Lol!
I still need you "old dogs" and every time I mention Marty over there every one just rolls their eyes and says something like "that guy is something else"!
Haha! They love him there!
Sorry I disappeared for a bit..to be honest I had a bad last few days. Not at work but in my living situation and emotional state. The house I was supposed to be staying at fell through as it was an awful situation for both me and my dogs so I ended up sleeping on the floor at a friends house for a few nights not getting any sleep. My boss actually took me out to look for a nice weekly hotel because they are kind of "bad" in the Norcross area. So now I am staying at a nice hotel until I close on my house next Friday. It ain't cheap but me and my dogs are clean and safe lol!
My first week has consisted of me learning the computer system, showroom, and customers. Of course it only took me a day to learn the system and showroom which really impressed Michelle and Will.
My job description right now is to do whatever needs to be done at any given moment. Whether it's helping a customer on the showroom floor, stocking shelves, basic customer service stuff. Deal with product reps when needed, basically whatever Will tells me to do while I learn the ins and outs...quite a bit to learn really. Also, part of my job is to establish more of an online presence and start promoting things online which I have barely touched the tip of the iceberg on as I'm focusing on the actual store first.
I am not one to sit around, so I tend to jump into everything I can to really immerse myself. They seem to appreciate that very much. My task at the moment is to change the showroom up to make room for some cool surprises that are coming up.
Whenever we have slow times I am in the back with Chan and the guys learning how to work on the TMs. Chan was a bit shocked when I first went back there and started asking him questions about the Chief he was working on. I climbed in (sandals and dress top and all) and was checking it out and he (with a confused look on his face) asked me if I was sure I wanted to do that! I explained to him that knowledge was more valuable than a clean shirt and he started teaching me their machines. I've never run a fuel burner so I always had a bit of fear about them. That fear is gone, as I realize it's just like lighting a furnace at my house which I've done more times than I can count. And when I saw how quickly the water gets really hot I liked it.
Their machines are so utterly simple it made me feel like my White Magic and other machines had too many bells and whistles lol...
I told Ray that when he delivers the machine that he is installing right now I want to go with him. I want to run them in real time so that I can confidently sell the right machines to the right guys. So I am still in the process of learning the
TCS machines.
I'm in the process of learning and building relationships with the customers...I talk to them as much as possible to get a feel for them and let them get to know me as well. A guy was asking Will about an air duct cleaning system and I just jumped in and took the conversation over lol! Will looked at me, gave me a thumbs up and walked away and the guy was shocked as I started explaining the whole system to him. I explained to him that I had a cleaning biz and had used this system and he immediately warmed up and I could see that he respected what I was telling him. It seems that my firsthand knowledge is a huge factor when dealing with the customers......whoda thunked it!
The biggest surprise is how truly at home I feel there. Seriously, every single person that works there is good. I know I've only been there for 4 days but you can get a sense of what people are like really quick and I will say that there is no back biting whatsoever, no complaining, and everyone truly cares about each other there. They are like one big family and Mike is the biggest teddy bear I've ever met. He wouldn't even let me clock out when I was riding around with him and on the phone trying to find a safe place to stay...and family definitely comes first with these folks. And that is exactly what I need right now after all I've been through and the changes that have happened so quickly in my life.
As for the biggest let down...I can't say there is one. Are there things that need work? Yes...but I feel it's my job to change those things and I certainly plan to.
The biggest one is their customer base. Great people and all that, but mostly apartment cleaners. So they don't buy the higher end tools which is really what I want to sell. So, I will be focusing on getting more of the higher end customers into the store. That is going to be a process that I need to be patient but steady with. I am keeping my mouth shut when I see these guys with their old ratty tools because I know they are mostly techs who could care less but I'm working up my game plan to start approaching the owners. I'm a bit nervous about it because we all know they don't like to spend money. Especially when they go through techs like I go through hair products!
But I'm not gonna lie...it's hard for me to watch! I'm a high end girl, a high end cleaner, and I love my gadgets so it's really hard for me to keep my trap shut!
The other thing is that they don't have online ordering. But they are working on getting that back up and running. It's just a lot of logistics and it's taking them some time. I don't get the sense that they realize how vital it is so I'm trying to push it without being too pushy. Will and I are going to start working on the descriptions for each product along with the pictures as they lost all of that stuff when they quit working with the 3rd party who used to handle the online ordering. Once that is fixed..I know I'm going to shine in the sales area.
I've never used any of their private labeled products so I'm going to be wanting to send some of you samples to get your honest opinions on them. I can only sell what I believe in.
We all surf the web during biz hours lol! I was playing songs for Will and Michelle the other day.
Bruce Deloach and his wife Joann are awesome folks and I'm really impressed with The Cleaners Coach. They have a great learning facility set up there and I'm excited to sit in on all the classes. I'm going to be in the WRT class in two weeks! Took the Basic Coatings class on Thursday. They like that I have certifications and I'm going to keep them going and get more!
Marty's button is red but I think I'm going to put Pink on my phone since that's the pig color....Bahahaha!
It's still too soon to say what's thrilled me or frightened me the most but I think I put that in the comments above. I'm mostly afraid that I won't be able to sell TMs and good equipment the way I hope to due to the clientele. But I'm going to try like hell to change that.
As for the vac tat.....ssssshhhh! Marty said I can't get it! I did however get a new one. Don't be mad Marty! I had an old faded tat on my forearm that I had been having removed and it just was hideous so I decided that since it was not possible to remove the rest of it I would cover it up. I got some roses and have got nothing but compliments on it every where I go. So I actually feel really good about my arm now, whereas before I was embarrassed by it. I'm pretty sure I can squeeze a vac tat in somewhere and Marty won't notice it or roll his eyes at me!
I've become close friends with Troy McCoy and Robert North out here and they have been so good to me through all of this. Poor guys never worked so hard until they unloaded my Uhaul for me! Seriously though....really good guys. And my boyfriend is an amazing man and I think I'm falling hard. He is in Florida with his toy hauler and bike hanging with his gator buddies and I miss him.
It feels really good to be living again, doing the things I love.....mostly riding! I may even get another bike someday. Not sure though because I do love being on the back of my man's bike!
I still have some bad days as to be expected....every now and then something triggers me and I start bawling like a baby. We were unloading my truck and when we got to George's ashes I just started bawling and Troy and Robert helped me through it. They make me laugh a lot which is exactly what I need. But my sadness is more for the life I lost because George has become more of a memory to me since he had not been himself for so long before he passed. As I build this new life I am beginning to heal and once I get into my new house next week I know I will really begin to settle in and truly recover.
Life is good!
