Our First Ever Mailbag: 10 Real Questions From Retail Partners, Zero Filter

Our First Ever Mailbag: 10 Real Questions From Retail Partners, Zero Filter

We've been collecting questions from retail partners for months and today we're finally answering them. Ten questions, from the floor — real, anonymous, and in some cases pretty uncomfortable. This is the first Steel Cod mailbag episode. Every question comes from someone in the independent appliance channel who took the time to submit something they couldn't always ask out loud. Jon Beresford answers all ten, and Shannon keeps him honest. The questions cover: where Jon's industry knowledge actually comes from, the honest truth about why induction is still losing on the floor, which brand Jon thinks is the most underrated right now, whether Steel Cod would ever take equity from a manufacturer in exchange for promotion (and why the answer is a hard no), what to do when a rep tells you your entry-level and premium models are basically the same thing, whether showrooms can carry too many brands, how to handle a competitor price match the right way, what to do about a top salesperson who gives customers inaccurate information, the one type of customer Jon used to dread — and what that customer ended up teaching him, and the three traits Jon believes every great salesperson has to have innately. References to past episodes: 👉 Gas vs. Induction full episode: https://www.podbean.com/eas/pb-nnr3e-1abb7cd 👉 Chef Rachelle Boucher episode: https://www.podbean.com/eas/pb-4uw9q-1ae807a 👉 SKS vs. Thermador episode: https://www.podbean.com/eas/pb-fdptj-1aee998 👉 The Customer Who Knows More episode: https://www.podbean.com/eas/pb-ykt2c-1af002f 📩 Have a question for the mailbag? Email Anthony. 🔔 New episode every day of the week. Rate and subscribe wherever you listen.

Reliability vs. Serviceability: The Appliance Question Nobody Is Asking

Reliability vs. serviceability — most people think they're the same thing. They're not. And the difference might be the most underresearched part of buying an appliance. In this episode, Jon Beresford breaks down a distinction the industry has been blurring for years: reliability is the probability of a problem occurring. Serviceability is what happens when it does. Consumers devote almost all of their research time to the first one — and almost none to the second. That's a major blind spot. Jon walks through why the definition of reliability has quietly shifted from "less likely to fail" to "should never fail" — and why that's a standard no appliance on earth can actually meet. Then he makes the case that the more important question isn't "will it break?" It's "what happens when it does?" He puts two refrigerators side by side — one with a 2% service rate, one with 8% — and then finishes the story with real-world serviceability outcomes that flip the obvious answer on its head. We also get into why the internet makes this problem worse (it's built almost entirely around failure stories, rarely the recovery), and why loyalty is almost never created when everything goes right — it's created when something goes wrong and the company handles it exceptionally well. For retailers: Jon explains why servicing what you sell is one of the most powerful sales tools you have, and why retailers who can't speak confidently about their service process end up defaulting to reliability numbers because they have nothing else to offer. Reliability isn't overrated. It's just incomplete. 🎙️ Hosted by Shannon O'Hara and Jon Beresford of Steel Cod. 🔔 New episode every day of the week. Rate and subscribe wherever you listen.

The Garbage Disposal Hasn't Changed Since 1953 — Until Now | Tim Ketchum of Composer Appliance

The garbage disposal is one of the most used fixtures in any kitchen — and it hasn't meaningfully changed since 1953. Nobody in the industry pushed for better, and consumers never thought to ask. They just accepted the noise, the smell, the slow drains, and the mystery jams as part of the deal. In this episode, we sit down with Tim Ketchum to talk about Composer — a completely rethought garbage disposal designed by aerospace engineers who looked at what the category had normalized and decided none of it was acceptable. Jon Beresford and Tim walk through everything that's broken about the standard disposal: the 70dB+ noise level (Composer runs below 50dB), the inadequate grinding that's been quietly damaging residential plumbing for decades, and the complete lack of innovation that the industry wrote off as "good enough." Then Tim walks through what Composer actually built instead — a 1 HP motor (double the industry average), an Iris system that keeps grinding contained, a continuous bio enzyme that breaks down food before buildup starts, an automatic water flush, and LED lighting under the sink. Jon also talks about what this means for independent retailers right now. Composer is about to start shipping. The customer hasn't heard of it yet. The competition hasn't caught up. That window — when a product is new enough that the story is still yours to tell — is wide open. The retailers who show up first and tell it right are the ones who own that category long-term. 🎙️ Hosted by Shannon O'Hara and Jon Beresford of Steel Cod, with guest Tim Ketchum. 🔔 New episode every day of the week. Rate and subscribe wherever you listen.

When the Customer Knows More Than You: What Great Salespeople Do Differently

The customer walks in having watched every YouTube video, read every Reddit thread, and practically memorized the spec sheet. Most salespeople either try to out-knowledge them or shut down entirely. Both are mistakes — and in this episode, Jon Beresford explains exactly what's really going on when that customer walks through your door. Spoiler: they're not there to embarrass you. They're anxious. And they're still in your showroom for a reason. Jon breaks down the psychology behind the heavily researched customer — why all that preparation is actually a sign of emotional investment, not a threat — and what the best salespeople do differently in that moment. We get into the two most common ways salespeople blow this interaction (the ego battle and the passive retreat), why both come from the same core insecurity, and what to do instead. Jon walks through the single question that consistently unlocks the prepared customer's real friction point and why asking it shifts the entire dynamic of the conversation. We also dig into how the value of physical retail has fundamentally changed. The internet gives customers information. Your showroom gives them context — and that context (hundreds of real deliveries, installs, service experiences) is something no algorithm or Reddit thread can replicate. The prepared customer has usually already sold themselves on the product. What they haven't done is sell themselves on the decision. And that gap? That's where your value lives. 🎙️ Hosted by Shannon O'Hara and Jon Beresford of Steel Cod. 🔔 New episode every day of the week. Rate and subscribe wherever you listen.

Retail Council Ep. 1 | Appliance Retailers Speak Anonymously: Bosch vs. Miele, Gas vs. Induction & More

The Steel Cod Retail Council makes its podcast debut — and we're kicking it off with four questions that cut straight to what independent appliance retailers actually think. Every week, Jon Beresford (VP of Sales, Steel Cod) surveys a handpicked group of the most experienced independent appliance retail voices in the country. Owners, managers, floor salespeople — people who've been in the trenches for decades. They answer anonymously, which is exactly why what comes back is so honest. This week's four questions: 1. Bosch vs. Miele vs. Cove — if one became your entire dishwasher business, which do you take? The council chose Bosch, but Jon reveals the more important story underneath: Miele isn't losing to Bosch, it's losing to retailer default. And the Cove result exposes a gap between brand pedigree and earned trust that no Sub-Zero/Wolf halo can close on its own. 2. Gas or Induction — what are customers actually gravitating toward and why? Gas won. But the real question is why induction keeps losing when the rational case for it has already been made and won. Jon explains why specs can't close that sale and what actually converts a gas customer. We also reference our conversation with Chef Rachelle Boucher and her hands-on approach to induction education. 👉 Chef Rachelle Boucher episode: https://www.podbean.com/eas/pb-4uw9q-1ae807a 3. What's the biggest obstacle for selling luxury appliances to younger buyers? The council split almost evenly — half blamed the buyer, half blamed the salesperson. Jon argues one side is right and one is leaving serious long-term revenue on the table. This also connects to a recent episode about the difference between giving customers information versus giving them understanding. 👉 Related episode: https://www.podbean.com/eas/pb-4vwgw-1ae3d30 4. Which luxury brand still doesn't have a convincing dishwasher story? Viking topped the list. Monogram followed. The pattern Jon draws across all the responses reveals something the whole industry should be paying attention to. Shannon O'Hara (Head of Marketing, Steel Cod) co-hosts while Anthony is traveling. New format, real results, real talk — let us know what you think. 📩 Want to submit a question for the Retail Council? Email Anthony. 🔔 New episode every day of the week. Rate and subscribe wherever you listen.