Oh no! I need to replace my washer. What do I do? Should I buy a dryer as well?

We always see a spike in sales of refrigerators and air conditioners in the summer months.  Ranges and other cooking devices peak around the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.   

Laundry, on the other hand, sells pretty consistently year-round.

Ah, yes.  The wringer washer.  Once upon a time, sometime between World War II and Watergate, the wringer washer was the "state of the art". Imagine the post-war excitement!... no more washing by hand, or going to the laundromat with everything... no, this amazing device did a great job washing your clothes, as well as extracting excess water from the garment  And as so many modern appliances offer, it saved time and labor on an otherwise mundane but essential household chore.

Yes, washers have changed - dramatically - over the decades.  Even recently, thanks to the introduction of washers with larger capacity tubs, with impressive savings on water usage and electricity,  and with better cleaning and rinsing performance, a washer purchased in 2024 has little in common with a washer from, say, 2004, never mind 1954.

I blogged about the different types of washers in an earlier blog (Jan 3), so I'm not going to reinvent the wheel. The link to that blog can be found on the first page of our website.

So, let's go back to the original question:   

"I need a washer- what do I do?

Carlos Jackson, one of my coworkers here in Westfield, has been selling appliances and managing appliance departments for about seventeen years now.  I decided to ask him what questions he likes to ask his customers when they come into our store needing new laundry.

His first question:   "Have you done any research yet?  Is there anything that caught your eye?"

I'll be honest:  that was not the question I expected!  I expected a question more in line with narrowing down the choices, questions like "top load or front load washer?", or "is your dryer gas or electric?".  Carlos is correct, however: a lot of customers come into our stores already armed with a sense of what they want, thanks to the mountain of data available online.  In some cases they have narrowed their search down to a brand, or even a specific model.  If our customer has a sense of what they want, well, isn't that a great place to begin the sales conversation?  Kudos to Carlos!

His second question:  "How quickly are you going to need it?"

Another great question!  Here you, the consumer, let us know if your washer is dead and you need delivery or pickup ASAP.  Or, perhaps you're moving next month, and don't want the washer delivered until then, and are going to ask whether we can hold the unit until you're ready.  That's important to know especially if that washer you saw online is backordered for a couple of weeks!

Third question:  Are you looking for a dryer as well?

Even though there is no law or statute that says "Thou shalt have matching washers and dryers", I've learned over the years that the overwhelming percentage of our customers, all other things considered, do prefer a matching set.  And with the trend in recent years to have laundry brought upstairs where it might be more visible, that desire to "match" is even more common.

Pssst!  By the way... on many of our laundry sets, we offer $100 rebates on matching pairs.  And, in many cases, these rebates are only for independent retailers like Manny's, and NOT for the so called Big Box stores!.  I call these rebates the "Thank you for buying local" rebates!

At this point, with a good sense of what his customer wants, and how quickly he or she needs the appliance, Carlos then starts disussing and demonstrating the different features on models that seem to fit his customer's wants and needs.  This is now when he asks the questions essential to narrowing down the search, questions such as:

"Do you prefer a front loading or top loading washer?   (I refer you back to the blog link above to highlight the pros and cons of various type washers) 

Is your dryer electric or gas?  If gas, do you have natural or propane gas?  (gas is more efficient, but gas also requires specialized installation.)  

Usually at the end of this dialogue a couple of things happen:  1) We have a good sense of what you are seeking, and have provided options that fit these needs and wants, and 2) You, our customer, feel comfortable with the exchange between you and Carlos (or with any of our salespeople), and feel comfortable that Manny's can be trusted to both  solve your dilemma, and deliver you a washer (or washer and dryer) in a professional and timely manner.

(By the way, Carlos was a little bit iffy about taking part in this exercise, and I thank him profusely for letting me pick his brain and get a sequence that isn't exactly the same as mine! And yes...buying him a large Nutty Pumpkin at Dunkin' helped as well!)

So.... if you need a washer (or even just a dryer), or another appliance, I hope you feel comfortable reaching out to us here at Manny's and trusting us to help you choose the right appliance, deliver it to you in a timely manner, and be there for you after the sale should you have any questions or issues!

We now have eleven locations (info is listed right next to the "blog link" on our website's front page.)  We do hope you consider Manny's when you need to purchase appliances!