Seven Tools for News That You Can Use

Cat  Pictures Are Fun, But They Aren't News

One of our goals of the W.L. May Blog is to keep our customers informed about developments and news stories that effect the appliance repair trade and stores that sell new appliances. The vastness of the Internet and the the "long tail" that keeps old, sometimes outdated, articles online means that more than a Google search is needed to keep up. We use a few different tools to do that. All of these tools are free, except for your time setting things up.

• Google News

Perhaps the most useful tool we use to stay informed. Google News is a great way to keep up with the world. Anyone can access the basic news page that Google offers. To make this a power tool requires a few more steps. First, create a Google account if you do not have one already or log into your account if you do. Once you sign in, return to the news page. In the upper right hand corner of the page, just below the magnifying lens for search you will notice a button with a gear icon. Clicking on that icon will give you the opportunity to "personalize your news". You will notice a list of preset news topics that you can adjust to receive more or less coverage of that topic. Below that is a search window that you can use to add topics that interest you to your news page. Some ideas might be your companies name, manufacturers names or types of equipment you service.

• Google Alerts

Sort of spin off of Google News, Google Alerts is service for Google account holders that can send the articles from your Google News directly to your email inbox. This allows you the convenience of keeping up with the news when you check your email, rather than making a separate visit to the Google News Page. 

• Twitter

More than just a place to share what you had for breakfast and what you are doing Saturday night, Twitter can be a helpful news source if you set it up right. To use Twitter for news, search out and follow the places where news is likely to come from. this might mean suppliers, it might be manufacturers, it might be your competition. Twitter also can serve as way to stay in touch with your clients, making it a very versatile tool.

• Facebook

Facebook is a popular tool for staying in contact with friends and family. It can be a great way to reach out to your clients. It can also be a good source for news. A User Profile on Facebook is an individual user. A Page is created by a business or any organization that wants a presence on Facebook. For news, pages are often your best source. Any Page you "like" will potentially show you posts on your timeline. Facebook is popular though, and as a result they create a timeline for you based on your interest and interactions with other Facebook User Profiles and Pages. To counter this and stay informed requires a little extra effort. If you will notice the list of links on the left hand side of your Facebook timeline. One of those links is to "Pages" clicking on this will give you a feed comprised of only Pages that you have "like"d. Going directly to your favorite Pages timelines is also a way to make sure you are seeing everything that page posts, which will not likely all be in your timeline.

• Google+

Google+ is the new kid on the block for social media. Because of the power of Google, many Internet gurus recommend using Google+ as it likely has a bearing on your companies SEO and its placement in the results when people search for your service in your area. Like Twitter and Facebook, following people and companies in our industry should provide you with results.

• RSS

RSS means Really Simple Syndication. Most blogs and news source pages offer an RSS feed. RSS is a specially formatted version of a blog or web page that can be subscribed to with an RSS reader. Then, when new content is posted that content will show up in your RSS reader. You can then read it in your reader, sort of like a magazine. The email program Outlook includes a built in reader, but I like to use a reader called Feedly. It does the same thing but I like the attractiveness of the layout on Feedly a little more. On many pages there will be a link to RSS that will allow you to select your reader and subscribe right from the web page you are visiting. As you gather subscriptions you can sort them in your reader by topic.

• W.L. May

Of course, we use all these tools to find news and information to share with you. You can find all of that regularly here on the W.L. May Blog. Especially on alternating Thursdays when we offer our News Recap.To get email notifications of new updates you can enter your email in this form and every weekday a new post will come to you in a convenient email format.

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Web Tool Wednesday: Where Do I Begin?

The amount of time which one has to perform a task is the amount of time it will take to complete the task. This is called Parkinson's Law.Over the years, it amazes me how often I think that there is no way to get everything done that needs doing only to accomplish the tasks in the time specified. We are all capable of exceeding our own expectations. It takes effort though. Rather than thinking "I don't have time to do that" consider thinking "I have done more with less in less time". More often than not, we can almost bend time just by changing our approach to the situation. Well, that and some hard work and the right tools.

Most of my day to day work is done on a computer in an office. So my tool is the PC I am typing this on. With my PC, I have access to several sources of parts breakdown information as well as access to manufacturers to check availabilities and order statuses. I also monitor and post on our several social media outlets, such as this blog, Facebook, Google+, and Twitter. I use Google News, and Feedly to keep me up to date with current events. And I keep notes on obscure appliance parts using a notebook program from Microsoft, There is a to-do list I keep as well as an alarm to remind me of certain "appointment duties". As you can see, I lean on my machine pretty hard to get the job done.

Creative Commons license on image.

After reading that last paragraph, I suspect one of two responses. The first response is that those are desktop computer tools and not so helpful to the field technician,. Point taken. I offer that as an example of how I am making using of technology as well as perhaps providing some ideas for your office staff. The second response I expect is for someone to see all the tools that I make use of and then decide that it is too much work to set up. It is true that all of these tools required some time and effort to get rolling, but now that I am using them I find them incredibly helpful in my day to day work as well as for improving my productivity.

Now I am a bit of an old-timer. I didn't start using computers until I was an adult living on my own and working for a living. Needless to say, I  am probably not as adept as some younger folks who can utilize this stuff on a sort of instinctual basis. That, however, is no excuse for not trying to grow and keep up with the times. In my experience, a good approach is to start slowly. Try using a tool for a low pressure easy job. Get familiar with how it works and feel free to adjust the settings to fit your needs and preferences. Take your time and try to have fun. As you get more comfortable with what you are working with you can utilize it a little more until it becomes integrated into your routine. Then you are ready to start again with a new tool, or you can go back and further tweak your existing tools to make them more effective. Before you know it you will be using a few tools you weren't using before, and you will find yourself saving time.

It does take time to learn how to use all of this amazing new technology at our disposal. And it takes even longer to set things up effectively. Think of it as an investment. The time you spend now setting these up will be repaid to you as you save time down the road. You can do this, and we would love to hear what tools you have started using to make yourself more productive. Tell us about them in the comments section.

Web Tools Wednesday: The W.L. May website

This article is for W.L. May account holders. Do-It-Yourselfers and others are encouraged to take a look through our archives for other articles that might prove more useful.



Today's web tool I'd like to talk about is the main W.L. May website. When you first arrive at our site, you will be greeted by a picture of some appliances and you'll notice some tabs above the picture. The left hand tab button says "Find A Part" clicking on that will take you to a field where you can enter your part number to check availability and our retail pricing. The right hand tab button says "Contact" which naturally will lead to a screen with addresses and phone numbers for W.L. May's four branches. But it is the center button "Technicians" that leads to all the "good stuff". Clicking on that button will take you to a page that has a few links listed on the side bar. One is for an application for an open account, which presumably you have if you are still reading this. The link to "access online account" is what you want. This will take you to the log in screen. You will need a username and password at this point. If you don't yet have a password, contact your account manager to get signed up for the program. It's free to sign up and allows access to a lot of useful data.

When you sign in you will be greeted by a welcome page that shows your company name. You will notice a menu of links on the side bar. Lets go through these one by one:
1. Item & Availability-This is just what it sounds like. Enter a part number to check availability at all four of our branches. Shows retail pricing as well as regular dealer costs and any other sales prices that might apply.
2. Flyer Pricing-This links you to a list of parts on our everyday low pricing program. Remember, these prices stay in place until the end of the year!
3. Web Specials-Every week we feature a few selected items as a one week special, and occasionally we will have big one day sales sponsored by the manufacturers. Check here weekly for extra special pricing.
4. Research-This links you to IPL. IPL is short for Illustrated Parts Lookup. This is an online version of the same software we use here at W.L. May Company for parts research. With pictures and complete parts list, this tool can help you find most items on a given machine. Here is a tip, many models have spaces or dashes that can confuse the search feature. If your model number doesn't show up, try typing the first half of the number, which will give you a list of models that start that way.Frequently, your model will show up on that list. We don't intend for the IPL to replace customer service, its just another tool we provide for your convenience. If you ever need ANY help at finding a part, just give us a call.
5. Backorder Inquiry-Provides you with a list of all parts that you have on backorder that have not arrived at W.L.May Company yet.
6. Package Tracking-Connects your shipped order to your shippers tracking information so you can keep track of your order until it arrives.
7. Shipped Orders-Enter an item number on this page to see a list of invoices where that part was purchased, as well a order dates, purchase order numbers and pricing to help keep your records straight.
8. Account Status-Provides you with a list of pending invoices to help you manage your cash flow.
9. Check Inquiry-See if a check you have mailed in for payment has been processed.
10. Order Entry-A form for placing your orders. Feel free to include comments if you have any special requests. Also, please make sure that all required fields are filled out as incomplete order forms are not processed by the computer.
11.  Communications-Blank returns forms for warranty and non warranty returns as well a database for reviewing your completed invoice by invoice number.
12. Billing Service-Connects you to BillTrust, our online account management partner.

As you can see, W.L.May Company has a number of free tools to help make your business run more efficiently, and thus more profitably. One more thing, if you will be accessing our website by smart phone we have a mobile version of our website that maximizes research tools for a phone sized screen. Also our mobile site site shows retail pricing only, in case you have concerns about your privacy. We welcome you to try one or both versions of our website and see how it can help your business run more smoothly and profitably.

Wednesday Web Tools: Where to find free images for your blog or Facebook

I recently read a blog post that left me a little concerned. The post was written by a "mommy blogger", who was sharing a cautionary tale. Her blog was a personal journal kind of site, not a for-profit business site. To keep her blog visually interesting, she liked to put some pictures on it to go with her writing. Sometimes she would use Google images to find pictures to use. Makes sense. Its easy, very searchable, and easy to download too. Then something went wrong. She got a letter from the attorney of a professional photographer. Now you might think that since she was just running a blog as a hobby that an apology and removal of the offending images would take care of the problem. It didn't. In the end, she ended up paying several hundred dollars to the photographer for the unauthorized use of the images.

Scary story. The reason I mention it is because this did not have to happen to her. She could have used pictures that she took herself. Unless she is as bad a photographer as I am. So what to do? Luckily, there are some inexpensive options out there. Even luckier, there are some free options too. Here are some of my favorites of those free options:

• Flickr Creative Commons-I think just about everyone on the internet knows what Flickr is. Any image on Flickr has the potential to be used, but make sure you have permission from the photographer to do so. Some photographers have already given you permission by way of a creative commons license. Make sure you read the license on the images page regarding its terms of use.
• Wikimedia Commons-This is a hit and miss option. Images are public domain that are used in Wikipedia. Some good stuff here although often more of a historical nature.
• Morgue File- I really like this site. They have lots of varied images available. The only catch is that images from here need to be modified if they are used.
• FreeDigitalPhotos.Net-Several thousand images are available from this site. You are freee to use the small size images but larger versions require payment.
• FreeMediaGOO.com-This site features an assortment of images, wallpapers and even some video clips. To be honest, I have not had the best success with their images matching my needs. Naturally, your mileage may vary.
• Photo Rogue-This site offers a twist from most stock photo sites. In addition to their library of stock images for use, you can request an image. Photographers that frequent the site MIGHT respond with images to match your request. Obviously, this would give you the opportunity to have some more unique images than might be available from some other sites. 
• stock.xchng VI-Over 100,000 images available here. The photographers set the terms, so read the fine print on an image you are interested in using.
• FreePhotosBank-This site does have some free images available, but my experience is that far more images listed on this site link to Dreamstime.com, which is a good site for inexpensive, but not free, stock images.
• Present Outlook-If you like the images with quotes like the kind we post on Motivation Mondays, then this site is for you. Lots if gorgeous photography with inspirational quotes. Oh and by the way, we make our own slides for Motivation Monday, so these will be different from the slides we have posted.

Tuesday Tips: Creating a mobile service library

Recently, the Appliance Samurai posted a great idea for service techs. It involves using a bit of tech to have a functional service library on the job site. You'll need an Amazon Kindle as well as some basic computer skills. His explanation can be found here-with video.

Wednesday Web Tools: Internet Browsers

There are a lot of useful tools online to run your business more efficiently, engage with your customers, and to stay informed about the marketplace. But first you need to be on the internet. Obviously if you are reading this you've made it that far. However, I'd still like to start by talking about the most basic of subjects, your internet browser.

The internet is the network of computers. Web pages make up the World Wide Web, and those are what you access with a browser. Most PC's come with Internet Explorer from Microsoft built in. If you are on a Mac Safari from Apple will be your default. But you also have a few more options that are also popular.

Mozilla Firefox is an open source browser. What that means is that the browser was created by some smart users to be used as a free way to connect to the web. Firefox has become a popular browser due to it's reputation as being less susceptible to viruses. It also has a wide variety of extensions and add-on's that can be used to customise the browser and to add features for many websites. A few add on extensions I like are ad-block, which removes ads from web pages you might visit. I also like Pocket, which bookmarks web pages to be read later at a more convenient time.

Google has also thrown their hat in the ring with their Chrome browser. I find Chrome to be a very good browser and it, like Firefox, can be customized with a wide variety of extensions and add-ons. My favorite of these in KanbanFlow, which I find to be a quite useful to-do list. The largest criticisms I hear about Chrome is that it is heavily tied into Google, which causes some people concerns regarding privacy. Also, there is the precaution against "putting all the eggs in one basket" since Google is involved in so many different web services.

This has just been a brief overview. Like choosing a car, your best choice is a blend of performance, style, and features. I recommend trying them all to see who is your best fit. You may find, like me, that using different browsers to do different things is your best choice.