Arkansas HVACR NewsMagazine May 2024

HVACR NewsMagazine May 2024

Distributors say, “I have to sell to whomever walks in the door. I just check for the 608 if I don’t know them.” Hey, maybe that is the future and maybe there is no way around it. WHOLESALE ON LINE. Gee Mr. Dealer!! Where you gonna’ get your training. Oh, that is right. Before continuing education was required, some dealers never attended a class and blamed the equipment when it was poorly installed. Gee Mr. Distributor!! Wouldn’t it cost you less in warranty hassles if the dealer was trained and had loyalty? If you provided or encouraged business training would that reduce your bad debt and right offs? Gee Mr. Manufacturer!! Bad warranty claims are eating your lunch. Wouldn’t it be more profitable to build a network of qualified dealers who actually know your equipment and install it to your instructions. How many unhappy customers will give you a bad name because you don’t honor a warranty when the system is not installed according to local laws? It is already headed that way with licensed dealers. How much worse will it be when you open the flood gate of online sales. Our industry is on the verge of ruining the reputation of the whole HVACR industry due to online sales to homeowners. Hey! I am telling the truth and everyone one of you know it. What do we do? Try spending time mapping a marketing strategy that builds dealer loyalty and training. A marketing strategy that emphasizes quality rather

than price. We frequently hear and say, that a race to the lowest price is a race to the bottom and bankruptcy. Whether we are a light of professionalism providing safe and efficient comfort and refrigeration or we play in the night of pimps and prostitutes, is up to us. Homeowners need to trust us because they have no way of knowing what is involved in sizing, installing, and servicing a HVACR system. They need us and, if we deliver what we promise, they will reward us with gratitude, loyalty, and profit.

Who will do the most harm?

Pimps

Prostitutes

On Line HVAC Sales

Let me affirm my commitment to our industry; dealers, distributors, and manufacturers — most especially to our homeowners and businesses that depend on our professionalism to deliver healthy, safe, efficient comfort and refrigeration. If this article bothers you, maybe we all know it is true. Maybe we aren’t sure how to handle the future. One thing is certain, if we don’t plan our future, it will plan ours.