Posted on 09/09/2021 7:16:57 AM PDT by Red Badger
Cambridge resident Mark Lang stocked up on quarters in June when he moved into a rental unit with coin-operated laundry near Harvard Square.
“I noticed banks that used to allow anyone to walk in and get quarters started requiring you to have an account with them,” he told Boston.com. “I found out there was a national coin shortage from going to a TD Bank who told me they only gave quarters to customers.”
He’s a Bank of America member, and didn’t have any issues getting coins at his local branch, but that’s changed in the past few weeks. Last week, he visited a Harvard Square BofA around 3 p.m. and was told they’d run out that morning, so the next morning he biked in the rain to that branch then to another in Central Square, with no luck.
“I finished all my quarters, needed to do laundry, and multiple days in a row went to a few Bank of America locations and they were just out for days,” he said.
Lang texted his property manager alerting him of the problem, and asked if laundry could be free. While the manager didn’t oblige, he did sell Lang $40 worth of quarters.
“I’m just assuming these are the exact quarters I put in the machine in the first place, and he’s selling it back to me,” he said. “I’m thinking of it as a fun, circle-of-life thing.
Lang is not alone, but here’s the thing: it’s not a coin shortage that’s causing these issues, it’s a circulation problem largely due to the impacts of the pandemic.
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
Cuz my wife took ‘em all!!!
Many laundries now have cards you have to put money on, instead of using coins. Or they could just modify the machines to take debit and credit cares.
Buddy can you spare a quarter?
Funny to think about how when I was a kid in about 1982, quarters were so important for arcade pinball and video games (Defender, Asteroids, Galaxians, etc).
It was explained to me this is due to inflation, when the dollar is devalued coins will not be.
‘CASHLESS’ society........................
I’ll gladly give up $10 in quarters for $50 in fiat money, or 2 ounces of silver.
Just have the machine scan your vaccination area. :)
I have 2x ammo cans of loose change I need to turn in. But I kinda don’t want to walk into the bank carrying ammo cans... Not a good look.
Many people using laundromats are not part of the cashless society. Their business model requires that they accommodate these customers. If you can stick a $10 bill in a machine, and get a card worth $10 in washing and drying, that will work. The owners like this because people will leave money on the cards and lose them.
IMO the bigger picture is this: public laundromats need to change with theb
times. Laundromats today should take debit or credit cards. Come on. This is not an episode of the Honeymooners, something happening in the 1950s.
If I can use my debit card at a Jack in the Box drive thru window, I should be able to wash clothes that way too.
Property manager didn’t sell him anything. Merely exchanged cash for coin. “can I do my laundry for free?” Typical of today’s entitlement mentality.
I love how his initial response is: “Can I have free laundry?”.
Secondly, the landlord didn’t “sell” him any quarters. He exchanged the $10 dollar bill for a roll of quarters...
Project ALICE is hoarding them for her shotguns.
Excuse me, $40 worth of quarters I’m assuming for $40 in paper money.
Many apartment buildings have coin operated laundry machines in the basement.
the gas station near my house has a sign saying they do not give out change, you either have to pay the exact amount in cash and coin or charge your purchase.
My son has 3 buckets full of change, mostly nickels, dimes, and quarters.
You're right. You should put them in a pillowcase................
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