SERVICE TECHS , ARE YOU A FIRST ROUND DRAFT PICK SITTING ON THE BENCH ?

[TheChillerMan]

Look lets face it. Residential work is the minor leagues. Class A minor league. Any yahoo can do residential work out of the trunk of his car. I've seen it.

Now commercial work is triple-A.

Chillers is major league.

Don't like it? Work hard, learn more, and move up the ranks. I did.

[toocoolforschool]

I guess arrogance is a requirement to work on chillers EH?
Most of the chiller BIG LEAGUE guys I have worked with are pompous sob's.
It is also good to keep in mind that everyone does not have the same opportunities as others, we still live in a very predudiced and materialistic society.
I have nothing but respect for anybody that has worked hard for what they have but it really doesen't matter what you work on as long as you are happy doing what you do and make a living out of it.

[Tommy knocker]

I guess arrogance is a requirement to work on chillers EH?
Most of the chiller BIG LEAGUE guys I have worked with are pompous sob's.
It is also good to keep in mind that everyone does not have the same opportunities as others, we still live in a very predudiced and materialistic society.
I have nothing but respect for anybody that has worked hard for what they have but it really doesen't matter what you work on as long as you are happy doing what you do and make a living out of it.

Not a requirement but it helps I disagree with him though. I know a lot of resi guys that are damn good and could grab a chiller by the horns if the oppertunity arose. Likewise most "chiller" techs couldn't walk up to a new variable speed condensing furnace being used as aux heat for a variable speed heat pump on a 2000 sqft home. At least not without a manual and a few hrs to read through it. That's me at least. Not to proud to say so either. I have "come up through the ranks" and spend most of my time on industrial systems now and I'm pretty good at it but the resi side has left me behind. The systems today are way more complex then the systems I cut my teeth on and I would be lost for a time if I had to go back to it.

[ADillon]

I know chiller guys who couldn't service a resi heat pump if their life depended on it. I was just at Johnson Controls in OK taking a commercial commissioning class with a bunch of 'chiller guys'. The guys had to take some of their tests three times before they could manage a passing grade. Major league my ass. Saying that you're a major league tech just because you work on chillers is giving yourself way too much credit. But i guess when no one is willing to give you any, you have to make yourself feel good somehow....

[toocoolforschool]

It really comes down to where you want to specialize in, or even if you want to work union or non union. I worked in a shop in Wilmington CA. that was non union that worked on everything from screw compressors to minisplits. Nowadays most companies don't want to spend money on special trianing unless they are connected to the manufacturer. I choose my destiny but I don't look down on others because of what they work on or where they work, that would be very narrow minded. Some people have special skills in chillers and some with residential units, I'll tell you though that one will never stop learning in this trade and if one does it's all over.

[timebuilder]

On the other hand, I know chiller guys who could teach a class in residential heat pump service.

My my point is to ask," why are you in the particular section of the market where you're working now?"

Are you there to diagnose and repair, or are you there for a sales opportunity?

[timebuilder]

Since I'm not texting my response from my dumb phone, I'll extend my remarks.

I'm sure that there are many great, skilled, and ethical residential guys working in the trade. Many of them are Pro members here.

That said, the business model does not reward technical expertise in residential, because the rewards are commission based, and there is no incentive to diagnose and repair when your Co can have two guys show up the next day to install a brand new system. There is a big Co advertising on the Philly stations who talks about how many trucks he has, and how fast he can install a new system in cold weather.

Not a word about how fast a broken system can be repaired. That is not his mindset.

If you want young guys who are smart to enter this trade, then you have to figure out how to reward those smarts, otherwise, the trade will become populated with BS'ers. More so than it already is today.

[tiger man]

Look lets face it. Residential work is the minor leagues. Class A minor league. Any yahoo can do residential work out of the trunk of his car. I've seen it.

Now commercial work is triple-A.

Chillers is major league.

Don't like it? Work hard, learn more, and move up the ranks. I did.

Not to be a dink, but if commercial guys and chiller guys are so great, why do i see some o them on this forum asking us lowly resi guys how their bryant evolution furnace operates, instead of reading the manual, or product data. With the new technology out for controls for modulating funaces and condensing boilers, there is plenty to learn in resi.

[tiger man]

I know chiller guys who couldn't service a resi heat pump if their life depended on it. I was just at Johnson Controls in OK taking a commercial commissioning class with a bunch of 'chiller guys'. The guys had to take some of their tests three times before they could manage a passing grade. Major league my ass. Saying that you're a major league tech just because you work on chillers is giving yourself way too much credit. But i guess when no one is willing to give you any, you have to make yourself feel good somehow....

Agreed, a good tech is a good tech period just because youre a chillerman, doesnt mean you know everything about everything. I do mainly resi and light commercial, because thats all thats available in our area. We dont have chillers within two hours of this area. I dont know where these chiller guys get their confidence from.

[tiger man]

Since I'm not texting my response from my dumb phone, I'll extend my remarks.

I'm sure that there are many great, skilled, and ethical residential guys working in the trade. Many of them are Pro members here.

That said, the business model does not reward technical expertise in residential, because the rewards are commission based, and there is no incentive to diagnose and repair when your Co can have two guys show up the next day to install a brand new system. There is a big Co advertising on the Philly stations who talks about how many trucks he has, and how fast he can install a new system in cold weather.

Not a word about how fast a broken system can be repaired. That is not his mindset.

If you want young guys who are smart to enter this trade, then you have to figure out how to reward those smarts, otherwise, the trade will become populated with BS'ers. More so than it already is today.

Our company does not pay any commision to the techs or anyone else for that matter. I am strictly an open guy with no schedule except whatever emergency no heats come in that day.all the other techs are booked with clean and checks. All i do is diagnose and repair units, because our installers cant put a furnace in a house in a timely manner, so i have to repair the unit so it canwork until they have time to install the new unit the next month. We dont have any sales people, i a customer asks about new systems, a tech will give you prices andexplain he fundamentals of he new system. There must really be a trend in big companies hiring what i call sales techs. We have a small company of twenty people, andare very busy all year long.

[Tommy knocker]

Easy fellas. One chiller guy made a derogatory comment not all of us. Take your hurt feelings out on him. You start talking smack about chiller guys in general, the way he did resi guys, you will call down the thunder.

[TheChillerMan]

Not to be a dink, but if commercial guys and chiller guys are so great, why do i see some o them on this forum asking us lowly resi guys how their bryant evolution furnace operates, instead of reading the manual, or product data. With the new technology out for controls for modulating funaces and condensing boilers, there is plenty to learn in resi.

Laziness?

As an employee for the best manufacturer of HVAC equipment on the planet, I get to work on everything from Voyagers and IntelliPaks to screw chillers and centrifugals. Anyone that can figure out an IntelliPak can figure out anything.

[TheChillerMan]

I dont know where these chiller guys get their confidence from.

I have confidence in everything I do.