Operations

Unclaimed laundry: how to set a storage fee policy customers accept

By the Labahan team · October 18, 2026 · 3 min read

Bags left for weeks take up shelf space, get mixed up with new loads and become an argument when the customer finally comes back. A clear policy, explained at drop-off, solves most of it.

A simple 3-step approach

Remind first, charge second, and tell the customer about the rule before any of it.

How a storage fee adds up

Example: free for 7 days, then ₱10 per day. By day 30 the fee is ₱230.

Keep the daily fee small. The point is to remind people, not to make money from it. A fee that grows too big makes customers argue or not come back at all.

Sample wording for your counter and stub

“Laundry is kept free for 7 days after it is ready. After that, a storage fee of ₱10 per day applies. Salamat po!”

Put the same sentence on the stub, so the customer has seen it before they leave the bag.

Good habits

Keep unclaimed bags on their own shelf, sorted by ready date, with their tags.
Check the list once a week and message everyone past their free days.
Be consistent: charge everyone the same way, or explain why you didn’t.
For very old bags, decide your rule in advance (for example, call twice, then keep them aside) and post it.

How Labahan helps

In Labahan Manager, the Board has an “Unclaimed 3+ days” filter, so you see who hasn’t picked up at a glance. On Pro, set the free days and the fee per day in Owner → Shop profile & payments → Fees & times, and the storage fee is added to the bill automatically and shown to the customer on their tracking page.