Laundry and Truancy: More In Common Than You Might Think

Whirlpool announced a new ad campaign this week that features images of families doing small caring acts for each other, usually involving appliances. The message that they are trying to spread is that the little things we do every day to make a house a home are acts of caring that ultimately lead to making the world a better place.

It's a positive message that we certainly can't dispute here at W.L.May. It is the small acts of caring that we provide to our clients that we hope will lead them to success in business. It is our sincere hope that the caring gets paid forward making our clients customers lives a little better too.

One of the spots in the campaign throws a few statistics at the viewer. One that particularly caught me attention was a claim that "Not having clean clothes is a leading cause of truancy rates." When I see a claim like that in an ad, even if it comes from trusted source, I like to investigate further.

Whirlpool pointed out an issue that educators have been aware of for a while. It turns out that one of the number one listed causes of truancy is indeed a lack of clean clothes. Kids would rather skip school than be embarrassed by showing up to class in dirty dungarees.

In Los Angeles, school children at the 75th Street Elementary School have some relief. a few years ago, the school's principal organized community members and collected donations to purchase a washer and dryer to be used on campus to help with student laundry needs.

It is a step. Issues such as truancy, especially in low income neighborhoods such as the 75th Street Elementary School's, are a big challenge and a lot comes into play. Still, wearing clean clothes can only help to increase the kids self esteem and confidence which should lead to less truancy and more learning. That's just good for the community.

Here is the ad from Whirlpool that mentioned the statistic that inspired this post.



Is laundry equipment a good investment for a school? Is Whirlpool on the right track with these ads? We'd love to know your opinion, let us know what you think in the comments section of this blog.

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The RCA-Whirlpool Miracle Kitchen

Here is a film of the RCA-Miracle kitchen. I can't imagine how much this would cost to install and how much work it would be to set it up. I also can't imagine how busy this would likely leave the servicer as all those lifting motors, relays, and switch would eventually start to fail. Some of these ideas are still floating around today in the creation of the Internet Of Things.



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Kelly's Korner - Repurposed Refrigerators

Hey, All,

I came across an old photo of my grandfather, Ole, the other day and it brought back to mind his wonderful smoked salmon.  Grandpa was an avid fisherman - salmon, sturgeon, crappie, perch, trout - he caught it all, but my all time favorite was his smoked salmon.

Gram would brine the fish then he would would put it in the smoker.  His smoker was a REALLY old refrigerator (all metal) that he had taken all the parts out of and used the compressor area for his fire and he had holes drilled through the bottom for to smoke to come through to the fish above on the racks.  He only used alder wood and to this day I cannot smell alder smoke and not think of that.  His smoked salmon was our candy and I miss it and my grandparents so much.

Creative Commons license on image.

But I have seen refrigerators repurposed for all kinds of different things - keg-orators, worm farms, root cellars, incubation boxes  - I suppose the possiblilites are endless, but there are a few things to keep in mind.

The coolant used needs to be disposed of properly - contact your local waste management company for information.  You may need to have a professional do this.

Make it safe!  And empty refrigerator/freezer is a great place to hide for a child but if they can't get out it could have tragic consequences.  If you are not going to use it right away either take the door off or chain it shut.  It will keep the kids out and safe.  Even if you are using it, you can add a padlock or chain to keep people out (especially if you have goodies in it).

If you are going to use it as a smoker, new refrigerators that have plastic liners aren't going to work - they may melt or give off toxic fumes and taint your meat.

Do a little research and question asking before you use that old refrigerator for another purpose but have fun with what you come up with!

Have a great week!

Monday Motivation

Don’t let the fear of losing be greater than the excitement of winning. ~ Robert Kiyosaki

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Time Flies

Throwback Thursday: News Recap October 2, 2014

If you have been reading the W.L. May Blog but haven't checked us out on Facebook, Twitter or Google+, you may not be getting the whole story. We use all of those social media outlets to share news stories that relate to our industry as well as appliance tips we have found from other sources. Here is a recap of some of the top stories we have seen lately. A lot has been happening so without further ado:

We start with some consumer friendly articles we feel would be great for sharing:

• Christian Science Monitor considered the pro's and con's of various types of laundry equipment. LINK
• Do you know how your refrigerator works? Eat Drink Better explained. LINK
• Is it cheaper to go the laundrymat or to buy a washer and dryer? According to The Simple Dollar, that depends...LINK
• I'm sure most of you are aware that Whirlpool makes appliances under the Whirlpool, Maytag and Kitchenaid brands. Did you know about these other brands they market under? LINK
• Say what you will about the government. At least they gave us this handy formula for calculating appliance energy use. LINK
• The Spectrum offered laundry tips for those who might need them. LINK
• Huff Post Home explained what really happens to leftover food in your dishwasher? LINK

Next, we look at the manufacturers and how they have been in the news recently:

• The CEO of Electrolux talked with Twice about the merger with GE. LINK
• The GE appliance division is still profitable, why would they want to sell? Bloomberg Business speculated. LINK
• Appliance columnist Joe Gagnon shared his views on Electrolux acquiring GE. LINK

We found an article that might be of interest to those of you who love all thing appliances:

• This article from Boing Boing was a little condescending, about an idea that has worked with other designs. Still, we loved the old-timey art. LINK
• A letter to Car Talk asks about using a dishwasher to clean car parts. Click and Clack thought that was a bad idea-We did too! LINK
• Gizmodo Australia looked at a 1930's refrigerator feature-a built in radio! LINK
• Hiding from the police? They'll find you if you try to hide in the oven. LINK
• Popular Mechanics responds to Boing Boing's criticism of their admittedly dated plans to build a refrigerator for the back of your station wagon. LINK

Sometimes, the links we post are related to technology, business or happenings on the internet:

• Here is an unexpected use for a dishwasher... testing robotics! LINK
• Would YOU pay 9000 dollars for an exclusive social media site? You can, you know...LINK
• A plea from the Guardian hoping for more technological innovation in the realm of home appliances. LINK
• The Daily Mail looked at the future of smart appliances. LINK

We close with a fun story:

• This article featured some unique observations about doing laundry. LINK

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Botto Bisto and Yelp

(Flickr User Jason K/CC)

What do you think about Yelp? You know Yelp, right? That is that website on the Internet that offers reviews of businesses. Yelp also sells advertising to businesses. Many business owners consider that to be a conflict of interest.

Allegations have been made that purchasing advertising on the site can cause higher ranked reviews to be shown more prominently, while less well ranked reviews will show up poorly. Yelp denies that suggestion and claims that placement of reviews on their site is determined by an algorithm that takes into account an number of features. Any bias implied by the purchase of advertising, Yelp contends, is strictly coincidental.

Some business owners have tried to address this perceived bias in court. Earlier this month, the Ninth Circuit Court dismissed two cases against the web site alleging such behavior saying that manipulation of reviews is within Yelp's rights. Other companies have asked Yelp to not list their businesses on the site. Yelp rarely complies with this request as they argue that their service is not directly threatening to business and it is their policy not to remove reviews.

One tactic that many businesses use is to encourage, or even "bribe" customers to leave good reviews on Yelp. Yelp does not approve of this practice, saying that it violates their Terms Of Service. They have even been known to sue businesses who pay customers to post positive reviews.

What is a business owner to do? You can provide the best service in the world, but your reputation could be tarnished by an algorithm, or worse, by strong armed sales tactics (at least that is what is alleged).

A restaurant in Richmond, California has decided to use some reverse psychology on Yelp and it's system of reviews. Botto Bistro intentionally placed their business in a low rent neighborhood because they believe their food is so good it can overcome it's environment. They did not really want Yelp to come along and scare off potential customers from even giving their food a chance. To try to prevent Yelp from placing poor reviews more prominently than good ones, the restaurant tried to play the game. They bought advertising on Yelp but were not happy with the results. That's when the reverse psychology came into play. 

Botto Bistro feels their web site's FAQ informed their customers about their restaurant better than Yelp. They began to actively encourage their customers to leave Yelp reviews. They are even gave a 25% discount to reviewers, as well as entering them into a drawing for a free cooking class. The catch? The "bribe" was only for one-star reviews on Yelp. As you can imagine, the maneuver has gotten a fair amount amount of press. They have gotten a lot of bad reviews and have made it their goal to be the worst rated restaurant in the Bay Area. According to their web site, they have achieved their goal. As a result they are no longer offering the  discount-sorry!

The owners of Botto Bistro provide an example of a small business thinking outside the box and grappling with the challenges tech has brought to business advertising. Does their plan seem like a good idea to you? Or does it come across as more of a temper tantrum by the owners? Let us know how you feel about their idea in the comments section for this post.

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