Motivation Monday

If you don’t value your time, neither will others. Stop giving away your time and talents. Value what you know and start charging for it. ~ Kim Garst

Portland's Rose Festival and The Arrival of Summer

"For you a rose in Portland grows" (Wikimedia Commons/CC)

This week Portland has been celebrating the Rose Festival. If you are out of the area, or somehow haven't heard of our Rose Festival, it is Portland's annual welcome to summer event. Since we are known as the City of Roses, it is kind of a big deal. All kinds of events are held all over the city, a carnival is held, and we host fleet week where several Navy and Coast Guard ships anchor to the sea wall in downtown Portland. Several parades mark the occasion with a culmination this Saturday with the Grand Floral Parade. It is the largest open air spectator event in the state, and is one of the two largest all floral parades held in the United States, the other being the Tournament of Roses on New Years Day in Pasadena California. Here are some images from prior Rose Festivals.

Early Rose Festival Float Entry (Wikimedia Commons)

The Budweiser Clydedales pull a 2008 parade float entry (Wikimedia Commons)

A popular Rose Festival Event are the Dragon Boat races, (Wikimedia Commons)

Fleet Week ships along the seawall in 2006 (Wikimedia Commons/CC)

The Rose Festival is a lot of fun. But I am not telling you about the Rose Festival to make you jealous of the good times we are having here in the Rose City. The reason I am telling you about the Rose Festival is because the event marks the beginning of summer in our fair city. Being a parts guy, that brings to my mind summer in the appliance repair trade. When summer arrives a few things happen that impact our industry.

The first and most obvious thing is heat. Summer brings in warmer weather and most areas in  the Western US will see heatwaves with high temps over 100 degrees. This causes machines to work harder, especially refrigerators. Earlier this week, we emailed our account holders with some suggested refrigeration items to have in stock for when the hot weather hits. A lot of repair companies try to keep a bare bones inventory and fill in the gaps when needed. We understand that. What we have observed is that when it gets hot, many consumers become less patient. If they have to wait for you to order parts in, you may find some consumers will book a differing service company that can complete the repair on the same day. We don't want that to happen to you, which is why we recommend stocking up BEFORE the heat waves hit you.We hope that suggested stock list may help with your preparations.

Beat the heat-Be ready BEFORE it gets hot. (Flickr/CC)

The summer time also brings a few other circumstances that could find you busier than usual. When the kids are out of school they are more likely to be playing around the house and its not unusual to hear of minor acts of appliance destruction occurring. Trim pieces like door bars, end caps and handles all surge a little in demand. We know that there are a lot of possible options when it comes to cosmetic pieces, so we stock up too. We don't want you to have to wait any more than necessary for those kinds of items.

On the subject of kids being out of school, we would like to remind all of you to be extra careful when driving through neighborhoods on your way to service calls.Those ball chasers and bike riders sometimes forget to look before running out into their neighborhood streets. Keep a close watch and stay safe out there.

We hope you all have a great summer. What are you doing to get ready? Are you stocking up on parts? Or maybe you are putting the finishing touches on some vacation plans. How do you celebrate summer in your appliance repair company? Let us know in the comments section, we would love to hear from you.

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

Thursday Trivia Challenge

So you think you know all about appliances? Here is a short set of trivia questions to test your knowledge.

Questions
1.How much would you pay for a Kenmore washing machine in 1960?
2.What female country singer has a bake element nicknamed after her?
3.What company primarally made the appliances sold under the JC Penney name?
4.What percentage of US homes had a domestic refrigerator in 2005?
5.What Year did Maytag start?
6.W.L. May stocks what brand of range hoods?
7.Can you name one of the part numbers for the most popular gas dryer valve coils? 279834 (Whirlpool version) 5303931775 (Electrolux version)
8.What do manufacturers recommend to adresss vibrating washing machines?

Answers
1.158.00

2.Dolly Parton

3.GE

4.99.5%

5.1893

6.Broan

7.279834 (Whirlpool version) 5303931775 (Electrolux version)

8.Vibe Away Pads

Scoring
O-2 correct: You know a bit, but still have a lot to learn. Luckily you came to the right place.
2-4 correct: You know a fair amount about appliances. Keep visiting this blog to learn even more.
4-6 correct: You know a lot about appliances. Pass some of that knowledge on to someone.
6-8 correct You are an appliance star! Great job!

To submit your own trivia questions (and answers) email: rob.m@wlmay.com with the subject line "trivia".

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

3 Dryer Makers and 6 Service Kits

A clothes dryer is probably the simplest of the major appliances. There are a limited number of moving parts, they are easy for the lay person to understand, and for the most part the same designs have stayed in place for years. Since a clothes dryer is so simple it can also be one of the easier things to service. As a pro repair person, its probably a job you love. The easy diagnostics and and easy servicing make it appealing, it also makes it the kind of project a do-it-yourselfer might try to tackle.

If you are looking to do one of these repairs, or if you are helping out a DIY person with parts, it makes sense to change out all the parts that are also likely to be wearing out when you do the repair. Luckily, most manufacturers offer kits that include all the parts that have a tendency to wear out. Usually, the kits cost less than buying the individual parts.

Here are maintenance kits for the three largest American appliance makers.

Whirlpool

• 4392065-Used on most 27" dryers. Contains  multi-rib belt (part 341241), drum support roller kit (part 349241T), idler pulley (part 691366), and installation instructions.
• 4392067-Used on some 27" dryers (frequently commercial machines). Contains multi-rib belt (part 661570), 4 support rollers (part 3396802), idler assembly (part 3388672), and installation instructions. 
• 4392068-Used on 24" dryers. Contains multi-rib belt (part 3394652) drum support roller kit (part 349241), idler pulley (part 691366) and installation instructions.

Electrolux

• 5304457724-"New Style" for machine from 2002-Present. Contains drive belt (part 134503600), rear bearing kit (part 5303281153), idler pulley/bracket assembly (part 131863000), upper front felt seal (part 5303937182), lower front felt seal (part 5303937183)
• 5304461262-"Old Style" for machine prior to 2002.  Contains 88" drum belt (part 134503600), bearing kit (part 5303281153), idler pulley (part 131863007), upper front felt seal (part 5303937139), and lower front felt seal (part 5303283286), needed adhesive and grease.

General Electric

• WE49X20697-Contains belt (part WE12M29), top bearing (part WE3M26), two white glides (part WE1M504), two green glides (part WE1M1067), and lower felt seal (part WE9M30)

The next time you are servicing a dryer, remember these kits. They can frequently save time by preventing further problems before they occur and by simplifying the parts ordering process. They can also save you money over the cost of buying the parts individually. Consider adding at least one of each kit to your inventory and remember to offer the kit to people doing their own service. Odds are that when they open the machine they will realize other areas that need maintenance as well and you will be the hero with foresight. Have a great day and happy repairing!

Kelly's Korner - Other things W L May can do for you

Hey, All,

Well, the post I started for this week seems better suited for next month, so you'll have to wait for that one.  So I decided to make a short list of some of the other services that W L May can provide for you.

1.  Wanna know what parts and how many of them you have purchased in a certain time frame?  Give us a parameter (like the top 50 parts bought in last 6 months) and we can have a report run for you.  This can help you with your inventory and truck stock.

2.  Want to leave some literature with your customers on services (ex. vent cleaning) and items you can provide them (water filters, drip pans, etc.) with your company logo and contact info?  Contact us with what you would like and we can work up some things for you to take to the printers and use.

3.  Need a list of manufacturers phone numbers and websites?  We can get you a list of that info.

4.  Need help building a website?  We can recommend several places for you to look at.

5.  Want to go mobile?  We can help with that!

6.  Not sure what you need?  Call us - you would be surprised at what we can help you with!  Just let us know what you are looking for.

Parts and research are just a small part of what we can offer you!  Please use us!

Have a great week!

Monday Motivation

"The world stands aside to let anyone pass who knows where they are going." - David Starr Jordan

Friday Morning Videos: The Refrigeration Cycle

Any good technician should already be more than a little educated in the refrigeration cycle and how a refrigerator works. For those of you who are not technicians, you may find this video to be helpful at explaining how your refrigerator works to keep your food and drinks cool.



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