Patriotism at Work

Posted by Frank under Business News, Service Providers

By Rich at Independent Appliance Installers, Inc.

I received the below email yesterday, which seems to be going around the Internet.  I thought other ServiceLive providers might like to read it if you haven’t already.  It makes me proud to be associated with Sears.

Sears - Christmas shopping has already started!

I know I needed this reminder since Sears isn’t always my first choice. Amazing when you think of how long the war has lasted and they haven’t withdrawn from their commitment. Could we each buy at least one thing at Sears this year?How does Sears treat its employees who are called up for military duty? By law, they are required to hold their jobs open and available, but nothing more. Usually, people take a big pay cut and lose benefits as a result of being called up.

Sears is voluntarily paying the difference in salaries and maintaining all benefits, including medical insurance and bonus programs, for all called up reservist employees for up to two years.

I submit that Sears is an exemplary corporate citizen and should be recognized for its contribution. I suggest we all shop at Sears, and be sure to find a manager to tell them why we are there so the company gets the positive reinforcement it well deserves.

I know I would go out of my way to buy products from Sears instead of another store for a like item, even if it’s cheaper at that store.

I wrote to Sears to see if this was true and here’s the response I received from Sears Customer service:

Dear Customer:

Thank you for contacting Sears. The information is factual. We appreciate your positive feedback. Sears regards service to our country as one of greatest sacrifices our young men and women can make. We are happy to do our part to lessen the burden they bear at this time.

Bill
Sears Customer Care
1-800-349-4358

Americans, we do appreciate what they are doing for our military!!!

Source verified by Snopes.com.

Tags: Holiday, Military, Patriotism, Sears, servicelive

Consumers May Get Big Sales Breaks Early

Posted by Frank under Business News, Homeowner

With the ongoing fears that the economy is closer to the straggle hold of a recession, Americans are likely to cut back on their gift buying this holiday season.

Many retailers are going to run earlier than usual sales as we near Christmas to remove some of the shopper’s fears of a potential recession. Shoppers may get a big break as retailers will offer bigger and earlier sales this year — to lure customers to spend more dollars.

Shoppers need to be consumer conscience for the best deals and put their negotiating skills in full swing with retailers for the best price. Just don’t wait too long for the risk of not finding the items you’re looking to purchase.

Marshal Cohen, chief retail industry analyst for NPD Group, said that consumers feel obligated to buy gifts for some folks on their list, but he generally is calling this a “ho hum holiday.”

The pain will be felt everywhere, from high-end stores to discounters.

“No level of retailer is insulated from this downturn,” Cohen said.

“Consumers will be keeping careful watch on their credit card spending this season,” Cohen added. “I think many will refrain from purchasing an indulgence or splurge gift, and for the first time in years, may actually cut people from their shopping lists.”

Tags: Consumers, Holiday, Sales, Sears, Shopping

Get Valuable Home Alerts and Reminders

Posted by Frank under Homeowner, Tips

The old saying “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” is very true. If you neglect something it’s more than likely to break and add unnecessary costs.

For example, when we buy a new car the dealer provides a maintenance schedule for our vehicle. It’s very important to follow this schedule so that your investment will run at optimal performance for a long time and reduce cost for repair. Even our new car reminds us when something needs to be checked and serviced. Your home is a much greater investment than your car. Your home is a life long investment that requires tender loving care.

How would you like the same maintenance schedule for your home? How about one, that provides automatic notification through email? There’s a service that provides maintenance reminders for items in your home that need to be serviced or replaced. This service is absolutely free! Yes free! You will be able to create your own maintenance schedule for items that require service by visiting and creating an account at ManageMyHome.com.

Manage My Home not only provides maintenance notifications, but also provides a plethora of tips for your home. It’s truly an amazing site that will help a homeowner maintain their greatest investment, your home.

From the Manage My Home Web Site:

“At Manage My Home, we’re all about giving you the right home help, right when you need it. From basic repairs to big fixes, we’re the one place where you can access leading interactive tools, home products, services, experts and more. We’ve got everything you need to make maintaining, repairing and improving your home easier. And the best part? It’s free. We’re good like that.”

Tags: Home Repair, maintenance, Manage My Home, Sears

Sleepless in Chicago

Posted by George under ServiceLive News

Are you ready? The late nights, the long weekends, and the unbelievable devotion from our team has finally paid off! We are excited to announce the unveiling of the new ServiceLive! The ServiceLive marketplace today launches in Beta to all customers in need of any service offerings available in our community! ServiceLive now has a feature-rich interface that will benefit both the buyer and service provider. The most noticeable addition to this release is the distinction between the Simple Buyer and the Professional Buyer accounts. These new features provide robust tools to each buyer type to help them get connected with our community of over 10,000 Service Pros.

Here’s what to expect: We designed the Simple Buyer interface as the easiest method for a homeowner or small business to leverage ServiceLive. The interface is designed to simplify the user experience for scheduling a service order. A buyer will now be able to create a service request by utilizing the statement of work tools and by uploading project photos. In addition, the buyer could select Service Pros based on criteria such as past buyer ratings and languages spoken. Finally, the order could be paid and the buyer could rate the provider all from the comfort of their home or business. The Professional Buyer tool is tailored toward companies that want to leverage our vast selection of Service Pros to grow their business and profits by partnering with our talented service provider community.

Here are some of the benefits that the Professional Buyer tools will provide:

We appreciate your patience along this journey and we encourage your feedback through our Community Forum. Get ready to see some service orders, and pass the word along to your friends and family – ServiceLive is open for business. ServiceLive is the only home service marketplace of its type in the world. This is only the beginning! Thank you George Coll President, ServiceLive Inc.

Tags: marketplace, online, Sears, servicelive, services