Building the Next Generation
of Laundromats
Running a laundromat is a 24/7 business. Speed Queen's digital tools needed to be too. We redesigned the Insights owner app to put real-time control in their pocket, and introduced Scan Pay Wash to remove every barrier standing between a customer and a clean load of laundry.
Role: Design Lead Responsibilities: Product Design, Research, Prototyping,
The Owner App
The Challenge
Too many critical actions — refunds, machine commands, customer management, real-time status — lived on the desktop. Owners were mobile by necessity, but the app wasn't keeping up.
Research
We talked to owners across a range of involvement levels — from a school teacher checking revenue four times a day to a multi-location operator managing five stores across multiple organizations. The contexts were different but the frustrations were consistent.
User Personas
Solution
A mobile-first experience that closes the gap between what owners need in the moment and what the app can actually do. Actionable, not just informational. We also added an AI layer that summarizes what's worth paying attention to and calls out anything that looks off — so an owner who's constantly on the go can open the app and immediately know where things stand.
Scan, Pay, Wash
Scan Pay Wash is a mobile web payment solution for laundromat guests, a win-win for cashless customers who don't want to download an app and owners looking for a cost-effective alternative to bolt-on card readers.
The Challenge
The existing payment experience asked too much of customers who just wanted to do a load of laundry. Creating an account, verifying credentials, and loading funds into a wallet frustrated regulars and alienated one-time visitors entirely. Transient customers didn't want a relationship with an app. They wanted clean clothes.
Goals
Give cashless customers a fast, familiar way to pay without downloading an app
Eliminate the need for costly bolt-on card readers for owners
Support laundromat owners with transient or one-time customers
The Solution
A frictionless, account-free payment flow that meets customers where they already are. Scan a QR code, review the machine details, pay with a method already on your phone. No credentials to remember, no leftover balance to chase down, no reason to call.
User Flows
A single QR code had to work for everyone — first-time guests and existing app users alike. From there, the flow accounts for the edge cases that could break the experience: machine program changes, failed payments, and retry paths.
Converting Guests to App Users
The confirmation screen isn't the end of the experience, it's an opening. After a successful payment, guests are prompted to download the app, turning a one-time transaction into a longer relationship with the platform.
