November 23, 2013

►    Customer Feedback:  Walt stated that his general shopping experience with us was Excellent.  “Friendly – knowledgeable people who take the time to help you.”  Did any of our team members do an unusually good job?  “All the guys and Mia are great.  They all, in my opinion, should be in a weekly drawing for a reward.”  Did any of our team members do an unusually bad job?  “I’ve personally never had a bad experience in your new store or the old store.”  Sales help, operations, communication and products were all rated Excellent.  “Your staff knows their stuff and is happy to help.”  “Fast and courteous service.”  “Receive frequent mailings.”  “Excellent chemicals and pool supplies.”  Would you recommend us to a friend?  “I do recommend you – because you guys are good.”  What can we do to improve?  “I don’t know, I’m happy with you now.”  What do we do really well?  “You do it all, I have no complaints.”

►    Advertising and everything else continues from last week:  “Family Fun Specials”

►    Next weekend, we will have Black Friday/Plaid Friday (shop local), Small Business Saturday Doorbusters, and other specials in addition to the current sales.

►    We are closed Thanksgiving, make sure to point out to customers.  And if you believe it is true, that it is because we care more about our team members than about profits.

►    Any idea why the magazines aren’t in the lunchroom?  Have we determined that we don’t want them any more?

►    I have asked Patrick to look into something.  Over the past two years, we have lost 19 two-pound spa chlorine.  Over the same time period, the store only purchased two bottles for store use.  But we should have used at least 20 pounds to maintain our display hot tubs.  Coincidence?  You decide.

►    A note on the Wrap Party this year, that we will start the cocktails at 6PM instead of 6:30, but still have dinner at 7PM.  The late dinner allows people (OK, women) who worked that day, time to go home, get dressed, and get to the restaurant.  Plus, I can get there earlier if I am not setting up the store after it closes.

►    From Anne-Marie: Please note that our new website host, Hostgator, allows a maximum of 500 emails being sent from our account per hour.  If we send more, they bounce back with a message indicating we have exceeded our maximum.  This is for every email associated with our domain, which means as a company, we cannot go over the 500 maximum.  I exceeded this last week when I was sending out Seasonal Reward$ emails.  So, for some reason, if you are sending out a large number of emails, please let me know so I can plan accordingly.  Thanks.

►    Added by Dennis: This is not just an inconvenience.  If we become identified by an algorithm as a spammer, we can be blocked from all emailing, let alone large emails.  This has happened to the Retail Merchants Association, who legitimately sends out about 400 emails to members, who want them.  Doesn’t matter to Comcast.  They just moved their office to a new building that uses Comcast for internet, and Comcast will not let them email on their cable.  So now they have to find a different provider to bring in a new wire.

►    From Mia: Reminder – Please rotate stock when stocking spa chemicals – especially important because there are many that have come in with new labels recently.

►    We received the following email from Marquis: Marquis has been informed by Balboa that the Dolphin remote is being discontinued.  They have a very limited supply in-house.  When that supply has been depleted, they will be using a new remote with all Show E-Suite units.  Unfortunately, they have not been able to find a replacement remote that can handle everything the Dolphin remote did and the spa control feature will be lost with the new remote.  The new remote will turn the TV on and off, and the Aquatic AV remote will control the DVD player.  They apologize for the inconvenience.

►    Quotable Quotes:

–        “Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair.”  Kahlil Gibran

–        “Real generosity is doing something nice for someone who’ll never find it out.”  Frank A. Clark

–        “Follow hunches like the ancient navigators followed the stats.  The voyage may be lonely but the stars will take you where you want to go.”  David J. Mahoney

►   It Could Be Worse:  It was a typical hectic Friday afternoon at our law office.  My boss, meanwhile, was hundreds of miles away at a luxury resort preparing for a meeting.  In the midst of my insane day, I got an urgent call from him.  “You have to phone the hotel right away.  It’s important,” my boss said.  “Ask them to send someone to the pool area immediately.”  “What’s wrong?” I asked.  “We haven’t seen a waiter in 20 minutes, and we need our drinks refreshed.”  Bonah B. Long Beach, CA