IN A family where no one has the time to do the laundry, Mescy Antiquina was used to visiting several laundry shops in Cagayan de Oro, to the point that she already has a preferred shop to do their laundry.
In laundry shops, people only need to bring in their clothes and load them into the machine which, with a single tap of a card, will start washing and drying your clothes.
A quick and convenient way of doing laundry, although you will need to pay for it depending on the shop’s rate. And for Antiquina, she allocated around P8,000 a month for it.
Seeing the potential of such business, Antiquina decided to open her own laundry shop last June of this year in Tomas Saco Street-6th Street, Nazareth, this city.
Lavada Nation, a name inspired from a car club, Navara Nation, where Antiquina was the chapter head, has everything Antiquina wanted in a laundry shop: comfortable and convenient, and has a “feel-at-home” atmosphere.
Antiquina shared that when she was doing her laundry, she wanted a place that is spacious and has less crowd, and where she would not get bored.
Basing it on her preference, Lavada Nation, despite having five washing machines and five driers, still has a space where customers can walk without bumping into other people. It is air-conditioned and has several chairs and sofas where you can sit while waiting for your clothes to be washed and dried.
The thing about laundry shops is that people tend to get bored waiting for their laundry to be done, so they look for things to do to relieve boredom. As such, Antiquina designed Lavada Nation to have a smart TV where you can watch movies or shows in Netflix or Youtube, and has WiFi connection.
Coffee is also available for free to their customers who want something to drink. And for those who opt to have something else, Lavada Nation has a mini dining area where you can order snacks and beverages.
Costumers are also secured as security cameras are installed in and outside the laundry shop.
We cannot deny that laundry business is booming in the city, like coffee shops and several laundry shops, are sprouting like mushrooms in different areas of Cagayan de Oro, particularly near schools and dormitories.
Asked if she was worried of the competition in business, Antiquina said: “Actually, hindi kami nag wo-worry kahit na marami kasi parang we’ll just do our thing. Depende na sa customers kung saan nila gusto.”
“Sa amin lang, mag-focus lang kami sa kung ano yung mga services namin,” she added.
Lavada Nation is open everyday at 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekdays and 8 a.m. to 12 noon on weekends. Their rates include: P50 per load, maximum of 8 kilos per load, in the washing machine; and P50 for dryer.