Starting a new career can be nerve-wracking, and new HVAC technicians, in particular, face a range of challenges that require them to be quick on their feet.
To give every new HVAC tech a head start, we’ve put together nine top HVAC tech tips — including many of the things they might not have taught you in HVAC school.
9 HVAC Technician Tips
ServiceTitan’s field services software can support new HVAC techs to stay organized, keep on top of paperwork, and provide an excellent customer experience. To find out how, click here to get a demo.
1. Keep Your Eye on the Details
As with any new job, attention to detail is paramount — not just to impress your boss but to make your life as a tech a whole lot easier. Between customer information, HVAC maintenance job details, pricebooks, and so much more, there is a lot to keep track of. Your best bet: Start focusing on customer service before you even hit the road.
Take the time to remember your next customer’s name and do your best to gather any previous system service history your HVAC company has on the customer. That demonstrates that you have come well-prepared. Plus, job histories and customer profiles help inform the work you’re about to perform.
If your company does not have a central database for this type of information, there are comprehensive software solutions — like our own, ServiceTitan — that make it easy for every member of the team to access important information at the touch of a screen.
2. Familiarize Yourself with HVAC Software
Every HVAC tech needs to know the basics of their craft: How to fix an air conditioner, install a thermostat, or set up an efficient heating system. But equally important to the business is a tech’s ability to navigate HVAC and field services management software.
Most successful HVAC businesses use HVAC software to manage their day-to-day operations, a lot of which helps deliver better customer experiences: notifying customers of arrival times and delays, quickly showing prices and high-quality product photos and videos, quickly creating maintenance agreements, following up with customers, delivering upsells and cross sells, and more.
If techs can use this software well, it helps the business run smoothly, gives customers a positive experience, and can even help land more jobs (or bigger jobs).
ServiceTitan was developed to give field services companies, including HVAC, all the tools to manage all areas of their businesses including:
Call booking
Scheduling and dispatch
Marketing
Memberships and contracts
Payroll and timesheets
Pricebook management
Job costing
Accounting
And more…
ServiceTitan’s Mobile app, available on a tablet, is how we give service techs access to our wide range of tools to simplify their work in the field. Each tech has a dashboard that shows them at a glance what they have scheduled for the day, along with access to the specific details of every job.
How ServiceTitan Gives Your Techs All the Details They Need on Every Job
ServiceTitan Mobile’s tech dashboard shows techs all the information about the customer and the job gathered by the customer service rep (CSR) who took the call back at the office. They get customer names, address, contact information, voice and text notes related to that customer, details of outstanding estimates, and can even listen to a recording of the actual call that was made.
A fully informed HVAC tech is better prepared for what the job will entail, and will also impress the customer with their detailed knowledge of their specific situation. With access to detailed job histories, you can recognize repeat customers and make sure to suggest appropriate equipment or services to fit each customer.
Say Goodbye to Paperwork and Manual Filing with ServiceTitan
When you use ServiceTitan Mobile, every form that HVAC techs need can be uploaded into the app. So, no more piles of invoices, estimates, and contracts in the back of techs’ vans waiting to be filed back at the office. Lost or delayed paperwork is annoying to everyone on the team and to the customer, in particular.
With ServiceTitan, forms can be triggered to appear automatically at different points in the job cycle and to be completed before moving on to the next step. HVAC techs get a framework to follow so they can never forget any of the required steps of the workflow.
3. Ensure Safety for You and the Customer
Work in the trades is physically demanding and, frankly, dangerous. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2017 National Census Of Fatal Occupational Injuries report, some of the occupations with the highest risk of fatal injuries include:
General maintenance and repair workers
First-line supervisors of mechanics, installers, and repairers
Construction laborers
Electricians
Helpers in the construction trades
Roofers
Unfortunately, many of those fatalities are caused by everyday occurrences like driving, falls, slips, and trips. Some practical things you can do to keep yourself safe include driving mindfully, wearing appropriate industrial-grade footwear, and always exercising caution.
For more HVAC technician safety tips, speak to your supervisor to make sure you have all of the suggested safety gear for your particular role. You can also check out our Technician’s Guide to HVAC Safety.
“If we make a mistake on a job, we can apologize. We can give the customer all their money back. But when it comes to things like a homeowner getting hurt or a technician getting hurt, those are the kind of things that you can't undo.”
- Bill Brown, Owner of Paramount Heating & Air
Use ServiceTitan’s Field Service Software to Help Techs Keep an Eye on Safety
While field service management software, like ServiceTitan, doesn’t directly ensure HVAC techs are working as safely as possible, it does free them up to pay closer attention to their safety. A tech who doesn’t have to remember exactly which forms need filling out to close out a job, or doesn’t have to track down outstanding estimates and invoices can be more mindful of all required safety measures and provide a high-quality service.
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4. Diagnose with Confidence
There’s nothing more unnerving for homeowners than a technician servicing their HVAC unit who doesn’t look like they know what they are doing. You may know that you have all of the technical training that qualifies you to perform the work — but you also need to make sure the customer has a positive experience.
Is the issue with the thermostat? The outside AC unit or heat pump? A lack of refrigerant, or a leak? Familiarize yourself with exactly what work you may need to perform on the customer's cooling or heating systems before you do the HVAC service call. That way you can do some basic problem-solving ahead of time.
When the time comes to deliver your diagnosis to the customer, provide clear and direct information. Avoid using jargon or technical language as much as possible. Letting the homeowners know exactly what is wrong, in layman's terms, will help instill customer confidence and avoid confusion.