■ Air Conditioning
AIR CONDITIONING
START-UP in uncertain times Communicate with customers, budget your time to improve revenue By Glenn Mellors As I am writing this article, I am watching snowflakes mocking me as they fly by my window on May 11 in Southwestern Ontario. This should be the start of air conditioning start-up season. If you are like most, you have been spending the last few weeks shopping online for personal protective equipment or PPE for your business to ready yourself for air conditioning start-up season (see article in April 2020 issue for more information). After the last eight weeks, we need the revenue! I often refer to this time of year as revenue killer time because we can spend our time
doing 20-minute or all-day repairs on equipment that has been neglected since last summer. How do you charge appropriately for those service calls? The 20-minute calls are difficult because by the time you charge $129 diagnostic and an hour repair to clean dead bugs out of the contactor ($225 flat-rate repair guide) to try and collect $354 is difficult. Then there is the all-day system leak test and repair that ends up costing the homeowner $1,200, which they don’t want to pay either. Both repairs end badly for both the customer and you! Have you ever stopped and listened to the person who answers the phone for you? Or rather, how you answer your phone? Stop and really listen. Short calls with no appointment started with “how much do you charge for servicing air conditioners,” followed by a “thank-you” and a dial tone. Longer calls typically include trying to diagnose over the phone, followed by a “thank-you” and a dial
This is the time of year when dealers hold barbecues and open houses to introduce new equipment, like this one at Air Heat Supplies in Mississauga in 2016. Hopefully, these events will return soon. tone. Remember, prescription without diagnosis is malpractice and for those of you who know me, you have heard that many times. I hear this more often t han I l ike – “the customer was just price shopping.” No, you were just giving them cheap answers with zero value factor.
Conversation is key
Service calls are quick with a well-equipped truck!
20
Plumbing & HVAC – May/June 2020
Let me share a little scripting with you: “how much do you charge to service air conditioners?” Your response should be “have you ever done business with us before?” Regardless of the answer, your next words should be remarkably similar – “if you have” or “if you choose to do business with us, we will come out to your home and provide a 22point inspection of the unit. This will include checking wire connections and refrigerant levels, cleaning, adjusting and lubricating all moving parts, putting a fresh coat of silicone protector on the outdoor unit, and giving you a summary of all necessary repairs required
www.plumbingandhvac.ca
