Arkansas HVACR NewsMagazine September 2025

HVACR NewsMagazine September 2025

State National Chapter News

addressed through the legal system, and the new contractor will inherit the poor workmanship if not identified early before repairs are made. We have participated in online forums where solutions discussed will only make the problem worse. This fact reinforces the idea that training is essential to the HVAC trade. With cultural issues that viewed trades with contempt for many years and Covid adding to that time frame, we have a knowledge gap of about ten years or more. The first factor that makes trades vulnerable is the entrepreneurial attitude. To step out and risk it all, takes a belief in “I can do it right”. Once folks have three or four years of keeping the doors open, the attitude of “this ain’t my first rodeo” comes through loud and clear. In today’s business journey we hire companies to manage our online presence. We then forget what their job is and we believe the messaging we paid for. We are doing everything right, until someone says otherwise outside the company. The HVAC market is continually changing and training just a decade ago is not the training we have today. To assume you are keeping up with changes just because you are in business, is not a smart move. We must maintain that entrepreneurial touch to continually expand our market to match the demand; but, a realistic look at the business is necessary. Thirty years ago, two unhappy customers were too many. If online tools are rating your company with a five-star system, and your online presence is at four stars, we are doing great, right? Today some

celebrate if customer satisfaction is above eighty-five percent. That means we fail fifteen times out of every one-hundred jobs. Where is that good business? From the outside it is easy to play armchair quarterback in any industry. When you drill down managing a trade company becomes more difficult every day. As far as motor technology, static pressure, training and standards go, many in the industry are doing everything they can. Before we call out specific technologies and methodology, it might not be a bad idea to review some history. In 1985 , I entered the HVAC industry full time just as Lennox added ECM motors to its product line (ancient history). Almost immediately the ECM was recognized as an efficiency king. It was hailed as a product to help overcome poor duct installation, but Lennox was quick to explain, poor duct installation must be avoided so the ECM could save energy. The first-generation ECM was to weather many required changes, but the ECM today is still basically the same configuration as the original from 40 years ago and has met the challenges year after year. In 1989 John Proctor was already on the hunt to finding solutions for poor installations using the term “House as a System” and later gaining nationwide notoriety for developing the “Check Me” program. echnicians would phone in selected information from the field, and a “Check Me” staff member identify any red flags from the information gathered. CheckMe! ®