Residential HVAC During COVID Labor-management partnerships foster cooperation and proactive troubleshooting in the face of adversity By / Robin Brunet
Above and beyond offering their expertise and products, the main goal of residential HVAC service providers is to gain customer confidence. It’s a challenge in the best of times, but the task has assumed unprecedented proportions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, when many customers wouldn’t dream of calling for home service, and even the service providers are concerned about their own safety. But although concern about the virus hasn’t abated, confidence is being restored in the residential market. And the reason is close collaboration between SMACNA contractors and the skilled workforce and partners at SMART. “Our customers are getting back to feeling comfortable having someone in their home,” says Denise Ruscetta, president of Skyline Heating A/C & Sheet Metal Inc. in Denver, Colorado. She credits this to her company observing strict protective protocol measures that were developed in conjunction with SMACNA Colorado. Nathan Cooper, executive director of SMACNA Colorado, notes that contractors and his organization working together is nothing new. “We actively develop new initiatives with our board of nine contractors,” he says. “But during the early weeks of the pandemic when we weren’t sure our industry would be deemed an essential service, the first thing we and
