Spring is in the air around much of the country and customers will soon be calling to have their systems brought up to standard in order to handle the soon-to-come sweltering heat of summer. To homeowners a “Clean & Check” and “Preventative Maintenance” means the same thing—but they shouldn’t be to us, as contractors.
The big question to you is: Are your customers really getting better performance and greater peace-of-mind that their systems aren’t going to break down when they need them the most? The “Clean & Check” and “Preventative Maintenance” are two different services; yet some of the same routines are being performed in many instances.
If you’re performing the “Clean & Check”, how do you know if you’ve actually prevented anything from breaking down or enhanced the performance of the equipment or system? Let’s take a look at how a normal “Clean & Check” is often handled…
I have reviewed thousands of service invoices over the last 30 years and many contractors provide a generic checklist used for “Clean & Checks”; they are nothing more than a list of “Yes” or “No” questions or “Did you clean it or not?” Many times, these are to give the appearance the customer is getting what they paid for—but are they really getting what they need?
Are you the company that does the 20-point or 30-point tune-up or something very similar? Most of these will make sure things are clean, level, and lubricated, and they’re very important actions that must be done. But do these simple steps truly ensure systems are operating at a better efficiency and less likely to break down?
Here are some additional steps you can include to your “Clean & Check” to make it more “Preventative Maintenance”. IN doing so, you’ll provide a better service—and increase revenue!
One of the essential parts of a comfort system is the duct work. Are you checking it for leaks and proper size? Trust me, I know the answer to this one and most of the time the answer is “NO!”. As an industry, we make a lot of assumptions regarding the duct systems we see on a daily basis. In many instances, the duct system might get examined at the time of an equipment change out—but all too often, it is missed. What if you could give a duct system an annual checkup? This is just another opportunity for your company, and it’s a great way to make you look like the hero to your customer.
Other things you should also do: Make sure you are documenting all pressures, temperatures, and readings. This information is critical! It can be used to verify systems were working properly upon your last visit, and those records may prove to be vital if/when breakdowns occur in the future.
Are you checking the capacitors and recording the values? Is it at the low end of the acceptable range? These are often the most neglected parts! Replacing a weak capacitor is an easy sale that will help a system on the hottest day of the year.
The contactor is also vulnerable to the heat of the summer, because of peak load and higher current across the points. If a contactor has some splatter on it or it became stuck, don’t clean the points, replace it. I can promise you that it will stick again. It’s also a great idea to keep a bag of fire ant poison on the trucks if you live in the south. Those pesky little critters can be a nightmare for any tech.
Another value-added procedure: Verify and document the E.E.R. of the unit before and after you perform the service. This procedure offers you a means of determining a percentage of improvement based on before and after test results.
I am sure all of you have many more procedures you can do, but these are a great start. Get your team involved and have them help you convert your average “Clean & Checks” into the best “Preventive Maintenance” you can provide your clients. Anyone can do a “Clean & Check”… We should all be striving to deliver the best service possible for our clients—this is just another example of how we can do just that!
Yours for even more success this spring /“Preventative Maintenance” season,
Heath Betts