JUNE 2014
SPOTLIGHT www.dakotasupplygroup.com
Tom's Current
No Time Like The Present Remember the old days when you needed to wait for everything? This may be shocking to younger readers, but I recall ordering something from a catalog and waiting weeks – if not months – for the post office to deliver it. Worst of all, you never really knew if your order was actually coming. The idea of a tracking number was science fiction. In fact, there was nothing you could do but wait. Imagine how that would go over today! Now that I use the Internet every day, I can’t stand waiting. Not only do I want my stuff to come in a day or two, but also I want to be able to order it from a booth at Denny’s at 2 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day. Customer service is no different. Nowadays, a reasonable customer may not expect his electrician to be available to work 24 hours a day, seven days a week (unless it is an emergency, of course) – but he does expect to be able to
send his electrician a message immediately. Our online culture has taught people that there is no time like the present and, like it or not, that way of thinking now includes your business. If they can’t get a message to you – and if they don’t have a solid idea of when you will get back to them – then your customers may very well find someone else who is more accessible. Take a look at your communication with your customers. A phone number/answering service is a start, but it’s not the complete answer. People under twenty-five would rather type on their phone than speak to you with it. Your web site needs a dependable way to send you or your team a message, 24/7. You don’t need to monitor it every minute, but you need to tell the user what happens next. For example, “We will reply promptly during regular business hours.” Then you need to follow through with that claim. In fact, it’s safe to say that the faster you get back to a prospect, the better the chances are that he or she will hire you. Great service is about convenience for your customers, not convenience for you. Successful contractors are now accessible, even when they’re not available. You should be, too. When your customers know they can get a hold of you, they’ll get a hold of you a lot more.
POP QUIZ 1. What does a yellow stripe on the bumper of a NASCAR competitor indicate? 2. To what college did Minnesota Twin Joe Mauer verbally commit to play football?
Jeff Karr of DSG in Pierre, SD hoists a
3. What are the “whiskers” on a catfish actually called?
15lb wiper (hybrid striped bass) he
4. The title of the legendary Foreigner album “Double Vision” was inspired by what sport?
caught on the Caalmus Reservoir in NE
ANSWERS: 1. That the driver is a rookie, 2. Florida State, 3. Barbels, 4. Hockey
>> Submit your own outdoor photos to www.dakotasupplygroup.com/dsg-outdoors.
Millennials: We Raised Them; Now We Need To Learn To Work With Them Researchers have been calling those born between the mid-1980s and the early 2000s “millennials” for a while now. However, managers have been calling this generation something different: challenging. Is it because millennials aren’t good employees? Not at all. But they are very unique. While Generation X shared some similarities with their older siblings in the Baby Boom generation, millennials are the children of Baby Boomers, and that makes all the difference. As is so often the case, these young people have decided to choose their own path, actively striving to be different from their parents. For managers – who often are Baby Boomers themselves – this presents a challenge. How do you hire and organize a subset of employees with diametrically different values than those of management and ownership?
The Job site
Here are some tips:
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Keep An Open Mind – Millennials want to have a say instead of simply following orders. Listening will pay off, not just in ideas, but also in attitude. Embrace Technology – You may not want to check your smartphone throughout the day, but that is a part of their identity. Set clear rules, but as long as tech doesn’t impact productivity, don’t try to “cure” it. Be Specific – This is probably true for any manager. Don’t expect anyone to read your mind about policies or rules. Stay Positive – Nobody likes to be nagged. Be encouraging and always perform a gut check before you reprimand a millennial. Can you fix the problem without a lecture?
Without a doubt, millennials are the future of business. When managers embrace how millennials are different, they discover that they are hard workers and great employees.
JUNE 2014 | SPOTLIGHT
Divisions of DS G
ILScO Grounding Products – Make It Simple To Make It Safe!
Successful installation of a safe electrical system starts from the ground up! Count on ILSCO to provide flexible grounding products for your projects, from clamps to straps, from braids to bars. Whether you need sturdy bronze service posts or a complete, easy-to-integrate ground grid system, you can solve even the most challenging grounding situations with ILSCO irreversible grounding products.
Proper grounding starts with great materials •
ILSCO products utilize the very best alloys and inhibiting compounds for each part’s unique job, ensuring that your system functions longer without corrosion.
Clear identification makes installation easier • Even important jobs go faster when the information you need to know (wire size, die index, etc.) is easy to see.
Flexible enough to ground almost any system
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Get grounded and move on to the next job faster, with ILSCO irreversible grounding products from DSG.
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Grounding in earth or concrete? Looking for UL listing or CSA certification? Need connectors to rotate? ILSCO grounding parts turn tough jobs into finished jobs faster.
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Quick, Clean AND Green – The Perfect Drinking
Divisions of DS G
Fountain For Your Eco-conscious Customers ! The EZH2O® bottle filling station from Elkay offers customers a quick, clean and green solution for public drinking water. It’s great for schools, health care facilities, fitness clubs and the hospitality industry. When you tell your customers about its unique features, they won’t be able to resist: Quick – It’s easy to use! • Provides water three times faster than a standard drinking fountain • Allows for quick fills between activities with one-handed operation
Clean – It helps to keep germs from spreading! • Sensor activated for touchless, sanitary operation – no need to hold the bottles in place • Integrated Silver Ion Anti-microbial protects against mold and mildew growth
FOR T A E R G FITS O R T E R LING TTLE FIL
Green – It’s great for the environment! • Helps reduce plastic bottle pollution •
Features Green Ticker™ that counts the number of 20 oz. bottles that have been saved from landfills
BO O ELKAY EASY T S ARE N ING T IS STATIO X E MOST N O L E INSTAL
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DESCRIPTION
DSG PRODUCT#
MFG PRODUCT #
Filtered EZH2O® Bottle Filling Station Retro Fit Kit............................110964 LZWSRK Filtered EZH2O® Bottle Filling Station with Single ADA Cooler.......110965 LZS8WSLK
®
Higher Paint Solids Set Aervoe Marking Paints Apart ! Part numbers:
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• More linear feet per can than the competition – you get more mark for your dollar
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• Marks last longer – up to two months depending on traffic and exposure
A-1422 – Paint Marking Fugitive O A-246 – Paint Marking Fluor RED A-247 – Paint Marking Fluor ORG A-248 – Paint Marking Fluor GRN A-250 – Paint Marking Fluor BLU A-255 – Paint Marking WHT A-256 – Paint Marking Sfty RED A-258 – Paint Marking YEL A-245 – Cane For Marking Paint
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Keep your work sites safer! Aervoe Paints are perfect for marking construction, excavation, landscaping, utility work and surveys. Aervoe® paints contain more solids, which means:
MARKETING TOOL KIT
Safety Meetings Are A Must, But They Don't Have To Be A Lot Of Work Conducting required OSHA safety meetings just got a whole lot easier with the Safety Meeting app, brought to you by DSG. OSHA requires businesses and organizations to conduct safety meetings on a regular basis and to record the attendance. At DSG, we know that setting up these meetings can take a lot of work and time. However, a strong safety culture is not only important to the well-being of your crew but also to the health of your business. Because DSG is constantly looking for ways to help our business partners succeed, we’d like to share some information with you about the Safety Meeting app, an easy-to-use online tool that makes conducting regularly scheduled safety meetings simple and helps reduce accidents, damaging lawsuits and OSHA fines.
Powerful Benefits With the Safety Meeting app, all of the hassle of preparing for and conducting a safety meeting is taken care of for you. You simply choose your safety topic, follow the outline and record who was present. Plus, with the Safety Meeting app, you can: • Archive your meeting within the Safety Meeting app cloud for instant retrieval in case of an OSHA audit.
SAFETY
• Track incidents and accidents as well as record disciplinary actions with digital signatures in order to help you prepare your OSHA 300 logs.
MEETING
• Utilize more than 850 safety meeting topics, with a variety that everyone can appreciate. • Save time by accessing your safety meeting materials and records almost anywhere – including your smartphone, tablet or computer.
Affordable Pricing The Safety Meeting app is available with two different pricing options, and each one allows for an unlimited number of users: • $89.95 per year • $179.95 for three years (Buy two years and get one year free!)
How To Get Started First, visit thesafetymeetingapp.com or contact your DSG representative. They can help you set up a free 30-day trial with full access. You can also visit thesafetymeetingapp.com and click on the Demo link to view videos on how the app works.
NIVERSITY OF DEVELOPING SUPERIOR GROWTH
JUNE 2014 | SPOTLIGHT
PRESORTED STD US POSTAGE
Give Your Customers Control, Anywhere. Look Like An Expert, Every Time . No wires. No batteries. The Harmony XB5R Wireless I/O Module is simply amazing!
PAID Detroit Lakes, MN Permit No. 14
Divisions of DS G Box 13573 • Grand Forks, ND 58208-3573
Here’s how it works:
① Pressing the button converts mechanical
energy into electrical energy –
② Which sends a radio signal to the receiver – ③ Giving you complete control without
any installation headaches!
Earn Free Cabela's & Best Buy Gift Cards With Fujitsu & DSG ! Take advantage of Fujitsu's Red , White & Blue Promotion – Now through July 31 ! When you buy any of the Fujitsu Mini-Split systems listed here, you'll earn the respective number of points redeemable for Cabela's and Best Buy gift cards! Plus, don't worry about tracking your purchases. We will take care of that for you! Minimum 10 points based on outdoor units.
10 Points = $25 20 Points = $60
5 POINTS 9R2 12R2 9RL2 12RL2 9RLFW 12RLFW 9RLFW1 12RLFW1
9RLS2 12RLS2 15RLS2 18CL 24CL1 30CLX1 36CLX1
10 POINTS 9RLFFH 12RLFFH 15RLFFH 9RLS2H 12RLS2H
15RLS2H 18RLXFW 24RLXFW 30RLX
20 POINTS
30 Points = $100 Enroll today at www.dakotasupplygroup.com/fujitsu Gift cards to be awarded in August. We will track purchases for all participating contractors. JUNE 2014 | SPOTLIGHT
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