Lennox NAS

[94blowncobra]

I had heard they dont pay you guys any drive time what so ever anymore.

Can someone confirm this?

[hvacpope]

Lennox NAS hires mostly fresh out of school techs, pays them as little as they can, give them the truck and cell phone and let them loose, they are a dime and nickle type of company, the manager acts as dispatcher, accountant,estimator and pretty much anything else, the manager gets pay base salary plus quarterly bonus, if he pays you very little and make you work like a rented mule he gets all the $$$$ in bonuses. some times they hire a seasoned tech (elite tech) and besides the daily workload they make him babysit the rest of the crew.

[Tech Rob]

That's too bad, because Lennox makes some of the nicest rooftop package units around. You would think they'd want their name to be represented by the best.

[hvacpope]

Rob,

Lennox NAS is part of Lennox Inc but it isn't, its a cross breed between a corporation and a franchise, they believe anyone that owns a pair of channels locks and a can of wd-40 qualifies to be an hvac tech, they dont bother to train them either, is a trial and error operation.
they bid national accounts contracts very low and make money providing substandard services. Lennox NAS, Benner,MetroTech all the same garbage, let see how long they last with such high turnout and on the job accidents rates.

[94blowncobra]

Rob,

Lennox NAS is part of Lennox Inc but it isn't, its a cross breed between a corporation and a franchise, they believe anyone that owns a pair of channels locks and a can of wd-40 qualifies to be an hvac tech, they dont bother to train them either, is a trial and error operation.
they bid national accounts contracts very low and make money providing substandard services. Lennox NAS, Benner,MetroTech all the same garbage, let see how long they last with such high turnout and on the job accidents rates.

Yea it used to be Industrial Building Services here in FL, now their Lennox NAS. Well that sucks to hear. I like working on Lennox units. Cant believe they suck like that?!

Damn there isn't hardley any decent companies to work for anymore!

[hvacpope]

I hear some branches are better than others although their business model stays the same, but again if you need a job go for it.

[jdilks]

I would beg to differ with the pope. NAS is owned by Lennox. Just the same as Armstrong, Heat Craft, Service Experts and the others. At NAS we are the manufactures rep. on the commercial side. We provide warranty and startup / commissioning services to some pretty big commercial retail giants. It sounds like Pope worked for a poorly managed branch, my apologizes if this is the case. We do pay all but the 1st and last 30 minutes of your travel time for the day. We are one of the largest retail National Service companies in the country and we continue to grow as most companies are struggling.
At NAS we want to retain & grow the right technicians. Training is always offered via a learning website with topics from basic electricity to calculating air flow to MS Office or at other venues and we even have our own training center in South Florida. Of course we don't work on too many chillers or refrigeration so hiring a "Top Dog Chiller Tech" is not something we would need in our work force. For the most part we service 5 - 50 ton rooftop package units and we do it better than anyone else in the country.
I have been with NAS since 1999. I started as a service technician in SoFlo and transferred to GA and then NC. As I have proven myself in the field I was asked / offered a position as a branch manager and after proving myself for several years in that capacity I have accepted a position as a district manager covering 2 states. We do require technicians to be responsible and accountable for the work they perform and can honestly say the company will always do the right thing in regards to the technician & the customer or I wouldn't have been here as long as I have.
Sorry to ramble on and I hope some of this made sense, but I had to jump in and defend the company that has treated my family & I so good for the past 12 years from one person that may have not had the best experience. And Pope I was not by any means trying to do anything other than state my experience here. Again I apologize if the experience you personally had or know about was as poor as you have described.
I am not on here that often but if I can answer any other questions let me know.
One more thing, with over 60 branches, 200+ techs (most of them NATE certified) on the road, I'm sure there are plenty of answers you could get from them. Find your local branch and ask the manger if you can speak with some techs. They will answer anything you need to know.

[hvacpope]

I'm glad it works for you!! everything I said about NAS is true! the hvacls training is a joke almost as funny as being "NATE" certify, that kind of stuff may fly well with joe sixpack at wallyworlds.
I admire you for defending your employer.

[90DEGREES]

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[Chris_Worthington]

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Interesting post you have there??

Don't be shy, just go ahead and spit it out

[tech93]

Nate certifiedOh but if it aint in book not no what wrong.Oh lets call uncertified tech he knows what wrong

[wannameltice]

Gentlemen,
Please do not lump Benner in the group with Lennox NAS! We actually had top dog mechanics. The experience I have had with Lennox since the Benner buy out has been that most of their techs(elite too) could NOT fix a sandwich! An rtu is out of the question. They just ASSumed that all the Benner techs would drink the cool aid. Lennox will sell someone a new unit instead of repairing one. I've seen them pull an rtu that still had all the factory warranty in force! What kind of company would buy out another and piss away all the customers and contracts they just got! It's really quite a shame, they do make some good rtu's. There's a reason they don't call it Lennox Factory Service!

[emtim]

former nas via tradewinds lennox was ok ,in my area work load dropped we lost accounts when aquired by nas we had good techs and some techs hired by nas doing preventive maintenence in my area (never worked on rtu ,have to learn somewhere )It seems the larger corporations are looking at numbers .In my area they laid off a guy and I left and boss left wiyhin two weeks ,I agree with mr pope in a lot of things .There market model did not work for me ,may work for you ,glad I left .Good luck

[michigan1]

Thats sucks. I have an interview coming up next week in Austin with them. I met a cool guy from NAS last week at the supply house and he seemed to like it...

[ducrider123]

Gentlemen,
Please do not lump Benner in the group with Lennox NAS! We actually had top dog mechanics. The experience I have had with Lennox since the Benner buy out has been that most of their techs(elite too) could NOT fix a sandwich! An rtu is out of the question. They just ASSumed that all the Benner techs would drink the cool aid. Lennox will sell someone a new unit instead of repairing one. I've seen them pull an rtu that still had all the factory warranty in force! What kind of company would buy out another and piss away all the customers and contracts they just got! It's really quite a shame, they do make some good rtu's. There's a reason they don't call it Lennox Factory Service!

That's Hilarious, "drink the cool-aid". I have heard that a ton form Benner guys, by now that cool-aids been outside alot collecting a lot of flys.

[emtim]

ask lots of questions may work for you ,ask some of these lennox guys how long they have worked for lennox .You may be following this guy on call backs and pm ,work you qouted .The training ask if you get paid ,web based ,doubt it .You do get the day after thanksgiving and christmas ,you will be on call ,lack of help while management will have day off .Try to start out with good starting pay, in my area are labor rates were too high ,we were in high mid twenties to thirty ,we were maxed out .So to make are branch efficient they laid off seasoned tech ,Go on interview use your judgement , if you want to get some commercial experience ,go for it ask how much you will top out as tech .Ask about work load comes and goes ,on your time it says you will be 12.00 to travel outside of your branch area ,I wouldnt Good luck

[kjban]

i agree 100% with pope,its all about numbers and the branch managers controls the time sheets to his advantage.i believe this is the worst work setting a tech has to deal with while it works out great for both the managers and the company.worst company to work for.

[esornivram]

I had heard they dont pay you guys any drive time what so ever anymore.

Can someone confirm this?

thats illegal under federal labor laws
any travel other than the daily commute is required by law to be paid at your hourly rate. there and back.
ANY TRAVEL that is any form of your job. meaning to a class thats mandatory, or needed to keep you job must be paid, as well as the training time its self

[hvacpope]

While Lennox NAS dimes and nickels employees pays and benefits the CEO makes close to 8 millions a year.

http://people.forbes.com/profile/todd-m-bluedorn/49014

[rj647]

hey all , well i know alot of lennox techs some love it some hate it. very true about the numbers gig pay techs low hit goals manager makes hefty bonus ! but alot of customers they didnt get on their own merit they bought companies out and they usually lose those customers some stay and give them a try and like it but most will eventually leave. so what is considerable drive time that you should be paid for ? by law that is ? i dont think they are good for the industry as a whole , but for the rookie tech that needs an entry level position its good for them as it is was hard many years ago to get some one to give me a chance without experience. i have been to some accounts and wonder if they had a clue overcharged units, economisers all disconnnected . take the time learn what you are working on and get it right . oh and my favorite driers in the discharge lines and no they were not mufflers lol but job security for me i guess , just my two cents have a great day everyone