November 5, 2016
► There were 17 One-Of-These Awards for October; 5 for customer service. There were three finalists – all of them were Kristine! Owner’s Choice was Kristine and the Drawing Winner was….Kristine. Congratulations to all, but especially Kristine.
► Customer Feedback: Customer Robert & Susanne L. from Merrimack, NH rated their general shopping experience with us as Excellent. “We had our hot tub freeze during a storm and Pat helped out with our insurance claim, which was not easy. Good job Pat.” Did any of our team members do an usually good job? “Pat once again, very informative.” Sales help, operations, communication, and product performance were all rated Excellent. “Held the hot tub even though it was until we were ready for delivery. Very helpful. Love the cup and candies. The hot tub is easy to maintain. This is our third tub from you.” They would recommend us to a friend. “You have always stood by your products.” What do we do really well? “Customer service and educating me on the care of my tub.”
► Advertising, promotions, and specials all continue from last week: “Entertain At Home”
► Vote Tuesday. We will arrange for you to work it into your schedule if necessary. You will want to tell your grandchildren about this election.
► Set your clocks back 1 hour at 2AM Sunday, November 6th. Don’t be late for work Sunday.
► We have new special order prices from Olhausen on pool tables and shuffleboard tables.
► We have also added some information on the custom-made shuffleboard covers from Hood.
► Baquacil CDX no longer has an EPA registration number, so feel free to sell it to people with hot tubs. Give them Baquacil test strips that test oxidizer and water mold. Then add CDX after shocking. I’ve been running my personal hot tub that way for at least 15 years. We have a small label to add to the bottle that makes the arithmetic easier (1 pint/10,000 gallons equals ½ ounce, or 1 tablespoon/300 gallons).
► From Anne-Marie: Just a reminder to never open any email attachments that contain a zip file. Our technical support company, J.D.Associates, also warns that scammers are sending out these type of files posing as RetailPro. Our Sonic Wall prevents the majority of viruses and malware from coming through, but I am noticing an increasing amount of them slipping through lately. If you have any questions, please see me. I appreciate your cooperation.
► We changed a lot on Sunstar spa covers. You should read the price list before your customer does. New lower prices on custom covers if they wait for the next truck – always the tenth of the month. Slightly higher prices on rush covers. Shorter lead times (we are not trying to accumulate orders except the “next truck” ones). We are stocking six new sizes. Those are described by L x W x Radius, and one (out of many) tubs that they fit. Let me know if you have questions.
► All In A Day’s Work by Reader’s Digest:
Can’t find that at Best Buy. Musician Graham Nash – as in Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young – describes how he first heard Neil Young’s classic solo album Harvest: “I was at Neil’s ranch one day, and he has a beautiful lake. He asked me if I wanted to hear his new album, Harvest. And I said sure. He said, ‘Get into the rowboat.’ I said, “Get into the rowboat?’ He said ‘Yeah. We’re going out into middle of the lake.’ Now, I think he’s got a little cassette player with him, and we’ll listen in relative peace in the middle of Neil’s lake. Oh no. He has his entire house as the left speaker and his entire barn as the right speaker. And I heard Harvest coming out of these two incredibly large, loud speakers. Elliot Mazer, who produced Neil, came down to the shore and shouted, “How’s that, Neil?’ And I swear, Neil shouted back, ‘More barn!’”