April 7, 2012
► Customer Feedback: Brian McQ. from Nashua, NH stated that his general shopping experience with us was Excellent, “Your employees are great and friendly and helpful.” “Tod looked at my robot and told me what I needed at no charge. Had replaced belts incorrectly. Pat helped me with a new filter. Also, your installers were great as well.” Sales help, operations, communication and products were all Excellent. “More expensive, but worth the knowledge of the products.” What do we do really well? “Service – you have assembled a really good team. You and your wife should be very proud.”
► You received 51 One-of-These Awards in March – a big increase from February. Five were for Customer Service and six were for Safety. Finalists were Ann Auker, Joe (twice), Landon, and Seth. Owner’s Choice was Joe, and the drawing winner was Victor.
► Tomorrow, Sunday April 8 is Easter. We will be closed.
► New print advertising begins April 8: “April Pre-Seasonal Sale”
Specials and department sales continue. The April Newsletter mails April 9th and should be delivered in-home between the 10th and the 14th.
► Who else, except us, would put special orders on sale?
► Dirt Devil discontinued the D1000, even though Tom Wilson had promised us a dozen of them – which he can not do. Right now, we are scrambling to get more of the D2500, which is a diaphragm-version of the D1000. The signs have been changed. Once we get Vinny the Vacuum into the store, that will probably become our best-seller.
► FYI – new propane tanks are $34.99 – that’s what we paid retail atCountyStores. Refills from Lowe’s Blue Rhino are $17.99, a (used) tank already filled is $43.99 from Lowe’s, and you don’t have to find a propane filling station to fill your new one. That’s why buying new, empty tanks is unpopular. Why trade in a brand-new tank to Blue Rhino?
► There is a bag of recyclable bags near register one; primarily from 4Imprint. Feel free to give them away for FREE to people with an appropriate-sized order, in weight and size.
► Warning: The 4.16# New Water cartridges look a lot like the 6.16# cartridges, but they are not interchangeable. That’s why I avoided carrying them for years. I started this year, due to customer requests. We made “Wrong Size” labels to put on the 4.16# cartridges to warn people to be careful. If they ruin the cartridge by cutting off the top, we can’t take it back.
► Submitted by Anne-Marie:
Five minute management training lesson:
Lesson 3: A sales rep, an administration clerk, and the manager are walking to lunch when they find an antique oil lamp. They rub it and a Genie comes out. The Genie says, “I’ll give each of you just one wish.” “Me first! Me first!” says the admin clerk. “I want to be in the Bahamas, driving a speedboat, without a care in the world.” Puff! She’s gone. “Me next! Me next!” says the sales rep. “I want to be inHawaii, relaxing on the beach with my personal masseuse, an endless supply of Pina Coladas and the love of my life.” Puff! He’s gone.
“Ok, you’re up,” the Genie says to the manager. The manager says, “I want those two back in the office after lunch.” Moral of the story: Always let your boss have the first say.