July 5, 2014

►    Customer Feedback:   A Seasonal Specialty Stores Report Card From William C. of Nashua rated general shopping experience as “excellent”. When asked if any of our team members did an unusually good job, they replied “Tod—makes me laugh—then takes me right to what I need.”  Sales help and Communications were rated as excellent. Operations were also excellent, saying that we “Always ask if I found everything I need”. Product performance was also excellent; “no problems this summer. The Baquacil CDX program works great”. When asked what we can improve, they said “I have had no bad experience in your store—you guys are helpful and friendly”. As for what we do really well, “You have knowledgeable, friendly people in your store, which is well-stocked and nice to go into”.

►    Advertising, Pool Supply Sales, Department Sales all continue from last week: Hot Midsummer Clearance. Remember, clearance means “first come, first served, no rainchecks”.

►    We had 43 One-of-These Awards this month; 13 for customer service. Finalists were Luke, Rebecca, Steve, Anne Marie (twice), and Corey. Owner’s Choice was Anne Marie, and the Drawing winner was Rebecca.

►    Current Summer Events:

         July 5:  Kenny’s Birthday:  FREE birthday cake in the coffee shop while supplies last.

         July 12:  Mia’s Birthday:  FREE birthday cake in the coffee shop, while supplies last.

         July 16:  Pool School 103 ~ Pool Care Lite, 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM.

        July 19-20:  Customer Appreciation Days:  Free Gifts with any purchase, while they last.

►    Coming to the Safety Reward Party at Kimball Farm on Saturday, August 16? Think ice cream buffet: Enjoy eight homemade ice cream flavors topped with your choice of strawberries, pineapple, marshmallow, whipped cream, nuts, hot fudge and hot butterscotch.

►    We no longer need to park behind the building on weekends.

►    Please actively tell people about Pool Schools. Hand them the invitation and tell them to sign up right now. Otherwise we will be setting up an entire Pool School for one person. It is very easy to tell the brand new pool owners.

►    Please help us out. We have developed a lot of bad inventory over the years. Particularly “last ones”, returns, shopworn floor models, etc. Ann A. is doing a wonderful job getting hers out on the floor or into the clearance area to be sold. I am not. We never seem to have the time or the room to do it until mid-August—when EVERYTHING is already on sale. That makes the Clearance items less attractive. So we have more than a dozen ladders in the warehouse that have been here ten years. Elegance Pool Steps we stopped carrying two years ago. Who knows what else? Please try to make room. When you see something that makes no sense to have, tell a manager. Tell me. When you talk to a customer point out the “Scratch ‘N Dent” section, where everything should be at least 50% off. If that section gets low, re-stock it. We have a warehouse bin where we have more “Scratch ‘N Dent” items ready to re-stock. Because it is not working to only try to sell them two weeks a year, when they are competing with brand-new items.

►    I just had to tighten the caps on 18 out of 24 bottles of Thermo-Swim in the store. So I was wondering why we spill more Thermo-Swim than any other product. Is it because no one else tightens the caps? We should always check the cap on every liquid that we put out.

►    Some quarterly bonuses are ready for this week, but not all of them. I don’t know when we will be finished.

►    Weekly Fire Alarm Tip:

Assistant managers are responsible for roll call from the schedule once employees are assembled at the gazebo. Communications with the manager should take place via the walkie-talkie or in person once the manager reaches the gazebo.

Fire alarm procedures are tested once a quarter.  Your score on this test plays a part in the amount of your quarterly bonus.  A complete answer key is returned with each graded test.  If you would like another copy, please ask Jen!!

►      The Baquacil rebate ended June 30th.

►    We have a new sign! We diagramed six different pool types and how you could use a solar reel on them. Thank you to Patrick for the original idea, and to Owen for creating something much nicer than Pat’s original.

►    We have reprinted “The Complete Spa Package” to fix some typos, and to give you more detailed instructions on how to choose the right cover lifter for our hot tubs. All you have to do is read it. We also added labels to the signs in the cover lifter department with the same information.

►    We have a new hot tub price list that shows the new incoming 435 in Pacific Rim, and the used 322-H.

►    Two of the solar systems have new description numbers this year. We changed the sign and a couple of boxes.

►    Remember learning “Now” and “Anytime” when handling water tests? “Now” is for protecting the customer and their children from sickness, or solving an immediate problem. “Anytime” is for general water-balance. There is a HUGE difference. If they come in because they have algae, they think you are going to fix their algae—not give them $100 worth of chemicals and four days of additions while the algae gets worse. If you don’t know how to do this, stop going over water tests until you do—because you still have to know when the pH is right for a shock, etc. In general, but only in general, the Pool Tips are a “Now” and the print out is “Anytime”.

►    “I went to the zoo the other day, there was only one dog in it, it was a shitzu.” “Dyslexic man walks into a bra.”