Thursday, May 23, 2013
Holiday Store Closings and Saturday Openings
We will be closed at all locations on the following holiday dates:
Monday, May 27 in celebration of Memorial Day.
Thursday, July 4 in celebration of Independence Day.
Monday, September 2 in celebration of Labor Day.
Also, beginning Saturday, June 1, we will be open each Saturday from 7:30 a.m until 12:00 noon at our Thomas Rd. branch location in Memphis. We will continue this summertime schedule through August 24.
Thanks to everyone and we look forward to a "long hot summer"!
Saturday, December 8, 2012
2012 Holiday Store Closings
Holiday Store Closings
We wanted to let everyone know that we will be closed at all stores for the 2012 holiday season according to the following schedule.
We will be closing at 12:00 noon on Monday, December 24 and all day on Tuesday, December 25 for Christmas.
We will be closing at 12:00 noon on Monday, December 31 and all day on Tuesday, January 1 for New Years.
If you need emergency assistance during these times, please contact your branch managers.
Happy holidays to everyone and thanks for your support this year!
We wanted to let everyone know that we will be closed at all stores for the 2012 holiday season according to the following schedule.
We will be closing at 12:00 noon on Monday, December 24 and all day on Tuesday, December 25 for Christmas.
We will be closing at 12:00 noon on Monday, December 31 and all day on Tuesday, January 1 for New Years.
If you need emergency assistance during these times, please contact your branch managers.
Happy holidays to everyone and thanks for your support this year!
Friday, October 12, 2012
Going Social
Social media.
Here's a term that has evolved almost as much as the Internet itself. In fact I have to confess, when I first heard the term being widely used, I only considered MySpace and later Facebook in the context of "social" media. And being busy trying to run a small business (especially in the last 4 years) I saw no reason why anyone would need to waste their time on Facebook.
Telling your "friends" where you were going, what you were doing, what you did last night, etc. etc., seemed like something for completely unengaged people to try to pretend to have friends and a life and yet it seemed like more and more people were doing it.
In fact, a report by the University of Chicago Booth School of Business found that the desire to check social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter were among the toughest-to-resist temptations — equivalent to cigarettes and sex!
What? Wait a minute.
Having formerly engaged in both of these (hold your comments), that seemed like a real stretch.
Then I started having people say things like, "I saw your son's new car" or "your grandson is so cute" or "the cake your daughter baked looked amazing".
These comments were coming from people who had not seen my son's car or my grandson or my daughter's cake. I hadn't seen the car or the cake!
"How did you know that?"
"I saw it on his/her Facebook page."
Huh? Was I missing something?
I never thought of myself as "out of touch" with technology. Heck, I had a computer at home back when we had to boot it up with a floppy disc. Our first computer at HVAC was a Tandy Radio Shack TRS-80 with an 8 megabyte hard drive. That's right...8 megabyte!
But to me social media had always seemed like something for "slacktivists". According to the Urban Dictionary, "slacktivism" is defined as "The act of participating in obviously pointless activities as an expedient alternative to actually expending effort to fix a problem."
Then I began to read article after article about how some companies, especially small companies, were using social media to engage with their customers in meaningful ways. They could get virtually immediate feedback and act on that feedback. And since almost everyone was waking around with "internet connectivity" in their pocket, this started to make sense.
Fast forward to today.
With our website (www.gohvacsales.com), our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/gohvacsales), our HVAC Blog (www.gohvacsales.blogspot.com) and now our Twitter page (www.twitter.com/gohvacsales) we are definitely looking for ways to stay in touch with customers, suppliers and each other. And they have proven to be a great way to share pictures, stories and events with everyone.
Now don't get me wrong. I still have no interest in telling your "friends" where you were going, what you were doing, what you did last night, etc. etc., but it's definitely NOT about completely unengaged people trying to pretend to have friends and a life.
It hasn't been that long ago that I would never have imagined that I'd be "tweeting", but you know what? It's kind of fun.
So if you haven't already, jump in. If you are a seasoned, socially connected person, then by all means, "like us" on Facebook, "follow us" on Twitter and comment on our blogs. We'd love to hear from all of you.
Here's a term that has evolved almost as much as the Internet itself. In fact I have to confess, when I first heard the term being widely used, I only considered MySpace and later Facebook in the context of "social" media. And being busy trying to run a small business (especially in the last 4 years) I saw no reason why anyone would need to waste their time on Facebook.
Telling your "friends" where you were going, what you were doing, what you did last night, etc. etc., seemed like something for completely unengaged people to try to pretend to have friends and a life and yet it seemed like more and more people were doing it.
In fact, a report by the University of Chicago Booth School of Business found that the desire to check social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter were among the toughest-to-resist temptations — equivalent to cigarettes and sex!
What? Wait a minute.
Having formerly engaged in both of these (hold your comments), that seemed like a real stretch.
Then I started having people say things like, "I saw your son's new car" or "your grandson is so cute" or "the cake your daughter baked looked amazing".
These comments were coming from people who had not seen my son's car or my grandson or my daughter's cake. I hadn't seen the car or the cake!
"How did you know that?"
"I saw it on his/her Facebook page."
Huh? Was I missing something?
I never thought of myself as "out of touch" with technology. Heck, I had a computer at home back when we had to boot it up with a floppy disc. Our first computer at HVAC was a Tandy Radio Shack TRS-80 with an 8 megabyte hard drive. That's right...8 megabyte!
But to me social media had always seemed like something for "slacktivists". According to the Urban Dictionary, "slacktivism" is defined as "The act of participating in obviously pointless activities as an expedient alternative to actually expending effort to fix a problem."
Then I began to read article after article about how some companies, especially small companies, were using social media to engage with their customers in meaningful ways. They could get virtually immediate feedback and act on that feedback. And since almost everyone was waking around with "internet connectivity" in their pocket, this started to make sense.
Fast forward to today.
With our website (www.gohvacsales.com), our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/gohvacsales), our HVAC Blog (www.gohvacsales.blogspot.com) and now our Twitter page (www.twitter.com/gohvacsales) we are definitely looking for ways to stay in touch with customers, suppliers and each other. And they have proven to be a great way to share pictures, stories and events with everyone.
Now don't get me wrong. I still have no interest in telling your "friends" where you were going, what you were doing, what you did last night, etc. etc., but it's definitely NOT about completely unengaged people trying to pretend to have friends and a life.
It hasn't been that long ago that I would never have imagined that I'd be "tweeting", but you know what? It's kind of fun.
So if you haven't already, jump in. If you are a seasoned, socially connected person, then by all means, "like us" on Facebook, "follow us" on Twitter and comment on our blogs. We'd love to hear from all of you.
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Contractor Integrity
It's been awhile since I posted to our blog. For that, I apologize, but in fairness, it's been HOT and we've all been busy.
But today I felt that I had to get something "off my chest". This seems to come up every few years and it always leaves me feeling "embarrassed" and angry!
In fact, I wrote an article for our company newsletter (R.I.P.) a few years ago expressing my feelings about this issue. I think it's worth a read! Click here.
In any case, on July 10, NBC's Today Show aired an "investigative" report with the same premise that MSNBC (referred to in my article) did several years ago. It was all about the dishonesty associated with the air conditioning service and repair business.
Upon further investigation, it appears that the NBC crew may have "carefully selected" the companies that they included in the segment. Don't get me wrong; the men shown in this broadcast were "CROOKS". But they don't represent the majority of air conditioning contractors or servicemen.
The ACHR News did an article as a follow up to the broadcast and I think it accurately states the opinions of most of us associated with the trade. Read the article here.
I'll close with the last paragraph of the article that I wrote back in 2005...
"And if you feel the only way to make a living is to rip off your customers by charging for work that isn’t done instead of charging a fair price for quality work, then please, do us all a favor and go work somewhere else. We don’t need you in our industry and I promise you…you won’t be missed.
But today I felt that I had to get something "off my chest". This seems to come up every few years and it always leaves me feeling "embarrassed" and angry!
In fact, I wrote an article for our company newsletter (R.I.P.) a few years ago expressing my feelings about this issue. I think it's worth a read! Click here.
In any case, on July 10, NBC's Today Show aired an "investigative" report with the same premise that MSNBC (referred to in my article) did several years ago. It was all about the dishonesty associated with the air conditioning service and repair business.
Upon further investigation, it appears that the NBC crew may have "carefully selected" the companies that they included in the segment. Don't get me wrong; the men shown in this broadcast were "CROOKS". But they don't represent the majority of air conditioning contractors or servicemen.
The ACHR News did an article as a follow up to the broadcast and I think it accurately states the opinions of most of us associated with the trade. Read the article here.
I'll close with the last paragraph of the article that I wrote back in 2005...
"And if you feel the only way to make a living is to rip off your customers by charging for work that isn’t done instead of charging a fair price for quality work, then please, do us all a favor and go work somewhere else. We don’t need you in our industry and I promise you…you won’t be missed.
Monday, March 26, 2012
Work Your Way Outdoors 2012
We are pleased to announce our new Work Your Way Outdoors rewards program for our Tempstar dealers. We think this is our best offering EVER!
The program will run from April 1, 2012 through September 30, 2012
Dealers can earn points toward 3 different trips to be offered this fall.
We've got a deep sea fishing trip for up to 4 people in Venice, Louisiana.
We've got a duck hunting trip to Kruger Farms in Minnesota.
We've got a boar hunting trip to Monterey,TN at the Wilderness Hunting Lodge.
You can click here to see a promo flyer.
If hunting or fishing is not for you, your purchases can also earn CASH!
All of the details will be coming soon to our registered Tempstar dealers.
The program will run from April 1, 2012 through September 30, 2012
Dealers can earn points toward 3 different trips to be offered this fall.
We've got a deep sea fishing trip for up to 4 people in Venice, Louisiana.
We've got a duck hunting trip to Kruger Farms in Minnesota.
We've got a boar hunting trip to Monterey,TN at the Wilderness Hunting Lodge.
You can click here to see a promo flyer.
If hunting or fishing is not for you, your purchases can also earn CASH!
All of the details will be coming soon to our registered Tempstar dealers.
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Duct Tape Truly Holds The Universe Together
A couple of evenings ago I sat down at my computer to see if I could get some ideas for "online shopping" for the grandkid's Christmas presents. After a while (and I have no idea how or why) I found myself on a page selling wallets made from duct tape.
My first thought was "you've got to be kidding me! Who would buy something like that?" but I remember that one day many years ago, I actually made a wallet made from duct tape myself and I remember that it was pretty nice! The truth is that I actually made a few of them because it seemed that everyone who saw it wanted one for themselves! They had the traditional pockets for bills and even slots for your credit cards and pictures. All in all, I was actually pretty proud of them.
Who knows why I decided to "google" duct tape wallets? In the words of all you texters...OMG! I had no idea! Actually it seems that almost anything can be made (or repaired) from duct tape (or duck tape); shoes, dresses, pants, luggage. The list is endless.
This makes me think that the people who sell us our duct tape are really missing the boat. All of their "technical literature" only relates to sealing ductwork...???
Here are a couple of amusing YouTube links about duct tape...and there are thousands out there. Enjoy!
History Channel
A commercial
Trusted Throughout History (this one may be a stretch)
And lastly, the guys who have made a career out of the tape...The Duct Tape Guys
My first thought was "you've got to be kidding me! Who would buy something like that?" but I remember that one day many years ago, I actually made a wallet made from duct tape myself and I remember that it was pretty nice! The truth is that I actually made a few of them because it seemed that everyone who saw it wanted one for themselves! They had the traditional pockets for bills and even slots for your credit cards and pictures. All in all, I was actually pretty proud of them.
Who knows why I decided to "google" duct tape wallets? In the words of all you texters...OMG! I had no idea! Actually it seems that almost anything can be made (or repaired) from duct tape (or duck tape); shoes, dresses, pants, luggage. The list is endless.
This makes me think that the people who sell us our duct tape are really missing the boat. All of their "technical literature" only relates to sealing ductwork...???
Here are a couple of amusing YouTube links about duct tape...and there are thousands out there. Enjoy!
History Channel
A commercial
Trusted Throughout History (this one may be a stretch)
And lastly, the guys who have made a career out of the tape...The Duct Tape Guys
Monday, December 12, 2011
I don't have any idea what you just said to me!
Abstractionitis
Acronymitis
Valley Girl 2.0
Meaningless Expressions
Abstract Valley Girl 2.0 Acronymitis Using Meaningless Expressions
These five terms are described in this blog post from the Harvard Business Review by Dan Pallotta.
Did you ever listen to a sales pitch or had a conversation with someone and thought, “I have no clue what that person was talking about?” It seems to be happening more frequently than ever; especially from "business spokespersons" and, of course, most politicians. This could be happening with your customers if you using acronyms or talking about things that are common to the industry, but not the average person. In this blog from the Harvard Business Review,Dan Pallotta breaks down some of the different type of “nonsense talkers.”
Acronymitis
Valley Girl 2.0
Meaningless Expressions
Abstract Valley Girl 2.0 Acronymitis Using Meaningless Expressions
These five terms are described in this blog post from the Harvard Business Review by Dan Pallotta.
Did you ever listen to a sales pitch or had a conversation with someone and thought, “I have no clue what that person was talking about?” It seems to be happening more frequently than ever; especially from "business spokespersons" and, of course, most politicians. This could be happening with your customers if you using acronyms or talking about things that are common to the industry, but not the average person. In this blog from the Harvard Business Review,Dan Pallotta breaks down some of the different type of “nonsense talkers.”
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