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

[AiResearch]

Personally myself, do not care for these emerging nu skool resi and retail service organizations, who are concerned with regional dominance and never ending growth, more so than actually doing real air conditioning work.

They are found with all sorts of techno fluff and sub contractors, instant electronic job reports complete with digital images, and global positioning based payroll.

IMO, wrenches and oil go nicely with a service ticket hand written and even the occasional smudge. Kinda makes the customer feel like they are dealing with a genuine mechanic.

Also, as others have said, the idea that one segment of our trade is superior to another, is ignorant and probably stated by someone suffering from a low self esteem. Whether a man cleans window shakers at seedy hotels, keeps ice cream cabinets running steady, overhauls industrial machinery, or makes people comfortable in their homes, they are all a part of our industry and respectable jobs.

I say the really good tradesmen are the ones who do their best on every job, and won't discount one because it lacks flash and profile.

[tiger man]

Sort of. I was an apprentice for an 8 man residential light commercial union shop. Apprentices do what they're told.

Did you ever do resi service only? I too, would be very bored with resi install. I like to diagnose and fix things not run duct and install. In th past ive helped out install for a few hours but couldnt stay focused.

[mark beiser]

your so right.its not about time its about the quality and workmanship.i got a nephew who works for a big company in corpis tx their top tech gets $19.00 an hr but the company service rate is compatible to the north east union rates of $95. to $133. an hour wow talking about making a killing on labor.

If you understood the costs of running an HVAC business, you would realize they are not really "making a killing on labor."
A legit company with $20/hr technicians billing $100/hr for repairs wouldn't be able to keep its doors open without the markup on the parts associated with those $100/hr repairs.

[clifpaul]

Agreed. Companys gotta pay for gas, auto insurance, maintance on that fleet, liability insurance for the business, lights, water, phones, and other little things that pop up

[ADillon]

If you understood the costs of running an HVAC business, you would realize they are not really "making a killing on labor."
A legit company with $20/hr technicians billing $100/hr for repairs wouldn't be able to keep its doors open without the markup on the parts associated with those $100/hr repairs.

100% truth

[timebuilder]

Agreed.

You must be able to mark up parts otherwise you're going to be going out of business paying those guys 19 dollars an hour very very quickly.

Remember, profit can only happen after all other expenses are paid.

[John Markl]

There is obviously a balance to be acheived. On one extreme, you can have a high powered, but incompetent "sell, sell, sell" crew....or you can be the best tech on the planet, work out of your house, and never make a dime.

Those who don't understand "business", are destined to fail at it.

[Freightshaker]

IMO, wrenches and oil go nicely with a service ticket hand written and even the occasional smudge. Kinda makes the customer feel like they are dealing with a genuine mechanic.

Whoa there buddy... Modern society frowns on that!

[kamersoutdoor]

Agreed. Companys gotta pay for gas, auto insurance, maintance on that fleet, liability insurance for the business, lights, water, phones, and other little things that pop up

If the average public better understood this, this country wouldn't be in the shape it's in today!

sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note

[HeyBob]

While we are talking about communication skills, just for fun, copy and paste that into word and run a grammar and spell check on it........

[AiResearch]

Whoa there buddy... Modern society frowns on that!

haha
I get a feeling you are with me on this

generally I frown on modern society

[John Markl]

IMO, wrenches and oil go nicely with a service ticket hand written and even the occasional smudge. Kinda makes the customer feel like they are dealing with a genuine mechanic.

While my heart agrees with you, my head has me going to a class on Friday on how to use my iPad for sales presentations....

[AiResearch]

While my heart agrees with you, my head has me going to a class on Friday on how to use my iPad for sales presentations....

As I send from my iPhone.

Shakes head.

Shame on me.

I need to run up to the store now.

For some liquid refreshment (dinner)

LOL

[clifpaul]

If the average public better understood this, this country wouldn't be in the shape it's in today!

sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note

no joke. if bossman cant make any money to pay his bills how am i gonna get paid? neither one of us can work for free.

[mark beiser]

While my heart agrees with you, my head has me going to a class on Friday on how to use my iPad for sales presentations....

I'm going to one tomorrow, just got the iPad today.

[Tommy knocker]

haha
I get a feeling you are with me on this

generally I frown on modern society

Oh ya he with ya. If he ain't greasy he ain't happy. If its petroleum based he's a fan.

[bearfromobx]

Sounds good to me.

As a side note, there really is less durability built into most consumer goods today. It is not an accident that folks will tell you that "they don't make 'em like they used to." It's because they don't.

On the other hand, getting something that is cutting edge is not always best. There is an old aviation expression that says, "never fly the "A" model of anything." It is because the "A." or the first model of any new aircraft is the one with the design flaws that get corrected and redesigned in the following models. The current 737 is several design generations better than the first round of 737 aircraft. Often, this is true with new and "better" design HVAC equipment. My theory is that we the consumer are being used to beta test new goods. For example, I am using Xp on this computer, but it is "service pack three."

This past week, I needed to get a new printer. My old C88+ had printed maybe thirty reams of paper over the last seven years. So, I ordered a new C88+ that will accept my bulk inking system, and I got it cheap under a loyalty program. Sometimes the newest and fanciest stuff is just not the best. The C88+ is the third generation of the C86 design, so like the 737, it is the one you want to fly.

Sometimes it is better to fix than sell, and that requires the knowledge and skill upon which the trade will survive. At least some of the companies are upfront about their business model, by putting "HVAC Sales" on their trucks.

Just don't expect any first round draft picks to be behind the wheel...

Sounds like the 787 "A series" and the first large scale LiPo batteries!

[bearfromobx]

If you understood the costs of running an HVAC business, you would realize they are not really "making a killing on labor."
A legit company with $20/hr technicians billing $100/hr for repairs wouldn't be able to keep its doors open without the markup on the parts associated with those $100/hr repairs.

I got a chance to look at opening my own company after about 6 years in the business and with the urging of some very influential customers and (believe it or not) my boss at the time, took some time and did a financial breakdown with a business plan. My findings were astonishing.

In a time when the local residential and light commercial "mom and pops" were charging $55/hr and almost no parts markup to bring in and keep business, I calculated a 10% profit margin (most industries would consider this austerity) for my one man shop at $137/hr with no parts markup and paying myself about $20/hr! I'm sure I could have made it work with the customer base and my quality of work / reputation, but growing a business where the first question out of the customer's mouth is "what's your labor rate?" would have severely limited the situation. I decided not to open the doors as a result.

An employee / tech making $20/hr costs the employer $45-50/hr with the expenses on average. Add in the overhead and support employees, van, fuel, parts stock, licensing, taxes and everything else that keeps the doors open, and it's easy to see why our industry doesn't run the 30-40% profit margins of some other industries in the US.

[bearfromobx]

In the end, doesn't the sales/vs/service question come down to ethics? My code of ethics says diagnose the problem as completely as possible, place the options and the risks in front of the customer and let them decide how to spend THEIR money. This is not to say that I will give them the option to reactivate a machine that's unsafe to operate (for both their well-being and my liability), but if I believe with my best professional opinion that they can get a couple more years of useful operation from a system at a reasonable cost to operate, I'll make that clear to them. Most of my customers trust my judgement (they wouldn't let me in the door if they didn't) and I want the best for them in longevity, reliability and cost. In the end the decision is theirs... It doesn't matter if the blower is 12" in diameter or 12'. If I think a better way, an option or an upgrade will help take care of a problem for my customer, I'll suggest it and get them a price if they're interested. This attitude keeps me productive, keeps my personal numbers high enough to win awards and takes the best care of the customer that I can. It's worked for over 20 years for me now working on units from window shakers to 200+ tons in manufactured housing, residential, commercial and industrial.

[robinair]

Could just be a lack of qualified applicants. My boss did the math and found out he talks to an average of 100 candidates before hiring 1 guy. Between poor driving record, drug testing, background checks, unprofessional appearance and whatever else it is hard to find people. Due to the difficulty we are paid $500.00 for referring techs.

Or it could be because they are crooked and offer a horrible working environment. I don't know either way...just saying they are not all bad.

Some of the Judgements that i read about my add are amazing , i am glad that i read over 20 of them to understand the mistakes i made in placing the ADD .
Here are some of the highlights that i would like to address
1) I forgot to include the Vacation in the benefits , its 1 week after 1 year,2 weeks after 2 years .3 weeks after 3 years , plus birthdays after 1 year , plus Xmas day,thanksgiving , july 4th and xmas eve , and good friday .
2) We are not a Rip off company ! the Add was misconstruid and then the thread went downhill form there
3) Why are we looking for more techs , great question , we are expanding , revenue is up 42 % in 2012 and we project 35% growth in 2013 , we still have the same 5 techs from 2012 and the same 6 installers since 2004 !
4) Service techs only run on average 4 to 5 calls per day not 10 or more as mentioned by others who read neagativly into my add
5) High stress environment , give me a break if its 105 degrees and you are replacing a blower motor in a 130 degree attic .THATS HIGH STRESS .
Any commercial techs who have not tried Residential service continue what you are doing , its not for everyone , however if you are a young residential tech who wants to see a carreer path and be trained by men with intergrity give us a call or visit our website at www.coolairsam.com
no i didnt spell check for any spell check wacko out there !