop in usage of
coins by about 60 to 70 percent at most buildings. "
David Altman, owner of Advantage Property Management in Newton Centre, Mass., also learned about Plain
Silver through Commonwealth Appliance. " It's been
really good - especially in the last year, where there was
a coin shortage. People were thrilled that they could use
their phones, " he says. " They're a good company to work
with. I think the application is great. "
The family legacy instilled by their father is important to
the MacQuilken brothers. They note that Commonwealth
Appliance routinely earned the Better Business Bureau's
top rating. " That's the basis on which we're trying to build, "
says Dennis. " We're trying to bring those values to this
business, as well. We treat people respectfully. "
" We offer a substantial quality-of-life improvement, "
says Aaron. " As small a thing as it sounds like, not having
to go out in pursuit of quarters is a big improvement, and
we designed it from a business standpoint so that it's a
very palatable expense. "
For more information about Plain Silver Laundry
Payment, visit plainsilver.com.

Condo Media - May 2021

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