Why He’s Tech of the Month: In the early 1990s, Jim Lemons was the head of the maintenance department for a large hotel. The hotel consistently contracted work on its central HVAC system, restaurant equipment, etc. In an effort to save the hotel money, Lemons elected to attend refrigeration school and learned to do the repairs himself. From then on, he’s found a home as an HVACR service technician.

Having only been employed at his current job with Kent, Washington-based AAA Heating and Air Conditioning for a year, it didn’t take Lemons long to impress his coworkers.

“Jim is our technician who always gets the diagnostics right,” said Angie White, customer service manager, AAA Heating and Air Conditioning. “He is an HVAC ninja and has been in the industry for 18 years. We were lucky to snatch him up from a company that went out of business.

“We feel he is the most experienced, best technician we’ve ever hired,” continued White. “We send him to all of our tricky diagnostics calls, and he always uses the same diagnostic sequence to go through the equipment from start to finish, which ensures he never misses an issue. He also is loved by customers and communicates well with them.”

There isn’t just one particular instance that Lemons has shined, as he is consistently a shining star whenever he is on the job.

“It’s how he works when he is on call,” said White. “We can count on him to help people over the phone consistently and to go to a lot of customers who can’t be helped over the phone. Some other techs aren’t quite as helpful as he is with the after-hours and weekend customer needs. We know that when he is on call, every single person who calls in with an emergency will be taken care of.” 

Lemons is all-in when it comes to diagnostics, which he deems his favorite part of the job.

“I love the mental challenges involved in diagnosing HVAC systems and the resulting personal satisfaction when the repairs have been made, the system is running properly, and the customers are once again happy campers.”

It’s his love of diagnostics that allows him to help industry newcomers.

“Jim is always ready and willing to help our younger techs out,” White said. “He fields calls from them all day long when they get stuck on their diagnostics. He is a patient teacher who helps them figure out their problems over the phone.”

Lemons said he enjoys working for his present employer because everyone shares the desire to satisfy every customer.

“We have a great group of individuals who are not only dedicated to the trade, but they’re also easy to get along with and committed to teamwork,” he said. “They’re always ready to go that extra mile to help out when needed.”

Lemons plans to continue working in the field as long as his body will allow him.

“I plan to make the most of my tech time in the field until I’m too old to do my job effectively,” he said. “Of course, maybe I’ll just grab a cane at that point and keep on rolling.”

To nominate an HVACR technician for Tech of the Month, visit http://techofthemonth.achrnews.com or email samanthasine@achrnews.com.

Publication date: 9/25/2017

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