Christmas In September????
Well, it is official. It is Christmas in September time. What am I talking about? Well, the other night, the 18th of September, I needed a part for my lawn mower. Being Sunday evening, I visited my nearest big box store to see if they had it. Obviously, NO ONE cuts grass in September as the remaining stock of parts was all thrown into unrecognizable piles on the bottom of a few shelves. Further examination showed why. The former home for merchandise such as mower parts was now occupied by Christmas light sets. Ho, Ho, Ho! Need some casual furniture to enjoy these late summer days and the upcoming beautiful fall days? Good luck here as well. I predict Christmas trees and inflatable snowmen will be in this presently empty space by later this week.
Thank heavens there is no grass at the North Pole for Santa to cut and luckily he is too busy making toys to worry about enjoying beautiful weather sitting out on his deck, patio or porch. But, should he need some outdoor casual furniture, he can always shop Eastgate Pools & Spas as we have a huge selection even when others are making it look a lot like Christmas. In summary, if you need Christmas light sets in September, you are in luck at the Big Box stores, but if you want to enjoy the remaining warm weather, head over to Eastgate Pools and actually have lots of choices.
Furniture Blowout!!!
It is reaching that time of year where all of the box stores are moving on to Halloween accessories and away from outdoor furniture. That is not the case here! We still have two showrooms and three tents full of quality casual furniture products for you to choose from. As summer comes to a close and the fall approaches people sometimes forget that is probably the most comfortable time of years to step outside and enjoy the weather. As we start to put together orders for next year’s patio groupings we have to weed out discontinued frame and fabric patterns and styles. That means big savings for you. I encourage anyone in the market to stop out and take a look at some of these great values. We currently have closesouts available in sling, cast aluminum, wrought iron, and all weather wicker so I’m sure you can find something to meet your outdoor needs. I look forward to seeing you soon!
Craig
Investing In Your Pool’s Well Being
What’s new at Eastgate Pools? Well, if you own a pool or spa, you might be interested in knowing that there is lots of “new” to be found at the test center. Within the last week, we have taken delivery of our second brand new, state of the art test lab. The first new lab arrived and went into service a few weeks earlier, replacing an older model. The addition of this second lab gives us the ability to serve two customers simultaneously, meaning shorter wait times on those really busy days when it seems like everyone decided to have their water tested at the same time.
These water test labs are the very latest technology available from Palintest, and they will help insure accurate results that will help us to help you keep your pool or spa water clean, clear and safe. These new labs are costly, but we consider them an investment in your pool’s well being. At Eastgate Pools, we are committed to being your pool or spa professional. Try getting a state of the art water test at those big box stores where they don’t know pool water and they certainly don’t test it!
Add Some Tropical To Your Pool Area
Want to brighten up your pool area? Love to be comfortable? Trying to be more Green? I have the perfect chair for you. Our Tropical Collection Adirondack Chairs from Berlin Gardens will do all of the above for you. Available in 5 bright and fun colors, incredibly comfortable, and made from recycled milk jugs, these chairs are great for the pool area, the deck, patio, porch or wherever a comfortable, long lasting, easy to maintain chair is desired.
Amazing Feronclean!
Several weeks back, I wrote about one of our contract furniture customers that first bought from us in 2002. The customer had a couple of chairs that he thought were finished serving swim club members and destined for the landfill. Those chairs, complete with their new slings and glides, are now providing comfortable seating again.
When these chairs were brought in for me to look at, a 3rd chair that needed a new bolt and an insert was brought in as well. Telescope’s excellent parts department was able to tell me how to make the repair, and the chair is repaired and ready to go. However, while it was here, I couldn’t resist a little experiment. The chair’s white sling was looking a little gray, as this particular chair was from the Swim Club’s 2005 purchase. Over the years, I have always used a product called Feronclean on my outdoor furniture at home. My furniture has a few thin white stripes in the pattern, but it also has green, navy, and burgundy stripes. The Feronclean always made the white look like white again, so I was happy. My quest with this all white chair was to see how Feronclean would fare on a much tougher job. I wet down the entire chair, covered one-half of the sling, and then sprayed the cleaner on the exposed half and let it sit for a couple of minutes. Some light scrubbing and a rinse revealed a night and day difference. The pictures I took during this process tell the story better than I can.
So, what does this all mean? Well, it means that my recommendations of this product over the years were so very much justified. It means that Telescope makes great furniture, that the Gordon Feron & Company makes a great cleaner, and that the swim club is getting a much cleaner chair back!
Old Sayings Are Often True
We have all heard the saying that you get what you pay for, and recently I saw a great example showing how true this saying really is. Back in 2002, we sold a local swim club several sets of Telescope furniture. Over the years, the club has added additional sets and chaise lounges as their budget allowed.
Last fall, I was talking to the club treasurer about furniture for his home and he mentioned that they had a couple of chairs at the swim club that they were going to need to throw away. I asked why, and he said that the slings had worn out. He thought the chairs were finished and destined for the landfill, as that is what they had to do with previous furniture that they had bought elsewhere. I told him NO! There are lots of reasons why Eastgate Pools sells Telescope brand furniture on most of our contract furniture sales, and the availability of replacement glides, slings, and other parts is just one of them. I had the customer stop by with the chairs, and within a minute I confirmed that all they needed were a couple of new slings and some replacement glides for the bottom of chairs. While I had the chairs in front of me, I also looked for the production sticker that Telescope places on their furniture. These chairs were from 2002, and had served the club for nine (9) seasons. They had never gotten this much life out of previous furniture, and even better news is that once the new slings arrive, they will have more years of service to give. Somewhere, a landfill is also happy!
And by the way, as great as Telescope Casual Furniture is for commercial applications, it is even better in residential settings. Let’s face it; it is hard out there for contract furniture!
Attention Table Tennis Fans!
Are you an avid table tennis player? Are you an occasional Player? Table Tennis is skyrocketing in popularity, with high-end clubs devoted to the game opening up in cities across the USA. If you are going to play table tennis, you have to have at least limited equipment. Things like a table tennis table that is complete with net and posts, paddles, and balls are all kind of important to the game. Without any of these items, the game sort of lacks something.
The good news is that Eastgate Pools has all of the equipment you need. Whether regulation table tennis tables, conversion tops that go on top of your pool table, nets and posts, paddles, and balls, we have it all. And not to brag, but our selection of paddles is pretty darn big. Walking by the display the other day, I think I counted around 14 different models of table tennis paddles. Interestingly enough, they still haven’t come out with a paddle that will help my game enough to finally win a game or two while playing against my wife. If they do, it will probably need to resemble a tennis racket. now I am not saying I am bad or that she is that good, I am just saying that she has been winning most of our table tennis matches for 25 years. Ouch!!! It sure hurts to admit these defeats. – David
Wow! Absolutely Beautiful!
Oops, I have gotten ahead of myself. Right before Christmas, my wife, son and I finally took our summer vacation. I know, we were a little late, but a summer vacation in December isn’t all-bad. While my coworkers had long since returned from vacations, I had mine to look forward to still. Our vacation included stops at Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park and Grand Canyon National Park. I was lucky enough to visit all of these parks as a child, but I hate to admit how many years ago that was. For my wife and son, this trip was their first time to see these magnificent places. We had a blast hiking many miles in these magnificent places, and Mother Nature smiled on us with great weather. While I know everyone enjoys different things when vacationing, I encourage everyone to visit these national treasures and others if you have the chance. I have read that the number of visitors to the National Parks has gone way up in recent years, and after getting a “taste” again of these National Parks, I know that I want to visit them again as well as others.
Attention Shoppers
Every year about this time, stacks of ads start accumulating around the house. Then on Thanksgiving Day, as I am busy in the kitchen, I see my wife carrying the stack and a notebook and pen. After nearly 25 years of marriage, I know exactly what is going on. It is planning time for Black Friday shopping, and by the time that the turkey and all of the fixings are finished and I am comfortable on the couch watching my yearly viewing of Planes, Trains and Automobiles, Monica will have a plan of attack listed in her notebook. She absolutely loves the challenge of it all. Yes, I said challenge, as for me getting up at 5 am, to shop would be a challenge indeed!
Here is another approaching to Black Friday. Sleep in a little later and start your shopping at 8 am when Eastgate Pools opens. (Or, for the real die hard, start at 5 am and when you are tired of being run over, mobbed, and treated like a number, stop by Eastgate.) On Black Friday, Eastgate Pools & Spas will be open from 8 am to 8 pm, and we have been working hard putting together some really great deals on swimming pool and spa items, pool tables and pool table accessories, game tables, and lots more.
Besides some really great one day only prices, at Eastgate Pools the parking is easy and you can actually get your questions answered by our very experienced staff of fulltime, year round associates. And while you are here, help yourself to some coffee, tea, or hot cocoa and some cookies. If you are coming from or heading to the mall, you will certainly need all of the energy you can muster!
Added Thought On An Earlier Posting
In an earlier posting, Scott talked about getting as much information as possible about the pump, filter, or other product that needs a part. Scott is absolutely correct, but I will add one more way for us to help customers get the right part. Besides writing down the model name and number, if you have a digital camera or a phone that takes pictures, snap a few photos of the item to go along with your notes. The more information the better, and it might save you an additional trip. It is kind of like the old rule of measure twice, cut once!
Dos Receives Promotion
Eastgate Pools & Spas is proud to announce the promotion of Dos to the position of Customer Greeter & Goodwill Ambassador. Dos has proven to be very effective in her job of keeping employee morale high, and in her new position, she is working with customers to brighten their day as well. Dos is especially loved by some of our younger customers, who sit down right next to her and lavish her with attention. Look for Dos somewhere in the showroom on your next visit to Eastgate Pools.
Bubbles Down
One of the more common phone questions that we receive here at Eastgate Pools & Spas this time of year involves solar covers. Specifically, do the bubbles go up or down? The answer is down, as the sun heats the air in the bubbles, and this heat is then transferred to the water that comes up between these bubbles. So, keep those bubbles down and enjoy the warmer water that solar covers provide.
Welcome To Eastgate’s Newest Employee
All of us at Eastgate Pools & Spas would like to welcome our new associate, Dos. I know, the name is very uncommon, but Dos is settling right in and becoming very comfortable with all of her new coworkers. Dos is in charge of employee morale, and has already proven to be very talented at her job. By the way, did I mention that Dos is a cat! Dos The Cat recently adopted us, and very quickly her personality has made lots of friends. Her take-charge personality and sweetness has won us over, and she reminds us of a past friend, Mooch, who had adopted us in a very similar way a few years back. Welcome aboard Dos, and thanks for deciding to adopt us.
Why? . . . Because It’s Fun!
Sometime when you have some time to play around on the web, like after you’ve checked out the entire Eastgate Pools web site, do a search for Gatlinburg Chalet Rentals. Go to a few realtors’ web sites and you will notice a common theme. More and more rentals feature hot tubs, pool tables and game tables. Chalet owners know that prospective renters are looking for quality time to spend with their loved ones, and they are looking to have fun, as after all, the renters are on vacation. By providing these amenities, the chalet owner increases the likelihood of renting out their property.
This Gatlinburg phenomenon reminds me once again why Eastgate Pools & Spas’ motto is “Resort living …at home”. Vacations are great, but the same things that help make vacation fun can be enjoyed year-round right in your very own home.
Eastgate Alumni
Recently, I reflected in a blog how 2009 marked my 25th year with Eastgate Pools & Spas. Over these years, I have had quite a few co-workers. Don’t get me wrong, at Eastgate we have a very large core of employees with lots of years of service, but in these 25 years we have had lots of young people that have used Eastgate Pools as a learning and earning tool on their way to other careers. Just a quick search of my mind and I can think of a chiropractor, a lawyer, a pharmacist, a couple of engineers, a couple of accountants, a teacher, a couple of nurses to be, and more that have made Eastgate Pools a part of their growing up. Like any good relationship, Eastgate has given to these young people from the surrounding community, but has also reaped many benefits in return. What a pleasure it is when these young people return to visit with us and reminisce about the time they spent in the pool business. All of this just proves once again how important local businesses are to a community and how important the community is to a local business.
