Give customers a hand when temperatures drop and the snow flies

It’s the middle of winter, and there’s no telling when a wicked storm will hit your town. How have you helped your customers prepare?

Why not provide your customers with helpful tips on how to stay safe during a winter storm? No doubt the residents on the East Coast could use some advice about now on how to handle the blizzard conditions winter storm Juno is blowing their way.

Poore’s Propane Gas Service in Dover, Del., is among several propane retailers that posts helpful information on their website. Its blog post includes winter storm tips and asks customers to contact the company for additional information.

Check out how Superior Propane offers tips to its customers. The company, which is located in Canada, where frigid temperatures are the norm, provides a checklist that includes a recommendation for the use of its services.

Another way to help? Include winter weather tips with your customers’ invoices or offer them in a handout. That way, they can keep them handy for when the need arises.

The Propane Education & Research Council (PERC) offers a Propane Marketer Resource Catalog for propane retailers to use as they see fit.

A section on propane safety during winter storms spells out how your customers can stay safe during power outages and hazardous conditions. Tips include ensuring there’s an adequate supply of propane and checking for snow and ice debris that can block a propane tank.

A PERC brochure on winter storms illustrates what to do when there’s a gas smell inside or outside the house, what to do as a storm approaches, and steps to take after it passes. It also offers advice on what to do if propane appliances or equipment may have been damaged.

An excellent example of how to use this information can be found on the website of Troy, N.Y.-based John Ray & Sons. An interactive version of PERC’s Winter Storm Preparedness information is a great way to get this important information to your customers.

A wide range of storm-related information is available from many other reliable sources.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) offers Winter Weather Checklists on its website. The tips offered here include a checklist for heating and recommendations on using generators.

The website Ready.gov, which the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) launched 10 years ago, features a section on winter storms and extreme cold. It includes steps to take before, during and after a storm. The website also offers tips for business owners, so you can learn how to make plans to protect your propane retail operation.

The American Red Cross is an excellent resource for disaster preparedness. The Winter Storm Preparedness section on its website offers tips on how to prepare for, and respond during, a storm. It also explains the differences between the advisories and warnings weather forecasters use this time of year, information your customers likely would find useful.

Each of these sources recommends the importance of being prepared. Why not help your customers do just that?