February 4, 2012
► Customer Feedback: An anonymous customer stated that their general shopping experience with us was Excellent. “Seth Dewey was very helpful when I bought the pool & after, when I had questions. Great Job!” Sales help, operations, communication, and products were all rated Excellent. “The pool is beautiful – we love it!” What can we do to improve? “Prices are a little higher than some competitors.” What do we do really well? “Service. So many companies have terrible customer service – you guys stand out among the best. We often pay a little more for supplies because of the customer service!”
► Web advertising, and weekly specials continue from last week: “Entertain at Home”.
► The Game Table clearance is scheduled to end on February 18, because the main table move is expected to happen around then. Once we have consolidated, we will be at regular price for the rest of the summer. Our competitors have mostly run out of game tables by now – they usually only carry them for Christmas presents. For instance, two weeks ago, Sports Authority was completely out of ping pong, foosball, air hockey, etc. They had their last four multi-games on closeout for$79.97.
► We have changed the large contracts and quotation forms to include a space for email addresses. Retail Pro already has that capability. It is important to get every email address. The cost of mailing is going up constantly, and we are in an electronic age. Get me enough email addresses and subjects that interest people, and we can start monthly email sales and newsletters.
► Marquis changed their options again; making the new 524 available only in Cordovan and Barnwood. Natural Cedar will be an upcharge, but American Cherry will not be available at all – they will not have the necessary round panels. I changed the special order pages.
► Thermospas is now being liquidated to pay off its creditors. While it is possible that someone will purchase the company and keep the name, it seems unlikely. We should expect more repairs coming our way in about three months.
► Submitted by Anne-Marie:
I have installed an update to the ClearCare water testing software. It fixed the problem of “0” printing on the customer’s printout for pool volume as well as printing pagination problems.
► Submitted by Victor:
A reminder to review Safety Procedures and videos. The deadline is Sunday, Feb. 19th. After review, please sign sheet. Any questions ask Patrick or Vic.
► Internet Humor:
A driver was stuck in a traffic jam on the beltway outside Washington DC. Nothing was moving. Suddenly, a man knocks on the window. The driver rolls down the window and asks, “What’s going on?” “Terrorists have kidnapped Congress, and they’re asking for a $100 million dollar ransom. Otherwise, they are going to douse them all in gasoline and set them on fire. We are going from car to car, collecting donations.” “How much is everyone giving, on average?” the driver asks. The man replies, “Roughly a gallon.”