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Originally posted by cool tech 64 i have a new peeve.the company that i work for does plumbing ac refrigeration and appliances. why do customers think we carry every part for every kind of unit on our van!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! this could easily become a whole new thread topic all by itself. The Education of Customers!!! what do the customers need to know in order to adequately talk with us? They need to understand that we do a job for them which, if we simply billed like the medical community does, we would all be richer than our wildest dreams!!! However, we do NOT bill them as does the medical people. 1) We do not charge them for call backs, (legit ones, that is). 2) We do not charge them to have another contractor or service man review their system and charge separately for this. 3) we travel to them, we make house calls! 4) we work within THEIR time frame, not our own. 5) we do NOT charge their insurance and bill them a co-pay. 6) we dont bill them based upon the urgency of the customer's need! the contractors who do carry a serious supply of parts, they never have enough to meet every need. And, much of what is on the trucks is NOT being moved in a timely manner. Then too, the contractors who choose to NOT carry truck stock ... they often times leave themselves in a bind to have the time to hit many more than 3 complete service orders in a given day's time. And I am NOT reffering to market work! In that scenario, your real fortunate to hit three stores in a day whether or not you complete even one of them so there is so much that customers have no clue what we go thru and what we do for them in cutting them a break. as far as what our value in in the world? I believe we are more valuable to our way of life than even the medical community!!!
first of all, I think that Mr. Lusker and Mr. Fixit have it pretty much set up. There is more wisdom in what just these two men said than has been said in a very long time. (on this subject) as to the statement that so many techs go out and start their own thing ... all withOUT much of anything in the way of business acumen... that my friends, is an UNDERSTATEMENT!!! If you took a pole of those where who would honestly admit what education they engaged in prior to entering this field and prior to entering their own business ... most here would be SHOCKED to learn that most here have NOT received any formal education and most business owners have NOT taken any classes or courses or had a Mentor or hired a business manager to assist them in the areas of running a real business, which they were not qualified to work in themselves. (boy what THAT a "run-on" sentance) I believe that if Lusker and fixit should ever get together and colaborate ... they could become a fantastic resource for independant service contractors to utilise.
i have a new peeve.the company that i work for does plumbing ac refrigeration and appliances. why do customers think we carry every part for every kind of unit on our van!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
LIVING BEYOND YOUR MEANS AMOUNTS TO! Not being able to go beyond your limits to achieve more than what you can expect from oneself, therefore if you always do what you always done , you simply have what you always gotten! arise to the top, without putting limitations on oneself, and know your limits without spreading yourself to thin, is another thing in it self entirely, and knowing your limits, so to speak,,
LIVING BEYOND YOUR MEANS AMOUNTS TO!
This will tweak many of you but it is reality!! After being on this site for a short while I hear a common complaint from techs. (I can go into compalints from onwers/bosses another time) I hear alot of complaining covering a multitude of topics. But you know what. It really shouldn't matter. If a tech is that good, he should be able to move a moments notice because according to the owners, they can't find good techs!?!?!? What I have noticed since I went from Senior Tech to Management years ago, is many techs live above their means. When the summer hits and the OT is coming in, they run out and buy new toys, new cars, cars for the kids, bigger house, etc. In the fall when the OT dries up, they are begging for OT. I have a meeting topic every year reminding the techs to budget on a 40hr week, OT is just gravy. But even then, I get a few that don't get it and think if they are working 50-60hrs a week they can cover everything. Not thinking that the 50-60hr weeks are temporary. As difficult as it is to do Techs need to sit down and determine what the need to live on AND save a chunk. Determine what you can trim out. How much do you spend to eat out, order in? If you are working 60+hrs a week do you really use that camper & boat for fishing or sking, quads and sandrails for play? You are still paying for them to sit there whether they get used or not. This is not to say one can't have these toys, one can, if budgeted for. Once a tech(and family) can live on a budget and put some away in savings, he opens up opportunities for himself. Another thing they can do is go to the trade organization meetings in their area. Meet and Greet your competitors, let them put a face to your name, build at least an "aquatence type" of relationship with them. Talk with other techs working for other companies. Find out how they operate and whether it is something you could work with. I learned long ago to position myself, both financially and professionally, to be able to quit ANY JOB on ANY given day, if needed. This does a couple of things. It gives you a much different outlook on the situations that arise at work. They don't seem to get to you as much. You can shut it off at night. Look at it again in the morning, instead of dwelling on it knowing you can't leave due to financial requirements. Having your name/face familiar with competitors allows you to have place to go, rather quickly if you want to. And also having some knowledge of how the new employer operates, 'cause you have already done your homework on them. All this said, one still needs to be very good, (in the field) and very disciplined (financially) to put oneself in this position. But it works....... [Edited by ifixstuff on 09-03-2006 at 06:49 PM]
your right but everytime you fix someones unit they think we can always fix it...... public perception isnt great????????
true but true Originally posted by cool tech 64 every one asks about service techs.i have thought about this, it may sound conceided but think about it before juding my statement. dispatchers say when they pee off a customer dont worry service man has to see them not us. when an install goes to fastthey say dont worry service dept will fix it. and when a customer says dont worry if the unit is 20 years old we can get a servce man to fix it.so here it is what i think a good frame of mind and attitude of service man is; SERVICE MEN:WE PERFOFM THE IMPOSSIBLE EVERYDAY, MIRCLES JUST TAKE A LITTLE LONGER Were Technicians, not Magicians!
true but true
My pet peave was relatives working in the office, and they can't hire help for the field because it cost too much. There was no need for 5 summer hire file clerks, while we couldn't get one field helper for the summer. Also it used to erk me that we had Nextels with no phone hookup and the summer hires had unlimited call times on a company full feature Nextel. PS I started in this trade working for a relative out in the field, cleaning coils on strip malls, and shopping centers. My step-uncle was to only to be addressed Mr. when I worked for him and I rarely saw him to boot.
hey r12rules, havent heard back from you. whats up?
After all it's just a Saturday. Rheem 3.0 ton systems 1) Call AHS not cooling, Master Bedroom unit, filters clogged with dirt,then go into attic furnace with start collar into side 12" duct, ductboard on rear 12" duct.Go to outdoor unit,remove top,completely impacked closed coil,motor hot,compressor hot, shut down call AHS denied, lack of maintenance.Clean coil with BIG YELLOW,rinse and check motor,capacitor,compressor,pressures are not good due to low airflow.Give estimate for plenum,new return enlarged in hallway, and the repair side of furnace with metal.. 2) Game room 20x22 with (2) 10x6x6 no return, find return in hallway 14x25 with 16" duct in chase,estimate for new filter grill in chase inside Game room, adding 12x6x7 to replace the lack of airflow. 3) Total time 2.0 hours collected 55.00 AHS with repairs to be done nexted week total>>>$1000.00+ >>>>Priceless<<<<
every one asks about service techs.i have thought about this, it may sound conceided but think about it before juding my statement. dispatchers say when they pee off a customer dont worry service man has to see them not us. when an install goes to fastthey say dont worry service dept will fix it. and when a customer says dont worry if the unit is 20 years old we can get a servce man to fix it.so here it is what i think a good frame of mind and attitude of service man is; SERVICE MEN:WE PERFOFM THE IMPOSSIBLE EVERYDAY, MIRCLES JUST TAKE A LITTLE LONGER
I have to agree up until this year i was nieve (spelling?) enough to think that we all nitro checked our new installs before we let the freon fly!!!!!!!!! Well after about 10 after hour weekend and holiday calls because of flat pressures i realized it to be untrue while i had to leave my family functions to work the install guys were sucking up their bonus money for completing that extra job last week, I had an epiphany put the install guys on call they had a work van and enough knowledge to be dangerous well they didnt want any of that so the boss revoked their take home van !!!!!! good and bad i say sad we had to run so many call backs when this is kinda against epa regs, but good that the boss took soime sort of action if he did not i said with a smile there are plenty of other jobs out there where hopefully this is not tolerated........i do agree with the formentioned keep the business were you can handle the work load anything else your asking fo trouble.............good day all
Man...I was getting pissed at my facillities job @ a major airline because of a bancruptcy and pay cut a couple of years ago and almost went back in the van for a big mechanical contractor.I decided to stick it out for a while and I'm glad I did. The more I listen to guys here, the more I realize how good I got it even with a little less money than I made before which is still more than some are saying here that they get.I make a little less than journymen fitters in my area but have 5 weeks paid vac. and good med. with small co pay and I'm pretty much my own boss in charge of my own building.I know that some guys have a good relationship with a small contractor but I never worked for "that" contractor.For now I like the big corp. world.
prevention considering factors., short term vs long term affects from lack of thinking things through before making a decision or company policy/s foresight,commonsense,manipulation of selfish employees are considering factors of making these polcies. saving money or shortchanging the tech, what ever one wants to call it, can be more expensive,or costly, in the long run, than shortchanging or just as shortchanging oneself or the customer! In the beginning profit might show, repairing service vehicles, replacing them, are long term cause of hurrying techs, least to mention the quality of workmanship! attitudes change and professionalism and company/tech image suffers. to shortchange the tech is to shortchange onelsef, and the to become greedy, is to forget become the best or be like the rest! Theres alot of ways to make money and staying succesful , without having to make excuses to shortchange the company techs/customers to make payroll. Being mean or harsh to techs wont accomplish anything good, in fact they treat customers better, and employers better when treated fair, compensated fair. the ones who take advantage it shows, whether its the tech the employer or the customer, and doing business with them isnt worth the headaches, its like a spoiled apple in the bunch, it has its place. As for Market tech, find a better company to work for! and those that waste their gas and beat their vehicles suspension,or interior , and risk their tools being stolen, whether its their vehicle or your own, and having to be late to calls or run to the first call, change to a company thats stable and is fair to you and your future too, and one that doesnt short change you or want to save money at your expense, or simply cant make foreseeble commonsense decisions! hopefully they will take you into account as a profitable asset to their company, and everyone doesnt feel pressured about losing/keeping their job, or having to get paid on payday! these are only my opinions, hopefully it will all work out for everybody, that helps themselves, or can see it coming and do something about their situation, before the decision is made for them.
prevention
i thought purging was illegal!!!!!!!!!i found that piece workers are the first to leave things unsoldered and not completely put things together. butn this there job get in get it done and get out, i think residetial builders didnt try to get the houses done so fast problems like this wouldnt happen. see these guys figure its not there problem, its the servicemans problem. i have heard this a thousand times, and it aggrevates me. this is one of my peeves.also another problem i have is a dispatcher not getting enough info, like exact address, time to be there. or homeowner who calls 5 companys and whoever gets there first,or a home owner that knows exactly whats wrong and tells you how to fixit,and they know there unit dont work and calls at 11:00 p. m.and wants you there then.
"I would gladly quit that job in a big hurry. Van dropped off early next morning and never look back." I already left. Unfortunately in the new england its slim pickings from now till heating season starts.
Originally posted by Lusker Speaking from the BOSS or "double SOB" point of view. Gradually I decreased the size of my company to a manageable structure and dropped the bottom 1/3 of my customers that didn't appreciate anyone much less a hard working service tech. As my business size reduced my cash flow increased?!?!?! More reductions, upswing in rate charges, bigger and better gear and trucks and support.... more up flow in cash management. Very Cool! And the quality of work was at the top our game. 1% or less recall rate with 0% during our slower months. Now I am 1/3rd the size I was making good cash flow and paying them very well with bennies and trucks to go home in. That won't change. Cheers Edited the quote to the really important part. Ever read Joseph Schmidt? He wrote regular articles for one of the trades, advocating the same thing. Weed out the weak customers by charging more. Every time I see someone post on here about how hard it is to attract techs to their company, I think of him. Worked for 25 years for a mom and pop, raised rates significantly the last few years and it worked pretty well. The problem seems to be techs going into business for themselves with no business sense or training.
Lusker, great post, if more companies did that, technicians would be happier, customers would be happy to be getting quality work and business profits would be up, the only losers would be those who don't appreciate quality.
Speaking from the BOSS or "double SOB" point of view. I like to read these stories. In doing so, I get a chance to look back when I had the freedom of being a tech and if I say so myself, I was/am darn good at it too. (in my specialties, that is) I started out as one-man-shop due to family medical situation and bills that had to be paid. Paid them all in full and on time but I ate a lot of beans doing it. I've been in my town for a long time and get along with just about everyone. Soon I had umpteen trucks and guys and state wide contracts. Cool! What I didn't realize was the bigger I got, the more of an albatross my business got. Explain if I may... My world was small and was being pulled upon by my customers as in a relation to the earth and moon gravitational field. My moon (work) was gently circling my customers (earth) without a hitch. Soon, as I grew my world turned into the sun pulling on all of my customers and family and employees (the earth) This change in business growth also changed the way I presented myself and handled my employees. The tougher the pressure the more of a financial pinch it was thus driving me to push my employee's harder and harder for billing. In doing this the quality of our work went down the toilet. It wasn't the fault of the tech. It was MY fault for pushing so hard. Trying to find that extra 10 bucks to make payroll. During this time in my life the stress became so great that I now have to live the rest of my life with a battery in my chest. Payback if you will. My senior techs held down the fort until I was able to come back to work. Changes in the work place started to take form. Quality was back, customers were happy again and cash flow was back to a manageable flow. I then realized what an ass I had been. How I let my work take over my values as a tech and replace quality with money. Yes, I am still an ass but at least I know it! Gradually I decreased the size of my company to a manageable structure and dropped the bottom 1/3 of my customers that didn't appreciate anyone much less a hard working service tech. As my business size reduced my cash flow increased?!?!?! More reductions, upswing in rate charges, bigger and better gear and trucks and support.... more up flow in cash management. Very Cool! And the quality of work was at the top our game. 1% or less recall rate with 0% during our slower months. Sorry for being so long here but here is the bottom line. Money and responsibility can change a man to look away from his roots in the business. To really succeed you must stick to those roots and never sacrifice quantity for quality. Take care of your techs and when you find yourself in trouble they will be the first to offer a way out. I am very grateful to my guys both past and present. Now I am 1/3rd the size I was making good cash flow and paying them very well with bennies and trucks to go home in. That won't change. Cheers
Originally posted by offthegrid I posted this under techs worst nightmares and its similar to one of the earlier posts. You go to a service call on a system that was a contract install. No one ever accepts the work or inspects it and now you show up to a cascade of complaints. Return duct too small, attic air handler boxed into corner of attic so that you have to sit on it to get over it and access the service side (filters in this unit instead of drop down return grille), heat pump cuts directly to electric back up, tstat wired wrong, major leaks when system runs and other examples of cut and run work. The service tech becomes the installer but has to figure out what is wrong first, not as easy as a finish job. Companies I've worked for to this point preach one thing and practice something completely different. The straw that breaks the camels back is the resentment you seem to get when it takes a long time to reinvent the screwed up install and a hopeless attempt to defend the company to the customer. It seems the installers top priority is to collect the check and start the next job with no accountability. The service techs top priority is to fix the install and fit legit service calls inbetween. I could go on and on. I would gladly quit that job in a big hurry. Van dropped off early next morning and never look back.
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