Is Your Refrigerator Running

Is Your Refrigerator Running? Well then you better go fix it.

Is Your Refrigerator Running

Even the best refrigerators, such as those from Excellence Industries, require proper maintenance. In this helpful blog post, we detail some maintenance tips for the care and keeping of your refrigerator. Note that these tips are beneficial for both commercial and home refrigerators. Wherever your refrigerator is located, it will most likely be an oft used appliance that goes through a lot of daily wear and tear. Maintenance can help combat this and lengthen the life and functioning of your fridge, as well as reduce energy intake.

CLEAN THE GASKET, REPLACE IF NEEDED

If you are not familiar with what the gasket part of the refrigerator is, it’s the thin rubber seal that lines your refrigerator and freezer doors. It’s something you probably never think about, but it has a really important job of sealing out warm air. If it is not functioning properly, warm air may seep in and change the temperature of your refrigerator/freezer, making your food go bad or melt. Be especially wary of this as gaskets weaken, loosen and tear only a few years after purchasing a new fridge. In addition to this conundrum costing you money in terms of wasted food, the fridge will also have to work harder to try and remove the heat which means its energy intake will increase and the bills will become larger. However, this all has a simple fix- either clean the gasket and if it seals after cleaning, fine. Your gasket may need to be replaced but doing so is fairly inexpensive.

CLEAN THE CONDENSER COILS

Condenser coils likely do not often enter your mind but they are incredibly important in regards to the functionality and efficiency of your fridge. These radiator-like coils located at the back of or beneath the unit, remove heat from refrigerators and freezers. If there is dirt or dust on the coils, which will inevitably accumulate over time, it becomes harder for the coils to do their job of removing heat. This is incredibly dangerous and possibly costly in terms of energy consumption. However, frequent cleaning will allow you to avoid this expensive issue. Simply, clean coils with a bristle brush on a semi-regular basis.

CLEAN THE INSIDE

It’s important to frequently clean the interior of your fridge with a cloth or sponge and cleaner/soap/water to avoid odor and general uncleanliness. An all-purpose cleaner and environmentally friendly cleaner is your best bet to sanitize the unit and combat sticky stains that plague most refrigeration units. Additionally, making sure any containers within the unit stay sealed or airtight will help to seal odors and ensure freshness, requiring less frequent maintenance.

 

MANUAL OR SELF-DEFROST

Frost will begin to accumulate on the interior walls of your freezer if you don’t make a habit of defrosting it. Many Excellence Industries units offer a self defrosting feature but some do not. To defrost, simply remove the items from the unit, turn off the thermostat, unplug the fridge and the frost will melt. Once all the frost is gone, turn your refrigerator back on and allow it to reach optimum temperature before placing your items back inside.

Essentials of Grocery Marketing

Essentials of Grocery Marketing

Essentials of Grocery MarketingThe phrase “don’t judge a book by its cover” may be a thing, but when it comes to retail, who are we really kidding? It’s a business full of important first impressions, especially when it comes to food stores, groceries, ice cream shops and more. If you are able to set the mood right when the customer walks in the front door, your business should be successful. Conversely, if the experience the customer has when they are in your storefront is subpar, a major barrier will be created.

The importance of a storefront is even more important in this modern age. We are all constantly inundated with different visuals coming at us from all over. We now have expectations for cool logos and branded content, especially when we are at the front of the store.

So how do you exactly do you achieve a cool, inviting storefront? 

Well, the first thing you need to do is know your customer. Obviously, knowing your customers’ demographics is key, but if you dig a little deeper into their personal preferences, you can find out valuable information that will help you create the appealing storefront your store or shop needs.

Another good tip for achieving an awesome storefront is not to show all your cards at once. Obviously, the products you have in the front of your store will be good examples of the work your store or shop does, but they should also give a fair representation of the rest of the store. Plus, you want your store to have surprises left past the storefront. You don’t want anyone leaving before they have seen all your store has to offer!

Don’t forget the vertical space

You also will want to take advantage of the vertical space in your storefront. Whether or not your space is large, adding vertical space will also create visual interest and will help your store or its display rooms feel larger and fuller while leaving less on the floor. This type of system really helps to guide a customer’s eye where you want- right to your awesome products!

Another thing you will want to make sure you are doing with your storefront is maintaining your brand story. The display you choose should reflect the values and aesthetic of your business. This genuineness will help provide you and your company and your store with brand recognition. There are a lot of ways that you can provide character and brand recognition to your store and storefront, at the same time. Just think about your store and the vibe it embodies- if you sell thrift items and champion the old, a display made of salvaged materials might help reflect your style; if you sell something that makes someone’s life easier, a clean, streamlined window display and interior can be a great way to help manifest that same sentiment.

Whatever way you decide to showcase your storefront, if you are a food store, you will undoubtedly need some good refrigeration displays and systems. Look no further than Excellence Industries, the industry standard for state of the art commercial refrigerators and freezers.

Keep Your Retail Store In Shipshape

Keep Your Retail Store In Shipshape

Keep Your Retail Store In Shipshape

You may not think of cleaning as an integral part of customer service, but honestly, that’s what it is. Cleaning is a natural precursor to creating a good ambiance for your store. No one wants to shop at a dirty store! The cleaner your store, basically, the more money you could make. If your store is in ship and shape, and the products are displayed not only correctly, but in an aesthetically-pleasing manner, your business is bound to do a lot better. So how to go about this massive retail spring cleaning? Well, you will need a few items, including: a dust mop, a dustpan, a mop bucket, a mop, a buffer, an antibacterial cleaner, a cloth, a sponge, a squeegee, paper towels, rolling trash bin, trash liners, disposable gloves, toilet cleaner, a toilet brush, odor eliminator, a buffer, a buffer pad and a buffer spray cleaner. Okay, you don’t necessarily need every one of these items, but you should look to get a majority, as retail stores and spaces are generally harder to clean than personal domiciles.

So once you have all these key cleaning items ready, what should you do? Well, let’s give you the play by play. First, you’ll want to organize any items that are not in the right place. Also during this step, you may want to streamline the process of making sure that if a customer returns a product, the item will find its way back to where in the store it is meant to be, easily and effectively. Another thing you can do this point, is wipe the place down with a cloth that has some kind of antibacterial soap or solution to it. This is especially important to do this time of year, because it’s flu season and people are coming into your store with a bunch of germs! No one wants to hang out at a germy spot, so make sure your store is kept clean and inviting. Another thing to do at this point is to handle the trash situation. Whatever you do with your trash, get it out of the store! It may be easiest to create a sort of filing system for the ceaseless amount of trash that your store probably has to deal with. It is easier to wheel trash, so you may want to think about investing in a wheeled garbage bin. At this point, you will want to address your floors. You will want to use a mop to combat the dust that inevitably accrues on your floors and especially your corners. You may also want to use some kind of pine-sol solution, to make the store really glow and smell amazing. During this point, make sure you give everything a sweep over, including the bathrooms. You may want to put on disposable gloves to clean the restrooms, sinks, toilets and other hard surfaces. This certainly isn’t a fun job, but you want to make sure the germs are all gone, and they certainly do congregate in the restrooms.

Probably the largest tip we have for cleaning is to create a system that doesn’t require cleaning too frequently. If you buy state-of-the-art refrigeration systems like the one at Excellence Industries, not only are they incredibly easy to clean, you probably won’t have to clean them quite as often. Now that’s what we call a win-win!

 

Psychology Behind Store Layouts

Psychology Behind Store Layouts

Psychology Behind Store LayoutsThe phrase “don’t judge a book by its cover” may be a thing, but when it comes to retail, who are we really kidding? It’s a business full of important first impressions, especially when it comes to food stores, groceries, ice cream shops and more. If you are able to set the mood right when the customer walks in the front door, your business should be successful. Conversely, if the experience the customer has when they are in your storefront is subpar, a major barrier will be created.

The importance of a storefront is even more important in this modern age. We are all constantly inundated with different visuals coming at us from all over. We now have expectations for cool logos and branded content, especially when we are at the front of the store.

So how do you exactly do you achieve a cool, inviting storefront? Well, the first thing you need to do is know your customer. Obviously, knowing your customers’ demographics is key, but if you dig a little deeper into their personal preferences, you can find out valuable information that will help you create the appealing storefront your store or shop needs.

Another good tip for achieving an awesome storefront is not to show all your cards at once. Obviously, the products you have in the front of your store will be good examples of the work your store or shop does, but they should also give a fair representation of the rest of the store. Plus, you want your store to have surprises left past the storefront. You don’t want anyone leaving before they have seen all your store has to offer!

You also will want to take advantage of the vertical space in your storefront. Whether or not your space is large, adding vertical space will also create visual interest and will help your store or its display rooms feel larger and fuller while leaving less on the floor. This type of system really helps to guide a customer’s eye where you want- right to your awesome products!

Another thing you will want to make sure you are doing with your storefront is maintaining your brand story. The display you choose should reflect the values and aesthetic of your business. This genuineness will help provide you and your company and your store with brand recognition. There are a lot of ways that you can provide character and brand recognition to your store and storefront, at the same time. Just think about your store and the vibe it embodies- if you sell thrift items and champion the old, a display made of salvaged materials might help reflect your style; if you sell something that makes someone’s life easier, a clean, streamlined window display and interior can be a great way to help manifest that same sentiment.

Whatever way you decide to showcase your storefront, if you are a food store, you will undoubtedly need some good refrigeration displays and systems. Look no further than Excellence Industries, the industry standard for state of the art commercial refrigerators and freezers.