Episode Overview
Rolling out new software in the middle of summer sounds like a recipe for chaos—unless your team already trusts you enough to jump. Eric Krzywicki, owner of Redding Heating & Air, went live on ServiceTitan in mid-July, less than a year ago, moving a business off POTS lines, a flip Pricebook, and handwritten contracts. On a recent episode of the Mastering ServiceTitan podcast, host Josh Lu talks with Krzywicki about how he stacked Pro Products and AI tools onto that foundation fast—and why the harder work was building the psychological safety that made his team willing to change at all. What follows is a candid look at how leadership, communication, and a few specific features turned a struggling shop into one that's grown roughly a third in under a year.
Going Live Fast, Then Layering in Pro Products
Krzywicki didn't ease into the platform. He set up meetings, compared options, and committed to a quick implementation—then asked his team how they felt about a summer go-live. The answer was essentially "you're crazy, but if you want to do it, get it done." They launched July 17.
The early strategy was deliberate: get the core platform running before reaching for the advanced tools. He spent hours learning the system the same way many operators do.
"I was listening to your podcast like four or five hours of the day, learning about ServiceTitan and the capabilities. Because I wanted to know what the features were that were gonna be out there for me to get to, like stepping stones."
From there he layered in the tools that now define daily operations: Dispatch Pro for getting the right technician to the right job, Schedule Engine for booking appointments, an AI Agent fielding after-hours calls for 24-hour booking, and Marketing Pro.
The combined results, by his own account: roughly 30 to 35% growth on the same marketing budget, with one fewer office person, plus a sales team average ticket several thousand dollars higher and a first $100,000 sales day.
Getting Employees On Board With New Technology
The change that drew the most early friction was something small: making technicians document jobs in the field. The old process meant taking a photo, downloading it, and uploading it separately —enough steps that it rarely happened consistently. Now it's routine, with techs capturing around 30 photos per job and completing pre-built mobile forms.
Contact Center Pro shifted the dynamic further. Once sales staff could hear recorded customer calls, they started coaching dispatchers directly on how to book better.
"The communication has gotten better and the expectations has gotten better and the process of the customers has gotten better."
The payoff showed up in reviews. Krzywicki says the company went from roughly one five-star review a week to 20 or 30, and he makes a point of sharing that count—along with dispatch and sales numbers—in morning huddles. Resistance to "becoming a sales company" faded once paychecks grew. Even the older technicians who refused to record their sales conversations came around.
"And now it's like, 'Yeah, we do. What were we thinking? We all want this.'"
Building Psychological Safety Into a Team That Changes Constantly
When Lu asked how he flipped his culture from change-averse to change-hungry, Krzywicki framed it as leadership, not software. His core argument: people will only take the leap if they trust you'll catch them.
"You have to allow them to fail a little bit, and you have to help them correct their own actions and pick, help pick them up when the things get rough."
He breaks his approach down into a few concrete habits:
Announce changes as a team effort before rolling them out, framed around how it benefits everyone
Give people room to fail, then help them correct course rather than reprimand
Handle the hard conversations privately, one-on-one—publicize the wins
Show up with real help or resources when someone asks, every time
Run small one-on-one check-ins: "Hey, are you okay? Can I do anything for you?"
Lu connected this to Google's research finding psychological safety as the top factor in high-performing teams—members willing to speak up, disagree, and admit mistakes without fear. Krzywicki hadn't heard of the study, but he'd lived the principle, in his marriage as much as his business.
"Letting employees speak and letting your loved ones speak a little bit and becoming a better listener... ask questions and then validate their concerns and show up for them builds a lot of safety."
The throughline is repetition: acknowledge what someone said, repeat it back, respond with something that addresses their concern, then actually follow through in baby steps. He credits that pattern—reinforced by therapy over the past year—with transforming his office staff.
Eric Krzywicki recently joined Josh Lu on the "Mastering ServiceTitan" podcast to discuss:
[1:25] What changed after Eric discovered Pro Products and AI tools
[16:18] How to create employee buy-in for new technology
[20:22[ Psychological safety and communication in teams
Check out these resources mentioned during the podcast:
You can find this interview and many more by subscribing to Mastering ServiceTitan on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, or here.
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