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| The e-Servicer |
Monthly communication from United Servicers Association |
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Greetings! ,
It's hot. Really hot. Can you say the same for your business these days? Are your phones as busy as they used to be? It's common to hear that business is off or slow this time of the year because of vacations; no one is around because of the heat, etc, etc. BA-LONEY. The bulk of your customers have not gone on a two month vacation, left town, stopped working or succumbed to the hot weather.
On-line advertising is crucial to your businesses success today and it doesn't happen on its own. If you notice you have some "down-time", take advantage of the opportunity to tune-up your marketing materials and internet exposure and refresh your web site. Read Mark Maupin's article about on-line marketing and "How to Get to the Top of Google" in this month's newsletter. Allot some time each day or week to improving your Google Search Engine results with free on-line classifieds, press releases and articles about your company.
Dedicate some time to re-connecting with your customers. That's right. Actually give them a call to say Hi! Emails are also ok; reach out and touch your customers, remind them that you're there the next time they need your services.
Attend our free educational webinars on GPS fleet tracking or the science of washing dishes this month and learn how to increase technician productivity and reduce costs with cutting edge technology. Be sure and mark your calendars for the upcoming September webinars, too. United Servicers Association is here to help you get better at what you do every day. Take advantage of all that USA has to offer you and your business.
Do you have a question you'd like to ask us? Just click the link to send us an email administration@unitedservicers.com.
Stay cool and enjoy the summer.
eServicer Newsletter Team
United Servicers Association |
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The Original Blue Book is Available Now!
Order your copy at www.unitedservicers.com
You can still order the traditional technician pocket version of the printed Blue Book from USA
Place your order today at www.unitedservicers.com
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Register for the USA On-Line
Service Sharing Library
The USA Service Library is an on-line service document sharing website exclusive to USA members. Utilizing the latest internet sharing technology, USA members can access thousands of OEM service manuals on-line and also upload missing service manuals to the library, making it even more comprehensive. This helpful tool is FREE to current USA members. Click the link below and register today!
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USA Continues FREE Webinar Business Management Training
Register for one or both FREE one hour sessions, 10:00am EST
August 17 , 10:00am, EST
Improve Productivity & Cut Costs with GPS Fleet Tracking
Presented by Drew Sheahan, Virtual Fleet Supervisor
Everyone is looking for more ROI and to boost their bottom line. Find out how investing in GPS fleet tracking can increase productivity due to greater accountability and decrease your cost by eliminating unnecessary expenses. Learn about the latest GPS technologies that will help you track idle times, speeding and unauthorized usage periods and much more.
August 24 , 10:00am, EST
The Science of Cleaning: Dishes
Presented by Diane Hoffman, Reckitt Benckiser
Turn your team into detergent experts and WOW! your customers. Have Phosphate Free detergents caused an increase in customer complaints? This informational class will give you, your sales people and your service technicians the information to make sure you can help your customers get the best performance out of their appliances and reduce the number of cleaning performance complaints.
September 7 or September 21, 10:00am, EST
The Ins and Outs of Google Places
Presented by Mark Maupin, Right Now Marketing
Google has now mixed the local maps for business, with organic (free) searches. If you are the customer and type in appliance repair and a city, you will get the Google places maps mixed with the free searches when they come up. Those businesses that come up on page one are the winners. You can be that business on page one.
September 28, 10:00am, EST
Background Checks and Drug Screening: What You Don't Know Can Hurt You
Presented by Craig Reilly, PlusOne Solutions
Background screen applications require basic information to track individuals in various criminal databases and with the courts. It protects them from being confused with someone with the same name. In addition, screening companies are legally responsible to protect this data and ensure its safekeeping. Individual background screens are governed by the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the Federal Driver Privacy Protection Act.
These USA business management sessions are open to all service companies, but you must register to attend and space is limited. To reserve your spot, register today by clicking on the button below.
Register for August 17 Register for August 24 Register for September 7
Register for September 21 Register for September 28
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How to Test the Hall Sensor in an LG Front-Loading Washer
By Scott Brown, Samurai Appliance Repair Man, www.Fixitnow.com 
A common symptom of a bad Hall Sensor in your LG washer is the LE error code. A disconnected or damaged motor harness and even a bad main control board can cause the LE error, too, so you may want to check the Hall Sensor itself to see if it's working. Here are two ways to test the Hall Sensor in an LG front-loading washer.
Ohm Testing the Hall Sensor
Start with an ohms test because it's easy. But be aware that an ohms test is not conclusive- it's merely preliminary. The Hall Sensor (and any other electrical component for that matter) can test good on ohms but still be bad because it can fail under load (when voltage is applied). That's why ohms testing is just preliminary: if it fails the ohms test, it's bad; replace the Hall Sensor (same for all LG models).
On the other hand, if it passes the ohms test, this does not prove the Hall Sensor is good- you have to go on to the voltage test to prove that.
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Online Retail Tax Updates:
Online Retail Tax Bill Introduced in Congress
By Stephen Silver, Dealerscope 
The battle over Internet sales taxes is about to go national. A U.S. Senator has introduced a bill that would set a framework for requiring online sales taxes.
The "Main Street Fairness Act," introduced by Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) and supported by multiple Democratic co-sponsors, would "allow local Main Street retailers to compete more effectively against out-of-state internet sellers,"according to a statement on Durbin's website.
The battle over Internet sales taxes is about to go national. A U.S. Senator has introduced a bill that would set a framework for requiring online sales taxes.
Best Buy Endorses Tax Legislation
Best Buy said earlier this week that it "welcomes" the introduction of a bill by Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) which would set a framework for requiring online sales taxes.
"We applaud Sen. Durbin for his effort in recognizing the need for fairness in the marketplace and giving states the ability to collect sales taxes already due," Laura Bishop, Best Buy's senior director of government relations, said as part of the announcement.
"Currently, there is a perceived price advantage of 5 to 10 percent based on uncollected sales taxes. This effort by Sen. Durbin helps level the playing field by allowing all sellers to compete on the same terms. We look forward to working with Sen. Durbin and Republican leaders to move forward a comprehensive approach to addressing this fundamental unfairness in the marketplace."
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Background & Drug Screening:
What You Don't Know Can Hurt You
By Craig Reilly, PlusOne Solutions 
More and more manufacturers, retailers and servicing companies want to be proactive to ensure they are hiring the most qualified technicians with integrity to match required skills. Background screens are becoming an industry standard - a must -- to protect customers, companies and brand reputations.
No company wants to discover that its technician has a criminal past, history of arrests or a bad driving record after sending them to a customer's home. No one wants to get caught in the crush of lawsuits, bad press or lose good will. It is a good idea to reduce risks and make the best possible hiring decisions upfront. There is no question that utilizing thorough background and drug screens help owners and managers make well-informed decisions on new hires.
PlusOne Solutions is working closely with the United Servicers Association to establish compliance standards, with regards to background screenings, training and certifications, insurance and contracts.
"We want our members to have confidence in their workforce while giving the homeowners and businesses they serve peace of mind," said Lance Kimball, President of the United Servicers Association. "This is gained by knowing they have a trusted technician serving them."
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Register for USA Fall Regional Service Meetings
Service Training Coming to a City Near You!
Coming this fall, USA partners with Mega Group USA, Mr. Appliance, NEW and a local parts distributor in seven regional cities to bring technical and business management training to a city near you. We've taken the format of the successful national four-day ASTI program and condensed it into a comprehensive Friday and Saturday program. Each event will have up to four OEM training sessions, one business management session and include an open roundtable discussion on current challenges. Registrants will be able to attend all 6 sessions. Event registration is only $99 per person and includes 4 meals, course materials and a first year membership in USA. RSM's require a shorter time commitment and are easy to travel to.
Click on the city nearest you for details and registration.
Seattle, WA - October 7 & 8
St. Louis, MO - October 7 & 8
Columbus, OH - October 21 & 22
Dallas. TX - October 21 & 22
Sacramento, CA - October 21 & 22
Albany, NY - November 4 & 5
Atlanta, GA - November 4 & 5
RSM National Sponosrs
  
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Online Marketing on How to Get to the Top of Google
By Mark Maupin, Right Now Marketing Group
This is about how to put yourself, your appliance repair business, product or service at the top of Google. What does this mean? It means more of the people who are doing an internet search for your product or service will find you.
Internet Search Engines
A search engine is a set of programs which searches an index and returns matches to a specified keyword. In other words, it is a directory of internet content. If you are looking for information on a specific subject, a search engine will list the websites or internet content where you will be likely to find what you are looking for.
The Top of Google
Google, the most popular search engine, is used by over 70% of the market, followed by Yahoo and Bing. Let's say you have a pet boa constrictor snake that isn't looking too healthy. How do you go about finding a doctor who specializes in snakes? You could do a Google search, using the keywords, "reptile doctor" or "reptile veterinarian," followed by the city and state where you live. There is a shaded area at the top of the page, labeled sponsored links. There are more sponsored links going down the right side of the page. These businesses pay Google to appear here. It's like having one of the larger ads in the Yellow Pages of the Phone Book (remember phone books?).
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How We Kept a Customer Service Screw-up from Becoming a Nightmare
By Michael Heiss, bnet.com
We are fiercely protective and proud of our virtually flawless 10-year customer service reputation, but last week we nearly blew it.
A bug in our website blasted all of our customers with dozens (or more) copies of an auto-responder email. And as if that wasn't bad enough, after we thought we had fixed the glitch, we sent an apology note and - you guessed it - all of our customers got bombarded with tons of copies of that, too.
When I started seeing the notes coming back from customers, I thought I was going to be sick. We've had an excellent track record of turning upset people into happy, loyal customers, but those instances have been individual, very few and far between. Email abuse (even if accidental or perceived) is a surefire way to infuriate people; so how much of our precious goodwill had we squandered by bombarding thousands of customers' inboxes with mail from Skooba Design? There was no un-ringing the bell, so we had to deal with it head-on.
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Training Your Managers on a Substance Abuse Policy
By Laura Mohammad, HRtools.com
 Central to enforcing your substance abuse policy is ensuring that your supervisors and managers understand the rules, how to detect possible substance abuse and what to do if one of your employees has a substance abuse problem.
This means training your managers on a substance abuse policy should immediately follow the establishment and writing of the policy. You'll want to break it down into what they are expected -- and not expected -- to do.
Here are some key points to include in the substance abuse policy training of your managers and supervisors, compiled with the help of the National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information.
What supervisors are responsible for:
- Documenting work performance and behavior
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Jennifer's Warranty Tips
Tip #17 ServiceBench Dispatches
Are your ServiceBench dispatch statuses currently up to date?
You might have noticed that you can't submit any of your dispatched claims and are getting the following error code:
3554 You currently have open dispatches that require the status/sub status to be updated. You will not be able to submit claims unless the status of open dispatches is updated. Please update the status of these dispatches.
I called ServiceBench and spoke with a customer service representative who told me that this error code means that your company has dispatches received in the last 99 days that require a status update. Until this task is taken care of, ServiceBench will not let you submit any dispatched claims.
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About USA
USA's mission is to develop and provide services and programs intended to assist members in building strong businesses in North America's competitive environment.
Among these services are:
- Educational Programs
- Manufacturer Relations
- Management, Marketing and Operational Programs
- Peer Group Formation & Facilitation
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Contact Us
United Servicers Association
3105 North Ashland Avenue, Ste 199
Chicago, IL 60657
1-800-683-2558
FEBRUARY 15-18, 2012
ASTI REGISTRATION OPENS SEPTEMBER 1 |
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