April 20, 2013
► A Seasonal Specialty Stores Report Card was received from Matt B.’ in Tyngsboro, MA. His general shopping experience was rated Excellent. Did any of our team members do an unusually good job? “All have been good, but Patrick has spent extra time going over heater details, install options, etc.” Sales help and operations people were rated Excellent. Communication and product performance were rated Good. “One issue with heater switch (it was resolved).” He gave us an average rating for Pool School, and a good to excellent rating for in-store advice and free water testing.
► Advertising, specials, and promotions all continue from last week: “April Pre-Seasonal Sale”
► Remember, the April Pre-Seasonal Sale on Pool Supplies ends Tuesday, April 30. Because it’s the April sale.
► Happy First Anniversary to Rebecca, on Saturday, April 20. Celebrate with anniversary cake that day.
► Kevin Karnan from Saffire will demonstrate grilling and smoking for us on April 30.
► Accucare is consolidating their brands of 5 gallon liquid chlorine. They shipped us Pool Clear to open, and that will probably be their only brand in the future. We can still take back drums with all of their brands: Accu-clor, Pool Clor, and Pool Clear. All three brands are on the sign behind register one, and have been on that sign for at least 15 years. Why I bring it up, is that they have shipped us Accu-clor 95% of the time over the years.
► Reminder: we are supposed to put a silver outdoor label with our logo and address on everything we repair or assemble. I never see them anywhere. They should be inside the door of every grill. Patio furniture will not always have a good, unobtrusive location, but every filter, pump, and APC does.
► Welcome to the very large group of people who have started here recently: Amie B., Julia C., Kenneth D., Sarah M., Andrew M., Sean M., Sidney N., and Rebecca S. Give me about two months to learn your names, as Pat and Vic have made it very difficult on me by hiring everyone all at once!
► Submitted by Patrick: A reminder about the dress code: You should be wearing your Seasonal uniform at all times while working and your shirts need to be tucked in. If you have questions please see me.
► Since I just found a couple of us that don’t know what Patriot’s Day celebrates, I put a copy of The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere on the back of this. Of course, it is mostly to commemorate the Battles at Concord and Lexington later that day, when farmers from as far away as here, defended their arsenals of weapons and ammunition from the British soldiers sent to confiscate them.
► More Weird News from the Hippo:
Holy Handguns! One of the many decisions greeting Pope Francis, as Salon.com pointed out, is whether of officially recognize a Patron Saint of Handgunners – as urged by a U.S. organization of activists for more than 20 years. According to legend, St. Gabriel Possenti rescued an Italian village from a small band of pillagers (and perhaps rapists) in the 19th century by shooting at a lizard in the road, killing it with one shot, which supposedly so terrified the bandits that they fled. No humans were harmed, activists now point out, signifying the handgun was obviously a force for good. The head of the St. Gabriel Possenti Society has noted that, however far-fetched the lizard incident may be, it was rarely questioned until U.S. anti-gun activists gained strength in the 1980s.
► Senior Moment:
An elderly couple had dinner at another couple’s house, and after eating, the wives left the table and went into the kitchen. The two gentlemen were talking, and one said, “Last night we went out to a new restaurant and it was really great. I would recommend it very highly.” The other man said, “What is the name of the restaurant?” The first man thought and thought and finally said, “What’s the name of that flower you give to someone you love? You know, the one that’s red and has thorns.” “Do you mean a rose?” “Yes, that’s the one,” replied the man. He then turned towards the kitchen and yelled, “Rose, what’s the name that restaurant we went to last night?”