Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, August 19, 1995 TAG: 9508210061
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: F.J. GALLAGHER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Stores that overflowed earlier this summer with air conditioners now find themselves with nothing but a couple of well-tested demonstration models.
All over Roanoke, air conditioners have disappeared from the shelves, leaving residents with no choice but to make do as best they can with fans and dehumidifiers.
"I have eight left out of the 100 or so that we started the summer with," Ken Sciba, a sales associate in Montgomery Ward's appliance department, said Friday. "By the end of the day, we might be out."
Sciba said his telephone had been ringing almost nonstop with inquiries from people searching for units. Demand is apparently being compounded by people looking to replace older units that failed because of a dramatically increased work load.
"Most people don't service their air conditioners regularly," Sciba said. "I think they're going out on them. They can't take the heat."
And that heat has been relentless in Roanoke.
"We've been quite a bit above normal for the last seven days now," said National Weather Service meteorologist Pete Snyder. The average high for August, he said, is 85, and the temperature has soared to at least 94 every day this week.
Friday marked the eighth consecutive day of 90-degree weather.
The record for consecutive days with temperatures of 90 or higher, Snyder said, was set in July 1987, with a string of 23 straight days of 90-plus readings.
Some relief is in sight, Snyder said, with the weekend forecast calling for lower temperatures and less humidity.
That might bring consolation to those unable to find an air conditioner, Sears' Brand Central manager Frank Arthur said, because, if they haven't bought one yet, they probably can't.
Arthur's store started the year with 300 units in stock. Friday, only a half-dozen remained and those were all massive, hulking 18,000-BTU appliances in the $600 price range, far too large for the needs of the average residence.
Until Friday morning, Arthur said, he could have placed additional orders for smaller models with no problem, but word came down from the district warehouse that this year's supply had been exhausted.
The problem, one Sears sales associate said, is that companies produce a limited number based on projections from past sales.
"When they run out at the distribution center, that's it," he said.
A customer service representative at the General Electric national customer service center confirmed that the company nationwide had fewer than 100 air conditioners on hand for distribution. In fact, the GE warehouse in Belcamp, Md., that supplies the Roanoke area has just three units in stock.
"As far as GE's concerned, you could say that we're pretty much out of them," said Kerrie Defler. "Everybody calls in asking for them and they get all mad because there's nothing I can do. There aren't any there to distribute."
Arthur, the Sears manager, agreed with Defler, adding that some people had even cursed at him when they found out they couldn't buy a unit.
"Today's society has gotten to be spontaneous and people wait until the last minute," he said. "But when we run out of stock, it's too late."
by CNB