How to Get a Woman's Number at a Laundromat

Start a conversation during the wash cycle, when she has loaded her machine and has half an hour to kill, and keep it about the wait rather than her laundry. Let the talk run for a few real minutes, then ask for her number before her load finishes, as the obvious next step: "We should do this somewhere other than a laundromat. What's your number?" Text her right away so she has yours. A laundromat is an easy place to approach a woman in person, because nobody is going anywhere and the same people come back every week.

In most daytime places, a woman is passing through. At a laundromat she is stuck. A wash takes around half an hour and the dryer about as long again, and most people spend that time on a plastic chair looking at their phone.

That dead time is your opening. She is bored, she is not in a hurry, and a friendly comment is a welcome break. You also get a natural end point, because her machine will buzz whether the conversation is finished or not.

There is a quieter advantage too. People use the laundromat closest to home, so a woman you meet there lives nearby. a dating coach counts logistics as one of the four things that decide how good a venue is, and a woman who lives around the corner is about as good as logistics get.

Timing matters more here than almost anywhere.

• Good: after she has loaded her machine and sat down, or while you are both waiting for dryers.
• Fine: standing at the change machine or the soap dispenser.
• Bad: while she is unloading or folding. People are private about their clothes, and a stranger standing over her pile of laundry is the fastest way to make her uncomfortable.

If she has earbuds in and is on a call, let her be. If she glances up from her phone or looks around the room, that is your moment.

Never make her clothes the topic. A comment about what she is washing is the one thing that turns a normal hello into something strange.

Use the shared situation instead:

• "Is it always this busy on Sundays, or did I pick the worst time?"
• "Do you know which of these dryers actually works? I've lost three quarters already."
• "Every time I come here I forget a book. What are you reading?"

Each of these is easy to answer and gives her room to say more. Say your name early. If she tells you hers and asks something back, you are in a conversation.

A number with nothing behind it is a weak number. a dating coach's rule is that the conversation has to earn it. If she is laughing, asking you questions and enjoying the talk, the number is the natural next step. If you ask after thirty seconds, she has no reason to say yes, and every reason to give you a number that does not work.

You do not need an hour. Ten minutes of easy talk while the machines run is plenty. Find out what she does, where she likes to eat nearby, or what the rest of her day looks like.

Ask before her load is done, not while she is packing up. Once she is folding, she has already left in her head.

a dating coach's favorite way is to agree on seeing each other first and take the number second. Something like: "I've enjoyed this. We should get a coffee one day when neither of us is waiting on a dryer." When she agrees, say, "Then I'd better take your number," and hand her your phone. "What's your number?" works better than "Can I have your number?", because it assumes the answer instead of asking for a favor.

Once you have it, text her straight away so your name is in her phone. Then stay and chat for another minute. Leaving the second you have the number makes it look like the number was the only point.

The laundromat has regulars. If you both do laundry on Sunday mornings, you will see her again whatever she said.

That works in your favor if you are relaxed about it. A friendly hello next week makes you the easy, normal guy from the laundromat. If she said no, do not ask again. Do not move to the machine next to hers, and do not start coming in at her time. Just be pleasant, and talk to whoever else is waiting.

Starting a conversation in a quiet room full of strangers is the part most men avoid. A Cold Approach Bootcamp trains it in person and in the field, in Miami and New York. Each training day is two four-hour blocks of real approaches, with daygame on streets and in cafes, night game in bars and lounges, and live coaching on every approach.

Group is three consecutive days at three students per coach. Private is fully 1-on-1 for one, two or three days. There is no skill floor, and every student leaves with a short written practice plan.