A thank you to a supplier for good service

[HVAC LLC]

I had 2- 35 year old duct furnaces with good heat exchangers I needed new burners for.
Here in Kansas City we have 3 places we can buy Modine parts. I called them, and all of them told me, "Naa, can't get parts, too old, obsolete".
I have been to this particular Goat roping before, so I told them to call the factory and see if there are any around. Had to call one of the companies, wish I could name the slackers, but I don't know the protocol for that type of stuff here on this Forum, anyway, had to call him three times, still no dice.
I hopped on the Internet and called 3 companies, "I'll call you after I check" Right, none called back. But the 4th company was Heinlein Supply out of Chicago, talked to Ron, very nice professional guy. He said he had a number crossover, but couldn't be sure that was the right burner. He suggested sending my burner up so he could match them. I did, they did, I bought them, happy as a Clam...
I know I could have sold my customer new duct furnaces, but they are good customers, and I don't do business like that, Golden Rule and all that..
Tip 'o the hat to you Ron and Heinlein. Service is not dead, alive and kicking, just have to go to Chicago to get it...
Here is a slide show of the change-out.http://tiny.cc/Modine

[papa_jo]

good job !!!!!!!!!!! nice to see your taking care of your people

[HVAC LLC]

Thanks papa_jo,
My dad was an honorable man, I always wanted to be respected like he was, big shoes to fill. He was a Plumber, then crossed over to Pipefitter. He always gave his customers a fair shake.

[jeremy-lvhm]

It amazes me the treatment that some of these suppliers give people. Especially in the day of the Internet where bad news always seems to travel faster than good.

I had to go to NJ several times to get parts because nobody in PA was willing to lift a finger. It's sad.

People can knock the Internet all they want as far as warranty issues and such but when I get ripped for freight charges at Goodman dist. and get prices of double Goodman's pricing at another distributor, more and more it looks better to order stuff off of ebay. Especially when it costs me half as much.

I am willing to order parts from anywhere these days. Especially when the local suppliers act like we are wasting their time by calling them and asking them for PARTS!!! My god how dare we call the parts suppliers with such issues.

[2hot2coolme]

That was a good heat exchanger? Looked like a lot of rust in there....

[HVAC LLC]

Businesses that give good service will always do so much better than the ones that just coast. I know when us service guys go to town to get parts we sure know the supply houses that appreciate us and go the extra step with us.
On the rust, the heat exchanger is sound, no holes, that rust was on the weld at the envelope mainly, hey after 35 years, I think she looked pretty sound. It is safe.

[fcs]

Great work. Great Ethics

[HVAC LLC]

Thank you on both counts.

[Profiler]

if that heat exchanger is actually good id bet that it doesnt have much longer before it goes. is it worth the cost of the new burner assy if the unit is going to need to be replaced soon? by looking at the pictures, i would have torn the thing apart looking for cracks and even recommended replacement regardless. good on you for your efforts though.

[HVAC LLC]

I did check it throughly, both units. We always have to weigh the customer's repairs as to the equipment life, the time our customer will have the home or business, their ability to afford the equipment replacement. This location has 24 furnaces, duct heaters, hanging unit heaters and residential style furnaces, 18 air conditioning systems. Most all of them very old. I did condemn two furnaces 2 yrs ago, changed them out for her.
With the economy the way it is, she is barely hanging on as it is, there was no way she could have afforded two new duct furnaces, (also it would be very labor intense, you saw where they were) her lease expires in a few years, so that is another factor.
I donated a lot of my time to this job, I have been taking care of this location for 30 years.
I'm not new to this game, I did what was best in the situation.
Thank you for the compliment, I appreciate it.

[fcs]

With the economy the way it is, she is barely hanging on as it is, there was no way she could have afforded two new duct furnaces, (also it would be very labor intense, you saw where they were) her lease expires in a few years, so that is another factor.
I donated a lot of my time to this job, I have been taking care of this location for 30 years.
I'm not new to this game, I did what was best in the situation.
Thank you for the compliment, I appreciate it.

Your person and business ethic are great and hopefully will not go unrewarded

[HVAC LLC]

Thanks, fcs
Running my small company all these years has it's drawbacks, my wife and I haven't really made too many casual friends, up until 5 years ago, I was on call and generally worked 7 days a week, never had time to call our own. So customers really filled that need, or gap. This went on for 14 years, I finally burned out and sold that company.
We had the Brinker International contract for the greater Kansas City area, I did all refrigeration, A/C, electrical, repairs around the stores. My wife and I even did tile work, getting there around 4:00 a.m.
Like I said...burned out.
I'm back in it and careful not to take on that kind of commitment.
I think my reward is my customers trust.

[Profiler]

ive ripped out units like that in tight attics and i swear those things have to be stripped to actually get it out. i bet the heat exchanger weighs about 100lbs +. i did one that was probably 40 years old or so and was an american standard i think. that job took about 2-3 days for a normal install with 2 people.