Jim Hinshaw
Thinking about the summer since we are now in it. Full force in some areas, Phoenix set a record this week, longest streak of over 115 degrees since 1865 or so. Five in a row. Here are some ideas on how to work thru the extreme heat, which gives us extreme business these days.
First, make sure your entire team realizes that you cannot take every call. In the heat of the summer, it is surprising how many new babies and 88-year-old moms are in a home. Sometimes the same home. Until you show up to fix the air, you find out then they went to the mall for a taco. So be sure every CSR, every tech and all the office staff know what the priority is on taking calls. While I am in that area, they all need to know of any specials of the month, nothing says unprofessional like not knowing what we are offering a tune up for.
So be aware that you may have a chance to pick up some customers this summer, the weather may be really warm and your competition may not be able to keep up. If that is the case, be sure you are picking up customers with strong potential for future sales, not a 2-year-old system still in warranty. Establish a priority system for responding: first up would be your installs that may need service, seniors who have a system that is down and can’t move easily, families with a new baby may be on the short list as well. Then you could layer in your maintenance agreement customers, or older systems you have worked on before. It is always a good idea to say: let me go to work for you, we have a full schedule now, but I will do my best.
Then have a script ready for how to turn away those customers who may not fit the profile of a good customer, like ones who refused your repairs in the past, you get the idea. Make it a business decision, don’t make it personal. Let them know you just don’t have the resources, could possibly refer them to a competitor. Just be confident that the competitor is a company with good ethics, if you don’t trust them, don’t refer them. Let them search with Google, seems to be effective.
The most important part of being prepared for the summer rush this year is how to handle the repairs or replacements that you have been told to do but can’t get parts or equipment. First consider the parts situation. It is amazing how many things we need today in our business that may not be available. PVC, controls, even copper fittings. So, with that in mind, get some inventory into your barn, especially the commodity items. We used to not worry so much about common materials like line sets, but we are not able to get everything at the local supply house today. Message needs to go out to the team, today we cannot guarantee that we can get the items needed for repairs, we will work hard to find them, it may take a few days. Get creative on the repairs, we may need to put more band aids on systems than normal.
The bigger question is equipment. There are already inventory issues in almost all manufacturers all across the nation. So, while it is a good idea to fucus your purchases with at least one local supply house, it is really important this year to establish a backup plan if they are out of stock on systems that you sell. Keep a close watch on the product availability, Matt Michel says don’t sell it if you don’t see it. One other item that many of our members are now doing, don’t put a model number on the proposal. OK to say 16 SEER 4 ton system, but keep options open on brand, you may need to change the manufacturer. Much of the inventory opportunity comes from circumstances out of our control. Last year we had a major manufacturer in Texas lose part of their plant due to a tornado, this year another manufacturer had a roof collapse on the high efficiency line, shut it down for weeks.
These situations are out of our control, but the supply chain is really fragile this year. The sales team (or your techs if they sell) need to let the customer know this is a different year than we have ever been in before. First the pandemic caused disruptions to our manufacturing, then the computer chip industry (and other component issues) is slowing down the product availability. Finally, a series of weather-related disasters amplified the problem. The customer needs to hear this on the initial conversation.
That is good news. We are in the middle of a perfect storm for the HVAC industry. Let the customer know, this is not the year to “think about it”, if a system needs to be replaced it is in their best interest to move fast. It will only be more expensive later if they can find the equipment. I believe the phrase that applies is “it is a seller’s market”, applies to housing and hvac. Thanks for listening, we’ll talk later.
