Kelly's Korner - Now What?

Hey, All,

Well, holidays are done, the Super Bowl is over and not much till look forward to till Memorial weekend.  The winter blahs are setting in.

So what to do?  Well, now is a good time to get all those little projects you've been wanting to do done.  Get started on spring cleaning.  Call your favorite tech to come give your appliances a checkup.

Creative Commons license on image.

Usually, February, March and part of April is a slow time for repair technicians - people are doing their taxes and don't want to spend any money until they find out if they are getting money back or not.  But now is a good time to call and get on your tech's schedule.  Maybe you are not having any real problems, but it doesn't hurt for them to come and do an all appliance checkup - have your furnace looked at, too!  It has been running all winter and probably could do with a filter change.

Home and Garden shows are going to be starting up and if you are earmarking some of that tax return for new appliances, now is the time to start doing your research and figuring out what you want to buy.

Clean out a closet a weekend.  If you are not buried under snow and you have a few nice days, get out and start doing some preliminary yard work.  Get your lawnmower and other yard power tools cleaned up and tuned up for when the real work starts.

Beat those blahs by getting you nest in order for the busy summer seasons - I've started mine!  So get some good music on, marshal your family, assign tasks and clean on!

Have a great week!

Parts Inventory Management: Elusive and Evolving

Today we reprint an article, with permission, that was featured in the January 2015 USA Newsletter. It is by USA's Executive Director Paul Mac Donald and covers an important issue facing the appliance service industry. Thanks to Paul for allowing us to share it with you.

As I wrote last month, the best way to facilitate first call completes is to pre-diagnose every service call before rolling a truck. But the second biggest contributing factor is also worth investigating. It’s all about having the right parts to complete repairs in a single trip. Having the right part will not only make you more profitable, it leads to happy customers who are impressed with your efficiency and speed, and inclined to make recommendations to family and friends across their social network. 

Typically, replacement parts inventories are not managed well. This can be a major problem for service providers, as consumers unleash their displeasure on Yelp, Facebook and Angie’s List. Technology in modern appliances is unique to each brand and model, and repair parts are costly, making it impossible for service providers to stock their trucks with fast-moving common parts. 

Service providers are being forced to take a new approach to managing parts inventories. Gone are the days of universal parts with elements that fit in eight different models. New appliance models are released every six months as consumers crave the latest gadgets and gear. Have you seen the Dacor wall oven with Wi-Fi connectivity enabling users to surf the net from the control panel? Imagine Martha Stewart walking you through stuffing a turkey via YouTube on your oven control. I’ve seen it in action. It’s impressive, but there’s not one part in that oven that can be used on a Wolf or GE oven. 

Evolving technology in appliances presents a real repair challenge.  How do service providers ensure they have the right part at the right time to achieve a first call complete? To make money in the service business a service provider has to pre-diagnose every call. Based on a customer’s complaint and the machine’s ability to self-diagnose using fault codes and internet connectivity, the servicer must order every conceivable part before running a call to the customer’s home. This is no joking matter since you may order three parts and only need one.  The other two go back to the supplier for credit. Parts distributors are taking the brunt of this new inventory return phenomenon. Sooner or later this condition is going to come to a head and the industry will be forced to resolve it and level the playing field so that no one party takes the hit. 

It is time to raise the retail price of appliances to cover the warranty and service obligations after the sale. So far we have not seen much motivation or movement from the manufacturers, however, in my opinion, they have to address the cost of this new phenomenon. Ultimately the consumer will bear the brunt of the cost to repair appliances of the future. One manufacturer has already stepped up to the plate. When you repair a Dacor appliance under warranty the manufacturer speaks to the consumer to validate the failure and pre-diagnose the repair. Then they ship all conceivable parts to the authorized servicer at no charge so that they have every chance of completing the repair in the first trip without the burden of cost of acquisition or returning of parts. Such costs have to be accounted for in the selling price of the appliance. You can’t ask for better than that. Or can you? 

I predict the appliances of the not-too-distant future will not only self-diagnose, but also self-repair, via internet commands. It won’t cost much more to build appliances with dual components during manufacturing so that when one fails the central controller will simply switch to the back-up component without the help of humans.  

Attend the United Servicers Annual Service Training Institute the 2015 ASTI February 9-12 in New Orleans to see all the latest technology in appliances and what’s coming next. Registration and details at asti.us. 

Paul Mac Donald

United Servicers Association

Kelly's Korner - Small Appliances

Hey, All,

We all have small appliances in our homes - toasters, coffee makers, blenders, mixers, etc.  What happens when one of them quits working?

From the movie The Brave Little Toaster - my kids drove me nuts watching this!

We get a lot of calls here for parts for small appliances and with the exception of Kitchenaid products, we don't carry any parts.

So what do you do?  Your best bet is to contact the manufacturer of the product.  Your small appliance should have the name of the manufacturer and the same model/serial tag that your large appliances have and sometimes even a phone number to contact the company.

If you have no contact info on the machine, jump on the internet and search for the company.  Contact them; they can either direct you to someone in your area that repairs small appliances or they may be able to help you right then and send you the part you need.

But, as with all repairs, look at the cost of the repair vs replacing it.  Why buy a replacement coffee carafe for $15 when you can replace the whole thing for $9.99?  (and if you can't function in the morning without coffee then you are stopping at the store to replace it anyway, right?)  And let's face it - we are in a throw away society and many of the small appliances are not meant to be repaired or replaced.  I've seen microwaves and small refrigerators that way.

Also, please be conscience of the environmental impact of the appliance you are discarding and contact your waste management company for the best way to dispose of it.

And as with anything, follow the manufacturer's recommendations for operations and cleaning to have your appliances, whether large or small, keep working correctly.  Now I'm going to get another cup of coffee and you all....

Have a wonderful week!

Monday Motivation

The road to success is dotted with many tempting parking spaces. - Will Rogers

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

Friday Morning Videos: Refrigerator Shopping With Brian Regan

Here is a pretty funny clip from Brian Regan. He is talking about refrigerator shopping and how hard it would be generate interest in the product. He pokes some fun at his refrigerator salesman, but he sort of makes a point. If you sell appliances, how do you generate excitement for features on those appliances? Let us know in the comments!



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUh1eGf57DY#t=54

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Throwback Thursday: News Recap January 22, 2015

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. It's been kind of a busy few week for news, due to CES International in Las Vegas. So without further ado:

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

• An article that generated a little bit of controversy suggested that a "garage refrigerator" was a bad idea. LINK
• Mother Nature Network made a list of 25 items that you might not have realized could be stored in the freezer. LINK
• WSB Radio considered some of the practical considerations of having a second refrigerator in the garage. LINK
• Houzz gave us a look at some kitchen designs predicted to trend in 2015. LINK
• Wiki How gave some good directions for cleaning a washer and dryer. LINK
• Parade explained why some washing machines turn clothes inside out. LINK

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

• Whirlpool showed off a Range with integrated chat functions. LINK
• Whirlpool also showed of some new washing machine features. LINK
• Samsung offered their washer with a built in sink. LINK
• Talking about their smart phone app, Whirlpool pointed out it can take a donation for Habitat for Humanity with every wash load. LINK
• A war between LG and Samsung continued, and the Wall Street Journal gave us a good recap of events so far. LINK
• The Louisville Business News considered what regulators will be looking at to approve the Electrolux/GE merge. LINK
• GE introduced a new variety of color options in their Artistry line. LINK
• GE will be including Kuerig coffee maker (you know, the type with those little cups) in some of their new models. LINK

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

• A Flickr user named Joe Clark posted a collection of dishwasher loading instructions gathered from a variety of owners manuals. LINK 
• The Newton Citizen took the stand that we are living in the "good old days" for appliances. LINK
• Reviewed.Com gave us a fun look at ten classic appliances-some large, some small. We still regularly get calls for most of the major appliances listed. LINK
• A Korean Pop star will give appliances to North Korean defectors if his series, "Spy", gets over 10% viewership. LINK
• We saw a washing machine converted to an aquarium. Neat project. LINK

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

• A refrigerator was introduced by a startup company at CES International. It has 8 USB ports and WiFi connectivity. LINK 
• Induction cooking has been promoted for a while now with limited success. In case you were wondering, here's how it works. LINK
• Wall Street Journal talked about some of the feature manufacturers are adding to refrigerators. LINK

We close with a bit of history:

• If you think you do a lot of laundry. Consider the laundresses of the Civil War. LINK

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

Thursday Tweets: Laundry Room Edition

While looking through our Twitter feed we found these laundry room tweets to share with you.

When you are waiting for the laundry to finish washing...

Nothing is more interesting than what's happening in this washing machine. NOTHING. pic.twitter.com/TCEYV4swB8
— Brian Wecht (@bwecht) January 11, 2015

Waiting for your clothes to wash can bring strange thought to mind...

I have come to the conclusion that the dryer lint is the cremated remains of all my missing socks.
— Jenna Lewisa (@jenna_lewissa) January 16, 2015

Maybe the missing socks are part of a larger conspiracy...

You think you have freedom of choice when you do the dishes? Wake up, man! It's all a conspiracy run by Big Detergent & Big Appliance, cmon!
— Rich Harrington (@McNarstle) January 6, 2015

As nutty as those thought can be,  your life took a turn for the better.

I went from seeking the ultimate high to the ultimate laundry detergent.
— LittlestSlobo (@LittlestSlobo) January 11, 2015

Still, laundry does have its frustrations sometimes...

It'd be great if people could come grab their laundry outta the dryer...
— Blaine (@bbock_21) January 15, 2015

It makes a person think about other options than their laundry room...

I wish I had a washer/dryer as big as the ones at the laundromat. Then I wouldn't have to do 6 loads of laundry a week.
— K to the Beef (@kkrissstin) January 15, 2015

Luckily, there is a solution...

To celebrate, I'm off to buy a new washing machine.
— Natasha J. Parker (@natashajparker) January 15, 2015

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