Kelly's Korner - Winterizing

Hey, All,

BRRRRRR!!!!!  It is soooo cold!  I saw on the news Saturday night that the average temperature ACROSS THE COUNTRY was 14.5 degrees!  Way too cold for this lady!

So if you haven't checked (and it may be too late now but not for later) start checking your appliances that may be in an unheated garage, back porch, basement or outbuilding for any cracks and leaking.  And maybe get some heat in there to bring it up above freezing.


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Washers:  Check your incoming water pipes, fill hoses, water valve, pump and other hoses.  Slowly warm these up and check for leaks.  As you know, water expands when frozen and can bust those parts to pieces.  If you have cracks and leaking and aren't up to the task, call your favorite appliance repair company and have them come check things out.

Refrigerators:  If this has an icemaker or is in an unheated garage you may be facing some of the same issues with freezing.  Check fill lines, valves and if it is still running.  Frigidaire brands have what they call a "garage kit" 5303918301 that are for older Frigidaire refrigerators that have difficulities operating in areas that drop below 34 degrees.   This heater kit will NOT work on Frigidaire refrigerators manufactured prior to 2001, on side-by-side or counter-depth models, or on models with electronic controls.  Unfortunately, no other brands have a kit like this so check that second refrigerator.

Also, don't forget your animals, both wild and domestic.  Make sure their water supply is not a block of ice and that their food isn't frozen.  If they sleep outside, either bring them in or give them extra sleeping materials (blankets, straw, etc.) so they sleep warm, too!

I am on vacation from December 13-26 and I will have a last minute shopping tip for next week, but won't be back on the blog until next year.

So from me and mine to you and yours have a safe and happy holiday season!

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Monday Motivation

Fun Friday: American Restorations Tackles An Easy Washer

One of the things I like about being a part person is seeing and keeping alive old machines. Naturally, I enjoy a lot of the antique shows on TV. American Restorations on History Channel is one of those programs. Luckily the History Channel offers clips for sharing so we can show you this clip on a 1930's Easy brand washing machine. Enjoy!



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Throwback Thursday: News Recap December 5, 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:

• The Handy Guys Podcast covered phosphates in dishwasher detergents and suggested a few solutions to the problem. LINK
• In case of poisoning from dishwasher detergent tablets, New York Times has emergency instructions. LINK
• A Good Guys Appliance Repair Blog shared a few things to looks for in a repair company. LINK
• The Natural Resources Defense Council posted this infographic that talks about how to use your refrigerator the most effectively to save energy and have your food last longer before spoiling. LINK
• Consumer Affairs considers the pros and cons of top load vs front load washing machines. LINK
• The Consumerist suggests some additives that might help if you are one of the many people who are troubled by water spots because of phosphate free detergent. LINK
• Affordable Service Appliance posted a good piece about the costs involved in an appliance repair and why the repairman charges what he does. LINK
• Daily Herald offered some maintenance and sprucing up tips for your dishwasher. LINK
• Greener Ideal shared some easy ways to make your refrigerator more energy efficient. LINK
• ABC10 talked about considerations involved with replacing a refrigerator, and whether replacement is even the best option. LINK

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

• Electrolux cooking had a change in leadership for their cooking product division. LINK
• GE predicted that new features being rolled out on their machines will inspire a round of price cuts by their competitors. LINK
• We found an interesting timeline of GE history on their website. LINK
• MarketWatch shared appliance trends suggested by GE. LINK
• There is a recall for Viking side by side refrigerators. We aren't involved, but thought you might want to know. LINK
• GE's announced that their new machines have different tones used depending on what product line the tone is used on. LINK

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

• Craftlife tried a recipe for homemade dishwasher tablets. They weren't impressed. LINK
• Augusta Chronicle suggested a few organic replacements for washing machine detergent and fabric softener sheets. We were a bit skeptical. LINK
• Simple Bites showed off an immaculately stocked refrigerator along with tips on how to do that yourself. LINK
• Leading up to Thanksgiving, the LA Times published a recipe for cooking turkey in the dishwasher. We opted to pass on that recipe. LINK
• The UK's Daily Mail reported on a service dog that has been trained to do the laundry and the modified machine he does it with. LINK
• A Beautiful Mess shared this washer dryer makeover that looks pretty easy & fun. LINK
• Totem Appliance Service reported in a radical new design in washing machines. Called a Xeros, it uses polymer beads rather than soap and water. LINK

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

• Bezinga Talked about the 4 appliance makers with the the highest earning estimates for the next year. LINK
• Motley Fool shared reasons to be optimistic about Whirlpool and the rest of the appliance manufacturers. LINK
• ReadWriteWeb discussed privacy missteps made by social media, and considerations to make as manufacturers move forward with smart appliances and the connected home. LINK
• The United Servicers Association share the secret to profitable service. It may not be what you think. LINK
• WebSearchSocial compared 2 different marketing emails they received and share what was & what was not effective about them, LINK
• Reviewed.com looked at 5 appliance brands that they feel retired too soon. LINK

We close with few fun stories:

• The Indian version of The Onion reported on a conflict in the Laundry Room. LINK
• What do you do when find a great looking wringer washer at the antiques store but you don't have a car to get it home? If you are this New Zealand woman, you hitchhike! LINK
• If you have made it this far and still want to keep going, AutomaticWasher.Org has a great collection of old appliance ad videos that can check out. LINK

For more from education and entertainment from W.L. May Company click...HERE

Five Social Media Tips and Observations

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Today I would like to take a moment to talk to you that are doing social media for your repair company. In the course of running W.L. Mays social media, I get to see social media activity from repair companies literally around the world. Some of them seem to "get it" and have had a lot of success building their business by being social online. Some of them could, quite honestly, use some advice.


Here are five tips and observations (in no particular order):

1. When a company takes the time to like and follow other businesses in their area that deal with the same clients, they expose themselves to a large pool of potential new customers.
2. People like hearing about what your employees are doing. It involves your followers far more than an announced sale price. Even better is to find a way to share your fans with the world. This will only increase your word of mouth as people will often share with their friends that they were featured on your page.
3. When you get a good review, their is nothing wrong with patting yourself on the back a little and sharing it. If you do so make sure you are making other posts as well or people will start to lose interest.
4. Some of us love a good argument about religion or politics. Those can certainly be interesting subjects for debate, and I personally have spent many an hour with close friends discussing those subjects. I would recommend against you discussing those on a business social media page. Yes I know, it is an emotionally charged subject and you WILL get likes and comments. Half of the readers will probably feel a closer bond to you, as they share your viewpoint. The other half will not. You may even drive some of them away from you. I think it does more harm than good and is best avoided. Remember too, that anything you post will likely be available forever to someone who who knows where to look.
5. Don't bad mouth your competition. It is just never good form. It says to the world that you have nothing good to say for yourself so you will say bad things about your competition. That's not exactly a confidence builder and won't do your business any favors.

Do you have any tips or observations you have learned from developing a social media presence in your business? We would love to hear about it in the comments section.

For more from education and entertainment from W.L. May Company click...HERE

Kelly's Korner - First Impressions

Hey, All,

As you all know, first impressions can make or break any kind of dealings with another person.  And if you are running a business, this may be the only contact you have with a potential new customer.

So when that phone rings, how are you answering it?  A gruff "Bob's"?  Or a cheerful, friendly "Bob's Appliance Service, this is Mary, how may we help you?"  Your greeting doesn't have to be long (in fact I hate the ones that are!) but identifying the business, who is answering and the offer of assistance in a cheerful, helpful tone is the most important.  This also helps for recorded messages.  Most people are willing to listen to recordings with more information than a real voice because they know that the info they need may be on there, but try to keep the recordings short, sweet and to the point.

Mazzie and Shannon - Our first impression experts!

So now that the greetings are out of the way, getting the name and phone number of the person calling is imperative - first, because people like to be called by name and, if for some reason the call gets dropped, (and in these days of cell phones that could be highly likely) you have their number to call them right back.

Now, listen to the customer and use my list of 10 questions to get the info you need.   If, by some chance, they are calling for something that you can't help them with, sending them off with another avenue to explore is way better that "sorry" and hanging up.  I get calls all the time with people looking for stuff we don't carry.  And sometimes all it takes is looking up the manufacturer of their product on the web and giving them a phone number.  No, this isn't something that you HAVE to do, but that person will remember the assist (or not) and will be a major factor on if they call you for something that you can help them with.

Now, how does your tech look when he shows up at the customer's?  Is his vehicle clean and in good repair?  Is his appearance neat and clean?  You don't need to have fancy uniforms, but a polo shirt (looks better than a t-shirt) with the company logo on it and nice pants or jeans is nice.  Does he put on protective shoe coverings (we have these - 50 pairs of SHUBEE) and protects the floor around the appliance?  Does he clean up any mess he may make (we have cleaning products too!)?  This is also a way to make a major good  impression on a customer by treating their home as a castle.  The clean-up process is also a good time to do add-on sales by offering the customer cleaning products, added services and leaving any promotional items like refrigerator magnets, pens, brochures, etc., so they will call you back if they need more repairs.

Last, but not least, a follow up call.  Call the customer the very next day and find out their opinion on how the repair went.  Are they satisfied?  Is the appliance still working?  Was the technician clean, neat, personable and knowledgeable?  Sometimes this is the only way you can know if your technician is an asset or liability to your business.  And if they have some type of complaint, dealing with it right then and there will better their impression of your business.  Ignoring it will probably not get you back in their door again.

So, take a look at you and your first impressions and wow your customers!

Have a great week!

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Monday Motivation

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