July 25, 2015
► Customer Feedback: A Seasonal Specialty Stores Report Card was received from a customer by the last name of Lukkarinen, whose general shopping experience with us was Excellent. “Always a pleasure to shop there.” Did any of our team members do an unusually good job? “Patrick is always ready, willing, and able to help with anything. Big or small.” Sales help, operations, and communication were all rated Excellent. Product performance was rated Good. In-store advice and free water testing were rated Excellent. They would recommend us to a friend. What can we do to improve? “Not a big deal – earlier hours on weekends.” What do we do really well? “Pretty much everything pool related.”
► Advertising, Promotions, and specials continue from last week: “Mid-Summer Clearance Sale”
► As you set up for the August Clearance Sale, there will be some overlap. But the current advertising was deliberately vague to avoid problems.
► The Maytronics factory rebate ends Friday, July 31.
► Events during the next couple of weeks:
July 31: Last day for Maytronics Cash Back Rebates.
August 1: August Clearance Sale begins. Get them while they’re hot!
August 8-9: Customer Appreciation Day: Free Gifts with any purchase, while they last.
► From Anne-Marie: I have removed some people from the Seasonal Reward$ Program. I only removed those who have either moved, or not shopped with us for a long period of time. If for some reason a customer does come back and has been removed, they can sign up again. But I sincerely doubt this will happen. Most of these customers had “unsubscribed” from our emails due to moving or removing their pools.
► News of the Weird from the Hippo:
Each Nov. 1 is a day (or two) of craziness in the isolated mountain village of Todos Santos Cuchumatanes, Guatemala, where Mayan tradition commnds continous horse races through town, jockeyed by increasingly drunk riders, until only a sober-enough winner remains. Collisions occur in the Race of the Souls, and occasionally someone dies, but the misfortune is met with a collective shrug and regarded as a spiritual offering for fertile crops during the coming year, according to an eyewitness this year reporting for Vice.com. Ironically, for the rest of the year, the village is largely alcohol-free except for that on hand to sell to tourists.
► Ways to Maintain a Healthy Level of Insanity:
- Specify that your drive through order is “To Go”.
- Sing along at the opera.
- Go to a poetry recital and ask why the poems don’t rhyme.