November 29, 2014
► Customer Feedback: A customer with the last name of Steele, from Wilton, NH stated that their general shopping experience with us was Excellent. “Because our pool broke after 17 years of use, we went back to Seasonal and we feel we got a great deal, and it is already up and ready to go”. Did any of our team members do an unusually good job? “Patrick helped us, never any pressure, answered all our questions over and over again. Very Professional.” Sales help and operations were rated Excellent. “Professional, very knowledgeable and most friendly.” “Water Lab is always great, cashiers do a good job, and warehouse is good, too.” Communication and product performance were rated Good. They would recommend us to a friend. What do we do really well? “Great service, friendly, and always helpful.”
► New advertising, specials, and department promotions all start Sunday, November 30: “Family Fun Sale”
► Sunday is the last day of our Black Friday specials.
► Note that we are out of stock of Ponderosa tables and it probably not be until March before we see another. So customers can take the floor model (at the same price) or wait until February or March for a new one.
► Reminder: if you want to wet test a hot tub, you need to fill out the same paperwork as you would if a customer does it, and do the same two chemical tests. It is acceptable to do it alone, but you need a manager’s authorization if you do it during store hours. I encourage spa sales people to test the 660 while it is still running, as one would think we would exchange it for the correct one (the loaded 545) when we have enough employees working to do it. We are not busy, so perhaps any day.
► Mia told me about Jordan’s Furniture advertising pool tables. They are available on their website, and every store except Nashua. The brand is American Heritage: made in China, and shipped from Ohio. Their prices are high. American Heritage is the company addressed by our “import vs. USA” discussion in the Buyer’s Guide.
► Of interest: YouTube Sir Nicholas Winton, 60 Minutes: he got 669 Jewish children out of Czechoslovakia just before the Nazis started sending them to concentration camps. He never looked for publicity, and almost no one knew that he did it. And this isn’t even the most important part of the story.
► Watch for a pre-Christmas special: take 20% off any cue case when sold with a 2-piece cue. Because almost anyone you sell a 2-piece cue to in December is buying a Christmas present – and it would be a much better present in a case. This offer will not be available after Christmas.
► Olhausen has a new pricing policy. We can quote prices electronically but not below their minimum advertised price; which is 20% off their MSRP. Generally, that is a little higher than our selling price. So I have added their MSRP list to the program book, with a note as how to say it to a customer. I am ok with quoting our stock custom tables (the ones named after cities in New Hampshire), since they are not in the MSRP list. But if you do, you can’t tell them what it actually is – though they can see what it looks like on our web page. You can tell them the MSRP – 20% is the lowest price that Olhausen allows to be given outside of the store, and we can tell them more, and charge a lower price, but only in person, here.
► Remember that we ring up 2-piece cues with the customer’s name. Not because there is a warranty, (there isn’t) but because it makes returning them easier.
► From Patrick: Pool Cartridges have been removed from the spa cartridge bin to make that bin easier to navigate. All pool cartridges can now be found in bin C2B.
► More Internet Humor:
- Traveler: “Can I catch the three o’clock train to Toronto?” Ticket agent: “That depends on how fast you can run, it left fifteen minutes ago.”
- Son: “Is it true Dad, I heard that in some parts of Africa a man doesn’t know his wife until he marries her?” Dad: “That happens in every country son.”