March VOL.78 NO.03
Editor���s Note
EDITORIAL STAFF
Making It
Happen
I
coverage on technology. The leading
dealers and marketers in the industry will typically cite the effective use of
technology as a cornerstone of efficiency
and a critical aspect of success in this
industry facing higher fuel prices and
recessionary resistance among customers in the appliance sector.
On page 14, you will find a review of a
company that looks to boost incremental business for dealers in its network by
leveraging an online portal to bring in customers. The service itself leverages online
and social media promotion in addition to
more traditional promotional media.
We have a Computer Systems Buyers
Guide on page 22 showcasing the variety
of solutions that dealers and marketers can
take advantage of to help get those previously noted efficiencies.
But on the cover you see an image of
less technical aspects of the industry���
standing in the cold, filling a customer���s
tank in the deep snow that recently hit
the Northeast. This is still an industry
served by professionals who might have
used technology to get the order in the
system, get paid and get to the destination. But, at the end of the day, someone
has to get out of the warm cab, touch
the cold steel, drag the heavy hose and
nozzle through the snow, and stand out
in the biting chill while the tank is filled.
March 2013 | FUEL OIL NEWS | www.fueloilnews.com
1030 W. Higgins Road
Suite 230
Park Ridge, IL 60068
847/720-5600
Editor
Keith Reid
847/720-5615
kreid@m2media360.com
Managing Editor
Debra Reschke Schug
847/720-5618
dschug@m2media360.com
Columnists
Keith Reid
n this issue, we have a lot of
Editorial���Office
Although the computer in the cab might
have played an essential role, the professionalism and dedication displayed
by the delivery person in getting the job
done was even more essential.
Similarly, the technician arrives at
the customer���s home in the service van,
performs maintenance on or replaces a
heating appliance in often cramped or
dirty conditions, is polite even when that
courtesy is not returned from time to
time, then leaves the work area and the
customer���s home with a smile on the face
and hopefully with one on the customer���s
face as well.
The same applies to the customer service professional dealing with consumers
stressed by the price of fuel these days or
with a customer complaint that might or
might not be valid. Or the bookkeeper
making sure the money is collected and
the bills are paid and all of the i���s are dotted
and the t���s are crossed when the taxman
looks at the books. The fleet mechanic,
the fuel buyer, the dispatcher���throw the
owner into the mix, of course, who has
to worry about everything with too little
margin for error.
Technology is critically important. But
that power comes in its ability to support
the people who go out there and keep the
business running in deep snow, or the devastation of a hurricane or simply another
day on the job. l F O N
Charles Bursey, Sr.
John Griffin
George Lanthier
List Rentals/ Reprints ��� Cheryl Naughton
678/292-6054 Fax: 360/294-6054
cnaughton@m2media360.com
PRODUCTION
Production Director ��� Mary���Jo���Tomei
Art Director ��� Andrew Stamm
Ad v e r tisin g S a les
East ��� Dave Campbell, Associate Publisher
413/528-2364 Fax: 413/528-8835
dcampbell@m2media360.com
Central & South
Rich Alden
603/899-3010 Fax: 603/899-2343
ralden@m2media360.com
Barbara Reynolds
603/588-2086
breynolds@m2media360.com
West ��� Ken Jordan
972/540-2122 Fax: 972/540-2127
kjordan@m2media360.com
MAIN OFFICE
1030 W. Higgins Road
Suite 230
Park Ridge, IL 60068
847/720-5600 ��� Fax: 847-720-5601
Custome r S e r v i c e
845/856-2229 ��� Fax: 845/856-5822
Fuel Oil News
P.O. Box 4290, Port Jervis, NJ 12771
Membership applied for 7/1/2010
