May 17, 2014

►    Customer Feedback:   A Seasonal Specialty Stores Report Card was received from Indy R., of Hudson, NH who stated that their general shopping experience with us was Excellent.  “Everyone is very knowledgeable.”  Did any of our team members do an unusually good job?  “Seth was our salesperson, and he was very patient with us.  He answered every question to our satisfaction.  You just don’t see that in other pool stores.”  Sales help was rated Excellent.  Experience with  operations people:  “First time was seamless.  However, we went to pick up our closing kit and pay it at discount like we were told we could, and the cashier had no idea how to do it.  It was a busy day, so the gentleman who was helping her seemed annoyed by all her questions.”  Communication was rated Excellent.  Pool School, In-store advice, Free water testing, and the Take-it-Easy program were all rated Excellent.  Would she recommend us to a friend?  “Absolutely.  The professionalism of your staff, as well as the quality of your product is what made us choose you.”  What do we do really well?  “Customer service, answer questions to customer’s satisfaction.  Dedicate time to the customer like they are the only ones in your store.”

►    New advertising starts Sunday, May 18:  “Seasonal Beats Them All”. All promotions, sale items, etc. remain the same.  A new gas grill ad also runs on page three on Sunday:  “Gas Grill Sale”

►    May 17-18:  FREE Food.  Add cookies & pastries to your FREE coffee and tea in the Coffee Shop, while supplies last.

        May 21:  Pool School 202 ~ Easy Pool Opening, 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM

        May 24:  Grill Demonstration: Saber R50CC & Saffire 18” smoker:  11AM – 2PM

        May 26:  Memorial Day: Open 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM ONLY

        May 31:  Customer Appreciation Day:  Free Gifts with any purchase, while they last.

►    Lunch Saturday, May 17, is being provided by Claire W. from Lloyd Flanders:  pizza, salad, and soda.  She will be here working on the floor, so please say “Thank you”.  She will also be offering a special discount just while she is here, on Lloyd Flanders.

►    Starting NEXT WEEK:  May 24; until June 29.  Employees are to park in the back parking lot on Saturdays and Sundays only.  Note – on Saturdays and Sundays only.  If you park there weekdays, you will block tractor trailers, or maybe get your car hit by a tractor trailer.  Note also:  you park between the lines painted on the guardrail, or between the lines painted on the ground.  If you do not see the lines, you are blocking someone from getting into or out of a legitimate space.

►    Employees purchasing for resale:  currently, only Tod and Joe have arranged for us to be covered by their business insurance; so only they purchase at the best discount.  Others, who are re-selling as a pool service, may purchase only at the “Friends and Family” discounts.

►    Answering a question from Sunday class:  The 28’ pool prices are correct.  As the pool gets larger, the effect of more expensive material grows; seemingly disproportionately.  But if you look at your weight chart, a 28’ pool has 29% more materials in it than a 24’ pool.

►    The Orion has not been discontinued by SCP, and we are not discontinuing it either.  We are just reducing the inventory and trying to give salespeople some experience in selling it.  And the clearance sale might end before we run out.

►    Weekly Fire Alarm Tip:

Assist all customers in exiting the store.  This means that you insist that they leave immediately, registers are closed, and no additional purchases may be made.  If you are close to the patio doors, you should go outside that door and assist customers who will be exiting there.  If you have the key, you can unlock the gate to exit the yard.  If not, wait by the gate until another employee comes to unlock it.  Keep customers with you – DO NOT allow them to re-enter the building if the gate is locked and you do not have the key!!  If you are close to the front doors, assist customers exiting there.

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!!

►    From Jen:  Reminder:  Fire Drill Tests were put in your mailboxes on May 5th.  If you have not yet completed your test, please do so at your earliest convenience, but by May 23rd at the latest.  Remember that these tests do have an impact on your quarterly bonus.  If for some reason, you need another copy of the test, please leave a note in my box.

►   Pretty bad week at the registers, we lost $56 on liquid chlorine deposits not charged.  Possibly more; as we sometimes have to guess at what actually happened.  Of course, we will make $10 of that back when the cashiers have their quarterly bonus reduced for doing it wrong.  So it’s not a total loss…

►    We can have a 48” Sharkline Premium pool custom-made for us.  It is expensive, and it may not come in as quickly as you want, because it will be made by cutting down a 52” pool.  However, if someone needs a 48” pool and wants something better than the Reprieve, we can make them an Atmosphere STR48.  It is the same price as the Escalade STR52, and is now listed below that as an option.

►    A note on saving money and the environment.  Filling the trash dumpster with recyclables, like leaves and foam, can cost us $200 if it fills the dumpster and causes a second pick-up for the week.  Let alone putting things into a landfill that could have been mulched or re-used.

►    To the person who stood on top of boxes of peroxide shock in order to reach stock:  you damaged 6 boxes, made a bottle leak, almost caused a fire, and made four people get involved in the clean-up.  And now we have loose gallons because the boxes got hydrogen peroxide on them.  So please do not do that.

►    Congratulations and thank you to Mia, who did her usual great job teaching Pool School Wednesday.  Engaging, confident, and very well-prepared.

►    Take a look at the comparison, attached, of Namco’s SALE prices to our regular prices.  Like we have 25# of Jumbo tabs for the same price as their 16#.  And our American Cayman pool compared to their Asia Morada pool.

►    Jokes that Tod might appreciate:

–        Dog owner to her veterinarian:  “My spaniel likes to draw pictures with his paw.”  Vet:  “Maybe he’s a cockerdoodler.”

–        Megahertz:  What you feel when a computer drops on your foot.

–        What do you get if you light a duck’s tail?  A firequacker.