Professionalism in the HVAC Industry

Professionalism in the HVAC Industry

Chris Mercado
Contributing Writer
Student

You’d think that being a professional and acting like one would come hand in hand, but nowadays there is simply an overload of individuals who can get a job done but still manage to leave their customers dissatisfied at the end of the day. No matter the field of work, professionalism should be one of the top priorities so that we can make sure we leave our customers pleased with not only the work we perform with our hands, but also the manner in which we go about doing this work. In the HVAC industry, the way in which technicians treat the customers that they are providing service for reflects on not only that individual technician, but also the company that he is representing, and even the industry as a whole.

A professional display doesn’t just start with the technicians that greet the customers in the field; it should be displayed the minute that a customer places a phone call to your business when they need help. The way in which the phone operators and schedulers answer the phone and speak to the customers should set the pace for everything that happens afterwards. When a customer is calling their local HVAC company with a concern, they’re expecting to speak to someone who has a legitimate care for their problems; not a robot or other answering machine.  Knowing that they are speaking to a live person who can assist them with getting their problems fixed will give that customer a sense of relief. They certainly don’t want to be placed on hold and forced to wait long amounts of time, because when this happens, they start to feel like their issues are not important to the company.

As a technician, it is essential to build and maintain a friendly relationship with each and every customer you come in contact with, even those first time customers who are irate and already in a bad mood the minute you walk to their door. Bad service sticks out like a sore thumb, and an aggravated customer who is able to notice that their technician doesn’t care about anything other than money will surely not plan on doing business with you or your company in the future. With that being said, we must be able to make sure that our customers feel like they mean more to us than just a couple of dollars. We can accomplish this, as technicians; by greeting the customer and making it known that we are here to “save the day”. We must ask them questions regarding their equipment, past services or malfunctions, and even their overall quality of life in relation to their comfortability in the place they call home.

When the technician goes out on their daily calls, it is essential that a strict routine or ritual be set and followed each and every day. Some basic things that can be included in this daily routine can be as simple as going over the paperwork that you may have in front of you: study and go over the names of the people you will be meeting today, especially if they are first time customers. If Mrs. Johnston is in a bad mood because she has no heat in her home, calling her Mrs. Brown certainly won’t make her feel any better. Familiarizing yourself with your customers will make it easier to go out and greet them and begin the service that they require. The technician can give the customer a greater sense of security by inviting them to take a look at the equipment with them; this will assure the customer that you are not writing work that isn’t there, even if they don’t know what they are looking at. After all, the customer is taking a risk by letting a stranger into their home, so building trust with them is absolutely necessary.

Demonstrating professionalism in the HVAC industry requires that we get to know our customers personally, meet and greet them with enthusiasm, and provide service to them that meets and exceeds their expectations. The problem with this is that the majority of the HVAC field suffers from self-esteem issues or simply a lack of confidence; and this is more likely than not a result of the stigma that has latched onto the heating and air-conditioning industry and its workers. The truth of the matter is that a majority of the population looks at HVAC technicians

as just “grease monkeys”, or otherwise simply unintelligent. Most people outside of this industry are not aware of the science behind what we do, or what it takes to understand how most of our equipment functions. Therefore, we must use this stigma as our motivation to perform better work and take the idea of professionalism to the next level. After all, not just anyone can pick up a bag of tools and repair faulty heating and air-conditioning equipment. If we cannot display confidence in ourselves, our customers will pick up on it and may start to question why we are even there in the first place.

In order for us to work towards eliminating the stigma that has fell upon us, we have to act like the professionals that we are. This means that a standard for ourselves must be set higher than what the average customer would expect from an HVAC technician. If we can show our customers that we care about them, we are already on the right path. Preparing a slideshow or simply bringing some literature for the customer to look at while you are explaining to them what the problem is will surely make that customer feel more comfortable with you. No customer would just want a technician to show up to their house, diagnose and troubleshoot their equipment, and give them a bill and be on their way out of the door. We have to make our customers feel like they are simply having friendly company in their house, not just a random person wearing a uniform who sticks to himself and touches things. Professionalism is the key to success, and the key to maintaining customer satisfaction each and every day.

Chris Mercado is a top notch individual according to his instructors at All State Career School in Essington, PA where he is currently a student in the HVAC-R program. Chris’s commitment to his education and the HVAC-R industry led him to a sponsorship opportunity with One Hour Heating and Air Conditioning. Chris is now a sponsored student under One Hour Heating and Air Conditioning which will provide him with an extensive tool set, financial assistance and most importantly, Chris has a long term career with One Hour waiting for him upon graduation.