"Advantage" Magazine Article

Ukrainian economist, Василь Скріба, came by Bubbles for an interview.

Here is an online version of his report for "Advantage" Magazine.

http://prybutok.com.ua/news/amerikanec_zatijav_u_lvovi_velike_prannja/2011-11-22-601

For those not fluent in Ukrainian, the article is something like a Q & A.
Why did you open a laundromat in Ukraine? - check "What the What" on this blog if you aren't familiar with our response.
How much did it cost? "A lot." They pushed for exact numbers, we gracefully dodged.

How long did it take? "A few years of planning and research, bout 5 months full-time work."

How long would it take to open a laundromat in the States? "A few months."

Why do you think this will work? Everyone has their own washing machines in Lviv? "Here you can wash and DRY your clothes in an hour. The machines are lagerger so people can wash things they can't fit in their own machines ... and this gives people an option of how to dry clothes in rain and cold. Plus, there are people like students and tourist who don't have access to washing machines. In America, people have washing machines in thier homes too ... and there is still a need for laundromats." 

On TV!

Here's the news clip of Bubbles opening that aired on local and national Ukrainian television.

No, this wasn't an Amway product placement - but Downy, the German soap we use, and other contraband American washing products are not yet certified in Ukraine ... so we couldn't show that we use them too (but we do).

Hit Music

Those who attended Bubbles Grand Opening unanimously agreed that the live band was a hit!

Our favorite part, of course, is watching the dryers spin.

Grand Opening

Friday, November 18 Bubbles hosted our grand opening event.
150 personal invitations were delivered to people who were involved with getting Bubbles up and running - city counselors, commissioners, gas, water, electrical personnel, those who helped with marketing, and preliminary work.
500+ people attended and we feel it was a complete success - 5 to 8 pm open-house.

The national, and local television stations were there - videoed, interviewed, and actually let out an audible gasp at the finished quality.
The national station said they are suggesting our bubble chandelier be one of the "Top Ten things to see in Lviv" list ... pretty cool.

We served fruit tea, cake, and fresh fruit.

A band entertained as we washed clothes and mingled with people.

Here are a couple funny stories - we had a remarkable balloon entry that we think turned out great.

Several adults came in off the street to see what was going on inside ... and then as they were leaving asked, "May I have a ballon?"
"For you or a child?" we responded - keep in mind they are all tied together as part of an entry arch.
"For me, of course."
We sigh. "You are welcome to come by after we're closed and when we take down the balloons, you may have one."


Second story: as part of Ukrainian tradition, people throw money at the person who's opened a new business. So, throughout the night, people thew small bills (most worth about a US quarter) at us, and at one point there were at least 50 bills on the ground. By the end of the night, when everyone left, there were three paper bills on the ground! People (not the one for whom the bills were intended) took the bills off the floor as they left!

Final story: one of the workers was in charge of handing out Bubble's t-shirts. She left her post for a moment to help a client with their wash - yes, we continued business as usual during the event, which was wonderful because people were able to see how the machines worked, and the quality of wash. While she was gone, a woman came over and started shoving t-shirts into her purse ... what she wanted with 20+ Bubble shirts, we don't know. The worker came back and asked, "what are you doing?"
"Oh," the startled woman replies, "the owner said I could take these."
"Really? Could you please point out the owner to me?" our employee asked her.
Well, she couldn't, of course ... and reluctantly returned the t-shirts.

At any rate, we are thrilled to be open, and happy to have had such positive feedback, reviews, and press coverage thus far.

November 1

We opened for business to the public on November 1st.
Since then we've been busy getting contracts (hotels, restaurants, catering, salons, event planners,etc.).
While we can't compete with the current competition in price - every client who has tried our service is amazed at the quality and speed of our work.
And we've put in a few finishing touches ... a clock, coffee table, and added bubbles to our soon to be 1,000 bubble chandelier.

No Joke

The day after our first 'friends and family' event we entered the store to find this ...

About four-inches of water flooding the basement.
Yes, a pipe burst, and made the machinery unusable.
The reason - poor installation. So you better believe we had incompetent Abilit over to fix the problem right away ... with threats (not empty) of what would happen to them as a company, and personally, to expedite the process of clean-up and fix-up.
The landlord had an ear-full for Abilit too.
So, last Friday was spent overseeing the de-flooding of Bubbles.