Home And Office Bottled Water Delivery In Northern Virginia: 5 Valuable Tips for Selecting a Supplier

[Guest guest]

Free-Reprint Article Written by: Jon M. Stout

See Terms of Reprint Below.

*****************************************************************

*

* This email is being delivered directly to members of the group:

*

*

*

*****************************************************************

We have moved our TERMS OF REPRINT to the end of the article.

Be certain to read our TERMS OF REPRINT and honor our TERMS

OF REPRINT when you use this article. Thank you.

This article has been distributed by:

http://Article-Distribution.com

Helpful Link:

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act - Overview

http://www.gseis.ucla.edu/iclp/dmca1.htm

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Article Title:

==============

Home And Office Bottled Water Delivery In Northern Virginia: 5 Valuable Tips for

Selecting a Supplier

Article Description:

====================

Throughout the United States many consumers and businesses are

electing to purchase bottled drinking water instead of tap or

well water. The trend is clearly on the rise.

Additional Article Information:

===============================

1165 Words; formatted to 65 Characters per Line

Distribution Date and Time: 2007-04-27 12:48:00

Written By: Jon M. Stout

Copyright: 2007

Contact Email: mailto:jon.stout@...

Jon M. Stout's Picture URL:

http://www.thephantomwriters.com/client-img/jon-stout.jpg

For more free-reprint articles by Jon M. Stout, please visit:

http://www.thePhantomWriters.com/recent/author/jon-m_-stout.html

=============================================

Special Notice For Publishers and Webmasters:

=============================================

If you use this article on your website or in your ezine,

We Want To Know About It. Use the following URL to let

us know where you have used this article, and we will

include a link to your website on thePhantomWriters.com:

http://thephantomwriters.com/notify.php?id=4770 & p=load

HTML Copy-and-Paste and TEXT Copy-and-Paste

Versions Of Article Are Available at:

http://thePhantomWriters.com/free_content/db/s/home-office-bottled-water.shtml#g\

et_code

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Home And Office Bottled Water Delivery In Northern Virginia: 5 Valuable Tips for

Selecting a Supplier

Copyright © 2007 Jon M. Stout

Element H2O

http://www.elementh2o.com

Throughout the United States many consumers and businesses are

electing to purchase bottled drinking water instead of tap or

well water. The trend is clearly on the rise. A recent study of

the bottled water industry indicates that U.S. bottled water

sales and consumption continue to multiply at double digit rates

as consumers and businesses increasingly choose bottled water as

a beverage of choice. (Source: International Bottle Water

Association Press Release dated April 13, 2006,

http://www.bottledwater.org) Many consumers are choosing bottled

drinking water over tap or well water because of the level of

contaminants and bad chlorine related taste.

This increase in demand is significant as bottled water has also

gained considerable share from the Carbonated Soft Drink (CSD)

market. The CSD market share was also reduced as a result of the

recent program to ban the sale of CSD products in school

systems.

Private label drinking water is the fastest growing segment of

the total bottled water industry.

Why the Strong Demand for Bottled Water?

The continued growth in bottled water consumption is mainly

comprised of four elements, which are as follows:

* Good taste and quality of the product

* Convenience of delivery

* Supplier customer service

* A product line offering that meets the needs of the customer

Country-wide, the bottled water industry has moved quickly to

respond to the needs of the market and customers, which results

in the increase in bottled water demand and consumption. This

trend has also proved evident in the heavily populated area of

Northern Virginia in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan area.

The Northern Virginia Market for Bottled Water

Northern Virginia population has grown dramatically in the last

ten years largely due to the massive homeland security build up

after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. This huge influx of population

stressed the existing water infrastructure for both tap and well

water. Tap water, although tested against FDA standards, still

contained a number of potentially hazardous minerals and chlorine

additives to kill bacteria. Well water, subjected to chemical and

organic pollution and not tested by any government agency, proved

also to be undesirable and not beneficial to health.

The State of Virginia ranks among the highest in terms of

violation of EPA maximum contaminant levels. The constant influx

of population into Northern Virginia will continue to stress the

water infrastructure. (Source: Water on Tap: What You Need to

Know:

http://www.epa.gov/safewater/wot/pdfs/book_waterontap_full.pdf)

Many of the new arrivals in Northern Virginia are young urban

professionals with young families. Most of these people seek

healthy alternatives for their drinking water supplies.

Because of water quality problems in Northern Virginia, the

growth in bottled water demand seen throughout the country is

repeated locally. Strong demand for high-quality, good tasting

water coupled with the convenience of local delivery resulted in

the emergence of bottled water firms with product and service

offerings of varying quality.

5 Valuable Tips for Selecting a Bottled Water Supplier

In Northern Virginia there are many choices facing the consumer

that seek an alternative to tap and well water. It should be

revealed, however, that the many suppliers in the market are

diverse and not uniform in their product quality and service

offerings. The best suppliers meet the customer's expectations

in 5 critical areas: Tips for the best choice in each area are

listed below.

1. Quality and Taste of Water

Choose the purest, best tasting water. There are many types of

water that vary in quality and taste. The United Sates Food and

Drug Administration (FDA) defines a number of water categories

including Spring Water (water from an underground source) and

Purified Water (including distilled water). Each category defines

a specific type of bottled water with Purified Water containing

no minerals or other contaminants.

In addition to quality, taste is an important consideration. The

taste of bottled water should be light and refreshing without any

hint of after taste. Not all bottled water products meet these

criteria, but those that do are very popular. Take a taste test

before deciding to purchase.

Purified Water removes all contaminants, which allows many

experts to believe that the distilled/oxygenated Purified Water

process produces the highest quality, best tasting bottled

water.

2. Broad Product Offering

The consumer should look for a company that offers home delivery

of high-quality coolers, 5 gallon jugs, small package (12 and 20

oz.), PET products and water accessories. All products should be

user friendly and commercial grade with bottle handles,

spill-proof caps and other features that ensure the water supply

will be convenient and safe.

Since private label water is now available for corporate events,

weddings, birthdays, anniversaries and other memorable occasions,

a supplier that offers private label drinking water combined with

high-quality private label design and production is a plus.

3. Total Customer Satisfaction

Many bottled water suppliers promise customer satisfaction, but

few deliver on that promise. A good way to test whether a

supplier can guarantee satisfaction is to place a telephone call

to the supplier's customer service department. If you reach a

human voice on your first call then probabilities are very high

that you will receive customer satisfaction; if you receive

voicemail or a recording however, then the supplier values cost

cutting more than customer service.

Poor customer service will rapidly offset a seemingly low price.

Consider total value including customer service and product

quality before agreeing to a " price only " offer.

4. Ease of Ordering

Ease of ordering should be a priority and long term contracts

should be avoided. Frequently, some suppliers will quote a very

low price but require an onerous one-sided long term contract.

The best way to order is with a simple agreement that does not

include penalties for cancellation and is customer oriented.

Ordering off the internet is very convenient if the site is truly

interactive. Choose a supplier that has an interactive site where

a customer can select the type and amount of water, establish

delivery schedules, use a credit card for payment with guaranteed

security and modify their account on demand.

A limited number of suppliers offer the ability to design private

label drinking water on the internet through highly interactive

e-commerce sites. The best sites offer multiple layered tools

that provide for advanced graphic design and powerful label

messages.

Those suppliers who have invested in a powerful, interactive site

offer their customers added convenience and flexibility when

creating brand messages on private label drinking water.

5. Complementary Products

Home and office delivery of bottled water also offers a

distribution channel for other products like coffee and tea.

Similar to bottled water, complementary products often vary

greatly in quality and customer service satisfaction. The

consumer should choose a supplier who offers products of

high-quality supported by the best customer service.

Bottled water offers a healthy alternative to tap and well water

in Northern Virginia; and home and office delivery offers

convenience to consumers and businesses. The quality of product

and service offerings in the marketplace differs significantly

however. Therefore it is beneficial to the consumer to

investigate any potential bottled water supplier with care.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Jon M. Stout is Chairman of the Board of Element H2O.

For more information about bottled water

(http://www.elementh2o.com/Store/), private label

bottled water and (http://www.elementh2o.com/local/)

bottled water delivery go to http://www.elementh2o.com