It was a good year for geothermal, and much of that credit must go to Doug Dougherty and his staff at the Geothermal Exchange Organization (GEO). Well, if you can call the 1.5 people working for the GEO president and CEO his “staff.” Those accomplishments are the reason Dougherty was named a 2012 NEWSmaker.
I have recently had the pleasure (and I use that term loosely) to meet a plethora of candidates looking to fill some open positions on The NEWS. Let’s just say I have a new respect for all the HVAC contractors out there who continually need to fish in a rather shallow labor pool.
Contractors from around the country converged on Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas for the Nexstar Network’s Super Meeting. The meeting was titled “Customers First” and included informative sessions and plenty of networking opportunities.
Home performance contracting is more than just an industry buzzword for the team at Minnick’s Heating, Cooling, Energy Solutions, and Insulation. Why did the three owners decide to start focusing on the home performance market?
Salespeople from around the country traveled to Dallas for the Unified Group’s Advanced Sales Forum. The attendees listened to informative presentations as well as participated in group training.
September and October are always busy traveling months for those of us in the HVAC trade press. It makes sense as most associations hold their meetings during these months to get the highest attendance since this is typically one of HVAC’s shoulder seasons.
There are a lot of new and innovative ways for contractors to connect with manufacturers, distributors, and — most importantly — their customers. However, sometimes a face-to-face, well-planned meeting is still the right tool for the job.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that more than one third of all skilled tradesmen are over the age of 50. As these quality tradesmen begin to retire, the task for contractors to find quality employees will continue to get harder.
This week I am writing about bowling. Not so much the 7-10 split or how many beers translate into the best score — although I would guess more than 3 and less than 6 — but I am writing about the customer service I received from a local bowling alley that turned me from a disgruntled customer to a loyal one.
