Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
pACE Setter Ace Re l o ca t io n
Sy s te m s, I n c .
April 2018
In this issue:
pACE Setter
Rate
PVO
Use
Atlas
Again
? Orlando 4.62 83.33
Maryland 4.60 77.60
Long
Beach 4.85 95.74
Seattle 4.48 85.19 San
Diego 4.56 87.37
Chicago 4.72 90.28 San
Marcos 4.70 92.73
San Jose 4.53 83.17
Phoenix 4.33 70.18
Hauling Excellence
Through March - 2017
Convention Year
Making Ace History - Marty Proffitt, Ace 96
Behind the Wheel 1
Main Street 1
Road Service Change 2
#ProudOfAcePVOs 2
Uncle Chuck’s Corner 3
Claims Prevention 3
Meet Interstate Dispatch 3
Alerts From Amber 4
Heat Stress 4
Weigh My Truck 4
Accident Reporting # 4
Denise VanDitto 4
Frontage Road 5
Meet CX 6
CX Facts & Figures 6
Our SpACE 7
Employee Spotlight 8
Main Street - VP of Operations, Dan Lammers
(Cont. on page 2)
Marty was born and raised in Claremont, CA but currently lives in the
Tartesso Community of Buckeye, AZ. She lives in a home she and her
husband built prior to her retirement from Ace in 2007. Her husband Bob
was an over the road driver for both Ace and Graebel. Her son Chris and
his wife Bonnie also live in Buckeye and are local contractors for Ace 96.
Marty has an extensive amount of experience in the moving business and
has been critical in the growth of Ace. She started working with John
Steiner (previous owner of Ace 25 and 62) at Ace World Wide out of
Gardena, CA in 1972 and then moved to the Long Beach branch. In 1988
she transferred to San Marcos (aka Ace 99 at the time) to help form and build Ace Corporate. She worked
in accounting, driver settlements and expense reports, as well as driver qualifications. She added, ”this was
the same time that Larry Lammers was learning the ropes as an over the road qualified driver. He brought
his papers and expense reports to me for auditing.” As Ace 62 became the new location of Ace Corporate,
she moved once again and landed on the third floor in Safety, just shy of 35 years with Ace. As her
husband’s health declined and he moved into a care facility in 2015 (before his passing), she returned to
Ace 96!
She really enjoys working with Debbie, Roger, and Gabe. She shares that the most important key to
customer service is communication. She really likes MoversSuite and the changes Atlas has made to their
own program.
When Marty’s not working her favorite thing to do is peruse antique malls and garage sales. She likes to
play a card game called Progressive Hand and Foot Canasta with her neighbors. Her favorite place to
vacation is Cancun, Mexico. Marty and Bob loved their home in Arizona and they traveled extensively.
Marty has been to every U.S. state and traveled in 30 countries. She rode the Chunnel from Paris to
London and spent several days in Oxford and saw where Downton Abbey was filmed. She’s been inside
the Highclere Castle, walked Tiananmen Square in China, the Red Square in Russia and Times Square in
NYC.
Pay more, expect more. Ace Relo and Atlas Van Lines have worked hard the last 18 months to “re
set” our pricing. We’ve taken new, better pricing to the market and have received positive feedback
from many of our customers. They recognize that our costs continue to climb and feel that we should
be able to charge more for our services. We agree that our company, our van line, our stakeholders
and our industry have to continually invest in systems, people and equipment in order for our very
survival. Take the cable industry for example; even when cable struggled to serve their customers,
they increased pricing so they could invest in a better product for consumers. Over the long run, cable
companies have found themselves to be delivering television, streaming video, wifi, home security
and more.
While many of our customers feel we are due for a significant price increase, they will also be
looking for Ace Relo and Atlas Van Lines to be bringing our customers better service. Agreed. Our
door to door service, our inventories, our billing, our post move customer experience, all need to rise
to the occasion. We have to make a conscious effort to bring the value up with the new pricing.
pACE Setter Page 2
Go out of your way to make sure customers goods are treated with respect, exceed their expectations and finish each and every
move like you would for a VIP. When customers perceive they are getting more than they are paying for, they will feel value in
buying from Ace.
It is an on-demand lifestyle we live in, in the USA. Look how much you can get from your cable service provider and think about
how we can improve our customer experience. You no longer go to the three big networks for great programming, you go to Netflix,
Hulu, Showtime, etc. When was the last time you stopped in and rented a video at Blockbuster.
Who would have thought??
#togetherwearebetter
Have a great Spring! - Dan
(Cont. from page 1)
Important Message from Atlas
Major Change in Road Service - Effective 4/20/2018
Atlas Terminal Company (ATC) has in the past partnered with CDI to provide breakdown service after 5pm (Central) and on the
weekends since 1989. As of 5pm Friday (April 20), CDI closed its doors permanently, which will result in several changes.
Effective immediately, we will be partnering with TNN. TNN’s administration charge is $55, as compared to CDI’s charge of $43.
ATC adds an additional $10 to handle the invoice charges, so in most instances, this means a total charge of $65 above the actual
repair costs. Please remember that if the repairs are done during normal business hours (8am to 5pm Central), the Atlas service fee
is only $30 for any repair under $600. If greater than $600, this fee is 5% of the total invoice, subject to a $100 maximum.
We hope that this change of partners goes smoothly, but since this was done last
minute, it is possible a few problems could arise. We are looking at other solutions
to improve Road Service and Rentals in the near future.
Please use ATC’s Emergency Roadside Assistance (800-847-3686) for service 24/7,
rather than calling TNN directly.
To make it easy, we have convenient plastic cards with instructions.
They will be mailed out to all PVOs soon.
Contact Chuck Lance in Safety at [email protected] with any questions.
We take notice of the great work our PVOs do!! #ProudOfAcePVOs
Don’t forget to update your PHONE!
Volume 116 Page 3
UNCLE CHUCK’S CORNER
(Cont. on page 6)
Meet Interstate Dispatch: Teri Kress, Dispatch Planner Teri considers Mequon, WI to be her hometown although she’s also lived in California and
Texas. She currently resides in the beautiful New Braunfels, TX. Of the places she’s lived
she shared that “growing up in Wisconsin as a child was wonderful and California
(especially Napa, Santa Barbara and San Diego) was great for my adult years”.
She has a brother and sister-in-law that have a ranch close by in Seguin, TX. She has one
niece that lives in Dallas and another that lives in McAllen, TX. Her oldest sister from
Oregon will be moving to TX in a few months.
Teri has been with Ace for a little over two years. Before Ace, she finished her college
degree and worked as a dispatcher for a generator company. She’s been in the logistics/
transportation/ warehousing industry for 25 years.
When she’s not working she likes to travel and make jewelry. She also likes to watch the
Green Bay Packers play football!
She likes working at Ace because she has great co-workers! She enjoys talking to the many different drivers and helping
them solve problems (and “making them happy”).
Did you know that Teri is a thrill seeker? She has jumped off a 30-foot cliff into the ocean in Jamaica! She loves
amusement parks and big scary roller coasters.
Claims Prevention Reminders Peak Season 2018 will soon be upon us and before we get into those busy summer months we thought it was important to remind
everyone of some of the important Do’s and Don’ts to help minimize claims exposure and costs.
DO:
* Stretch wrap all overstuff furniture (excluding leather)
* Supply and use a Parts Box/Bag on every relocation
* Ensure you secure proper delivery signature and checkoff verification
* Complete a High Value Inventory with all necessary information
* Do a descriptive inventory on every relocation
* Secure the customer’s signature on the Valuation selection portion of the Order for Service
* Write legibly and get the customer’s signature at origin and destination
* Make detailed notes on Ace & Atlas’ forms and documents
* Notify Ace Claims Department of any unusual occurrences (ie: water, mold, mildew, exposure to gas or fumes, accidents,
theft, etc.)
* Lay memory foam mattresses flat during transit and storage
* Protect sensitive flat screens and curved-screen televisions
* Have necessary tools to complete the job
Clean Inspections
Level 1
Abel (96)
Don Nguyen (75)
Ozzie Diaz (25)
Kevin Jackson (62)
Level 2
Robert Whaley (62)
Level 3
Charmaine Ramlal and David Madrid
(25)
Results of the 2018 PVO Meetings
Number of Drivers attending - 44
Number of admin attending - 26
Total Ace Relocation attending - 70
Total Safety Points removed - 5030
REMINDER: Carrying of chains in state of WA was
lifted 4/1.
You still have to carry in CO on I-70
between mile post 133 and 259 until
May 1.
Frontage Road - David Wood and Staff at Ace 15 Page 4 pACE Setter
ALERTS FROM AMBER Friendly reminders for the upcoming peak season
BEST PRACTICE:
When transporting a Memory Foam
Mattress DO NOT forget the sticker.
BEST PRACTICE: For all small parts,
DO NOT forget the sticker
on the top of the box.
BEST PRACTICE: Use one
inventory sticker per item.
To place an order for inventory stickers and parts box stickers, Call Atlas Supplies at 800-638-9797 ext .2468 or contact
Amber Frederick for mattress foam stickers at [email protected].
Different people react differently to heat. Some symptoms of heat exhaustion are headache, heat cramps, weakness,
dizziness or nausea. You may have blurred vision, pass out, suffer convulsions and ultimately die. High humidity adds to the
suffering. Your body will not cool down as much from sweating because the sweat cannot evaporate as efficiently. Everyone is more
irritable and makes more mistakes when the temperature is above the comfort zone. Be aware of the conditions and be more careful.
What can you do to improve your tolerance?
Spend some time working outdoors in the heat. Always drink plenty of water. Some extra salt is necessary because salt is lost in
sweat. Acetic acid increases your tolerance to heat. Acetic acid is in lemonade and citrus fruits; it is also in vinegar. Pickles and
pickled products will help you feel more energetic in the heat.
What not to do!
Beer is not a sports drink. Alcohol is a diuretic; this means it will dry you out more than quench your thirst. Coffee and soft drinks
that contain caffeine will act the same way in your body. The more you drink, the more you will need to drink to keep up with your
moisture loss through urination. A hang over is dehydration, about the same feeling as heat exhaustion complete with the headache
and nausea.
Heat Stress - Stephen Renshaw, Safety Manager
It’s easy to get started!
Step 1:
Register with Weigh My Truck by
setting up an account at
www.weighmytruck.com.
Step 2:
Download the App through Google
Play and the Apple App Store.
Denise Van Ditto is retiring after 24 years. She and her husband Danny are moving
to Albuquerque, NM to be close to their grandchildren. Denise has been the Mom of
our Kent office for many years. Always has a smile and a hug for all who come
through our doors. For those of us who are close to her, she is always the life of the
party! She will be greatly missed by all of us. Love you Nisey!
WE WILL MISS YOU, DENISE!
ACCIDENT REPORTING!!!
Call Stephen Renshaw
Cell: 858-291-0174
Call Atlas Van Lines Accident Line
1-800-638-9797 ext. 2320
Frontage Road - David Wood and Staff at Ace 15 Page 5
Frontage Road - John Phillips and the Staff at 15
Volume 116
The sun is rising in Washington, DC and Ace 15 is in the middle of a full make over. From new warehouses, expanding the number of power
units, new faces in the office, new contractors, new CDL drivers, creating and implementing training programs, changes to our warehouse
operations, improving our processes, and seeking out ways to take care of long haul drivers, Ace 15 has been rapidly changing during non-peak
season.
During the first months of the new year, our team went through a detailed planning process to identify new goals and objectives for every part of
our organization. Managers and their teams worked to develop the vision for our agency: Quality with Integrity! We then established goals that
will improve our efficiency and customer satisfaction. Each manager presented their goals to the agency and developed objectives to track our
progress toward our success. The result is numerous changes in how we do business.
In February we opened a new 20,000 sf perm storage warehouse that is about a block from our main warehouse. The location, complete with 5
docks and 24 foot high ceilings has allowed us to expand our capacity by 1,000 storage vaults and about 1 million pounds of household goods
storage. The massive move of storage vaults took place during February while we also performed an exhaustive audit on our storage billing.
We also have new faces on our team! Terry Bass, new sales representative, joins our team with more than 20 years in COD Sales and Brittany
Hammond will also be joining our sales team early in May. Operations has new leadership under Mike Grabliauskas with Angela Santini in as
dispatcher and, Alejandro Fernandez working as her assistant. Rob Danowski now performs all of the local planning and supports Mike in short
haul dispatch. The agency has developed a new strong local fleet with 11 new local crews and 2 new long-distance drivers to date – more on the
way! All of this progress in recruiting has come from the hard work of Elizabeth Bowen and the Ace Safety department who have worked
tirelessly to get the results we so strongly needed.
We have also invested heavily in training. Seattle and Chicago sent in Mike McHugh and Melissa Jimenez to assist with improving our
processes and training our new team. We will launch 2 training Saturday events in the month of May to train our crews. These training days
require a great deal of planning and instruction time from all of the managers at Ace 15. The training will support our new requirements for DOS
service teams. We also appreciate the support from other agencies as we sent Rob Danowski to Texas and Angela Santini to Seattle for
additional training. Adding in our operations attendance to the operations meeting and the ops team has become very busy national travelers.
New for our team in May is the official opening of our vehicle storage warehouse. With 24 new car lifts and storage space for 100 vehicles, this
space will be a reputation building facility to support our growing Department of State business.
We have also worked hard to make our facility user friendly for long haul drivers. Our parking lot is clean, has new lines, and designated parking
for long haul drivers. The facility has been upgraded to allow for Ace ID card access to the showers and facilities. By summer we look forward
to adding an ice machine and a clothes washer and dryer. Our goal is to clearly demonstrate how appreciative we are to the Ace long haul drivers
that help us be successful every day!
Also, a special thanks to the Ace team that supported our successful Atlas regional safety meeting that took place in early April. Our agency
hosted over 150 drivers and fellow Atlas agents to learn directly from Atlas management on improving safety performance. We were very proud
to host this event that allowed us to show off the hard work we have put in during the past 7 months!
Finally, thank you to the Ace Leadership team, HQs staffs, and the other GMs and agency teams who have worked so hard to help us prepare
for another successful peak season! - John
Back, row 3:
Jessica Strey, Bill Threlkeld,
Chauncey Phillips, Sean Vance,
William Sullivan, Rob
Danowski, Carlos Brunton
Middle, row 2: Eli Stafford,
Stephanie Hopkins, Alejandro
Fernandez, Elizabeth Bowen,
Diane Wise, Ben Scott, Bobby
Barnes, Mike Blontz
Front, Row 1: John Phillips,
Mike Grabliauskas
Page 6
Shanell Bem-Trujillo, Ace 75
Shanell was born in San Jose CA. She
moved to Dallas when she was 25 to work at
Altair/Ace. Currently, she lives in New
Braunfels TX with her husband of 108+
days and her two daughters ages 13 and 16.
She loves New Braunfels and says “it’s
magical because it’s a small town with lots
to do”. She loves the two rivers that go
through town and all the deer.
She’s been at Ace for 14 years. Prior to Ace she was a store
manager of an arcade. Although she loved that job she came to
Ace because she wanted something more lasting and career
minded.
When she’s not at work, Shanell loves traveling and taking day
trips around Texas. Last year she visited five different states. She
enjoys live music, concerts, and river tubing. Last year she went
to over 15 concerts.
She likes working at Ace for all of the great people! Between the
customers, various accounts and fun co-workers, there is never a
dull moment.
You may want to have pity on Shanell as she was the only girl out
of 11 kids. Yes, she has 10 brothers! She also likes to brag (and
rightfully so) that her daughters are A+ students!
Jessica Greenhalgh, Ace 96
Jessica was born, raised and
currently lives in Chandler, AZ. She
loves living there with her husband
of seven years, sons ages five and
12 and her new baby girl of five
months. Her parents, brother, and in
-laws all live in the same
neighborhood, less than ¼ mile
away.
Jessica’s been at Ace for eight years. Prior to Ace she
worked on her Master’s degree in Psychology while
working as a pharmacy tech.
She likes the people she works with at Ace. She likes the
constant change and craziness that keeps her from getting
bored.
Jessica loves to shop on her free time! She particularly
likes shopping for clothes and shoes.
You may not know about her superpower: No one has ever
beaten her at a game of arcade basketball. Any takers?
Meet our Customer Experience Managers
DON’T:
* Use faulty equipment or dirty furniture pads
* Tailgate any portion of a customer’s shipment
* Stand memory foam mattresses on their side during handling or transit
* Load or deliver a shipment that has signs of mold, mildew or water exposure
* Smoke or allow smoking in the trailer or on the customer’s property
* Settle claims outside the claim process
It is everyone’s responsibility to ensure we do all that we can to protect the customer’s goods and to mitigate any
possible claims exposure. By following these simple guidelines you can help us reduce our claims costs and any
exposure you may have to additional charge backs on any claims received.
Please contact any member of the Claims Department if you need assistance (858) 410-2008.
Claims Prevention Reminders (Cont. from page 3)
Customer Experience Facts & Figures
“~ 80% of US consumers would pay more for a product or service to ensure a superior Customer
Experience.” — White House Office of Consumer Affairs
“A business that optimizes for an emotional connection outperforms competitors by ~85% in sales growth.”
— Harvard Business Review
Page 7 Volume
Getting quality sleep is hard sometimes. Here are some simple tips for making the sleep of your dreams a nightly
reality.
Restful Sleep
STAY ON SCHEDULE
Going to sleep and waking up at the same time every day—even on weekends—is crucial for setting your
body’s internal clock, which experts call your circadian rhythm. Staying consistent also means that the
quality of your sleep will be better.
BE MINDFUL OF WHAT YOU EAT AND DRINK
Nicotine and caffeine are stimulants that can take hours to wear off, so they’ll make it harder to fall and stay
asleep. Avoid them all for four to six house before bedtime. Though alcohol can initially make you feel
sleepy, it lowers the quality of your shut-eye, so try not to drink it in the evening. Also, pay attention to
when you eat—going to bed on an empty stomach can keep you up later. Go easy on any liquids before you
hit the hay to prevent trips to the bathroom in the middle of the night.
CREATE A COMFY BEDROOM
Make your room peaceful and conducive to sleeping by keeping it quiet, cool and dark. Earplugs are
helpful if you live in a noisy area. Outside light can keep you awake so try room-darkening shades or an
eye mask.
Click on image for more or go
to http://time.com/collection/
guide-to-sleep/
ONLINE RESOURCE AND SMARTPHONE APPS
In the United States, it’s estimated that 30 percent of adults and 66 percent of adolescents are
regularly sleep-deprived. This isn’t just a minor inconvenience staying awake can cause
serious bodily harm. Check out this video to see what happens to your body and brain when
you skip sleep: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqONk48l5vY
This free Android app features an intelligent alarm clock that analyzes your sleep and wakes
you up in the lightest sleep phase (the natural way to wake up feeling rested and relaxed). You
can also view your sleep statistics, customize alarm melodies, and view/export your sleep
analyses on your phone or into Excel . Visit https://www.sleepcycle.com/.
pACE Setter Page 8
https://twitter.com/acerelocation
https://twitter.com/AceReloPVO
https://www.facebook.com/acerelocation
https://www.linkedin.com/company/ace-relocation-systems
RIDDLES
Don’t peek on the internet!! Email your answers to
Francesca at [email protected].
First correct answers wins a prize!
Anthony was born and raised in
San Jose, CA. He is the proud
father of a beautiful young lady,
who just turned 18 and will be
going to college this fall with
the hopes of getting her degree
in teaching sign language. He
has two wonderful parents who
have 6 kids (2 boys and 4 girls)
who are all in the Bay Area.
Although he’s been living with his wife for 11 years,
he’s been married for five.
In his free time he likes “being ignored by his wife and
daughter”. Ha! He loves to watch and play all things
sports related. He added “I love fast, loud cars!”
He’s held almost every job! He’s worked as a lumper,
a warehouse manager, a driver, a dispatcher and now
the Operations Manager. He’s been working on and
off at Ace since he was 17 years old. He contracted for
Graebel Van Lines for three and a half years and was
the operations manager at Suddath for three years.
He likes working at Ace because of the “family feel”.
He shares, “That’s never changed from day one.”
What you may not know about Anthony is that he
loves to sing. Whether it’s in the shower or the car, it’s
concert time, all the time!
Nita calls Canyon Lake, Texas
her hometown although she
was born in San Antonio. She
lives with her boyfriend,
Chris. She has three children:
a son that lives in Brooklyn,
NY, a daughter that lives in
Houston and a daughter that
lives in San Antonio. This
June her middle child is
making her a grandma!
When she’s not at work she likes to read, attend
local band concerts and do Karaoke.
Nita started at Ace almost a year ago. Prior, she was
in the auto dealership industry for 20 years. Nine of
those years were spent working as a government
fleet aales manager at a Dodge dealership handling
GSA contracts.
She enjoys working at Ace because she “loves the
people” and says her team is great!
What you may not know about Nita is that she’s
been to the Rock of
Gibraltar! Her Dad was
in the Air Force so she
was lucky enough to
live in Germany and
Spain and travel around
Europe.
Anthony Johnson, Operations Manager, San Jose Nita Pennington, LH Dispatch Assistant
1. Can you name three consecutive days without using the words
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, or
Sunday?
2. What belongs to you, but other people use it more than you?
