Pack up the van. Wait for the driver. Head out to campus to drop off laundry. Pick some more up.

For the USC franchise Soapy Joe's, that's just the Sunday afternoon routine.

While other students recover from the weekend, USC senior David Ravanshenas makes sure his peers receive their clothing and get a clean start to the school week.

Opened three and a half years ago by Ravanshenas and a friend, Soapy Joe's has become, as students explain, USC's trusted laundry delivery service, charging about $250 per semester.

The company acts as an agent between students and laundromats located throughout the city. Soapy Joe's picks up a student's laundry at one of its drop-off points and delivers the load to a local laundromat.

As he waits for the driver to arrive, Ravanshenas sifts through the delivery van that's packed with clothes from the previous Thursday pick-up. He's making sure every order has been fulfilled.

Ravanshenas' attention to detail and precision explains his company's position as the mainstay laundry provider to more than 1,500 USC students.

"People get their laundry quickly and don't have to do it. It is folded
and clean. Everyone wins," Ravanshenas said, explaining the success of
his business.

Demand is on the rise and Soapy Joe's can't complain.

The company is on the verge of striking a deal with the university, one that would allow students to pay for their laundry needs with discretionary funds. This would enable students to use the service with their USC card, which receives its purchasing power from their generous parents.

This has been the elusive deal the company has been trying to land for the past two and half years, Ravanshenas said.

"Landing this deal...would really increase our clientele," he added.

"They," he said, referring to the university, "had a bad experience with another laundry service provider who flaked on them and was a poorly run business and didn't serve the students or university very well. We had to establish ourselves in order to show them how serious we are about this."

Becoming USC's official laundry provider would enable Soapy Joe's to buy more delivery vans and expand its service. Soapy Joe's currently has four vans and 11 employees.

At one drop-off location in front of USC dormitory Trojan Hall, students said they are pleased that the university is contemplating adding the company to its approved vendor list.

"If not for Soapy Joe's, I doubt I'd do my laundry as often as it gets done," said freshman John Klein. "Basically the laundry would pile up and never get done. It's a great service and saves me a ton of time." 

Ravanshenas says that having the school's support would make it easier to attract new customers, especially incoming freshman.

Students who do not use Soapy Joe's acknowledge that it would be more appealing if they could charge it to their discretionary cards.

"If I weren't graduating and was an incoming freshman, I'd definitely consider using it," said senior Stacey Escalante. "I have a feeling this will help them expand their clientele dramatically."