The news is so commonplace that even I sometimes take it for granted. I’m talking about daily stories of people dying or being sickened by carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning. I get my daily Google Alerts off the Internet and it would surprise me if a day didn’t go by where someone was killed or injured by CO poisoning.
During a recent trip to a trade meeting in North Lake Tahoe, I got a slap of reality right in the kisser. About 40 miles from my exit, I noticed people pulling off the road and putting on tire chains.
Amid all of the chaos following Hurricane Katrina is the need for people to rebuild their homes and lives. Businesses like those in the HVAC trade must deal with the realities of rebuilding their own businesses as well as the neighborhoods in which their customers reside.
In a down economy, the business survivors are those that focus on the needs of their customers and the ability to bundle service and value into a sellable package. That’s one of the goals of Bryant dealers and their distributor in the Seattle area.
If the California Energy Commission (CEC) had its way, thermostats in homes and buildings would be controllable by public utilities during times of extreme temperature hikes and power usage. But a public outcry to proposals in the CEC’s 2008 Building Energy Efficiency Standards regarding thermostat control forced the CEC to modify its stance.
Yes, the end of the world is near. Forget about the high unemployment rates, slowdown in new home construction, and high foreclosure rates. That’s peanuts compared to the recent woeful news from the economic battlefront.
There seems to be dangerous thinking pervading some casual conversations around our country. People are always talking about how to increase efficiency will reducing costs of HVAC equipment. That’s a given. But they are also talking about the importance of “going green,” too.
Why do techs continue to “work off the clock” if they know it is wrong and could result in immediate termination? The NEWS asked for and received feedback from several present and former technicians who agreed to discuss their reasons, but only if their identities remained anonymous. Their side of the story provides an interesting perspective to that of business owners.
Let’s
see if we can identify the oldest HVAC service tech in America and give that
person some recognition. If it is true that being 50 today is like being 40 two
decades or more ago, then there are probably a lot of service techs who are
still working into their sixties and beyond.
The HVAC industry is not immune to the woes of the current economic situation. Is there any comforting news out there? There is if you believe some HVAC contractors who recently convened for a mini-roundtable meeting.