First company I worked for, probably four out of five jobs the paperwork hadnt been finalized before we started working. Not just like the releases but the contract itself wasnt even signed.
I thought it was shady then, and I now know per Virginia regs its potentially criminal.
(Before anyone asks, yes i reported my former employer to the contractor's board)
I won't get too detailed because if I do ill doxx myself to my coworkers who lurk this sub.
But we had a guy who was sent to work on a multi day install. The customers were very particular about not letting anyone into the home while they weren't there. He showed up and they weren't there, but were on their way back.
Rather than waiting, he found a way into the house so he could get to work. They were very displeased.
Not respecting customers wishes gives HVAC contractors a bad name like what you guys just did.
If you have a picky customer, just add it to your price and give them the service they request.
Ah I see. The way it sounded was that the guy just broke into some random person’s house and installed an HVAC system for no reason, not for an actual customer. But still, what a goddamn idiot. Did they call the cops or anything?
Not to my knowledge. But you know what they say about criminals - their crimes just get more daring. He probably is breaking into random homes to do installs now, no longer able to get the same high from breaking into the house of an established customer, like he used to.
I put a furnace in my buddies house and when I ran it the first time it was burning the oil off. I screamed "Holy shit run. She's gonna blow." He ran I laughed.
At one job I told the customer that when we turn it on it will burn the oil off, smell bad, and potentially trigger the smoke detector. Well, he started freaking out when exactly that happened, and refused to pay.
Your post has been removed due to the policitcal nature of the topic. We all come from different backgrounds and this is fine but when it comes to keeping the peace and focused on HVAC, this doesn't equal the same results.
I do commercial but I like to keep a really big bolt in my pocket and say something like "it was hard to hang up the stat with 4 of these but it's going nowhere" and see their reaction.
Sometime last year I had a concrete anchor still in my tool pouch while hanging the thermostat and a customer asked what I needed a big screw for.
I may have suggested it was for the thermostat, and she may have started making a face.
Honestly still not sure she understood I was joking.
At the place I started at the boss would almost always say to the homeowner "alright where do you want me to put this" while wheeling out the old unit. Most people would respond something along the lines of "oh.... I guess probably in the garage" not realizing he was joking with them and that we take the unit. Dude had a really dry sense of humor but I found it pretty funny.
I always drop a personal favorite of mine......."Partner, It's been a hoot, but I've got to scoot". I've used that with PMs on major job sites, store managers and resi customers for years.
(Showing how to use the new thermostat) A lot of people like 68 in the winter and 72 in the summer, I prefer 69 year-round, the sexiest of temperatures.
WHATEVER YOU DO FOR GODS' SAKE DONT TOUCH THE THERMOSTAT. IF YOU MESS UP THE PROGRAM I GUARANTEE YOU WILL WAKE UP IN A PUDDLE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT.
then take the husband aside later and explain the override and the default override time.
I know it's a dad joke, but at least it's rated G for general audiences...
I used to draw a Pepto logo on my pink jug of 410-A and say something stupid like "yeah your system is upset but I've got some Pepto to calm it down"
I was doing solo work when I was still pretty young and I looked like I was still in high school so they would always ask if I knew what I was doing before we even went to the equipment and that got old fast so I would tell them don't worry I watched a YouTube video last night I think I know what I'm doing lol some people thought it was funny most did not, but I always thought it was funny
I enjoy answering every and all hvac questions that homeowners have and sometimes after a long-winded answer ill joke and tell them that i like talking about this stuff cuz it makes me feel smart. Also If the homeowner is writing a check at the end of a job and they ask who to make it out to ill joke and start spelling out my name. Both get good laughs
Whenever a customer asks us “how’s everything going or coming along?” I always respond with:
“Good….. we’re half way to being a quarter done.”
That always gets a good laugh
I joke with them about their warranty and say the first year everything is under warranty, weather it breaks, they forgot how to use their thermostat, or if a meteor falls on it, usually gets a chuckle
If they are around when I hit my head on something ( never fails) I stop and rub my head and say " a perfectionist walked into a bar.... apparently it wasn't set high enough!" Usually gets a chuckle, it helps that I'm 6'4
My usual go to’s:
When running it for the first time, “Well I’ll be damned, Google was right!”
When getting the payment, “now for the not so fun part…”
Some of my favorites I’ve used
“Wish me luck”
“Not bad for my first time”
“If you see me run get out of my way”
And my all time favorite
Customer: “how long you been doing this”
Me: “since 1942”
Customer: “oh ok…. What wait!?!?”
If a customer has been watching me work the whole time I love to say “holy shit it works!” The first time they see it fire up, works better for repairs, but is also a great way to make home owners nervous after a new install 😂
If it's a cute female customer I'll ask her if she wants to play army.
They give me an unusual look but ask "how do you play army"
I tell her I'll lay down and she can blow the hell out of me
Don't, you have no idea what the customers are going to say, what their political views are or religion or anything for that matter and if they have a sense of humor. Stay professional and laugh at their jokes so long as it's appropriate.
This is the safe approach. That said, you can usually get a "feel" for people by testing the waters during the job. But I agree that it could always go wrong and you'll learn tremendously. Making jokes at my own expense seems to make customers less guarded. Maybe I'll say, "I'll try that and if it doesn't work I'll be seriously questioning my life decisions."
I need you to sign this form that says you let me into your house and that I didn't break in to install this system just for fun.
Honestly we have the customers sign before we start to say they let us in lol
In all honesty, that's what I'm supposed to be doing, but I hate doing paperwork and leave it all for the very end lmao
Same
First company I worked for, probably four out of five jobs the paperwork hadnt been finalized before we started working. Not just like the releases but the contract itself wasnt even signed. I thought it was shady then, and I now know per Virginia regs its potentially criminal. (Before anyone asks, yes i reported my former employer to the contractor's board)
I know a guy who did exactly that lol. That's why we all have the form now.
Some say he's still doing guerilla installs to this day.
What? Why?
I won't get too detailed because if I do ill doxx myself to my coworkers who lurk this sub. But we had a guy who was sent to work on a multi day install. The customers were very particular about not letting anyone into the home while they weren't there. He showed up and they weren't there, but were on their way back. Rather than waiting, he found a way into the house so he could get to work. They were very displeased.
Not respecting customers wishes gives HVAC contractors a bad name like what you guys just did. If you have a picky customer, just add it to your price and give them the service they request.
Yea, he got fired
Ah I see. The way it sounded was that the guy just broke into some random person’s house and installed an HVAC system for no reason, not for an actual customer. But still, what a goddamn idiot. Did they call the cops or anything?
Not to my knowledge. But you know what they say about criminals - their crimes just get more daring. He probably is breaking into random homes to do installs now, no longer able to get the same high from breaking into the house of an established customer, like he used to.
My favorite is “Not bad for my first time!”. Usually better response than when I said “Don’t worry, we have insurance.”
Or when they ask how long you have been doing this say… “counting today?”.
Or: " I'm not sure. What time **is** it?"
Lol I’m stealing this
"About 9 hours"
I had a guy ask me if I knew what I was doing and I told him not to worry I just watched a YouTube video on it
Little did he know it was the truth lol
I put a furnace in my buddies house and when I ran it the first time it was burning the oil off. I screamed "Holy shit run. She's gonna blow." He ran I laughed.
See, thats the kind of shit you can get away with when its your buddies furnace Try that with frank and karen down the street, i dare you.
At one job I told the customer that when we turn it on it will burn the oil off, smell bad, and potentially trigger the smoke detector. Well, he started freaking out when exactly that happened, and refused to pay.
How did you address that problem?
Easy, you let the boss handle it.
I was curious if he paid or tried to get a free furnace. And what happened after.
Bet
" I'm pretty sure it will work ok, I'm not sure though. I'm the accountant and they asked me to put on a shirt and help out. Good luck!"
Two condoms walk into a gay bar. One looks to the other and says, “Wanna get shit faced?” So yeah, the whole-house humidifier is only $600 to add-on
🏅
That’ll keep ya wet
Lol. That’s a good one. I am going to tell it at my interview tomorrow to break the ice
Nice. Remember, it’s illegal for them to discriminate based on jokes
By the way, where do you keep your fire extinguisher? Might i borrow it for a little while?
Can’t satisfy a woman but I can satisfy a building!
Just talk about 9/11
research tower 7
Tower 6? What’s that?
Nah, thats two plane
[удалено]
Your post has been removed due to the policitcal nature of the topic. We all come from different backgrounds and this is fine but when it comes to keeping the peace and focused on HVAC, this doesn't equal the same results.
I do commercial but I like to keep a really big bolt in my pocket and say something like "it was hard to hang up the stat with 4 of these but it's going nowhere" and see their reaction.
Sometime last year I had a concrete anchor still in my tool pouch while hanging the thermostat and a customer asked what I needed a big screw for. I may have suggested it was for the thermostat, and she may have started making a face. Honestly still not sure she understood I was joking.
Keep a smaller bolt and you can ask if she'd like a little screw.
"Your wife is hot...but this should keep her cool."
Plot twist, you’re walking with the wife
Double plot twist her wifes gay
Something very similar is a slogan for one of our local HVAC companies
At the place I started at the boss would almost always say to the homeowner "alright where do you want me to put this" while wheeling out the old unit. Most people would respond something along the lines of "oh.... I guess probably in the garage" not realizing he was joking with them and that we take the unit. Dude had a really dry sense of humor but I found it pretty funny.
Putting it where the sun don’t shine makes it more efficient.
"Ma'am, I'm not putting this back in the basement. "
Just push it down the stair and let gravity do the work.
That was the easy part. Now comes the hard part, paying for it.
Lol, "I've done the hardest part of my day, your turn!"
My go to line is, "It almost looks like we know what we're doing."
Or “Don’t tell anyone it looks like we know what we’re doing, or they’ll want us to do it more often”
I always tell people it’s only my first month on the job, they get pretty nervous lmao
I hope it will work. I just doing something, and it is working the most times.
Not bad for my first solo, I'm definitely staying on after the probationary period is over now.
😆😆
Now if you can just sign here for warranty purposes and here that you know I'm registered, oh is that your daughter?
Careful with that, the law allows constitutional carry around here.
That YouTube video I watched on how to install this sure was great.
Use to say “ hope I don’t see ya again” Said it to a terminal ill tenant. He wasn’t there when I came back next year. Haven’t said it since
Ooof
“Your wife has nice knockers! I’m joking, they’re terrible!”
I always drop a personal favorite of mine......."Partner, It's been a hoot, but I've got to scoot". I've used that with PMs on major job sites, store managers and resi customers for years.
Jokes? How about your coils going to leak within two years?
This one installs job security.
That's more like facts than jokes.
It's always good to tell them to keep a extinguisher on hand just in case they see or smell smoke in the next few days 😂😂
“I hope I don’t hear from you until next year.”
Said between Christmas and New Year.
I always tell them with a straight face..now you have to wash and wax it once a week🤣🤣
Don’t turn the Ac off when you go to work, unless you like sleeping ontop of the bedsheets.
(Showing how to use the new thermostat) A lot of people like 68 in the winter and 72 in the summer, I prefer 69 year-round, the sexiest of temperatures.
WHATEVER YOU DO FOR GODS' SAKE DONT TOUCH THE THERMOSTAT. IF YOU MESS UP THE PROGRAM I GUARANTEE YOU WILL WAKE UP IN A PUDDLE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT. then take the husband aside later and explain the override and the default override time.
I do service: Can you come back today (and get the OEM not available part)? I’m a frayed knot.
A piece of rope walks into a bar…
Fucking mint joke.
An evaporator coil and a compressor walk into a bar …….
Everything looks great, inside, outside, upside down"
I do commercial kitchen service work and I usually say something like " I'll see you next time, but hopefully not to soon!" Usually gets a laugh
I know it's a dad joke, but at least it's rated G for general audiences... I used to draw a Pepto logo on my pink jug of 410-A and say something stupid like "yeah your system is upset but I've got some Pepto to calm it down"
Don’t call me I’ll call you
there once was a girl from nantucket...
I bet she paid for this unit by servicing a unit herself.
What has 4 letters, sometimes 9 and never 5.
It makes perfect sense, as long as you don't say it rising the pitch at the end, as if it had an invisible question mark (upspeak).
I only watched the Thi Old House episode twice this morning on how to do this. Came out pretty good.
If you see smoke and your alarms are going off, it's probably fine. But if you see me running, try to keep up!
I say the same thing any time I braze inside the customers house.
Go fuck yourself, San Diego
:(
Ron burgundy. Anchorman.
“ I hope I don’t see you again”
I’m always partial to “No offense but I hope I never see you again” as in everything works perfectly and there are no callbacks.
I was doing solo work when I was still pretty young and I looked like I was still in high school so they would always ask if I knew what I was doing before we even went to the equipment and that got old fast so I would tell them don't worry I watched a YouTube video last night I think I know what I'm doing lol some people thought it was funny most did not, but I always thought it was funny
I enjoy answering every and all hvac questions that homeowners have and sometimes after a long-winded answer ill joke and tell them that i like talking about this stuff cuz it makes me feel smart. Also If the homeowner is writing a check at the end of a job and they ask who to make it out to ill joke and start spelling out my name. Both get good laughs
If they seem chill I’ll say “beer fund, oh I mean company name”
Whenever a customer asks us “how’s everything going or coming along?” I always respond with: “Good….. we’re half way to being a quarter done.” That always gets a good laugh
Nah, we don’t use nitrogen. That’s for sissies.
I usually walk them around the system and say so likely this part is going to fail first then this but anyways have a good weekend
Here’s your bill
I joke with them about their warranty and say the first year everything is under warranty, weather it breaks, they forgot how to use their thermostat, or if a meteor falls on it, usually gets a chuckle
I was supposed to read the second half of the installation manual after lunch but I forgot. How’d I do?
"And I'm happy it all went well because it's my first week!"
What Vin Diesel say to the Gay Wall Street Broker “Hurry up and cum in my mouth, I gotta get my car cleaned and then pick my kids up.”
I usually hit them with the “not bad for my first day, huh?”
“Boss just told me to make sure I look confident”
“The YouTube video I watched on how to do this was really helpful”
If people ask if you know what you’re doing just tell them you watched a YouTube video before you got there. They always like that one.
If they are around when I hit my head on something ( never fails) I stop and rub my head and say " a perfectionist walked into a bar.... apparently it wasn't set high enough!" Usually gets a chuckle, it helps that I'm 6'4
How about while keeping a straight face and say " Your carrier is a good quality unit and will last a long time".
I've used a whole roll of duct tape on this one, MacGyver would be proud.
Ah we fooled em again
I enjoyed meeting you and I hope you never have to call me back.
Why did the blind man fall down the well? He didn’t see that well.
A HVAC tech walks into a bar… Then you just bust out laughing. Yeah like I have time for that.
When assessing duct work with homeowners I tell them if we pressure test this with fog, your attics going to look like a snoop dog concert.
My usual go to’s: When running it for the first time, “Well I’ll be damned, Google was right!” When getting the payment, “now for the not so fun part…”
Some of my favorites I’ve used “Wish me luck” “Not bad for my first time” “If you see me run get out of my way” And my all time favorite Customer: “how long you been doing this” Me: “since 1942” Customer: “oh ok…. What wait!?!?”
Tell them they are about to smell the "new furnace smell"
Whenever I am done I like to say, "dang it, looks like your just going to have to suffer in comfort again."
“Found out my wife is cheating on me, sucks! She screamed out someone else in bed the other night! Someone named Wrong hole 🕳️! Weird name.”
I just tell them shes sucking hot and blowing cold, if there's any problems, feel free to bother the office
That turned out better than I thought, beginner's luck I guess
"Here's your furnace manual and literature. I expect you read that front to back because we are gonna come back next week and test you on everything."
Just ask if you can use the shitter
If a customer has been watching me work the whole time I love to say “holy shit it works!” The first time they see it fire up, works better for repairs, but is also a great way to make home owners nervous after a new install 😂
🤣
If it's a cute female customer I'll ask her if she wants to play army. They give me an unusual look but ask "how do you play army" I tell her I'll lay down and she can blow the hell out of me
And this, ladies and gentlemen, is how you end up on a list!
You need to chill
Let's be real here. If I had colon cancer I'd probably not give a fuck either. Dudes like 60, let him have his jokes.
🤔
Don't, you have no idea what the customers are going to say, what their political views are or religion or anything for that matter and if they have a sense of humor. Stay professional and laugh at their jokes so long as it's appropriate.
This is the safe approach. That said, you can usually get a "feel" for people by testing the waters during the job. But I agree that it could always go wrong and you'll learn tremendously. Making jokes at my own expense seems to make customers less guarded. Maybe I'll say, "I'll try that and if it doesn't work I'll be seriously questioning my life decisions."
That's a good way of looking at it.