Cheryl and Barry Mills didn’t have too much time to enjoy their new home. That’s because black mold took over the home even before they moved in. The Mills took the builder to court and won a judgment against the company in 2006, but the builder appealed and resolution isn’t expected for another year. A contractor joined The NEWS during a tour of the Mills’ home in late June.
Fortunately, many of the contractors I’ve met and interviewed have been happy to share some business tips with me and NEWS’ readers because they are proud of their achievements and want other (usually noncompetitive) HVAC contractors to get some good ideas about their business. The ultimate goal of this spirit of cooperation is to raise the professionalism of the HVAC contracting trade. Everybody wins. With that in mind, The NEWS is rolling out a new promotion that will ensure several winners.
Any discussion involving the hottest topics in HVAC today inevitably includes IAQ. One company sent a representative out to talk about IAQ issues with an audience of educators at the recent Air-Conditioning & Refrigeration Institute (ARI) Regional Workshop at Ferris State University.
Having a broad knowledge of mechanical codes and the nuances of the code system is a key ingredient to proper system design. It is certainly a way to head off future problems when questions arise about a building’s HVAC system.
Picture the look on the face of a business owner when an HVAC contractor tells him that the more he uses his air conditioner, the lower his electric bill will be. The business owner may be calling for the men in white jackets to take the contractor away. Yet that scenario may soon play out in businesses across North America if Andy McGreevy and his newest invention are made the a/c system of choice.
Having a business plan may sound like a trite statement, but it isn’t. Part of that business plan should include provisions for the ebbs and flows of the HVAC contracting world, the times when temperature spikes put a business into crisis mode.
“Small business is an easy prey - from embezzlement to side jobs,” said Mike Bidwell, COO and president of the Dwyer Group. Bidwell was trying to get the attention of attendees to a panel discussion of “Protecting Your Business From Fraud and Theft” at the annual convention of the Dwyer Group.
The HVAC industry is no stranger to 800 numbers. It is no wonder that there are new ways to integrate 800 numbers into the marketing and advertising plans of HVAC contractors. Two of the newest uses of 800 numbers will be highlighted in this article.
I like to play around with what if scenarios, and the HVAC world has given me - and you - some very interesting things to think about, particularly when it comes to the topic of personification.
Back in 2000, the North-American Heating, Refrigeration, and Air-Conditioning Wholesalers Association (NHRAW) adopted a new business concept for its distributors titled Market Center Distribution (MCD). This concept is intended to bring order and efficiency to the distribution channel by eliminating redundancies.