March 28, 2024

The Balancing Act on Lifetime with Laundry Buyer, Lori Wood and Refrigerator Buyer, Michael Burti from Sears

The following segment aired on The Balancing Act on Lifetime Television. Joining the show was Lori Wood and Michael Burti from Sears to discuss how to get the most for your money with appliance deals.

The Balancing Act on Lifetime Television Host Danielle Knox:  Stretching our dollar is a top priority these days, so ‘The Balancing Act’ on Lifetime Television has invited Lori Wood, Laundry Buyer, and Michael Burti, Refrigerator Buyer, both with Sears, to help us save some green on our next appliance purchase. ‘Show me the money’ is a mantra that a lot of Americans are chanting these days.  When shopping for appliances can we do well in both price and value? Is it possible to have both?

Wood:  Absolutely, value is different to every consumer and we offer over 3,600 appliances at Sears, so we really do have a value that’s meaningful to every consumer. No matter what their budge is, no matter what the size of their wallet is, we have great products at every price point, from the top of the line down to whatever price point the customer is interested in spending.

The Balancing Act on Lifetime Television: Times are tough for so those price points may be lower for many of us. Do we have to sacrifice performance for price?

Burti:  Absolutely not.  You don’t have to sacrifice performance.  You’re probably going to have to sacrifice some features if you’re on a budget, but that’s okay.  I think what it’s going to come down to is having to do a little bit more research ahead of time, really trying to understand what features you have to have and which features you can live without.

The Balancing Act on Lifetime Television: How important is it to do your research, especially in these economic times?

Burti:  Without a doubt, if it’s an appliance then you are going to be living with it for a long time. You want to make sure that you’re going to be satisfied with it and that it is going to meet all of your needs.  Definitely do the research ahead of time, making sure that if you’re on a budget that you are going to get all of the features that you expect to get out of the appliance.

The Balancing Act on Lifetime Television: It seems like every day a new energy-efficient appliance pops up.  More and more, people are thinking about this. More and more consumers are heading towards buying these kinds of products. 

Wood: it’s a great way to go when you buy a new appliance and especially important because you will have it for a long time.  Today’s appliances are more energy-efficient than they have ever been.  In addition to saving water and saving energy which is so important, it saves you money so your utility bills are less.  The machines on the market today, like dishwashers use so much less water than before that they actually use less than if you washed dishes by hand.  And in a washing machine you can fit 25 bath towels in one load so you can do that many less loads of laundry.  They spin so fast that they take most of the moisture out of the clothes so you are also using your dryer for a lot less time.

Burti:  The appliance industry has come a long way and it’s really interesting to see all the things they’ve done to help save both water and energy.

The Balancing Act on Lifetime Television: I think the other important issue that a lot of us out there are worried about is the value.  Great value in important but the next question has to do with warranties and service.

Burti: A good thing about purchasing an appliance at Sears is the fact that we have our own service organization and when you make a purchase at Sears, your appliance is covered for a full year, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, support on the phone and certainly if you need service, we have 10,000 trained technicians that are available 7 days a week for service.

The Balancing Act on Lifetime Television: How does Sears stack up to its competitors in terms of affordability and quality?

Wood:  We would like to tell you that we’re the leader in the industry as far as selection of appliances overall, especially as far as selection of energy star appliances.  And with the service organization that we just told you about, we can give you service and assurance with our price match that no one else can do.  You can go to sears.com for more information.

The Balancing Act on Lifetime Television is the only morning show in America produced by women specifically for women. Every morning, The Balancing Act on Lifetime hosts Danielle Knox and Kristy Villa tackle the issues that face today’s woman. Popular show segments include Live weather updates with Mark Mancuso, surprise celebrity visitors, and news about the latest trends affecting your life, home, career and family. The Balancing Act on Lifetime Television airs daily on Lifetime at 7 a.m. ET/PT. For more information, visit The Balancing Act on Lifetime Television’s website at www.thebalancingact.com.

 

The Balancing Act on Lifetime with ASPCA supervisory special investigator, Annemarie Lucas

The Balancing Act Lifetime

The Balancing Act Lifetime

The following segment aired on The Balancing Act Lifetime Television. Joining the show was Annemarie Lucas from the ASPCA to discuss dog adoption and how you know you are buying from the right type of breeders.

The Balancing Act on Lifetime Television Host Marybel Rodriguez:  If you’re planning on getting a new pet pooch, you could be paying a higher price than you realize.  Many pet stores and internet vendors are actually selling dogs that were bred in puppy mills.  The ASPCA, which stands for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, wants to warn consumers about this problem before they buy.  Joining us is the top dig in a top-rated TV series, ASPCA’s Supervisory Special Investigator, AnneMarrie Lucas.

Lucas:  A puppy mill is a large-scale substandard commercial dog-breeding operation.  Basically, they house numerous dogs where their sole purpose is to breed over and over and over again, and the results of that breeding are the puppies that then get shipped to pet stores all over the country.  So the ASPCA strongly advices people not to buy puppies from pet stores.

The Balancing Act on Lifetime Television: Are puppy mills more prevalent in some areas than others?

Lucas: They are and Missouri is number one.  Followed by Nebraska and Oklahoma–but we also see them in Florida and across the entire country.  No state is without a puppy mill.

The Balancing Act on Lifetime Television: What should consumers know about the puppies sold at pet stores and over the internet?

Lucas: Every time you buy a puppy from a pet store or even over the Internet, if you have no idea where that puppy comes from and the origin and where their parents are from, then you have no idea of the health of that puppy.  So you could buy a puppy for thousands of dollars and then, in turn, spend thousands of dollars in medical bills because that puppy was not bred correctly.  They have hereditary diseases and they are very sickly so that could be a huge problem for you that you certainly cannot afford.

The Balancing Act on Lifetime Television: Then how do you know if the papers that you get when you purchase the puppy are legitimate or not?

Lucas: Basically, you don’t because pet stores and anybody can make a breed registry.  You can make one up if you wanted to. A responsible breeder will always invite you to their home. They will want to meet you, interview you, show you where the adults are, how they’re bred and they’ll show you the puppies and how they’re kept. A puppy miller on the other hand could care less about who takes the puppies.  They just want to get them out as quickly as possible and make as much money as they can.  So every puppy in a pet store is from a puppy mill and it is important that you remember that.

The Balancing Act on Lifetime Television: For those people who want to get involved, what can we do to help get rid of these puppy mills?

Lucas: We have to support legislation to protect puppies. You can write to your local legislators and tell them you don’t want puppy mills in your state.  Tell them you want responsible breeders only.

The Balancing Act on Lifetime Television: That is good advice and somewhere that people can start helping.  Can you tell The Balancing Act viewers where the best place is to actually find a pet?

Lucas: You should visit your local animal shelter or your local rescue group.  If you want a specific breed then contact a breed rescue group.

The Balancing Act on Lifetime Television: Can you tell me more about the animals in the shelters and why they deserve homes?

Lucas:  There are so many fantastic adoptable animals in animal shelters.   A lot of people think hat they’re only abused animals or that they have been abandoned because nobody wants the. That is absolutely not true. They are adoptable, beautiful and healthy.  You can go to aspca.org for more information on puppy mills and also responsible pet ownership.

The Balancing Act on Lifetime Television:  How are you able to deal with the trauma you see in abused and injured animals?

Lucas: It affects me every day and my heard breaks every day with the cases that we deal with.  I rush home at the end of the day and give lots of hugs to my dogs and cats and that seems to get me through the next day because I look at them and see their faces and realize how important my job really is.

The Balancing Act Lifetime Television is the only morning show in America produced by women specifically for women. Every morning, The Balancing Act on Lifetime hosts Danielle Knox and Kristy Villa tackle the issues that face today’s woman. Popular show segments include live weather updates with Mark Mancuso, surprise celebrity visitors, and news about the latest trends affecting your life, home, career and family. The Balancing Act on Lifetime Television airs daily on Lifetime at 7 a.m. ET/PT. For more information, visit The Balancing Act on Lifetime Television’s website at www.thebalancingact.com.

BrandStar Entertainment’s The Balancing Act with Chris Russo

BrandStar Entertainment

BrandStar Entertainment

The following segment originally aired on the August 12th, 2011 show on BrandStar Entertainment’s morning TV show, The Balancing Act on Lifetime Television.  The featured guest was the President and Chairman of The American Society of Travel Agents, Chris Russo. 

BrandStar Entertainment – The Balancing Act on Lifetime:  You might want to dust off your travel agent’s number or dig up their email address after watching BrandStar Entertainment’s popular “Smart Shopper” series.  You’ll not only learn just how much your travel agent can help in planning your next trip—you’ll also spare yourself a headache as well as money by not booking that trip yourself!

BrandStar Entertainment – The Balancing Act on Lifetime:  It doesn’t matter if you take to the skies, hit the road, or hop aboard a train– most of us would like to get the most bang for our buck when taking a vacation and doing it without cutting corners on comfort!

BrandStar Entertainment – The Balancing Act on Lifetime:  BrandStar Entertainment’s The Balancing Act on Lifetime brought in a true pro, President and Chairman of The American Society of Travel Agents, Chris Russo.  Chris is going to show how to stretch your dollar AND your legs– when you head out of town.

BrandStar Entertainment – The Balancing Act on Lifetime:  Gas prices are so high right now and airlines are charging arm and a leg for baggage—it’s crazy.  Traveling is expensive!  Is it possible to travel WELL and not spend a ton of money?

Chris:  Absolutely!  You just have to be a savvy traveler.  You have to be able to use a travel professional that’s looking for all those deals for you and especially one with The American Society of Travel Agents.

BrandStar Entertainment – The Balancing Act on Lifetime:  Most people think that the Internet would be the place to go and browse to find the best deals out there.  Is the web the best site for booking travel?

Chris:  The web is a great tool for both our customers and for us as travel professionals because there’s a lot of information for both of us to get.  But, it’s not the end-all… be-all… like we ALL want it to be.  You still want to use a travel professional.  A lot of people think that if you book your air, hotel and your car all together on a website that that’s the best way to do it.

BrandStar Entertainment – The Balancing Act on Lifetime:  That’s what I’d do.

Chris:  But, it’s not always the best.   

BrandStar Entertainment – The Balancing Act on Lifetime:  Ok, if I wanted to use a travel agent, what can they do for me that the internet couldn’t in terms of fees and savings?

Chris:  There are a lot of things.  Travel professionals are there with you before, during and after your trip so they’re always looking out for you—they’re your advocate.  For saving you money, we have connections already with the hotels you don’t have, meaning you don’t have to look up on the Internet at one o’clock in the morning!

BrandStar Entertainment – The Balancing Act on Lifetime:  What kind of insight can you give to our audience as a travel agent?

Chris:  If you’re going on a family cruise you want to make sure that a travel agent professional will make sure that you’re not sitting right above the disco, so that the kids can go to sleep at night and aren’t next to the engine room.

BrandStar Entertainment – The Balancing Act on Lifetime:  I think having a travel agent could be an important thing, but I don’t feel it’s something that a lot of people do think about.

Chris:  I think that there’s a misconception that prices are more expensive… when you use a travel professional—which is NOT true.  Travel agents are always going to be there and they’re going to help you throughout the process—so you really need to use one.

BrandStar Entertainment – The Balancing Act on Lifetime:  You have that “Human Experience.”  You have a physical person you know and can talk to instead of getting upset and banging on your computer keyboard when you can’t find what you’re looking for.

Chris:  When you’re standing in line at the airport because you booked a ticket online and there’s a line a mile long, it’s great to have a travel professional where you can pick up the phone, call them and have THEM help you out.  That’s what we’re there for!

BrandStar Entertainment – The Balancing Act on Lifetime:  How do the people wanting to travel, find the right agent for them?

Chris:  Finding a travel professional is like trying to find a good lawyer, CPA or a doctor.  Get recommendations from your friends.  Ask them.  They might have just come back from a great vacation.  Ask them who they used.  See if they can give some insight or can answer your questions the way YOU want them to be answered.  The other thing is, if you’re looking for something special… go to The American Society of Travel Agents at travelsense.org.  It’s a great resource to find a good local travel agent that’s a member of The American Society of Travel Agents.

The award-winning television production team at BrandStar Entertainment is one of the industry’s leaders.  BrandStar Entertainment features a full array of creative services that include distribution, sound stages and production/post production facilities. BrandStar Entertainment is known for producing content driven shows like The Balancing Act on Lifetime Television, the only morning show in America produced by women specifically for women. BrandStar proudly carries a WomenCertified® Seal, demonstrating leadership in women friendly programming. BrandStar Entertainment’s The Balancing Act airs daily on Lifetime at 7 a.m. ET/PT. For more information, visit BrandStar Entertainment’s website for The Balancing Act at www.thebalancingact.com.