By Randy Busch, Pinch A Penny #168
Is your shop ready for the first cold snap?
Pool and spa heater season is just around the corner, and the time to prepare isn’t when the phone starts ringing, it’s now.
Before the emergency calls start rolling in, take a hard look at your inventory. Do you have the common repair parts, unions, and fittings you’re likely to need? More importantly, is your test equipment ready to go? When was the last time you replaced the batteries in your manometer or Freon Sniffer?
If you can’t remember, replace them. Batteries are inexpensive. A service call where your test equipment fails when you need it most is not. Don’t give “Murphy” an invitation to show up on the coldest day of the year, with a customer standing over your shoulder.
Get Your Troubleshooting Tools Ready
Pull out those troubleshooting cards. Check your phone for the apps you rely on. Make sure you know where the information is before you need it.
When that first heater goes down, the customer isn’t calling to schedule a lesson in troubleshooting. They want heat, and they want it now. Preparation can be the difference between a quick diagnosis and a frustrating service call.
Turn Heater Season Into Preventative-Maintenance Season
There’s another opportunity hiding in that service list: your existing customers you know have the equipment. Now is an ideal time to contact them and offer a preseason heater inspection and preventative maintenance program. Think about it from the customer’s perspective. Wouldn’t they rather have their heater inspected, tested, and serviced before they need it? Peace of mind has value. Inspect the unit. Clean it up. Test it. Identify potential problems. Make the necessary repairs. And if the heater is nearing the end of its useful life, you may even have an opportunity to replace it before it fails at the worst possible time. That’s good service—and good business.
Give Your Customers Priority
One approach I’ve used successfully is offering customers a preseason inspection and repair program with a priority-service guarantee. If the heater fails during the season following the inspection and repair, those customers receive priority when they need service. The customer gets confidence that someone has already looked after their equipment. You get an opportunity to build loyalty, generate preseason revenue, and create a pipeline of work before the slower months arrive. And let’s not overlook another benefit: it can help fill the schedule. As service calls begin to slow down heading into the cooler months and the holiday season, preseason inspections can keep your technicians productive. Some inspections will uncover repairs. Some will uncover replacement opportunities. Either way, you’re turning slower days into productive ones.
Don’t Stop at the Heater
While you’re there, look at the whole pool and spa system. Is the automation communicating properly with the heater? Does the customer have automation? Would adding automation make operating the heater easier? Are valves functioning correctly? Are controls working as they should? And perhaps one of the simplest questions of all: Is there enough LP gas to get the customer through the season? These are the kinds of details customers may not think about—but they will certainly appreciate you checking. A heater doesn’t operate in isolation. It’s part of a system, and a preseason inspection gives you the opportunity to make sure the entire system is ready.
Prepare Now. Profit Later.
Heater season is coming. The first cold morning will arrive whether you’re ready or not. So check your inventory. Test your equipment. Charge your batteries. Review your troubleshooting resources. Contact your customers.
