Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/66147
President's Message continued and brightest people in our industry.Together we will con- tinue to advocate, educate, offer opportunities for net- working and recognize those that help our businesses suc- ceed.Without regard to your size or focus, FEDA and its leadership are here to help you and your business contin- ue to grow and thrive. u Association Highlights continued EducationTo Go Members, when was the last time you visited the Members Only Section at feda.com? There, you'll find a number of industry-specific educational tools for everyone on your staff, frompodcasts on businessmanagement,nego- tiating and installation to 30 product education segments. Need help? Emailmember services consultantAmy Risinger (amy@feda.com) u Shipping continued "We want our customers to call if they have questions because it gives us an opportunity to help, and we think it's one of the things that differentiates us from our competitors. Dale Edman, Wasserstrom's Vice President of E-commerce equipment before manning the lines. "We're lucky to have reps that have been in the industry for so many years,"he says."We want our customers to call if they have questions because it gives us an opportunity to help, and we think it's one of the things that differentiates us from our competitors. Some prefer to encourage online chats and email but we want our customers to call.That's why you'll notice that our phone number is on every page, in addition to our home page. " Within 24 hours after an order is placed, customer serv- ice reps also follow up with a call of their own,particularly on larger orders. In addition to reviewing the order for accu- racy, reps use the time to see if additional services are need- ed for delivery, and inform the customer of any extra charges.Wasserstromis an example of one side of a dichoto- my "we're seeing when it comes to how distributors are approaching ecommerce sales, " saysWalsh. "By merging its fullservice model with its ecommerce platform, it's control- ling the information and using its expertise tomake sure cus- tomers get what they want how they want it. But there are some in the industry who believe that ecommerce falls under a different level of service.The customer places the order online and they deliver; they don't give advice. The problem is, because they're relying more heavily on cus- tomer input, they're more apt to get burned. "u 36 FEDA News & Views