another chapter in the storey .... Wordpress

PLEASE CLICK HERE ..... to see the new home for this blog .....





Blogspot has been good - but we need an excuse to learn Wordpress ...


click here for a NEW BLOG on Internet issues with CARQUEST ...


click here for the NEW BLOG for EXPLORIS issues with CARQUEST


Why Wordpress ... we keep hearing how Wordpress is a good solution for building a web presence so content can be updated ( unlike our existing web pages that are way out of date ) ...stay tuned --more stuff coming .... in the meantime --thank you bloodspot ...

how do stores learn to sell wheel weights ?????

so - what does it take to get salesmen to sell wheel weights ??  D&T does OK --but Petes & Auto Barn a distant 2nd and 3rd ????

I was talking with a partner and mentioned I see 'resistance to change' in many places .... why ?

Payroll

I will be doing payroll on Tuesday, May 29th.  Please make sure that all timesheets and vacation/sick days are sent in for first thing in the morning.  Payroll will be deposited on Thursday, May 31st.

Thank-you.

The most underused SCREEN in EXPLORIS ... is....

I think the most underused screen in EXPLORIS ( eBay nee WHI's Nexpart ) is the Multi-Store Creator-Editor ... assuming you are a multi-store jobber

It SUCKS big time -- to add a part to your store ... trust me -- it misses key items that makes the part stand out like an orphan ... BUT ...what it is good at .... by default ...since we have nothing else like it  .... is in LOOKING to see how you stores order point ( stock level at which the system re-orders ) ... does you store have ENOUGH ... if you try to stock just one --and you sell it often -- and you are always running out .... hmm ... time to INCREASE the stock level ....

One small point -- when you change the ORDER PNT ( order point ) -- from say 1 to 2 .... HIT the RETURN BUTTON ....you will see the cell turns a slight different colour of green --and the system will update the change ... try it both ways ... only one way works ... got to love the programmers at EXPLORIS WHI head office ....

Case in point --does Petes and Auto Barn have enough of PLB 194B2 ?????  How many other parts are like this ??  For this example I have collapsed some fields so you can see Qty Available ... Order Point ... and a few of the SALES Hist ( Hist1 is last month ...Hist24 is 2 years ago ... only months with data shows ... so no store sold 2 months ago -as there is no Hist2 showing )

A sign of a KEY STAFF MEMBER would ( and should be ) the ability top look at this screen and make a decision ,....

This is being cross posted to our EXPLORIS blog ...

CORNERSTONES -- ??

You have to wonder where the 'spirit' is at CARQUEST these days .... when is the last time they tried to help jobbers get smarter ??  They seem just happy being a WAREHOUSE and forgetting they are running a chain of Auto Parts stores ....  and I hate to admit it -- we need to re-minded of things we already know .. but have forgotten ....

BUT --wait there is hope -- CORNERSTONES -- a publication from 1970's ?? is on the link -- heavily buried and  rarely reviewed ( until now ) ....  

Mike Parker writes ....

 During our meeting this week you inquired about the “Cornerstones” you will find them on the CQ Link under Communications>Handbooks and manuals> cornerstones.

Mike Parker

Account Executive

buried and  rarely reviewed ( until now ) ....   go try one --and rate it ... print it off and bring it to a staff meeting ... and use this as your whats new .... all we ask is that you have read it --and see if you agree with what it says ....

The driving force behind these is very much missed ...and no one has yet to improve upon these ..but in fact most of these stand the test of time very well ...  and just smile that something that was originally typewritten is still current ...  oh ...forgot -- many of you don;t know what a typewriter is ( or was ).

how often should we review OLD STUFF

How often to go thru OLD STUFF ( see image ) and repeat ..many idea's are timeless .... the young the customer the less likely they understand markup and margin ...eh ?

How many other idea's have we had that are worth repeating more often ?

IF you can;t figure this out - it is the MS Word template to print avery labels for MARKUP & MARGIN

good YouTube help videos

you can log in ( once you register ) with youtube and subscribe to various 'channels' ... we also list suppliers that support youtube video's on the googledoc page for supplier e-cat ... here is an example

Update - STENS

reminder - you can get a priced or un-priced cat in Stens ....










reminder - Stens has LOTS of golf cart parts --- example brake pads .... as pictured here ....  start at page 770 in 2012 cat.  This particular part ( XAS - 710-285-006 ) is NOT stocked in Barrie ...so you need to order from Stens Canada in Brantford ... details in Plaxo

also --we will need to update our STENS data ...as 710-285-006 is not in our 2011 data file

An Amazing Thing!

In an amazingly selfless act, Jake's wife Chrissy donated a portion of her liver to a 9 month old baby girl.  A local family put a petition on facebook looking for donors for their baby and Chrissy saw the petition and met all the initial requirements.  After being tested she was a match for the baby.  Within a month Chrissy was having surgery to donate a portion of her liver, she is back at home and doing fine.  The doctors would know within 15 hours whether or not the baby would reject the liver and she did not reject it, she is currently doing well in Toronto where she will be staying for the next 4-6 weeks.
In recognition of this wonderful thing, the company will covering the 2 1/2 half days that Jake took off to drive his wife to Toronto and be there for her surgery as a goodwill corporate donation.

I added Brake and Steering Rebuilders  (BSR)  to plaxo as well as Hydraulic Rebuilders. Read the notes as to what they can do

Greg

new suppliers added to E-Cat listing

See your google doc for supplier e-cats and the youtube links for training .... added Sierra and Mallory Marine .... both have youtube training video's ( Mallory is part of Mr. Gasket group .... so Hot Rod as well as Marine )



Any times you can IMPROVE our list of suppliers and their BEST web page and training video's -- if you do NOT have EDIT privileges -- you could ask to get this --or ask your store manager to use your suggestions --and all stores can share in the benefit.

Payroll

Mark your calendars, I will be doing payroll on Thursday, April 26th. Please make sure that timesheets and vacation/sick days are sent in for first thing in the morning. Payroll will be deposited on Monday, April 30th.

Thanks, Rhonda

Linked Alternates .... not pretty but - what we have

In the first demo's of EXPLORIS many many years ago there was a smart window that opened up and you could easily see the number of items linked to a master part ...in fact as a test ( when I was on the Jobber Committee ) I linked a handful of 1/8 drill bits ... never new we had so many types ....

Anyways -that was then and this is NOW --and what we have is NOT PRETTY but it is all we have ... the tell tale is the up and down arrows as circled ... try it for BAT 551MF

In the master part in F-8 screen ( see #2 image ) you can edit and see what parts are listed ... until you click EDIT and then the ALT/SUP SETUP you won;t see how many you have

 .... see image #3

Does this make it any easier to understand ????

LFT - some parts available

Notice a new sub line ( PN Code #3 ) in LFT .... the Lift Struts ... a few basic hardware parts .... you also have additional end parts from lines like CC Marine ( hat tip for that to Ryan )

FMSI updates

Bill Mercer ( our rep ) from FMSI is off on a medical leave - we are awaiting who might be able to cover for our yearly visit ... stay tuned

Saw this article --click here - on AC line splices -and handy uses ....

new sku's in MWC

for a long time it looked like Torq ( SCA Hygene ) was a dead line in CARQUEST .... looks like some breathe of life coming back

Example - dispenser #654028A .... and a no nonsense approach that the cost of the dispenser is based on as NO PROFIT to the customer ....

Polish Cloth # 197278  ( only levels set at Petes & A Barn

Blue Grease Cloth # 440278 A ( levels set at all stores --we have requested movement codes be INCREASED so the DC will stock more -- at this point any of our stores has an order point HIGHER than the DC warehouse

Road Show

What can happen when you attend a road show? For those of you who made the time to attend the last road show on March 27th you will see a bonus payment in the amount of $75.00 paid with your mid month. For those of you who chose not to attend you received a payment of $1.00.

Anyone who drove to the meeting will receive an extra bonus at the staff meeting on Monday but you must attend the staff meeting in order to receive it.

Rhonda

Mid Months

Mid Months will be deposited on Friday, April 13th.

Rhonda

Missing Images or Safety Sheet data

we have added Bogdan Danescu to Plaxo as the contact in CARQUEST for missing images and Safety sheets ...  he handles just the Cdn side -- but assuming that most of what we are missing are the Cdn lines ( like CQO and ANT )

Search Plaxo for IMAGES and you will find his contact name and e-mail address

PS --Note - his e-mail address is NOT his first name ... has been corrected ( for the 3rd time ) --see PLaxo

Wax & Polishing Tips

The March Meguiars demo got cancelled - we will try to re-set for a fall or next spring ... int he mean time we have updated Plaxo address and contact names ( see NOTES in Plaxo ) for Claude's contact and also added the Help Line ( opens 9:00 EST - 6:00 Pacific time )

A reminder - we have linked the few ( surprised Meguiars doesn't do more ??) youtube video's

The Image is a NEAT TRICK -- polished the wife's Lexus .... dues #6 cleaner polish and then decided to put a extra layer on the nXt wax ( MEG  - G12718 -- Note -- some products in CARQUEST have the C suffix for French and some do NOT - kind of confusing ...but ... you can update the UPC code to help solve problems )  Note --I tried to link this wax to the Canada web site ...yeh ... ???  so It takes you to USA site ...

Anyways ... I noticed the wax was REALLY had to wipe off ( even using Neil's new micro finer towels  he sells and sources thru PBE --but has yet to add to the computer system .... note the 'dig' ? ) ...and when all was done -- I see streaks on the hood area ... ???????  and the smearing that Pete says use the Liquid Ice ( a Norton product  - that I find makes smearing worse ) .... so I e-mailed Claude and he called me back ... runs out on the synthetic products - you have to apply EXTREMELY THIN .... hmmm ... I find this our afterwards .... BUT -- he has a tip -- take one of the Micro finer towels -- you remember the ones that Neil has yet to add to the computer ( like a dog with a bone of issues ... ) and get is 'damp' ..... OMG ...does this ever work FANTASTIC ..... a damp polish towel .... who figured this out ... the photo's are note the best but the upper one --you will see some 'streaking' in sunlight --the bottom on is a minute latter ... IMPRESSED all to hell ....

PS -- wrote Dracy Backman (  key guy in Canada ? ) on questions like - why can;t I find the nXt on Cdn web site - why does USA have a retail seller listed and Cdn site sucks ...  why doesn't MEG have MORE tech training on their youtube channel ... and why don't they answer  questions posted on youtube ... it is that sort of world we live in ... eh !

changes in Batteries ....

I have enjoyed reading John Peterson's comments in Seeking Alpha (a stock pickers web site) and the comments from other readers ( at the bottom of the article

Have a look at part .....

The simplest, cheapest and most direct approach is adding fine carbon powders to the sponge lead pastes used in the negative electrodes of first- and second-generation lead-acid batteries. Extensive testing over the last decade has shown that changing the paste formulation to include up to 6% carbon by weight (±30% by volume) offers excellent cycleability and power while significantly reducing charging times.

Johnson Controls (JCI), Exide Technologies (XIDE) and several other companies are already using carbon paste additives in enhanced versions of their flooded and AGM batteries with notable success. Others will follow. While carbon enhanced batteries have slightly lower specific energy than their predecessors, their 100 to 200 percent increase in cycle-life reduces the cost of energy storage by 30 to 50 percent.

A more complex approach is the Ultrabattery from CSIRO, Furukawa Battery and East Penn Manufacturing. It divides each negative electrode into two parts, a lead half and a carbon half. The end result is superior cyclability and power with even shorter charging times. The Ultrabattery is being tested in a variety of stationary and micro-hybrid applications and shows significant promise, including the potential to reduce the cost of energy storage by 50 to 70 percent.

The third and most sophisticated approach is the PbC battery from Axion Power International (AXPW.OB) that replaces the lead-based negative electrodes used in conventional batteries with a carbon electrode assembly. The resulting device is an "asymmetric lead-carbon capacitor" that offers the energy storage of a battery and the power and cycleability of a capacitor in a single hybrid device.

Hang in there -- the Lead Acid battery has much life --


-

Payroll

I will be doing payroll on Wednesday, March 28th. Please make sure that timesheets and vacation/sick days are sent to me for first thing in the morning. Payroll will be deposited on Friday, March 30th.

Thanks,

Rhonda

Pig Money

If you have not already paid please have your pig money for the staff meeting tomorrow night at Auto Barn.

Thank-you!

The 'still on hold' Cdn version of the Service Line Cat

Awaiting for the LONG AWAITED -- SERVICE LINES Cat ...   reminds us of the time Peter McNally banned the new version from Canada as it had a line they didn't keep -- and for that reason we couldn't get it ... well ..actually our 3 stores did get it - as we called up the warehouse and they sent us a case as a favour.

So - awaiting the 2012 catalogue --- hmm ...told it was on the USA CQ-Link ... well -see it and guess what it is OPEN  - here are the links

the entire catalogue is here .... 

The PDF sections are available here .....

There are some Cdn sections -- well- I guess we wait for those ?

Updated Battery display signs

Gary & Ryan worked on the updated Battery signs - I must say I am impressed with the results.    See Image -- while CARQUEST makes almost as good a sign for considerably more $$  they only make the signs for a fraction of the batteries we display ....  we needed ALL SKU's ....

this has been a HOT BUTTON for a while

2010 posting on issue

2007 posting on issue

2006 posting on issue

Mid Months

The mid months will be deposited on Thursday, March 15th. For those of you who have attended staff meetings, you will see a little extra on your mid month for the payment of staff meeting attendance. This payment is up to and including the February staff meeting.

If you have any questions regarding the amount please call me.

Rhonda

Final Payment

The final bonus payment will be deposited on Monday, March 12th.

Rhonda

March Staff Meeting

Please remember that the March staff meeting will be held at Auto Barn on TUESDAY, March 20th.

Rhonda

Spring Forward

Remember to turn your clocks ahead one hour this weekend.

Rhonda

Payroll

I will be doing payroll on Monday, February 27th. Please make sure that timesheets and vacation/sick days are sent in for first thing in the morning. Payroll will be deposited on Wednesday, February 29th.

Thanks, Rhonda

good stuff on youtube

We are adding the links to the google doc ''' supplier e-cat's "  for training video's -- if you find a look link for one that is new - ask your manager to update ...  this is part # 1 of 2 from Cardone

Dorman HD

Hot off the press!!! Coming soon to MSC will be Dorman HD Solutions. A lot like the Dorman we are used to for common items that were previously only available from the dealer. Check out their website; it is a work in progress. All items should be available this summer.

http://dormanhdsolutions.com/

Payroll

I will be doing payroll on FRIDAY, January 27th. Please make sure that all timesheets and vacation/sick days are sent to me BEFORE 8AM.

Thanks, Rhonda

BDO Rotors -- adding a PREFIX

Re-label by Thur Jan 26 and the system will automatically re-number the product on Fri Jan 27th ..  This should eliminate some confusion with staff accidentally pulling the wrong product.

This change effects PETE's ...with only a very minor impact at other stores ( who carry the CMX 2n line of rotors )

Mid Months

Mid month payments will be deposited on Friday, January 13th.

what is Fuel Injection hose

with 93 of the cars and trucks on the road with Fuel Injection --- how can only 27% of hose sales be FI hose ... simple ... people are using the cheaper carb hose ..that doesn't handle the pressure ....

What we need is a stat on car fires ....

Optima Batteries - now available thru Interstate

In XIS Nationwide section - now go sell ....

Pico --repriced -- one more time

Made an error and updated Pico - but Auto Sense did their price change on Dec 31 --so we got data wrong -- just re-did it ... with corrected data ....

Also took opportunity to TRY something --and used the Excel function LEFT( x , 11 )  ... to trim the UPC codes of the 12th digit ... we had previously added the 12 digit ...and the 11 digit is now in the F-8 file ... see image ...   so it would appear that when we update the UPC with a 11 digit number that is REMOVES the 12 digit ... hmm ...  with Exploris - much like with Forest Gump - it is like a box of chocolates ..you never know what you will get ....

Also - created a google doc so we can REMEMBER as a summary what lines have what done with the UPC

The UPC knowledge curve .... go figure that CARQUEST is stubborn on 11 digits ??
I was really expecting the 11 and 12 digit s would be there -- will have to re-think this .....

touch up your knowledge on Temro ?

Heater time ?  Reminder on line TEM ( click here for PDF copy of their cat )

Every store could do better -- but there are some weak stores ( ask your manager or run a report line - Reports-Financial-Line Code Sales ) ...  one store sells 7 times as much as another ... so I would like to IMPROVE both stores ( and the 3rd store in the middle ....


Example - display the universal magnetic heater TEM 340 0017 ( see image )







 or a cab heater TEM 260 0900 ( we just added to all stores as stocking item - display when arrives  ... here is what a customer wrote about these interior heaters ...
My Corvette and my GoldW@ing Motorcycle have to stay in our garage. That means my daily drive truck and my wife's SUV have to stay outside here in Oklahoma. Although we don't get a lot of snow, frost and ice are common. We have a Little Buddy in each car and they are plugged into an extension cord each nite when we park in the driveway for the night. When we prepare to go to work, we simply unplug the Little Buddy's and drive away. The windows are clear and completely free of snow, frost, or ice. The heat is only moderate so during a 20 degree night, I imagine the inside of the car probably stays around 50 degrees...plenty warm to keep the windows clear. The brief moment it takes to plug or unplug the Little Buddy is NOTHING compared to clearing the solid water off the windows. I'll never be without one as long as I can find 'em..