“Then we train them both internally and by sending them for outside technical training. The goal is to get them up to speed on how we do things. Occasionally, we’ll hire somebody from another HVAC company, but that’s the exception.”

Again, he points out that the training includes NCI combustion and airflow classes, as well as heat exchanger training.
“Let’s face it. It’s about customer safety, liability protection, and selling comfort.”

Biggest Strengths and Weaknesses

Recruiting and training new technicians certainly counts, in Steve Miles’ mind, as a continuous challenge. But he also says the pandemic posed one of the most significant difficulties in his career in the HVAC Industry.

He shares that it didn’t cost him business – the exact opposite is true. The challenge was managing the workday and subsequent surge in business once the government deemed HVAC contractors essential workers.

“We were able to power through the masking, making customers feel safe, and providing them the best, most cost-efficient comfort they wanted,” Miles adds.

“That certainly is one of our strengths. Because of our training, we have a deep bench, and I think our team can truly guide the customer in the right direction. Our main weakness is the expense of providing that level of training and the wages our guys deserve.

“We’re not the least expensive contractor in our marketplace, so we have to overcome the price objection more than the competitors who choose not to invest in the training for their people. Plus, we constantly battle against other contractors who badmouth us by saying we overcharge customers.

Jerry Kelly technician applying his training on the job.
Jerry Kelly technician applying his training on the job.

“Our approach is that if a customer has a complaint, our job is to resolve the issue. By taking care of your customer, everything else will fall into place.”

Jerry Kelly HVAC Secret Sauce

In 2019, we profiled Jerry Kelly Heating and Air Conditioning on these pages because they focused on professionalism, training, and putting the customer first. Back then, they offered customers a 100% satisfaction guarantee, or they got their money back. Those three components remain at the heart of this company’s continued growth and success.

Over the years, the company achieved several important national recognitions, including one of Contracting Business magazine’s Contractors of the Year, the Service Nation Alliance Contractor of the Year, and other local recognitions.

This year, Steve was inducted into Contracting Business magazine’s Hall of Fame.

Miles adds that there are other ingredients in the secret sauce of his firm’s success. He lists them as:

  • Joining industry groups – “Why? Because you don’t know what you don’t know,” He says. “The sessions and topics are always intriguing, but the real value is in the social activities after the concurrent workshops. Peer-speak is just so valuable. I cannot stress that enough.”
  • Don’t try to implement everything you learn all at once – “You should just pick one or two things you learn at industry events, then follow them through to the end. Either they work, or they don’t. You either keep them or throw them away and then start over with something else.”
  • Membership organizations offer many bonuses – “Our membership in groups like NCI changed our technical problem-solving approach. It taught us the truth about airflow, system performance, and understanding that the entire house is a system.

“We use that every day. From using flow hoods to blower doors, we can show customers how we determine what they need. It’s not always easy to get customers involved when we are testing, but the NCI charts and tables make it easy enough to help customers better understand what you are doing and the value you provide.”

It is for these and many other reasons that the team at High-Performance HVAC Today magazine once again chose Jerry Kelly Heating and Air Conditioning as a company to spotlight. Congratulations to Steve Miles and his entire team.

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