Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Open Office Hours

Just a reminder that I will be in the following locations for anyone that wants to chat!!!

Riverdale Wednesday June 25 2:00-4:00

Ledgewood Tuesday July 1 1:00-3:00

Flemington Wednesday July 23 2:00-4:00

Hope to see you there!!!

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Summer Heat and Melting Bars

Staff Alert – Summer and Melting Bars

With summer here, the Quality Department has put together some tips to help minimize the problem of our Bars melting in the summer heat. Please know that that we are working very hard to improve all aspects of our process to minimize these problems. Those efforts include everything from modifying the Bar formulations making them more heat stable to evaluating shipment processes to minimize melting during transit. And while we realize that the approach detailed below will not solve every problem with soft bars, it should make things more manageable in the short term.


Weight Watchers coated chocolate and peanut bars are designed to melt in your mouth. If they didn’t, they would taste “waxy” and no one likes that. The temperature of our mouths is about 95 degrees F. In the summer, a car trunk or a UPS truck can get hotter than that. So, our coated bars are bound to start melting in hot weather. If, however, they are protected during storage, transported properly, and handled well, that damage can be kept to a minimum. Here is what we recommend:

• When you receive a shipment of coated bars and the weather is hot, try to let the cases or boxes sit overnight at normal room temperature before you sell or open a box. When the bars, especially the new Peanut Butter Bliss and Double Chocolate Delight bars, are hot (above 80 deg. F) they are very soft and can be easily damaged by handling. However, when they cool, they return to normal condition.

• If you store coated bars in your home or a traveling location, you should try to keep the storage area below 80 deg. F.

• If you transport coated bars in hot weather, you should try to carry them in the passenger compartment of your car, rather then the trunk. While it may not be possible, in extreme heat, you can consider carrying them in a plastic container along with a couple of ice packs you have frozen overnight. That should keep them below the melting point. If they do get warm, remember to let them cool before opening them.

• If you must sell a hot box of coated bars, let the purchaser know that they must let them cool to room temperature before opening them.

IPRO Update

iPro Online Ordering System Update

Thank You to everyone who participated in the largest deployment ever of a WW system!

Over 18,000 orders for meeting room materials and products were placed using iPro in the last four months. We thank the 3,400+ Weight Watchers staff who placed these orders. However, we know there are another 3,000 Location Coordinators, At Work Leaders, and Field Management staff who still haven’t tried iPro yet….bring it on! We are ready for you!
If you haven’t tried iPro yet, we encourage you to try it with your next order. Setting up is easy when you use the Getting Started Guide which provides step-by-step instructions for installing the Weight Watchers Field Portal on your desktop and the iProcurement Ordering System User’s Guide. That’s the user-friendly guide that provides detailed instructions on how to search for items and place and track orders using iPro.

As with any new system going out to so many people, some individuals encounter problems or have questions. We have a team of your dedicated workers here to support you through this transition. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Inventory Services at InvServ@weightwatchers.com, or call the Help Desk at 1-877-FIELDWW (343-5399).
In order to properly manage and respond to issues, all issues must first be reported to the Help Desk. A Help Desk ticket will be responded to within 1 - 2 days. Every effort is made to respond and close issues even more quickly than that. (If you have a tight deadline to place an order, remember that you can always place an order using e-mail, phone, or fax.) Did you know? The resolution to your Help Desk ticket is contained in the e-mail you receive with the status of Closed or Resolved. The resolution to the issue is documented in the section “Incident Worklog.” If you are unclear of that resolution, reply back on that e-mail stating your question.

iPro Performance Enhancement:
An enhancement was made to the iPro Portal on 05/21/08 that greatly improved the speed of iPro. It significantly reduces the wait time of clicking and moving through the application to place your orders. We have been receiving lots of positive feedback on this enhanced performance. So, if you experienced performance issues in the past, or have held off using iPro, now is the time to give it a try.

Training Reminder:
A taped webcast of the iPro Webinar Training sessions is still available. If you were unable to attend one of the live webinars, please think about taking advantage of this 30 minute demonstration. It is always available and accessible via the internet! You can find the details on the Portal landing page “User Support Materials/ Training” section or attend training by going to the following internet address:
http://w.on24.com/r.htm?e=103480&s=1&k=05D23EBCD8A42609C430C53B466DDD12

Field System Request (FSR) Process:
The FSR process is the way to get users into and out of iPro. A user only needs one FSR form completed by their Territory Manager when they take on ordering responsibilities. Once provisioned for iPro, the user has the ability to order for all their locations. The FSR does not change the NOC or At Work Leader Start form process. Once an FSR form has been submitted to the Help Desk, the following will occur:

The Territory Manager who submitted the FSR form will receive an e-mail that a ticket has been opened. The user will be provisioned, be mailed training materials, and receive an e-mail containing their username and password. The Territory Manager will receive an e-mail that the ticket is closed and the Incident Worklog will contain the user’s password information.

Frequently Asked Questions

The team has compiled a list of Frequently Asked Questions since deployment. Please read through these to see if any apply to you.

What do I do when my password expires? It is important to note that, for security reasons, iPro passwords must be reset every 60 days. If you need to reset your password, you simply click on the link titled, “Forgot or Change Password,” and then follow the detailed instructions in the User’s Guide.

What do I do when I get an “Account Disabled” message? This message will appear when you have incorrectly entered your password 3 times. Once your account is disabled, you will need to contact the Help Desk to have it reset.

How do I add or change my e-mail address? An email address is necessary to receive order and shipping email confirmations. Not every Location Coordinator/At Work Leader has an email address on file. If you would like to submit an email address, your Territory Manager can do so by using the Field System Request (FSR) form to add or change email addresses.

What do I do if my default internet browser is not working after I install the WW Field Portal? During the installation of the WW Field Portal, some users received a default browser change. The Help Desk can instruct you on getting back to your original settings. Instructions are also posted on the Portal’s User Support Materials/Training section area.

How do I change the location and/or delivery address for my orders? If you have questions regarding the steps you need to follow to change the Subinventory/Deliver_to address for your order, please refer to pages 16 – 19 of the iProcurment Ordering System User’s Guide. If you still need help, contact the Help Desk.

A small number of users have encountered system errors on iPro that the IT technical team is in the process of resolving. If you receive one of the following error messages please contact the Help Desk.

What do I do if I get a “No Approver Found” message at checkout? There is a set up issue with your user account. Please contact the Help Desk if you receive this error message.

What do I do if I get a “JSP Error” message? IT is currently working on correcting this issue. For now, you will need to phone, fax or email the order when it ends in error.

What do I do if I get a “You have encountered an Unexpected Error” message when I checkout? IT is currently working on correcting this issue. In the meantime, please contact the Help Desk to let them know you have encountered this error.

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Welcome To Our New Blog!!!!

Hi All!

I'm so excited to introduce you to our territory's new way of communicating!!! Beginning today instead of the HEART newsletter Nancy and I will post important info to this blog and then send the link to you when there is something new for you to read. As some of you have been having difficulty opening the newsletter as an attachment I'm happy to say that as long as you have the internet you should have no problem getting to the Blog. Look for info regarding Staff Meetings, Workshops and Trainings, updates, Kudos and more. All info on the Blog will be archived so you will be able to catch up on previous postings if necessary. This is a work in progress so any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Let us know what you think!!!

Jackie & Nancy

Staff Meetings and Innovations

STAFF MEETINGS

Mark your Calendars!! Our Fall Staff Meeting Dates have been set. Beginning this season we are adding an additional meeting to the schedule to accomodate everyone:

Saturday, September 20 - Ledgewood 1:30-4:30
Monday, September 22 - Hillsborough 12:00-3:00
Friday, September 26 - Phillipsburg 6:00-9:00

INNOVATION 2009

Sunday, November 16.

Time and location info to follow.

Please remember that Staff Meetings, Trainings and Innovation are a requirement of your position at Weight Watchers. You receive excellent information to make your job that much more fun and relevant to our members. Please help our Territory become 100% compliant by attending!!!

You can rsvp to Terry at terrimin@aol.com

Open Office Hours

Here are some upcoming dates where I would love to see you!! If you have anything you'd like to talk with me about please stop by.

Wednesday, June 18 - Bridgewater 2:00-4:00
Wednesday, June 25 - Riverdale 2:00-4:00
Tuesday, July 1 - Ledgewood 1:00-3:00

Hope to see you then!!!

News From Nancy

Hi All!

I’m happy to let you know that I will be posting “News from Nancy” on a monthly basis.

As you know, there are always new developments going on in the world of training and I feel this is best way to communicate all of the developments to you. In addition to informing you of these developments I will also utilize this as a reminder of all of my upcoming trainings. Lastly, I’d LOVE to hear from you throughout the month with all the wonderful things you and your teams are doing to promote Positive Energy in the meeting room and how you’re keeping your members coming back week after week. I will have a “Brag” section where you can brag to our entire territory about all the great things happening in your meeting rooms.
Following is what’s upcoming over the summer in the world of trainings, please RSVP to me no later than one week prior to the date of the workshop at Nancy.LoBrace@WeightWatchers.com or call 1-800-852-1917 ext 2666.

TOOLS FOR LIVING WORKSHOP – Designed to help staff empower our members. Invite is for ALL staff who have not attended and those who would like a refresher (this is a required workshop for leaders).
JUNE 30TH LEDGEWOOD CENTER 12-3: RT 10 EAST LEDGEWOOD, NJ
AUGUST 29TH UNION CENTER 5-9 1350 GALLOPING HILL RD., UNION, NJ

ART OF CUSTOMER CARE - Designed to help staff embrace and respond to our members with care! Invite is for ALL new staff and those who would like a refresher. (This is a required workshop for all staff).
JULY 18TH UNION CENTER 5-8 1350 GALLOPING HILL RD., UNION, NJ

WELCOME TO WEIGHT WATCHERS – Designed to welcome and inform new staff on many facets of Weight Watchers. Invite is for new staff before they start mentoring process.
June 17th Hillsborough Center 12-2:30
June 21st Union Center 1-3:30

Hope to here from you!

Hugs,

Nancy