October 16, 2009
By now everyone should know about the phenomenal opportunity that geothermal HVAC products represent. The unlimited Federal Tax credits up to 30%, state incentives (NC up to 35%), the “green” movement, and consumers’ demand for high-efficiency products and energy savings has created massive interest and demand. We have represented the Climatemaster geothermal product line for years however we have faced logistical challenges that did not allow us to deliver customer service levels to our high standards. The problems included excessively long lead times and very high occurrences of freight damage.
We are formally recommitting to our geothermal initiative with the Climatemaster product line and have taken a number of actions to help insure we can deliver to our customers’ expectations. The actions include:
FREIGHT DAMAGE: We have established dedicated monthly deliveries from Climatemaster to Virginia Air to reduce freight damage. We have already received our first shipment and are happy to report that we did not have a single piece of freight damage.
LONG LEAD TIMES: We have taken a number of steps to help improve lead times. We have consolidated our stocking strategy across all branches and have ordered our initial stock inventory for this new strategy. We have consolidated inventories into our Chesapeake, VA and Columbus, OH branches, this will hopefully ensure 1-day lead time to all branches. We hope this will simplify inventory replenishment and reduce freight damage. In the short term we are working through existing inventories as we await arrival of the new stock products. We are committed to having the geothermal products you need on hand when you need them!
TRAINING: We have committed to and already begun to organize more training for both our employees and customers. We will work to ensure that our novice and experienced geothermal dealers receive the training they need. In addition we will work to train our employees so that they can become more knowledgeable and better serve our customers.
SALES / MARKETING TOOLS: We have developed a new EZ Pricer that lists stock units and has net pricing on units and accessories. In addition we plan on investing in more of Climatemaster’s excellent sales literature and will be distributing this to our valued customers. Virginia Air and Climatemaster are actively working on a comprehensive dealer listing and locator on their new improved website. In addition we will be aggressively using a co-operative advertising strategy with our Climatemaster dealers. Finally, Climatemaster has produced an excellent Federal tax credit guide and certificate for use with homeowners.
PARTS: We have had complaints in the past of poor parts availability. We will be stocking the Climatemaster service parts kit (Model #ASPK) at all active geothermal branches and providing a similar kit to our geothermal dealers as part of our 2010 geothermal dealer program. The kit includes multiple boards, contactors, relays, transformers, circuit breaker, safety switches, thermisters, rings, gaskets, and wiring harness.
We believe by executing the above plan and action items we will become the prominent geothermal products distributor in our markets and this will allow our customers to take advantage of this amazing and profitable opportunity. Please don’t hesitate to contact your local branch or Territory Manager if you would like more information.
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