Name: Pablo Gomez
Title: HVAC Technician
Why He’s Tech of the Month: Pablo Gomez, who works at Pipe Works Services Inc. in Chatham, New Jersey, has a bit of a cult following when it comes to HVAC repairs.
“Pablo connects with people on more than a repair level,” said Ellen Cagnassola, marketing manager at Pipe Works. “He connects on a personal level.”
Case in point: Once, she got a call from one of his customers, asking for Gomez’s number because he wanted some more recipes from him
Gomez started in the trades when he was about 19 or 20, installing boilers for his dad’s friend’s heating company. He worked at that company for two years and became a foreman. Then he went to work for another company.
“It was owned by two guys from Wall Street, and they didn’t know what they were doing,” Gomez said.
Sure enough, the company went bankrupt after he left. He’s 28 years old now, and he’s been working at Pipe Works for two years, doing all things related to HVAC, plumbing, and generators. He’s been doing training with manufactures like Mitsubishi, and has two certifications by Kohler for generator service as well.
A lot of Gomez’s training has been on the job. Right now, he’s two years into classes through the New Jersey Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors Association (PHCC), and he has two more years to go to get his license.
Gomez’s nickname at the company is MacGyver, Cagnassola said, because he has the mechanical aptitude to fix just about any problem.
“Pablo is the most requested HVAC technician in the company, and many of the younger ones look up to him,” she said. “He is reliable, punctual, professional, and super knowledgeable. Customers love him because he is talented but also explains the problems in relatable terms.”
One review — and it’s not rare, according to Cagnassola — wrote of Gomez:
We have used Pipe Works Services for the past four or five years now and have been very pleased. This last visit was a bit of an emergency, and they went above and beyond for us. They had initially come out to look at our motor, and the diagnosis was that it was no good. They replaced the motor, but afterwards, the temperature wasn’t regulating properly. It kept shutting off. They were worried about us being without heat, so they rearranged their schedule to get someone out right away for us. They used a special camera to find that there was a blockage or a backup in the exhaust. Not only did they fix that, but they have also rewritten the original assessment so that we can turn it into our homeowner’s insurance. Their workers … absolutely exemplify what you want from someone doing work on your system. [Pablo] is a calm, thoughtful person, and always happy to share his skills with others. He also has a very distinct laugh that is contagious.
“Honestly, I just like helping people,” Gomez said. “It feels good when you have an elderly woman or someone with kids, and they have no heat, and you can make them comfortable in the home.”
Gomez wants to learn as much as possible and grow within his current company, and eventually end up teaching the next generation of technicians.
“It’s a career that is really high in demand; it’s really rewarding,” he said. “A lot of my friends went to college and … I don’t have debt. I have my own home at age 25. It’s a different route, and I really like that.”
To nominate an HVACR technician for Tech of the Month, click here or email tedcraig@achrnews.com.
Publication date: 4/15/2019
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