By: Brian Schutt
Read on for some personal thoughts on why a process matters when replacing a furnace.
My Industry Creates This Problem
Every day we get calls from homeowners asking how expensive it is to replace their furnace. Every day I attempt to explain to them that it’s not quite that simple. As a consumer, it makes total sense. You are faced with an important and expensive decision. A decision you want to make quickly. A decision where the price is a major factor in what you ultimately choose.
Further, the heating and cooling industry as a whole seemingly promotes this price shopping. Every day in the mail, newspaper, radio, and TV, you’ll hear companies pimping out products and pricing. The messages are nearly indistinguishable, and the methods are identical, leaving the listener with only one true way to distinguish one from another, “how much?”.
We Don’t Do What Everyone Else Does When Replacing a Furnace
If you’ve made it this far you know this already, we don’t do things that way.
Now onto the important part, why should you care? Why not just get 3 prices, and take the one that meets your budget? And more importantly, what should you be looking for?
First, let me acknowledge, price matters. But more important than what the price is, is how does the company arrive at that price? That’s where the process matters. And process matters because more than anything else, more than the brand of the system, or the warranty, how well that system is installed is going to determine the experience and satisfaction you have with that new furnace. And in the heating and cooling industry that has an undersupply of high-quality labor, I can assure you all system installs are not created equally.
We Believe You Are Unique
The primary reason we insist on meeting you at your home, rather than quoting prices over the phone, is that you and your home are unique. It’s not a sales pitch, it’s the truth. You may have health concerns, comfort issues, babies that require consistent levels of humidification, etc. Technically there are different home sizes, insulation levels, and hot and colds spots, that need to be analyzed. If those questions aren’t asked, those areas are not analyzed, and our solution can’t be expected to meet those needs. Our analysis is done systematically so that we take in all of the necessary inputs. Quality inputs = Quality outputs.
Thorough Is, Is Thorough Does When It Comes to Replacing a Furnace
So, what do all of the above things show, and why do we not just give a price over the phone? Being thorough and precise is an organizational value that doesn’t just apply to the technical side of the business. The same concept applies to most firms. If someone is willing to give you a price without knowing the specifics about you and your home needs, what makes you think they’ll be thorough and specific when they do work? Maybe they will. If it was my home, I wouldn’t want to take that chance with my most expensive appliance.
Still have more questions about our process for replacing a furnace, please contact us today!
