Dishes wash/rental

[Levin Witt]

Hello,
I have an idea that I would like to hear some feedback on. It is basically to rent out dishes for a few day or a week, after which I (eventually an employee) would come collect them, and replace them with a new clean set. This would be ideal for people without a dishwasher or where their dishwasher broke so that they don't have to hand wash them. All they would have to do is put them in the box and wait for them to be picked up, and have a new clean set ready to go.

This would run on a subscription type basis, where they per month they would pay like 30 bucks or so. It would be ideal for restaurants, so they don't have to employ a dishwasher. I think it could scale through iteration (franchising or something). I could offer different sets, like two person size dishes set, a family set, you could order a special occasions set (thanksgiving for example) and not have all those dishes lying around the rest of the year, or one for a restaurant. I would be great for moving, so you don't have to move or sell your dishware, you just cancel the subscription or give your new address.

Thanks for your insights and time,
-Levin

 

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[sparechange]

Hello,
I have an idea that I would like to hear some feedback on. It is basically to rent out dishes for a few day or a week, after which I (eventually an employee) would come collect them, and replace them with a new clean set. This would be ideal for people without a dishwasher or where their dishwasher broke so that they don't have to hand wash them. All they would have to do is put them in the box and wait for them to be picked up, and have a new clean set ready to go.

This would run on a subscription type basis, where they per month they would pay like 30 bucks or so. It would be ideal for restaurants, so they don't have to employ a dishwasher. I think it could scale through iteration (franchising or something). I could offer different sets, like two person size dishes set, a family set, you could order a special occasions set (thanksgiving for example) and not have all those dishes lying around the rest of the year, or one for a restaurant. I would be great for moving, so you don't have to move or sell your dishware, you just cancel the subscription or give your new address.

Thanks for your insights and time,
-Levin

How do you make profit charging 30 bucks a month?
Who is going to clean the dishes? (min wage is 14 or something in Vancouver)
Where are you going to clean the dishes?
How much is the rent there?
How much does gas cost to pickup the dishes?
How much is the driver getting paid?

Yeh...don't think this idea works out. Look for something else

 

[Levin Witt]

How do you make profit charging 30 bucks a month?
Who is going to clean the dishes? (min wage is 14 or something in Vancouver)
Where are you going to clean the dishes?
How much is the rent there?
How much does gas cost to pickup the dishes?
How much is the driver getting paid?

Yeh...don't think this idea works out. Look for something else

well maybe charge more

How do you make profit charging 30 bucks a month?
Who is going to clean the dishes? (min wage is 14 or something in Vancouver)
Where are you going to clean the dishes?
How much is the rent there?
How much does gas cost to pickup the dishes?
How much is the driver getting paid?

Yeh...don't think this idea works out. Look for something else

Well you could probably automate a lot of the washing, and I would prob. have to charge more your right. Maybe have a drop off point instead of a driver going around. I'll think about it.

 

[sparechange]

well maybe charge more

Well you could probably automate a lot of the washing, and I would prob. have to charge more your right. Maybe have a drop off point instead of a driver going around. I'll think about it.

There is nothing to think about, bad idea...lol

Think of something else

 

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[Levin Witt]

There is nothing to think about, bad idea...lol

Think of something else

yea ok I guess it sucks thanks

 

[kody.kendall]

Honestly, this idea doesn't sound completely terrible to me.

If I was a consumer, and I didn't want to do dishes, I wouldn't mind having dishes delivered to me and swapping them out.

There's a couple considerations here:

1. For people that care a lot about convenience, you're competing against the user of paper/plastic dishes that can just be thrown away after.

2. If I were a consumer of this service, where would I put all of the dirty dishes? Perhaps in a box that your company provided? How long could I expect the dishes to sit in the box? I'd imagine this would be a huge pain handling the smell and bacteria growth that will occur on these dishes, especially if it's in a restaurant and the dishes are sitting for any extended period of time. I'd imagine that they would end up throwing the dishes in the box with leftover food still on the dishes.

3. For a driver to pick up/drop off dishes, it's going to cost a lot of money. You'll have the cost of the vehicles (insurance, gasoline, registration, etc.) , the cost of hiring the drivers/delivery & pickup people, the cost of replacing dishes that are damaged in the washing/deliver process, etc.

Overall, this could make the business model a little bit difficult to pull off in an economical way.

You could probably address these issues if you had a higher price, however I'm not sure you could get the unit economics right -- where the restaurants would actually end up saving money compared to just hiring dish washers while your company can also make a profit.

 

[Levin Witt]

Honestly, this idea doesn't sound completely terrible to me.

If I was a consumer, and I didn't want to do dishes, I wouldn't mind having dishes delivered to me and swapping them out.

There's a couple considerations here:

1. For people that care a lot about convenience, you're competing against the user of paper/plastic dishes that can just be thrown away after.

2. If I were a consumer of this service, where would I put all of the dirty dishes? Perhaps in a box that your company provided? How long could I expect the dishes to sit in the box? I'd imagine this would be a huge pain handling the smell and bacteria growth that will occur on these dishes, especially if it's in a restaurant and the dishes are sitting for any extended period of time. I'd imagine that they would end up throwing the dishes in the box with leftover food still on the dishes.

3. For a driver to pick up/drop off dishes, it's going to cost a lot of money. You'll have the cost of the vehicles (insurance, gasoline, registration, etc.) , the cost of hiring the drivers/delivery & pickup people, the cost of replacing dishes that are damaged in the washing/deliver process, etc.

Overall, this could make the business model a little bit difficult to pull off in an economical way.

You could probably address these issues if you had a higher price, however I'm not sure you could get the unit economics right -- where the restaurants would actually end up saving money compared to just hiring dish washers while your company can also make a profit.

yea I thought it would be a good deal for the consumers, but to actually make a profit seems kind of impossible when i do the math. By the way the box would be airtight and close-able to prevent smell and picked up on a regular basis before it can get too nasty.

 

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[Levin Witt]

yea I thought it would be a good deal for the consumers, but to actually make a profit seems kind of impossible when i do the math. By the way the box would be airtight and close-able to prevent smell and picked up on a regular basis before it can get too nasty.

plus throw away stuff could be seen as not eco-freindly and not as nice to use

 

[minivanman]

When I was single I might have done it. My rule was to have 4 of everything and when they got dirty I had the choice.... either wash them or throw them away and get more. So, I just started using disposable ones. To this day I still use paper plates, even though my wife hates it.

Here is how I came to have 4 of everything..... back when I had a regular job, I walked in one day to a kitchen full of dirty dishes, so I threw them all away and made a rule to buy a set of 4. That way it never = a kitchen full if they all go dirty. I HATE washing dishes to this day!

 

[Lucky Lu]

That business exists in many places for events, gatherings and big dinner parties/banquets.

I think It is not a terrible idea but would be very difficult to implement it and make it profitable in smaller transactions. Having a lot of small clients with a few items each would be a logistical nightmare.

In any case, best of luck with your venture.

 

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