World Wide Stereo COVID-10 Update

This is some of the stuff we are doing. Other than the Primary Initiative, it’s probably not too different from what you all are doing and may be more info than you have asked for. Of note, Pennsylvania has been very strict but my county, Montgomery, was the hardest hit and the first to be hit with broad restrictions. It includes what’s on our site, what we sent to staff and our CI install procedure which is getting more serious daily. It’s a good example of what we are doing daily. Coupled with this we have been having in person meetings reviewing. 6-10’ distance from all, hand washing, sanitation procedures and how to handle our customers. Strict adherence to wiping remotes, doorknobs, restrooms after every touch by anybody is being enforced. Anyone who has been travelling, including me and Stephanie, are being quarantined for 14 days. Folks are told that they need to shower as soon as they get home and, if they go out, before they come in. People are being sent home if it seems like they have not. We’ve made examples of a few folks to help reinforce the message.

We have reached out to all our active customers reviewing the situation, that we are available to help them but also that we are doing all we can to keep the business as open as is responsible for this time. The conversation with AR’s has been quite frank, “Look, we’ve closed our stores to local traffic so we could use the cash. Could you please pay.” This has worked with even the most reticent. I’ve also attached a Ted Talk by Bill Gates which is enlightening. If you haven’t seen “Inside the Brain of Bill Gates,” I’d recommend it. You probably have the time.

Primary Initiative
Through our contacts we have procured a significant amount of toilet paper, gloves and sanitizers that are now in our main warehouse and available to all our people and their families. There is joy throughout the company that we can provide for them!

This is on our website currently. It’s been updated as things have changed:
At World Wide Stereo, our greatest priority is the health and safety of our staff and customers. We expect that your home entertainment systems and your Wi-Fi and streaming services will be getting a lot of use over the next few weeks, and we are here to serve you and to support one another in this difficult time. Based on the guidance we’ve received and actions we’ve taken, we are encouraging our customers to contact us for remote sales and support. Please call 1.866.961.7781, email us at hello@wwstereo.com, or chat with us. Our help line is open and our sales and support teams are on call. Worldwidestereo.com: We will continue to bring you the best online shopping experience possible at worldwidestereo.com. Our fulfillment centers will remain open so that all customers can enjoy free local and national delivery and 60-day returns, as always. Our online product experts will maintain regular hours, working remotely, and can be reached at 1.866.961.7781 for shopping assistance or order questions.

Our Stores: All of our salesman are available for remote sales and support by phone or email with private appointments available. You may contact your salesperson directly or contact your local showroom: Montgomeryville, PA: call 215.368.8343 or email montgomeryville@wwstereo.com Ardmore, PA: call 610.649.7002 or email ardmore@wwstereo.com We are doing everything that we can to maintain the health and safety of our employees and community. We take great pride in maintaining a clean store year-round, but we have stepped up our efforts by increasing the frequency and rigor of cleaning and sanitization. This includes but is not limited to sanitization of all surfaces and products. Remotes and touchscreens are being cleaned after each use. Hand sanitizer is available throughout the stores.

Installations, Deliveries, In-Home Services & Consultations: Already scheduled installations, deliveries, and in-home consultations are being confirmed according to customers’ comfort levels and the utmost care is being exercised by our technicians. All staff have been trained to exercise a rigorous protocol in maintaining the safest environment possible. This includes maintaining appropriate distance from our customers. Any employee who exhibits any symptoms or who has had confirmed or presumptive exposure is required to stay home.

Upcoming Events: We will be postponing all in-store events and workshops until a later date. If you have already RSVP’d, please know that as soon as a new date is determined, we will let you know. As this situation continues to evolve, we will closely monitor guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the World Health Organization (WHO) and local health officials around the country. We will continue to rely on their recommendations and expertise to inform our decisions with the health and well-being of our customers, employees, and communities as our highest priority. Stay well and please know that we’re right here on the other side of the screen, keyboard, or phone for you.

Bob Cole Founder & CEO

I actually sent this to my whole company. The opening line explains why but it really is for our store and CI sales staff…
So that all are informed, we are sending this out to everyone. It’s important that all store personnel are clear on this but, as company processes change almost hourly, it’s critical that everyone is informed and knows what others are doing in other departments to handle this situation. Afterall, it’s your company and you can’t do your job if you don’t know what everyone else is doing!
– Bob

Gentlemen:
This afternoon at 3:30pm we closed 309. As of now, both retail locations are closed to floor traffic and you will go forward until this is over on an appointment only basis. The showrooms will remain available to you for closing a sale but only if it’s clear and evident that this is the nature of an appointment you make. This is no time for browsers. If you use the store, you will follow the strictest of sanitation protocols for your protection and the protection of our customers. No exceptions. In essence, you will be running your business from your own space. Whether that is from home or scheduling time to operate from the store, it is up to you according to your necessity. Usage of the store for this will be limited to a maximum of 6 people at any given time. Keep in mind one or two of these will be from the car department. This is a very difficult time for us, and this has not been an easy decision. We all must do everything we can together to get through this. Help each other. You have to know that we need to adhere to what is now best practices within the health guidelines outlined by the government but, more importantly, we need to do what is right. We need to service our customers, make some money while we’re at it and keep the company intact by planning for the future so that when this is over, we can rock it. In other words, this is the time to fill those pipelines so we can run them out the rest of the year. Trust that the resources of World Wide Stereo are available to you to make this happen!

So here is what we are doing:
Our showroom voice mail has been updated with the following message: “Thank you for calling World Wide Stereo in Montgomeryville. We are doing everything that we can to maintain the health and security of our employees and community and have therefore temporarily closed our showrooms to the public. Our team is available for remote sales and support by phone or email with private appointments available. All customers can enjoy free local and national delivery and 60-day returns, and our customer service team is maintaining regular hours remotely. For sales, support, or service you may contact your salesman directly by leaving a message atmontgomeryville@wwstereo.com, or, dial extension 361 for customer service. Currently if a customer leaves a message for you, your phone will ping and you’ll know you have a message to retrieve. This hasn’t changed but it deserves your attention more closely right now.

We have also updated our showroom front door signs and the pylon sign for 309 along with our website messaging.
Please make sure to check out our website messaging so you are informed and well aware of the company’s position. To ensure that there are never too many people in the store, we will maintain a schedule of availability on a rotating schedule. Mario and Rob are working on that currently. When you are not working in the store (or Hatfield Office) you are expected to be working from home. This is an opportunity for you to sharpen your edge. For those of you who can’t work from home you are welcome to work at one of the showrooms or the Hatfield office. You will be able to make appointments with your clients to assist them with a product purchase or even a proposal presentation, but the latter really should be done via a conference/skype call. You can also facetime the customer to look at product. It’s time to master these skills. Let’s use the technology we have whenever possible.

We can set up our phone system so that when a client dials your extension would automatically forward to your cell phones. What do you think? Our customer service team will also forward calls to your cell phones during the day so keep them on and with you. This is an excellent opportunity to give your clients a personal phone call to let them know that though our showrooms are closed to local traffic, we remain available for outside sales, support, and private appointments. We know that their Wi-Fi and streaming audio/video systems will be getting even more use now and, if they need any help, we’re just a phone call away. Capitalize on that. As a reminder, we will deliver locally for free.

Tips to move forward:
• There has never been a better time than now to make sure your pipelines are up to date.
• Review your layaways to make sure they are accurate. Call the customer if you haven’t heard from them.
• Collect your AR’s. Now there’s a genus suggestion if there ever was one… It’s a great way to add money to your paycheck. People will understand the call in these times and will want to help. You really can just tell them business is hard and that you could use the money.
• Review all your work orders to make sure they have all the information and proper parts so our technicians can get our jobs done efficiently. We don’t want them exposed any more than necessary. We are attaching an email sent by Brian this morning so that you can better understand how the installation department is professionally dealing with this situation. It’s darn impressive. (btw- so are all the things everyone is doing).

If you need help, the whole company are available to assist you. Guys, the entire company is learning how to do business differently during this crisis. We’ve never been here before, but we must turn this into an opportunity. We must do it better than anyone else. This must make us better. Make us stronger. There is no other choice. We need to do what we do best: Be there for our clients and be there for each other.

I don’t know what else to say other than that we will not let your down. This was a very difficult note to write so it took four guys to write it.

Thank you.

 

 

Message from Brian: Please READ!

Everyone,

We want to reduce the number of people in the building in the morning so when you arrive please stay in your van.

To help reduce exposure we will be implementing some simple precautionary measures.
1) Returns
Noah and myself will be handling the returns and the close outs for the day’s installations. We will start with returns getting scanned from your van and then placed in one of the blue carts to be brought inside and shelved. Once returns are completed, we will begin closing out the jobs individually.
2) Close outs
Noah or myself will direct you to the loading dock, one by one to pick up the parts that are associated to your job for the day.
We will also be closing them out. If there is any extraneous part that is needed, please let us know and we will get it for you.
3) Cleaning / Disinfecting vans
Take this time in the morning to clean and sanitize your van. We will have the industrial tub of sanitizing wipes so you don’t have to use We will have the big red trashcans for garbage and a blue cart for cardboard recycling.
4) Daily transportation
Everyone will be driving separate. We want to keep the same techs in the same vans. If we have to change vans, we will be sure to glove up and wipe down all areas of possible contact. If we don’t have enough vans you can choose to drive your personal vehicle and we will reimburse you for mileage.
5) End of day
When you have finished for the day, please do not enter the building if at all possible, unless it is requested of you. Any trash or returns will be completed in the morning.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

Robert A. Cole | Founder-CEO | World Wide Stereo |104 E. Vine St. Hatfield, Pa 19440 | 215-368-

Success is not final, failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts.