March 21, 2025 • 24 mins
What separates successful HVAC service technicians from those who struggle? The answer goes far beyond technical skills.
Diving deep into the industry's most challenging pitfalls, this episode reveals the fifteen critical reasons why service technicians fail—and how these failures impact everyone involved. From the deceptively simple matter of technical knowledge to the often-overlooked importance of professional appearance, each factor creates a ripple effect that can make or break careers.
We explore real-world examples that demonstrate how even small mistakes—like failing to document a repair or neglecting to explain the urgency of a replacement part—can lead to significant consequences. A technician who can't clearly communicate why a capacitor needs replacing isn't just missing a sale; they're setting up their customer for a future emergency repair that could have been prevented.
Beyond the technical aspects, we examine the human elements that determine success: time management that respects customers' schedules, documentation that protects everyone involved, and the professional conduct that builds lasting trust. We acknowledge the challenges of role-playing communication scenarios (yes, most technicians hate it!) while emphasizing how critical these skills become in the field.
Whether you're a service technician looking to advance your career or a business owner wanting to build a stronger team, this episode provides actionable insights into the behaviors and practices that lead to sustainable success. Remember—when you consistently do the next right thing, you're not just securing your own future; you're elevating the standard for your entire team and industry.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Corey Berrier (00:00):
Welcome to the Successful Life Podcast.
I'm your host, Corey Berrier,and today, folks, we're going to
be looking at the 15 reasonswhy service technicians,
specifically in the HVACindustry, fail.
The first reason is a lack oftechnical knowledge.
(00:21):
So the issue is that atechnician may lack the
necessary skills to diagnose orrepair HVAC systems properly.
Look, this is why you've got tomake sure that your technicians
are trained before you sendthem out into the field.
(00:41):
You can't just put a butt inthe truck and expect them to
serve your customer well and tofix the whatever they're going
out to fix or service the systemthat they're going out to
service.
Look, .
The let's an example.
the thermostat A calls is faultywhen the real problem is that
(01:12):
the EVAP coil is frozen, andthat's due to a restricted
airflow.
Let's say this misdiagnosis canlead to unnecessary repairs and
continued system failure.
Not only have you set that guyup for failure because he wasn't
(01:32):
trained on the proper knowledgeto go out and fix this issue,
now you've got a pissed offcustomer and ultimately, guess
who loses in that situation?
You do, if you're the owner,and the technician, and and
loses the customer reallydoesn't, that's and that's fact,
(01:56):
to a bunch of safety issues thatwe'll get into in a moment.
So the next thing is one thingthat poor communication skills.
So the next thing is one thingthat poor communication skills.
And look as a service technician.
You've got to explain what theissues are.
You've got to be able toexplain what the repair options
are.
You've got to be able toclearly explain to customers
(02:20):
maintenance recommendations.
You've got to be able toarticulate these things in a way
that the customer canunderstand.
So a tech as an example techtells a homeowner the
capacitor's bad right which thishappens all the time Just the
capacitor's bad, and they don'texplain anything about what it
(02:44):
does or why it needs replacing.
So what does the customer do?
I'm good, no thanks, I don'tneed to switch out that bad
capacitor.
Because they don't understandthe urgency of the repair, and
the urgency is that it's goingto break down in the near future
(03:05):
.
And without clearlycommunicating that to the
customer, then not only are youdoing the customer a disservice,
but again the technician isalso set up for failure, and so
you've got to be able to, or youwant to be able to, role play
(03:25):
with your service techniciansand look, I know that it is like
pulling teeth fully aware ofhow much role playing sucks.
I also understand that servicetechnicians in general don't
enjoy role playing, that's forsure.
Most people don't enjoyrole-playing, that's for sure.
Most people don't enjoyrole-playing.
(03:46):
It's not just servicetechnicians, but especially
service technicians, becausethey like to fix stuff right.
They're kinesthetic learners.
They're not always the fieldthey can effectively communicate
why the capacitor is bad, whyit needs to be replaced.
It's just good customer serviceas well.
(04:19):
So bad time management.
A lot of service techniciansrun behind.
They're running behind schedule, right, which disrupts the
entire workday.
If you're 15 minutes late forthe first guy, you're certainly
going to be 15 minutes late,unless you rush through the job
and, look, this puts addedpressure on that technician.
(04:41):
If they're well, let me back upif they they're late because of
their own problems, then it'son them.
And if you are a servicetechnician, just think about
that.
You don't want to be inreactive mode all day long
because you made a decision tobe late for work.
Now, if it's, on the other handand I've seen this in countless
(05:04):
companies that the team meetingruns 30 minutes over and every
single person in that meetingstarts out a half an hour behind
.
Now what does that tell yourcustomer when you're 30 minutes
late to your very firstappointment?
They don't care that themeeting ran over.
They don't care that themeeting ran over, they don't
(05:26):
care why you're late, they justcare that they've been standing
at that house waiting on you fora half an hour.
And it's frustrating not onlyto the customer, but it's also
frustrating to dispatch, becausenow dispatch has to figure out
let's say that it's the secondor third appointment they're
having to shuffle around andcall the customer or text the
(05:46):
customer, whatever it is theprocesses that you use to let
the homeowner know that you'regoing to be late.
It's just not good for business.
Well, here's another exampleTechnician spends too much time
on on one job chatting with thecustomer, just BSing, and it
feels like they're doing theright thing.
And in their heart theyprobably are.
(06:09):
They probably really truly feellike they're doing the right
thing.
Or maybe that customer has gotthem pinned up asking a thousand
questions or talking abouttheir son's baseball game that
maybe, as a technician, youdon't even care about.
It is perfectly okay to say Mrcustomer, I appreciate you
sharing me sharing the storyabout Johnny's baseball game,
(06:30):
but I've got to get to my nextcustomer's house and I know you
understand that because youwouldn't want me late for your
house.
Every customer is going to getthat and some people you get to
their house and, man, theyhaven't talked to anybody all
day and it might be your thirdor fourth appointment and
they're just chatty, cathy,right, and it makes you feel
good.
They want to talk to you, butat the end of the day it's not
(06:52):
cost effective for you, it's notcost effective for the company
and it puts you behind big time.
So the next one is failure tofollow company procedures.
So the problem here is, ifyou're not adhering to the
(07:35):
company guidelines, which isalways in place for a reason,
requires technicians to takephotos of completed jobs for
service titan or whatever systemyou're using, but the
technician skips this step whenthe customer, a year from now,
later disputes that repair, ormaybe a month from now or maybe
two days from now, it doesn'treally matter.
That repair or maybe a monthfrom now or maybe two days from
now, it doesn't really matter,pick the time frame, it makes no
difference.
You've got zero room to saythat you actually did the repair
, whether you did it or not, youcan't back it up, and if you
(07:56):
can't back it up, it didn'thappen.
So pictures are the key for youto not have to worry about
having to back up something,whether you did it or you didn't
do it.
Let's assume that you're a goodtechnician and you did the job.
Well God, how does that makeyou feel when your boss calls
(08:16):
you up?
Your service manager calls youup and is like hey, dude, this
customer is saying you didn'treplace this part and you're
saying I absolutely replaced thepart.
Fantastic, let me go intoservice tighten and look at the
pictures.
Oh, that's right, there are nopictures.
So how can I vouch for you, theservice technician, if you
(08:37):
don't give me the proof to dothat roof, to do that?
So if as I dealt with this alot and when I was working for
the local company here if thepictures are not in there, you
didn't do it, and so what has tohappen?
Then we got to send somebodyelse out, either be able to show
the pictures then, or wediscover that you didn't do the
(09:01):
job and that's a whole differentset of problems.
But ultimately it still costsus time and money to send
somebody out there, send a truckout there, and look hourly rate
on a truck $300 to $400 or $500, depending on the company.
But best believe that it is notcost-effective to do a recall
(09:23):
for something that you couldhave just snap the picture, for
it's so, so freaking important.
Covers your butt, covers thecompany's butt, covers
everybody's butt.
So this is one of my favoritesInability to upsell or educate
the customer or educate thecustomer.
(09:48):
So the issue is techniciansshould be able to identify and
recommend additional servicesthat benefit the customer,
whether that be IAQ or whetherthat be a different sort of
filter, or whether that be somesort of water treatment.
Well, it's water treatment,I'll just say that.
So as an example, during amaintenance visit, a technician
notices a dirty blower wheel butfails to suggest that it be
(10:15):
cleaned.
So what happens?
The blower eventually clogs andit causes the system to fail.
And now you've got an emergencyrepair that could have been
avoided.
And so nobody may your customer.
They may not catch that, theymay not even realize that you
(10:36):
didn't suggest cleaning thatwheel.
Or maybe they're really smartand they do know that you didn't
suggest it.
But now that's again.
That's two differentconversations, but both with not
a great ending.
And so that customer now has topay an emergency fee and now
we've got to send a truck backout and, yeah, we make a sale.
But we could have just made thesale the first time.
(10:57):
Save that customer money.
You would have made money,company would have made money
and it wouldn't have cost usmore money to go out there.
So, look, it's just reallyimportant that you do upsell and
educate the customer.
Now, what I'm not telling youis I'm not suggesting that you
(11:18):
sell them something that theydon't need.
I would never, ever suggestthat you sell them something
that they don't need or thatthey want.
Even so, proper neglectingproper documentation.
If you have incomplete orincorrect service records, it
can cause a ton of confusion andyou've got repeated issues.
(11:42):
A ton of confusion and you'vegot repeated issues.
So let's just take a technicianreplaces a capacitor but
forgets to log it in the system.
When another tech goes outthere for a maintenance call or
maybe even a service call, theywaste time troubleshooting the
same issue because there's norepair history.
(12:03):
So once again, just imagineyou're that second technician
going out, you'retroubleshooting the same issue,
only to find out that it'salready been replaced.
And now you've wasted 30 or 40minutes and gotten nothing out
of it because the part hadalready been fixed right.
(12:24):
So, or replaced rather.
So just keep your documentationup to date.
It saves everybody time andmoney.
And I know on the front end youthink, well, I don't have time
to do that or I'll get to itlater.
You're not going to get to itlater.
And likely it's company policythat you document all, that you
properly document everything.
It's checks and balances, right?
(12:45):
It's like if you own a grocerystore and you don't take stock,
how do you know what's on theshelf?
It's the same difference, right?
You've got to do it for you,you've got to do it for the
company and it's just a smartway of doing business.
So lack of attention to detail,so small mistakes in this
(13:07):
industry can lead to biggersystem failures and inexpensive
callbacks.
So I know a technician that hefailed to properly tighten an
electrical connection during theinstallation.
A week later, as you can guess,the unit stops working and it
(13:28):
stops working due to that loosewire, resulting in not only an
unnecessary callback, but you'velost revenue again, again, and
any of these things that I'vealready listed here could happen
in many different ways to onecustomer, and so you've really
(13:51):
got a loss when that happens.
Poor customer service, sonegative interactions with a
customer hurts the company'sreputation and it hurts your
reputation as the servicetechnician.
And an example if you, lots ofservice technicians are very
(14:14):
smart and nine times out of 10,more than the customer and what
they're going to say, the wordsthat are going to come out of
their mouth, the questionsthey're going to ask and lots of
times I found myself doing thisalso, so it's not just you.
We become dismissive of thehomeowner's questions or we over
(14:36):
talk or speak over thatcustomer and it makes the
customer feel disrespected, andthen what happens is they leave
a bad review and that hurtsbusiness in the future and,
quite frankly, it's probablygoing to hurt you as well,
because they're probably goingto add your name to that review
and you don't want that, I cantell you right now.
(14:58):
So inconsistent work quality isthe next one.
Some technicians only put ineffort if they know they're
being watched One day.
Imagine one day a techniciancarefully installs a system, he
checks all the connections, andanother day he or she rushes
(15:19):
through a job and forgets tocheck for leaks, causing
refrigerant loss and a systemfailure.
So you just need to beconsistent Do the next right
thing.
Be an example for the nextperson coming through the door.
It's not hard to just do thenext right thing.
(15:39):
Look, I can tell you I've notalways done the next right thing
.
I've taken shortcuts and I'mnot going to tell you it's bit
me in the ass every time, but itcertainly has bit me in the ass
many times.
So it's it.
Look, just do the next rightthing.
(15:59):
So safety when you ignoresafety protocols and neglect
safety measures, it puts you, orputs the next technician and
possibly you and the customer,at risk.
An example was if a techniciandoesn't wear safety gloves while
(16:20):
handling refrigerant, well, youknow what happens next Severe
frostbite.
That not only affects theirhealth but also causes downtime
for the company.
And, look, it also affects yourpocketbook if you're out of
work because you've gotfrostbite.
(16:40):
So just pay attention to thesafety protocols.
So next one is resistance totraining and learning.
Hvac technology is consistentlyevolving, as we've seen.
New refrigerant came out thisyear and refusal to adapt makes
(17:05):
technicians less valuable.
You've got to be able toconstantly learn and train.
I saw one of their thermostatsthis past week, said one of
(17:26):
their thermostats this past week.
And so imagine, the companyintroduces that new smart
thermostat, but the technicianrefuses to learn how that cool
thermostat works.
And when a customer asks aboutinstalling one, the technician
cannot provide an answer, whichmisses an opportunity for an
upsell and it makes you lookvery unprofessional.
So just look, you got toconstantly be learning.
(17:49):
If you're not learning, I thinkit's actually if you're not
growing, you're dying.
But you get the point.
I feel the same way aboutlearning Bad work ethic.
A technician who lacksmotivation and discipline can't
be relied on.
Who lacks motivation anddiscipline can't be relied on.
Work ethic is so important.
So here's an example Instead ofworking efficiently, the
(18:12):
technician takes extended breaks, shows up late, leaves jobs
unfinished, which causes delaysand frustration amongst the
customers and your othercoworkers.
So if you've got bad work ethic, dude, like the industry lots
of times has a bad rap becausepeople with bad work ethic, it
(18:36):
leaves a bad taste in others'mouths and so lots of times
you're dead at the door when youget there because they've had a
terrible experience with thelast person.
So lack of teamwork is the nextone.
Technicians must coordinatewith office staff, dispatchers
and other team members sothey're efficient.
(18:57):
If a technician doesn'tcommunicate with dispatch about
job delays, dispatchatcher booksanother appointment too soon
and causes an overlap and ascheduling disaster.
So you just got to think aboutyour other team members.
Next is misuse of companyresources.
(19:21):
If you're stealing or wastingcompany property, it increases
the cost and damages trust.
If a technician takes home anextra refrigerant for personal
use, you lose inventory as theowner, as the business, and that
(19:42):
refrigerant's there for apaying customer.
And now you've caused ashortage in peak season because
you were selfish and you decidedthat you were more important
than being ethical to yourcompany.
Unprofessional appearance andbehavior.
(20:04):
Man, a technician look.
A service technician representsthe company and must maintain a
clean and professional image.
Now everybody understands ifyou've just come from a
different job, you've had tocrawl under a house, you're
dirty, bring a different shirt,bring a different pair of pants.
(20:25):
You should always have a cleanset of clothes in your van, and
I understand.
When it gets to summertime it'shard to manage that.
There are times when it's alittle bit more understandable,
however.
It's understandable from thecompany standpoint, but it's not
understandable from thecustomer standpoint.
If you show up and your shirt'swrinkled, the uniform's stained
(20:50):
and heaven forbid it smellslike cigarette smoke, the
customer loses confidence intheir ability and then they call
the competitor next timebecause you look disgusting.
You showed up like you justcame from a strip joint and
rolling around in mud.
(21:13):
So look, each of these reasonsthat I've given you today, just
pick one.
They can make a significantimpact on a technician's success
, on the company they work for.
And this is just something yougot to think about, guys.
This is so vitally importantthat if you go through this
(21:39):
checklist and you take a look atthese things and you take a
look at these things and if youcan say you don't do any of
these things, then you'reprobably making far more money
than any other technician in thecompany.
Because, look, we understandyou're a human being, but you
got to do the best that you can.
You got to do the next rightthing be the best that you can
show up and be a good example,because people are watching you,
(22:02):
especially if you're at the topof the ladder.
Right, if you're one of the toptechnicians, you're an example.
You're setting the tone for therest of the team.
So I appreciate you guyslistening today and we'll see
you next Friday.
Welcome to the Successful Life Podcast.
I'm your host, Corey Berrier,and today, folks, we're going to
be looking at the 15 reasonswhy service technicians,
specifically in the HVACindustry, fail.
The first reason is a lack oftechnical knowledge.
(00:21):
So the issue is that atechnician may lack the
necessary skills to diagnose orrepair HVAC systems properly.
Look, this is why you've got tomake sure that your technicians
are trained before you sendthem out into the field.
(00:41):
You can't just put a butt inthe truck and expect them to
serve your customer well and tofix the whatever they're going
out to fix or service the systemthat they're going out to
service.
Look, .
The let's an example.
the thermostat A calls is faultywhen the real problem is that
(01:12):
the EVAP coil is frozen, andthat's due to a restricted
airflow.
Let's say this misdiagnosis canlead to unnecessary repairs and
continued system failure.
Not only have you set that guyup for failure because he wasn't
(01:32):
trained on the proper knowledgeto go out and fix this issue,
now you've got a pissed offcustomer and ultimately, guess
who loses in that situation?
You do, if you're the owner,and the technician, and and
loses the customer reallydoesn't, that's and that's fact,
(01:56):
to a bunch of safety issues thatwe'll get into in a moment.
So the next thing is one thingthat poor communication skills.
So the next thing is one thingthat poor communication skills.
And look as a service technician.
You've got to explain what theissues are.
You've got to be able toexplain what the repair options
are.
You've got to be able toclearly explain to customers
(02:20):
maintenance recommendations.
You've got to be able toarticulate these things in a way
that the customer canunderstand.
So a tech as an example techtells a homeowner the
capacitor's bad right which thishappens all the time Just the
capacitor's bad, and they don'texplain anything about what it
(02:44):
does or why it needs replacing.
So what does the customer do?
I'm good, no thanks, I don'tneed to switch out that bad
capacitor.
Because they don't understandthe urgency of the repair, and
the urgency is that it's goingto break down in the near future
(03:05):
.
And without clearlycommunicating that to the
customer, then not only are youdoing the customer a disservice,
but again the technician isalso set up for failure, and so
you've got to be able to, or youwant to be able to, role play
(03:25):
with your service techniciansand look, I know that it is like
pulling teeth fully aware ofhow much role playing sucks.
I also understand that servicetechnicians in general don't
enjoy role playing, that's forsure.
Most people don't enjoyrole-playing, that's for sure.
Most people don't enjoyrole-playing.
(03:46):
It's not just servicetechnicians, but especially
service technicians, becausethey like to fix stuff right.
They're kinesthetic learners.
They're not always the fieldthey can effectively communicate
why the capacitor is bad, whyit needs to be replaced.
It's just good customer serviceas well.
(04:19):
So bad time management.
A lot of service techniciansrun behind.
They're running behind schedule, right, which disrupts the
entire workday.
If you're 15 minutes late forthe first guy, you're certainly
going to be 15 minutes late,unless you rush through the job
and, look, this puts addedpressure on that technician.
(04:41):
If they're well, let me back upif they they're late because of
their own problems, then it'son them.
And if you are a servicetechnician, just think about
that.
You don't want to be inreactive mode all day long
because you made a decision tobe late for work.
Now, if it's, on the other handand I've seen this in countless
(05:04):
companies that the team meetingruns 30 minutes over and every
single person in that meetingstarts out a half an hour behind
.
Now what does that tell yourcustomer when you're 30 minutes
late to your very firstappointment?
They don't care that themeeting ran over.
They don't care that themeeting ran over, they don't
(05:26):
care why you're late, they justcare that they've been standing
at that house waiting on you fora half an hour.
And it's frustrating not onlyto the customer, but it's also
frustrating to dispatch, becausenow dispatch has to figure out
let's say that it's the secondor third appointment they're
having to shuffle around andcall the customer or text the
(05:46):
customer, whatever it is theprocesses that you use to let
the homeowner know that you'regoing to be late.
It's just not good for business.
Well, here's another exampleTechnician spends too much time
on on one job chatting with thecustomer, just BSing, and it
feels like they're doing theright thing.
And in their heart theyprobably are.
(06:09):
They probably really truly feellike they're doing the right
thing.
Or maybe that customer has gotthem pinned up asking a thousand
questions or talking abouttheir son's baseball game that
maybe, as a technician, youdon't even care about.
It is perfectly okay to say Mrcustomer, I appreciate you
sharing me sharing the storyabout Johnny's baseball game,
(06:30):
but I've got to get to my nextcustomer's house and I know you
understand that because youwouldn't want me late for your
house.
Every customer is going to getthat and some people you get to
their house and, man, theyhaven't talked to anybody all
day and it might be your thirdor fourth appointment and
they're just chatty, cathy,right, and it makes you feel
good.
They want to talk to you, butat the end of the day it's not
(06:52):
cost effective for you, it's notcost effective for the company
and it puts you behind big time.
So the next one is failure tofollow company procedures.
So the problem here is, ifyou're not adhering to the
(07:35):
company guidelines, which isalways in place for a reason,
requires technicians to takephotos of completed jobs for
service titan or whatever systemyou're using, but the
technician skips this step whenthe customer, a year from now,
later disputes that repair, ormaybe a month from now or maybe
two days from now, it doesn'treally matter.
That repair or maybe a monthfrom now or maybe two days from
now, it doesn't really matter,pick the time frame, it makes no
difference.
You've got zero room to saythat you actually did the repair
, whether you did it or not, youcan't back it up, and if you
(07:56):
can't back it up, it didn'thappen.
So pictures are the key for youto not have to worry about
having to back up something,whether you did it or you didn't
do it.
Let's assume that you're a goodtechnician and you did the job.
Well God, how does that makeyou feel when your boss calls
(08:16):
you up?
Your service manager calls youup and is like hey, dude, this
customer is saying you didn'treplace this part and you're
saying I absolutely replaced thepart.
Fantastic, let me go intoservice tighten and look at the
pictures.
Oh, that's right, there are nopictures.
So how can I vouch for you, theservice technician, if you
(08:37):
don't give me the proof to dothat roof, to do that?
So if as I dealt with this alot and when I was working for
the local company here if thepictures are not in there, you
didn't do it, and so what has tohappen?
Then we got to send somebodyelse out, either be able to show
the pictures then, or wediscover that you didn't do the
(09:01):
job and that's a whole differentset of problems.
But ultimately it still costsus time and money to send
somebody out there, send a truckout there, and look hourly rate
on a truck $300 to $400 or $500, depending on the company.
But best believe that it is notcost-effective to do a recall
(09:23):
for something that you couldhave just snap the picture, for
it's so, so freaking important.
Covers your butt, covers thecompany's butt, covers
everybody's butt.
So this is one of my favoritesInability to upsell or educate
the customer or educate thecustomer.
(09:48):
So the issue is techniciansshould be able to identify and
recommend additional servicesthat benefit the customer,
whether that be IAQ or whetherthat be a different sort of
filter, or whether that be somesort of water treatment.
Well, it's water treatment,I'll just say that.
So as an example, during amaintenance visit, a technician
notices a dirty blower wheel butfails to suggest that it be
(10:15):
cleaned.
So what happens?
The blower eventually clogs andit causes the system to fail.
And now you've got an emergencyrepair that could have been
avoided.
And so nobody may your customer.
They may not catch that, theymay not even realize that you
(10:36):
didn't suggest cleaning thatwheel.
Or maybe they're really smartand they do know that you didn't
suggest it.
But now that's again.
That's two differentconversations, but both with not
a great ending.
And so that customer now has topay an emergency fee and now
we've got to send a truck backout and, yeah, we make a sale.
But we could have just made thesale the first time.
(10:57):
Save that customer money.
You would have made money,company would have made money
and it wouldn't have cost usmore money to go out there.
So, look, it's just reallyimportant that you do upsell and
educate the customer.
Now, what I'm not telling youis I'm not suggesting that you
(11:18):
sell them something that theydon't need.
I would never, ever suggestthat you sell them something
that they don't need or thatthey want.
Even so, proper neglectingproper documentation.
If you have incomplete orincorrect service records, it
can cause a ton of confusion andyou've got repeated issues.
(11:42):
A ton of confusion and you'vegot repeated issues.
So let's just take a technicianreplaces a capacitor but
forgets to log it in the system.
When another tech goes outthere for a maintenance call or
maybe even a service call, theywaste time troubleshooting the
same issue because there's norepair history.
(12:03):
So once again, just imagineyou're that second technician
going out, you'retroubleshooting the same issue,
only to find out that it'salready been replaced.
And now you've wasted 30 or 40minutes and gotten nothing out
of it because the part hadalready been fixed right.
(12:24):
So, or replaced rather.
So just keep your documentationup to date.
It saves everybody time andmoney.
And I know on the front end youthink, well, I don't have time
to do that or I'll get to itlater.
You're not going to get to itlater.
And likely it's company policythat you document all, that you
properly document everything.
It's checks and balances, right?
(12:45):
It's like if you own a grocerystore and you don't take stock,
how do you know what's on theshelf?
It's the same difference, right?
You've got to do it for you,you've got to do it for the
company and it's just a smartway of doing business.
So lack of attention to detail,so small mistakes in this
(13:07):
industry can lead to biggersystem failures and inexpensive
callbacks.
So I know a technician that hefailed to properly tighten an
electrical connection during theinstallation.
A week later, as you can guess,the unit stops working and it
(13:28):
stops working due to that loosewire, resulting in not only an
unnecessary callback, but you'velost revenue again, again, and
any of these things that I'vealready listed here could happen
in many different ways to onecustomer, and so you've really
(13:51):
got a loss when that happens.
Poor customer service, sonegative interactions with a
customer hurts the company'sreputation and it hurts your
reputation as the servicetechnician.
And an example if you, lots ofservice technicians are very
(14:14):
smart and nine times out of 10,more than the customer and what
they're going to say, the wordsthat are going to come out of
their mouth, the questionsthey're going to ask and lots of
times I found myself doing thisalso, so it's not just you.
We become dismissive of thehomeowner's questions or we over
(14:36):
talk or speak over thatcustomer and it makes the
customer feel disrespected, andthen what happens is they leave
a bad review and that hurtsbusiness in the future and,
quite frankly, it's probablygoing to hurt you as well,
because they're probably goingto add your name to that review
and you don't want that, I cantell you right now.
(14:58):
So inconsistent work quality isthe next one.
Some technicians only put ineffort if they know they're
being watched One day.
Imagine one day a techniciancarefully installs a system, he
checks all the connections, andanother day he or she rushes
(15:19):
through a job and forgets tocheck for leaks, causing
refrigerant loss and a systemfailure.
So you just need to beconsistent Do the next right
thing.
Be an example for the nextperson coming through the door.
It's not hard to just do thenext right thing.
(15:39):
Look, I can tell you I've notalways done the next right thing
.
I've taken shortcuts and I'mnot going to tell you it's bit
me in the ass every time, but itcertainly has bit me in the ass
many times.
So it's it.
Look, just do the next rightthing.
(15:59):
So safety when you ignoresafety protocols and neglect
safety measures, it puts you, orputs the next technician and
possibly you and the customer,at risk.
An example was if a techniciandoesn't wear safety gloves while
(16:20):
handling refrigerant, well, youknow what happens next Severe
frostbite.
That not only affects theirhealth but also causes downtime
for the company.
And, look, it also affects yourpocketbook if you're out of
work because you've gotfrostbite.
(16:40):
So just pay attention to thesafety protocols.
So next one is resistance totraining and learning.
Hvac technology is consistentlyevolving, as we've seen.
New refrigerant came out thisyear and refusal to adapt makes
(17:05):
technicians less valuable.
You've got to be able toconstantly learn and train.
I saw one of their thermostatsthis past week, said one of
(17:26):
their thermostats this past week.
And so imagine, the companyintroduces that new smart
thermostat, but the technicianrefuses to learn how that cool
thermostat works.
And when a customer asks aboutinstalling one, the technician
cannot provide an answer, whichmisses an opportunity for an
upsell and it makes you lookvery unprofessional.
So just look, you got toconstantly be learning.
(17:49):
If you're not learning, I thinkit's actually if you're not
growing, you're dying.
But you get the point.
I feel the same way aboutlearning Bad work ethic.
A technician who lacksmotivation and discipline can't
be relied on.
Who lacks motivation anddiscipline can't be relied on.
Work ethic is so important.
So here's an example Instead ofworking efficiently, the
(18:12):
technician takes extended breaks, shows up late, leaves jobs
unfinished, which causes delaysand frustration amongst the
customers and your othercoworkers.
So if you've got bad work ethic, dude, like the industry lots
of times has a bad rap becausepeople with bad work ethic, it
(18:36):
leaves a bad taste in others'mouths and so lots of times
you're dead at the door when youget there because they've had a
terrible experience with thelast person.
So lack of teamwork is the nextone.
Technicians must coordinatewith office staff, dispatchers
and other team members sothey're efficient.
(18:57):
If a technician doesn'tcommunicate with dispatch about
job delays, dispatchatcher booksanother appointment too soon
and causes an overlap and ascheduling disaster.
So you just got to think aboutyour other team members.
Next is misuse of companyresources.
(19:21):
If you're stealing or wastingcompany property, it increases
the cost and damages trust.
If a technician takes home anextra refrigerant for personal
use, you lose inventory as theowner, as the business, and that
(19:42):
refrigerant's there for apaying customer.
And now you've caused ashortage in peak season because
you were selfish and you decidedthat you were more important
than being ethical to yourcompany.
Unprofessional appearance andbehavior.
(20:04):
Man, a technician look.
A service technician representsthe company and must maintain a
clean and professional image.
Now everybody understands ifyou've just come from a
different job, you've had tocrawl under a house, you're
dirty, bring a different shirt,bring a different pair of pants.
(20:25):
You should always have a cleanset of clothes in your van, and
I understand.
When it gets to summertime it'shard to manage that.
There are times when it's alittle bit more understandable,
however.
It's understandable from thecompany standpoint, but it's not
understandable from thecustomer standpoint.
If you show up and your shirt'swrinkled, the uniform's stained
(20:50):
and heaven forbid it smellslike cigarette smoke, the
customer loses confidence intheir ability and then they call
the competitor next timebecause you look disgusting.
You showed up like you justcame from a strip joint and
rolling around in mud.
(21:13):
So look, each of these reasonsthat I've given you today, just
pick one.
They can make a significantimpact on a technician's success
, on the company they work for.
And this is just something yougot to think about, guys.
This is so vitally importantthat if you go through this
(21:39):
checklist and you take a look atthese things and you take a
look at these things and if youcan say you don't do any of
these things, then you'reprobably making far more money
than any other technician in thecompany.
Because, look, we understandyou're a human being, but you
got to do the best that you can.
You got to do the next rightthing be the best that you can
show up and be a good example,because people are watching you,
(22:02):
especially if you're at the topof the ladder.
Right, if you're one of the toptechnicians, you're an example.
You're setting the tone for therest of the team.
So I appreciate you guyslistening today and we'll see
you next Friday.
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