How many times have you gone into a department store, home improvement center, or grocery needing some help but could not find any store associates? You almost want to yell out “Anybody home!”

I will share with you one of my experiences. My wife sent me out to the grocery store to pick up some chipotle mustard. First of all I had no clue about what this stuff was let alone know where to look for it. With the word mustard in its name, I assumed it would be on the shelf where the mustards were. I looked high and low with no success so I looked for a store associate. Nada!

Giving up I bought a cappuccino at the in store Kiosk and returned home empty-handed. Not a good choice.  My wife excoriated me and sent me back out to the store. She said that I would find it in the international foods section.

Back to square one, I had to find the International food section. Not too challenging, but what nationality! I looked up and down the rows of shelving with no luck. Have you ever seen a grown man cry out of desperation? Well I was almost there if I hadn’t asked another shopper if she could help me. She got a chuckle out of my story, walked over to the Mexican section and pulled a bottle of chipotle mustard from the shelf.

This same scenario plays out in our business lives. How many times have you tried to find a part or the specifications on a part only to be frustrated with no one knowing the answer? Calling the factory is akin to finding a store associate. They know how to make the stuff but do not know how to communicate with those who use the stuff.

While EXAIR is the manufacturer of its products it knows how to communicate with its customers. Specifications, drawings, and sample applications are downloadable from our website [link]. You can talk with one of our engineers by an online chat [ link], by email techelp@exair.com by phone 1-800-903-9247 or Fax 1-513-671-3363. We are also on twitter [link], and Facebook [link].

That’s it for this week. Now I need to go out and shovel some snow.

Joe Panfalone
Application Engineer
joepanfalone@exair.com