Hey so Alex here again , I was just wondering today after reading marcus aurelius, and yeah I have took my business problem as an acceptance and trying to solve it, ( basic stoicism ) so I was wondering what problems you veterans are facing and keeping you up at night, which when goes away will give you a significant advantage over your competition and lead you a better life. For me, its just more installations and getting more jobs of a concern right now. Thank you !!
AloxaHVAC
Yea that's really annoying, like if you need new electronic metering devices, too bad.
This has kept me from wanting to buy any inverter mini split AC, because basically once the control board dies, that's it. That AC is now officially useless. The compressor will only ever spin with a VFD and good luck programming that VFD in any way as well as getting the electronic expansion valves to work along with that. This means a lightning strike WILL kill your AC if you had a run of bad luck. I hope they have a surge protector built in with an indicator that lights up if that MOV is fried.
And control board is model specific, presumably for planned obsolescence.
Maybe if you just replaced the EEV with TXV's and just retrofitted it like a non-inverter, in addition to fitting a VFD if your supply isn't 3 phase, but then you've basically just did some really extensive modification just to get your mini split to work.
And all that work just because of a fried board that is no longer available.
It's why I kept using the non-inverter mini splits. They're really simple, it just turns on and turns off.
This has kept me from wanting to buy any inverter mini split AC, because basically once the control board dies, that's it. That AC is now officially useless. The compressor will only ever spin with a VFD and good luck programming that VFD in any way as well as getting the electronic expansion valves to work along with that. This means a lightning strike WILL kill your AC if you had a run of bad luck. I hope they have a surge protector built in with an indicator that lights up if that MOV is fried.
And control board is model specific, presumably for planned obsolescence.
Maybe if you just replaced the EEV with TXV's and just retrofitted it like a non-inverter, in addition to fitting a VFD if your supply isn't 3 phase, but then you've basically just did some really extensive modification just to get your mini split to work.
And all that work just because of a fried board that is no longer available.
It's why I kept using the non-inverter mini splits. They're really simple, it just turns on and turns off.
Been at it 61 years now and here are a few at the present times and not in any order
1; Finding help
2. Affording help - round here you also must be an electrician and most young ones don't have the money for testing and training so we (most of the time) pay for it.
3. Keeping help - good friend hired a new employee so he equipped him with a truck/tools. Two month later that new guy left for $2.00 and hour more and a promise to get a new truck. He cost a lot of money.
4. Paying for all the licenses now needed for just about ever section where work is done. Average local business license is over $100. I do business in about 30 different taxable areas. Add that up......
Keeping the State Gov't out of my business. Paid for my business license in the major town along with my Journeyman license. Have the receipts to prove it. Year later I get a failure to pay and a fine for not paying for that local city business license. Took me two weeks to get it straightened out with the locals all because they are changing the data bases. Then I started getting paid receipts credited to me from other service companies. Lots of time wasted and to this day I don't know if the actually corrections have been done by this local government.
5. Help leaving because of costs of local living. Lost one good helper to Arizona because he can't afford to live around here anymore. Second helper now not working because he can't afford to have the rear end in his car repaired and I don't have the extra two hours to pick him up and drive him back. His expenses have also gone through the roof where he rented. Now he lives a friends basement.
6. Parts - Even some of the simplest parts are getting hard to find. The jobs just keep going on and one waiting fro ordered parts to show up.
7. Parts Quality - too many parts out of the factory bad. Returned a bad new defrost board & the counter person asked if I plugged it in. Yes, how else would I know it's bad? Counter person now says no warranty cause it's electronic and you plugged it in. So I had to buy a second one out of my pocket.
8. Car Mechanics - Oddly enough as with most skilled jobs these days good car mechanics are hard to find and get work done. My van needs some front end work and I wait at least a month each time for my mechanic - of 20 plus years - to find time for me. And he has been having problems getting parts.
1; Finding help
2. Affording help - round here you also must be an electrician and most young ones don't have the money for testing and training so we (most of the time) pay for it.
3. Keeping help - good friend hired a new employee so he equipped him with a truck/tools. Two month later that new guy left for $2.00 and hour more and a promise to get a new truck. He cost a lot of money.
4. Paying for all the licenses now needed for just about ever section where work is done. Average local business license is over $100. I do business in about 30 different taxable areas. Add that up......
Keeping the State Gov't out of my business. Paid for my business license in the major town along with my Journeyman license. Have the receipts to prove it. Year later I get a failure to pay and a fine for not paying for that local city business license. Took me two weeks to get it straightened out with the locals all because they are changing the data bases. Then I started getting paid receipts credited to me from other service companies. Lots of time wasted and to this day I don't know if the actually corrections have been done by this local government.
5. Help leaving because of costs of local living. Lost one good helper to Arizona because he can't afford to live around here anymore. Second helper now not working because he can't afford to have the rear end in his car repaired and I don't have the extra two hours to pick him up and drive him back. His expenses have also gone through the roof where he rented. Now he lives a friends basement.
6. Parts - Even some of the simplest parts are getting hard to find. The jobs just keep going on and one waiting fro ordered parts to show up.
7. Parts Quality - too many parts out of the factory bad. Returned a bad new defrost board & the counter person asked if I plugged it in. Yes, how else would I know it's bad? Counter person now says no warranty cause it's electronic and you plugged it in. So I had to buy a second one out of my pocket.
8. Car Mechanics - Oddly enough as with most skilled jobs these days good car mechanics are hard to find and get work done. My van needs some front end work and I wait at least a month each time for my mechanic - of 20 plus years - to find time for me. And he has been having problems getting parts.
Not professional here...
But damned regulations.
R12 is bad, so we banned it, Montreal protocol and all that.
R22 was supposed to replace R12 because it's less bad, but now it's bad and is being phased out.
They will probably say R410a is bad and then will be replaced with refrigerant that's more expensive AND more complicated to work on.
I think it's a conspiracy to bankrupt the world. Because supposedly R1234yf is very expensive.
Maybe we should just all use ammonia as refrigerant... except it's REALLY bad if it leaks (and it can explode and all that), but if it leaks you'll know because it will stink to high heaven.
And Ammonia won't hurt the ozone layer.
But damned regulations.
R12 is bad, so we banned it, Montreal protocol and all that.
R22 was supposed to replace R12 because it's less bad, but now it's bad and is being phased out.
They will probably say R410a is bad and then will be replaced with refrigerant that's more expensive AND more complicated to work on.
I think it's a conspiracy to bankrupt the world. Because supposedly R1234yf is very expensive.
Maybe we should just all use ammonia as refrigerant... except it's REALLY bad if it leaks (and it can explode and all that), but if it leaks you'll know because it will stink to high heaven.
And Ammonia won't hurt the ozone layer.
Government regulations. Every time I get up to date on how a politician thinks our industry needs to be run the rules are changed again. This year was a challenge getting equipment due to the changes.
In general, it has been a challenge just getting parts. We actually had to wait almost 2 months for a board for a mini split from a manufacture not to be named because of warehousing issues. Good thing my customer had multiple systems, but it was embarrassing.
In general, it has been a challenge just getting parts. We actually had to wait almost 2 months for a board for a mini split from a manufacture not to be named because of warehousing issues. Good thing my customer had multiple systems, but it was embarrassing.
current problems you guys are facing in doing business
Tis is a different take from old 78 YO guy, responding only since bez replied with the getting out of bed comment (his other comments right on the money btw)
Having also done some auto repair in the past and still do plus hvac work for friends and relatives and church (on volunteer labor basis) here are probllems
a. also had time not only getting out of bed with enthusiasm, simply getting entused about jobs.
b. cultivate your supplier relationships for the long term, have a difficult time now getting some parts as no business relationships with any value to suppliers for over ten years, have been reduced to CL and ebay in some instances. Treat your suppliers with respect. Had to reverse engineer a Daikin control board and repair (took me a few days) vs. just getting replacement.
c. keep your inventory under control. My wife is deathly afraid of me dying before her as I have only recently started to liquidate old inventory - such as giving away used but working compressors and car transmissions vs. just scrapping at 20 cents a pound. etc. ie
d. as for keeping you up at night, the age symptom of having to pee every 2 hours takes care of that <G>
e. may not apply where you are, but found it was easiest to simply say to AHJ inspectors 'yessir, will make that change, thank you for pointing that out' -- vs arguing even if the impact is a few hundred bucks.
Tis is a different take from old 78 YO guy, responding only since bez replied with the getting out of bed comment (his other comments right on the money btw)
Having also done some auto repair in the past and still do plus hvac work for friends and relatives and church (on volunteer labor basis) here are probllems
a. also had time not only getting out of bed with enthusiasm, simply getting entused about jobs.
b. cultivate your supplier relationships for the long term, have a difficult time now getting some parts as no business relationships with any value to suppliers for over ten years, have been reduced to CL and ebay in some instances. Treat your suppliers with respect. Had to reverse engineer a Daikin control board and repair (took me a few days) vs. just getting replacement.
c. keep your inventory under control. My wife is deathly afraid of me dying before her as I have only recently started to liquidate old inventory - such as giving away used but working compressors and car transmissions vs. just scrapping at 20 cents a pound. etc. ie
d. as for keeping you up at night, the age symptom of having to pee every 2 hours takes care of that <G>
e. may not apply where you are, but found it was easiest to simply say to AHJ inspectors 'yessir, will make that change, thank you for pointing that out' -- vs arguing even if the impact is a few hundred bucks.
My biggest issue is getting out of bed in the morning, old joints don't like to move, after that everything goes pretty smooth.
I think you need to back away from what you think is your problem and focus more on the real problem. You don't need more jobs you need more customers, 2 entirely different things.
Let me ask a question, do you want to do a job then never see that job again or do you want to develop a relationship with the customer and get called back every time they see or hear about a new product or have a issue they never noticed before which leads to more jobs and referrals from your customers?
You want to differentiate yourself from your competitors, be more than just another guy looking to make a buck. Be that place to go to to solve peoples HVAC related problems. Develop those relationships so people are seeking you out.
Think of it this way. If you took your car to a mechanic to fix an annoying squeak and after paying the bill you got in the car and a mile later the squeak was back, are you going to continue to use that mechanic? If he wants ot get in and out so he can get on to the next car is that going to make you want to go back even more?
On the other hand if you go out and identify some problem that people didn't realize they had or knew but didn't think they could be fixed, tell them how to fix that problem, then actually fix it not just put a bandaid on it, do you think they will call you back? Do you think they will tell their friends and relatives?
Focus on what is important, the people and problems, not the superficial.
I think you need to back away from what you think is your problem and focus more on the real problem. You don't need more jobs you need more customers, 2 entirely different things.
Let me ask a question, do you want to do a job then never see that job again or do you want to develop a relationship with the customer and get called back every time they see or hear about a new product or have a issue they never noticed before which leads to more jobs and referrals from your customers?
You want to differentiate yourself from your competitors, be more than just another guy looking to make a buck. Be that place to go to to solve peoples HVAC related problems. Develop those relationships so people are seeking you out.
Think of it this way. If you took your car to a mechanic to fix an annoying squeak and after paying the bill you got in the car and a mile later the squeak was back, are you going to continue to use that mechanic? If he wants ot get in and out so he can get on to the next car is that going to make you want to go back even more?
On the other hand if you go out and identify some problem that people didn't realize they had or knew but didn't think they could be fixed, tell them how to fix that problem, then actually fix it not just put a bandaid on it, do you think they will call you back? Do you think they will tell their friends and relatives?
Focus on what is important, the people and problems, not the superficial.
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
