Wisler Plumbing and Air

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How We Coordinate Technicians to Meet Clients’ Needs

HVAC

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One of the most frustrating things for a homeowner is setting up an appointment for a service person to come to their home and they don’t show up, show up late, or don’t follow directions. We focus on being on time, and we give a two hour window in which we will arrive. We also try to notify people when we’re on our way. I really think meeting our client’s needs comes down to dispatching correctly. It’s important that the people fielding the customers’ requests are well-trained in asking the right questions so we best understand the issue you’re dealing with, how serious it is, and exactly what we need to do. Asking the right questions is vital to making sure someone’s needs are properly met.

Next, we need to make sure we send the right person to your home. We’re very much aware of how the technician we send could make or break the customer’s experience. (Nobody likes it when a technician seems incompetent or when it’s the first time they’ve ever seen the issue.) We assess the task that needs to be done and assign it a skill level. We also assign a skill level to every technician (because everyone is slightly different). Then we try to match up the right technician with the right task to make sure we’re sending a competent person to every home.

A lot of times people think that a company will dispatch its technicians to cover a certain radius. A technician in South Roanoke would just run all the calls in that area for the day, right? Well, not exactly. We do not focus primarily on the location of the call as much as we do the skill level necessary to do the job correctly and meet the customer’s needs. So we may have technicians passing each other by on the way to calls. This is all about making sure the customer has a satisfactory experience.

We make these choices when coordinating our technicians because our time is valuable and our homeowner’s time is valuable. We want to make sure that we’re doing our absolute best. Sometimes we do have to make multiple visits, and sometimes we don’t get everything quite right over the phone. But I’d like to think that the vast majority of the time we’re able to do it well and make sure that the customer’s problem is solved.

If you have any issues with your plumbing or HVAC systems, you can always reach out to the team at Wisler Plumbing. Just contact us today or give us a call at 540-483-9382.

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Our heating systems and furnaces start to break down more often when it’s colder outside. When that happens, the first question on your mind might be, what exactly constitutes a repair? A repair is basically anything outside of maintenance and a complete system replacement. First and foremost, maintenance isn’t a repair. (Maintenance is keeping a system in good working order.) Then there’s a complete system replacement. An HVAC system is often made up of an outside unit, an inside unit, and any other components that are part of the system. You might think that a major repair constitutes a replacement, but that’s not exactly the case because the whole system didn’t get replaced.

The next question you might have is how much it’s going to cost to get back in working order. Repairs vary in size, but I can give an average range: a heating repair is going to average between $300 and $500. (There may be some repairs that are well over that, and some that are well under.) A furnace, for instance, is fairly simple. Overall, there isn’t much complexity to how it functions, so repairs tend to be somewhat straightforward. It has a heat exchanger and uses some sort of fuel to provide heat. There might be a gas valve that needs to be changed, and cleaning would be a maintenance item. Heat pumps are somewhat more complicated, though. Maybe the whole internal coil needs to be replaced, which can be much more expensive.

The important thing to remember is that you can prevent HVAC repairs from being necessary by simply doing your maintenance. Once the age of the system gets to a certain point, you’ll start to see recurring repairs that seem to happen practically every six months. In that case, it may be time to consider a complete system replacement so that you’re not wasting money putting repairs into an old system.

If something does go wrong with your heating system this winter, we answer our phones 24 hours a day with a live person (unless the call takers are already on another line). We might make a visit to someone’s home in the middle of the night, depending on whether it’s a Diamond Club family member and/or there’s a true emergency. We do prioritize those kinds of situations because nobody really wins if it isn’t a true emergency.

It might be a good idea to keep the contact information for a qualified professional handy just in case you need it. You can reach out to Wisler Plumbing online or by giving us a call at 540-483-9382.

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All the Players Involved

There are quite a few influencers who have really left their mark on Wisler Plumbing & Air. I think we have to just start at the beginning, and that means looking at the Wisler Family. My father founded the company and I grew up along with my siblings in the family business. Whether it’s my mom, father, or even my brothers and myself, all of us have definitely left our own unique mark. I sometimes think of Wisler Plumbing & Air as a living organization—it kind of has a personality of its own. Anyone who’s been around long enough for the whole ride can see which areas of the organization have been influenced by the Wisler Family. Of course, I would be foolish not to also give credit to the key players who have been employed here. (Some have moved on to other opportunities and some are still with us.) They’ve definitely had an important influence as well.

Success Group International

In 2001, We joined the Contractor Success Group, which is now commonly known as Success Group International (SGI). SGI has been an influencer in this organization for a very long time. We’ve subscribed to their system and way of thinking, which is really about operational excellence and making sure we serve our customers in the best way our industry has to offer. Members of the group are company owners, and a handful of them have directly influenced Wisler Plumbing & Air. We’ve attached to the ones with common values or a common philosophy and gleaned off of their experiences (and they’ve done the same with us). Success Group International and its associated companies from around the country have influenced us greatly over the last 20 years.

Mentors Throughout Time

Both me and my father have also had several mentors and consulting firms over the years. We were part of an organization called C12, which was led by John Netzel at the time. The group has dissolved, but it has left an influence on our company and guided us through four or five years of business. Carl Nielsen from Nielsen Group in Texas has helped us with our people management and impacted the culture in a special way. He’s worked with us for over 15 years. Wisler Plumbing & Air has a story, and the Wizard of Ads team has helped us to tell that story to the public. They’ve definitely influenced this organization and impacted our growth. More people have become aware of us and appreciate what we stand for and the value we offer our community.

Do You Want to Be Part of the Team?

Quite a few people have been a significant part of who and what we are today. If you have any questions or want to learn more about working with the team at Wisler Plumbing & Air, contact us online or give us a call at 540-483-9382.

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” Our technicians will give you options and recommendations with a straight forward price.”

 

Why do we believe in providing all the information we can to our clients upfront?  So our customers can make the best possible decision. Our clients generally know next to nothing about plumbing or HVAC systems or how to diagnose potential issues, so there’s a lot of anxiety in the decision process. When a client has problems with their system, a few thoughts usually pop into mind right away:

 

How much is this going to cost!?

Is someone going to take advantage of me?

Can I trust this particular service provider?

From our perspective, we think we can overcome those concerns by making sure we’re thorough with the diagnosis. It’s not just a matter of carefully checking all the important points, but also communicating those points to a client so they can walk through with us and see exactly how we got to our conclusion. Without that all-important review of options and the reasons for recommendations, the question of whether or not they’re being taken advantage of isn’t answered.

Sometimes it’s easy for service providers (who work with plumbing or HVAC systems every day) to tell a homeowner that it’s in their best interest to replace a component, but  the homeowner wonders how they get to that conclusion, and does the homeowner have other options? I think it’s important to discuss the considerations between replacement and repair with the customer and provide them with enough useful information to make a final choice. Although we may ask a lot of questions, we might not be asking the right question. That might lead us to make assumptions about the client’s needs, or base our recommendation on something that will happen for them in the future. At the end of the day, the homeowner should make the best informed decision for their home—the decision really needs to stand in their control.

Buyer’s remorse is a real thing (even with plumbing). People often wish they had made a different decision, because they wish had known more details. This type of regret is based on not having enough information to make the best choice. We definitely want to prevent our clients from experiencing buyer’s remorse. When someone calls our company, before our technician goes to their home we do our best to be upfront about our fees and what they can expect out of a service visit. Once there, we want our service personnel to  diagnose the problem by going through a checklist of items, and explaining what’s going to happen in a little more detail so they know what to expect depending on the type of visit.

 

The technician walks the customer through the diagnosis and explains how they came to their conclusion. Then they write up about three to four different options with various price points and warranties (if applicable) for the client to choose from. The customer gets to make the best decision for their home. From there, we’ll keep them informed with details about how work is progressing and what equipment has been put in. Customers are active participants in the whole process so they understand exactly what’s going on in their home.

If you want an upfront and transparent team to guide you through resolving plumbing or HVAC issues, reach out to us today. Request an appointment, contact us, or give us a call at 540-483-9382.

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Plasma Generators

When it comes to saving money, one of the coolest heating & air innovations we have is a piece of equipment called a plasma generator. It improves the air quality in your home and it’s actually capable of doing everything a UV light can do. Plasma generators can kill viruses (which is even more relevant now that we’re in a coronavirus pandemic). The cool thing about it is you don’t have to worry about the cost involved with replacing bulbs like you would with a UV light. It doesn’t really have a limited lifespan because it uses the oxygen that’s already in your home to create the plasma that kills any bacteria or viruses. It’s just a phenomenal product.

We just tend to assume that the air quality in our house is good, but that actually might not be the case. We should pay careful consideration to areas like the ductwork, where mold can start to grow and then blow all over the house. The ideal use case for a plasma generator is anyone who’s concerned about the quality of air they are breathing. People with respiratory issues, asthma, or allergies would especially benefit from getting one.

Whole Home Air Filters

I’ve mentioned the differences between air filters and how some of them can be more effective at removing small particles, catching dust, and helping reduce allergies. But the filters you buy are only about 3/4” thick and don’t last very long. Whole home air filters, on the other hand, are about 4” or 5” thick and go directly inside the ductwork. They are made from a much denser filter media which can catch more particles, but they also last much longer than a regular air filter because of the higher surface area.

Efficient Equipment

Another area of innovation that leads to saving money is the SEER ratings, or the efficiency ratings, of HVAC equipment. As we’ve mentioned before, our HVAC equipment is such a big user of energy in our homes that we want to make sure we’re not overpaying for an old, outdated system. I will say, though, just installing a high-efficiency unit doesn’t necessarily mean that you now have a high-efficiency HVAC system because the ductwork is also part of the equation. If you put in a high-efficiency unit but you have major ductwork issues (like leaks or improper sizing), you’re really just spending extra money on a piece of equipment. Make sure you have a professional check out the whole system so that the higher SEER (or higher efficiency) that you gained with new HVAC equipment is actually going to net you a proper return.

Smart Homes & Thermostats

When it comes to controlling an HVAC system, there’s nothing cooler than being able to make adjustments right from your phone. Maybe you’re on vacation or you just left for work and forgot to set the thermostat. You’ll be able to see the current temperature and make adjustments using a smart thermostat from Nest or Ecobee. We have them on our trucks and can install them during a visit without any advance notice.

Dual Fuel Systems

As we’ve talked about in the past, electric isn’t as efficient as gas. Let’s say you have a heat pump, but you also have gas availability. You could get a dual fuel system consisting of a heat pump with gas backup. Whenever it gets below a specific temperature (e.g., 40 degrees), the gas backup will kick in and be much more efficient at heating the home than just the regular heat pump.

To learn more about any of these products, request an appointment, contact us, or give us a call at 540-483-9382.

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Cool Air and Humidity

It’s easy to overlook the impact of humidity in our area during the summer. Once the season approaches, homeowners might decide to turn off the air conditioning while they’re away. Turning it off or raising it to where it’s very hot could possibly cause issues in the home and maybe even damage wood products, furniture, cabinets, etc.  You wouldn’t want to return to a humid, practically steamy house that would take several days to get back into a conditioned state. At that point, any savings you would have gained by turning it up are going to be spent by trying to get it back to a comfortable level.

Keeping Humidity Low

Therefore, our recommendation is to leave the air conditioning on and raise it 4 degrees higher than its normal setting. This is going to give you some savings while also continuing to condition your home’s humidity level. During the wintertime, we recommend going 4 degrees cooler than the normal setting, or 8 degrees if you have a gas furnace. (Gas furnaces are much more efficient at overcoming cool temperatures than a heat pump.)

How to set a Programmable Thermostat

If you have a programmable thermostat, don’t just adjust the temperature up or down before you leave on vacation. All you would be changing is the temporary hold. If the thermostat is set to a schedule, it will just hold the temperature until the next timeframe—then it will go back to its normal setting. Instead, you want to make sure to change the thermostat to have a permanent hold of 4 degrees higher while you’re out of town.

Vacation Mode

Some programmable thermostats have a vacation mode you can enable while you’re away. The thermostat will know when you’re set to return home so it can revert to its normal state right before you get back. Smart thermostats just make this process easy to do right from a mobile device. If you have a smart thermostat made by someone like Nest or Ecobee, you can use a phone app to make adjustments while you’re away on vacation. (This is probably your best bet.) Aside from setting holds, you can also use the app to turn it back before you get home so you won’t have any fluctuations while also maximizing efficiency.

For more information about smart thermostats, request an appointment or give us a call at 540-483-9382. We carry them on our truck and we can actually upgrade your home without any advance notice. Any time we’re already out on a heat check, cool check, or HVAC service call, you can decide to get one put in your home.

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