A counter guy that knows how to use a cross refrence.
What are some products you wish you had and do not see in the HVAC supply Houses?
A counter guy that knows how to use a cross refrence.
ouch
The ones that I need to do my job......the one's that aren't on the shelf because of some beancounter in the main office. These A-Holes figure if this part hasn't sold in 90 days then it's sent back to the warehouse or in some cases even scrapped.Originally posted by ga/oh-man
What are some products you wish you had and do not see in the HVAC supply Houses?
Baker Bros is big on this.
Baker Bros charges me $50.00 opening fee at 7PM Friday night while they are inside taking inventory. Then they gave us wrong part after looking it up and opening fee still applies.Originally posted by icemeister
The ones that I need to do my job......the one's that aren't on the shelf because of some beancounter in the main office. These A-Holes figure if this part hasn't sold in 90 days then it's sent back to the warehouse or in some cases even scrapped.Originally posted by ga/oh-man
What are some products you wish you had and do not see in the HVAC supply Houses?
Baker Bros is big on this.
I Looooath Baker Bros . they just suck.
Thanks for the use of this thread. (Off Topic)
FocusPro 5000 (non-programmable) 2 heat/ 2 cool, 2 stage heat pump thermostats. They can't seem to keep them on the shelf. My parts supplier says they have 1600 on back order in the system. I'm out!
There is nothing more frightful than ignorance in action....Mark Twain
little pamphlets containing threads from this site. Ones dealing with topics like evacuation, leak detection, compressor troubleshooting .. etc.
a bunk to take a nap on, without being disturbed!
compressor bench where you could cut open and inspect a hermetic compressor and figure out what went wrong.
A much better selection of hand tools.
how to videos on EVERYTHING IMAGINEABLE!!!
just to give a guy a heads up when he knows he is treading on unfamiliar ground. And maybe a phone number of a local contractor, (competitor), who is up to speed on those systems ... to call for advice and or a collaborative effort. (it's called networking .... I think)
hermetic compressors where you had an oil tube sticking out the top of the can so you could get ALL of the oil OUT of the unit... this tube would be inside the can and go all the way to the very bottom of the oil sump inside.
Gee ... and maybe a sight glass added .... just for the heck of it. Right where the factory says the oil level is SUPPOSED to be....(but we have no way of knowing WHERE it is because they DONT GIVE US A WAY TO "SEE" inside the pot!!!
a cyber cafe style of Net access. For business use only, of course.
This way a tech can pull into the supply house and use the computer to view PDF files online, print them out, get driving directions to the next call, (when necessary), etc., etc.
Food. A buffet. small but ready to eat ... right now. If not a buffet, then at least a frige with sandwiches which can be eaten cold.
A lot of guys wont stop for meals cause they dont like what is out there for fast food.. or simply because they dont want to miss getting the hours in. (greedy)
ICE. free ice. Ice to fill your coolers or water jugs on the vehicles with. Free ice to fill your lunch boxes with.
Ice to be used to chill down a recovery cylinder as you are about to do a recovery job.
Faster turn around of your old recovery cylinder. Have an onsite large holding tank to drain your tank into and let you get back down the road again ... instead of having to constantly leave you tank with them and wait til they get enough together to make it worthwhile for a pick up....
smaller recovery tanks, for smaller recovery jobs.
the rental of lifts which would enable you to place evap coils up high for your jobs. Also lifts which would assist in getting compressors onto roofs. There are several styles of these lifts. One uses a ladder and cable winch, the other is with two wheels and a boom with cable and hand crank winch. Both would be great to offer for rental... at reasonable rates, of course.
Rental of Ladders which you dont normally need/ use ... would be available for rent for those once in a blue moon needs.
Say like a 28 foot fiberglass extension or 8, 10, 12 foot step ladders... and a Little Giant ladder or two.
a board where helpers could be hired from, referred by other contractors. Guys who offer themselves to do day labor.
Also where techs who dont want to work full time but wish to do fill in work or side jobs. They could list their skills, referances of other contractors they have worked with/ worked for .... and the type of work they are seeking.
They could be used as "flex-labor" for after hour calls, weekend calls, back up for emergencies, etc.
This may not have appeal for the larger contractors. But for shops with six trucks or less... they gould very well be a god send.
The idea is to make the local wholesale house like the Central Supply in the Army.
Make it THE place to go for all your needs.
Make it THE place to go for answers, no matter the questions.
Make the supply house integral with what the contractor does for a living, no matter what their needs may be.
Supply and Demand.
You supply it and they will DEMAND it.
Want more ideas? Or is this enough to wett your whistle?
R12. You're in the wrong end of this business. I like the way you think. Now if you can just pursuade them to keep the coffee pots full! No kidding, some great suggestions there!
There is nothing more frightful than ignorance in action....Mark Twain
Yeah, Bob has some good ideas, the lift and ladder rental would be great.
Free food is also good.
Hey cockroach, don't bug me! ©
R12
Like some of those ideas !
Some of those some of branches around the country actually do. I have been in a few that have an actual gas hookup for checking furnaces and test stand for checking condensing units.
We send back "customer owned" cylinders, but we also, exchange all of our cylinders, so you always get a new tank on the spot.
MattM ... I agree OUCH !!!! We wholesale guys aren't THAT bad, are we ???
About 1/3 of ours have free ice.
With us, if there is a product that you sell and buy often, it WILL be on the shelf for you (for the most part )
And we always try our best to ge the new products on display,
Hey Dice, check our website. Food days get listed when there are events in the branch.
[Edited by hvacprodmgr on 08-08-2005 at 07:54 PM]
strippersOriginally posted by ga/oh-man
What are some products you wish you had and do not see in the HVAC supply Houses?
alcohol
cot
alarm clock
cab fare
gift certificate to a fine dining establishment.
and magnetic nut drivers