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Each time one of our service technicians approaches a home on a service call it's almost like trick or treat. Our goal is for the experience to be a treat for the homeowner so they don't feel like they were tricked.

Some HVAC contractors offer multiple services, e.g., plumbing, electrical, duct cleaning, or insulation, to try to lock in customers. It may not be practical for all contractors to branch out, but it may be practical to seek businesses with like synergies to partner up with.

Lifestyle buyers make up over half of the replacement market. Everyone in this group is willing to pay more money to be more physically and emotionally comfortable.

Recently, I spent half a day at perhaps the most intense gathering of HVAC entrepreneurs that I've ever had the occasion to witness - a MIX Group® meeting. MIX Group meetings are the domain of the Air Conditioning Contractors of America.

The NEWS' "Salary and Service Rates Editorial Study" asks readers what they pay their employees; what they charge their customers; and about practices such as flat-rate pricing, service agreements, dispatch options, etc. The most recent study shows a disturbing trend - at least in my view.

Every few months, I break bread with Paul Wadsworth of P. K. Wadsworth Heating & Cooling. I called to ask if he knew anyone who could install a humidification system in my home. He said he had just the right person to send over.

This industry just is not doing a good job in promoting its value to the world. In the long run, if you can't beat ‘em, why not join ‘em? If sex does sell, then let's get on the bandwagon.

Recently, companies in two unrelated fields gave me the impression they didn't need any new customers. This made me stop and think about our operation. Are we making sure that we are not giving the impression that we "aren't taking any new clients"?

An interesting (and disturbing) news item caught my eye recently - about the "hole" in the ozone layer. And after that, another news item caught my eye that could have an impact on the first one - the unreclaimed refrigerant from Katrina-damaged equipment.

Anytime I think the HVACR industry is only what happens in the United States, I just need to read through some of the publications I get from beyond U.S. borders.