Which would you prefer to be — an HVAC technician or a great HVAC employee? If you’re like many, you’d rather be a sought-after and respected HVAC technician who has earned the admiration of your boss, coworkers, and clients.
For some, punching a clock, going to work, fixing a problem or two, and calling it a day is enough, but it’s not for great HVAC employees. Successful technicians aren’t content with simply replacing a failed part. They want to know what caused the equipment to fail so they can prevent the same problem from happening again and save their clients money and spare them added inconvenience.
Great HVAC employees know it’s not enough to just show up for work. They know they have to be present at work by being fully engaged with everyone they interact with, including their clients, peers, and supervisors, as well as the tasks they perform.
Qualities Successful HVAC Technicians Have
Clearly, differences exist between successful HVAC technicians and those who view what they do as just another job. If you want to be a great HVAC employee, you should try to develop some of the qualities that successful technicians have. These traits include:
Appropriate Company
Whenever possible, you should work with technicians who have work-related habits you want to develop as part of your daily routine if you want to be a great HVAC employee.
Successful technicians don’t drag a 30-minute lunch into a two-hour affair with pay. They don’t remedy the symptoms of a problem without addressing the root cause of the issue which is causing those symptoms. They finish their meal within the allotted time (or sooner) and they solve problems with real, lasting solutions. If you want to be a sought-after HVAC technician, adopt the work habits of the quality-minded technicians who get callbacks often.
Growing Knowledge Base
If you’ve just graduated from school, you may think you have all the knowledge you need to hit the ground running. While you certainly learned the basics and plenty of theory in school, there is no substitute for hands-on experience in the field. Even seasoned technicians who’ve thrived over a decades-long career can still learn something new every day.
With technological advancements and new regulations being introduced regularly, you’ll always have something new to learn as an HVAC technician. The key is to ask questions to expand your knowledge base throughout your career. The senior technicians at your company are an invaluable resource you can tap to learn things so ask them questions and learn from the best technicians possible.
Outstanding Communication Skills
HVAC technicians talk to clients whenever they arrive for a service call. Often, customers are already stressed when they think there’s a problem with their HVAC system because they’re afraid whatever the issue is will cost thousands of dollars to fix. Successful technicians know how to calm down worried clients and prospects from the start.
Great technicians put clients at ease by offering them a welcoming smile, handshake, and friendly conversation starters. They ask probing questions about a client’s system, but more importantly, they inquire about the customer’s real issues. While the client may begin by saying their HVAC system is making unusual noises, the person’s actual problem may be that these noises are preventing their child from sleeping through the night.
A great technician knows the client may want the system fixed, but they absolutely, positively need the noise that’s disturbing their child’s sleep to stop now. And that’s the problem the technician will solve because that’s the one which is really important to the client.
Safety-Conscious
Safety is always a top priority for successful HVAC technicians. Great technicians aren’t just concerned with their own safety — they also keep an eye out for their coworkers and clients. Successful HVAC employees don’t take short cuts to get a job done faster when it comes to safety because they know the potential risks are too great.
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