Remember, receipts are proof of purchase. We show the results of buying a product on them. So, what results are you trying to show?

If you’re only concerned with equipment efficiency in a lab environment, then the yellow labels will work great for you. However, if you’re looking to focus customers on your specialized skills, you’ll need to look past equipment efficiency.

Our industry is missing a receipt for the final installation. We need the result for the assembled components plus each contractor’s unique abilities and craftsmanship. Again, that is our craftsmanship receipt.

Since yellow labels don’t prove installation skills, our industry needs a different approach. It requires measurements from the HVAC system to provide craftsmanship receipts.

Store receipts on spindle

Anyone can look at an installation and tell if it is sloppy or neat. But does it work like it’s supposed to? Many aspects of craftsmanship are hidden, so we need a way to make them visible.

Tough Question: How does a customer know they got a quality installation if the only receipt they get is for the components and not the skill involved in assembling them?

Tougher Answer: They don’t.

Our industry has much to offer customers. Unfortunately, it’s easy to forget how special what we do is. Consider a few ways you provide craftsmanship:

  • Using industry best practices for design and installation
  • Understanding duct system material selection and installation
  • Knowing about refrigerant line design and installation
  • Being skilled at purging with nitrogen while brazing
  • Performing proper evacuation with a micron gauge
  • Providing condensate line installation and drain protection
  • Being trained to use proper refrigerant charging practices
  • Being trained and certified in combustion safety testing of fuel-fired equipment
  • Providing accurate airflow testing and balancing.

These are a few of the things that most customers will never see. However, customers WILL notice the poor results if any of the above bullet points are missing or left out. Sometimes the results are instant, others may take years to appear.

I’m sure you can expand the list above, and I encourage you to do so. These hidden gems make you different. Isn’t it time to make these principles visible through measurement and data analysis instead of keeping them hidden?

During a recent private training session, we created two craftsmanship receipts. This company knew they did good work and were curious to see how well their systems performed. They found the perfect scenario – the home of one of the company’s comfort advisors.