< Previous20 APRIL 2022HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAY enhanced his life. After a rough time in his life, this co-worker came to me, confessed the past, and asked if I could help him start over. We served him by providing train- ing opportunities, showed him ar- eas where he could improve, helped him get his family health insurance, taught him how to serve our custom- ers, showed him that serving custom- ers is a privilege. Over time he found that serv- ing others was fulfilling and that he could also help those he worked with learn how to serve along with him. I would argue today that he is an art- ist. His art is to exceed customers’ ex- pectations. He inspires me with this service. Observation 2 – A Servant nev- er has a bad day. Someone who loves to serve never runs out of work. That Servant looks around at the daily cha- os and sees opportunities. The act of serving is motivation. Even when that chaos directly impedes the Servant, they calmly move forward to serve de- spite their circumstances. They make the needs of those served more im- portant. People know they are de- pendable, aren’t out for glory, but get to do what they love. At our company, we had techs that I didn’t wonder where they were be- tween calls or worry about if they were taking the best care of my custom- ers. These technicians enjoyed find- ing ways to solve customers’ issues. Because they enjoyed the work, they were anxious to get to the customer’s home and solve problems. When we were busy, and the phones were ringing off the hook, these techs focused on the work and didn’t ask the office how many more calls they had or if they could leave work at 5:00 pm. They wanted to serve others. Observation 3 – Many servants are serving, and as a result, those served have the time and the oppor- tunity to succeed. At Ball Heating and Air, my experience with the success of others is a direct reflection of how well the servant leader is serving. My technicians’ performance direct- ly reflects how well I serve them. When I serve my techs better, the quality of our service to customers improves. KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS In one example, we put up score- boards for everyone to see. One LESSONS LEARNED Life has a funny way of providing you with the answers to your ques- tions. For me, the answers came from my after-work life. For example, when my wife and I would go out to dinner, I began noticing superior service when the wait staff put my desires first. MY OBSERVATIONS Here are some observations and les- sons learned from these experiences. Observation One – Speaking of dinner, don’t you love going to a restaurant where the service is so on point that the meal tastes better. They do simple things like making sure no glass is ever empty on the table. They pay attention to every request, like having a sauce on the side or extra napkins on the table. That experience demonstrates how to take care of people. You might even think they could have charged twice as much, and it would have been worth it. I find that this level of service is a dying art. So I made it my business to practice Servant Leadership at my company. I had the opportunity to serve a co-worker in such a way that APRIL 2022 21HVACTODAY.COM you. Recognize those who serve and help your team be inspired by their ac- tions. Admire the beauty of great ‘Ser- vant Art’ and make sure those around you see that beauty too. Serve others despite your situation and chaos so you won’t have a bad day. Then quietly go about serving those around you so they can succeed. KPI (Key Performance Indicator) we track is the technician’s percentage of callbacks. Tracking this KPI is a service to our techs. It revealed an area that may need to be improved. Knowing this KPI caused our techs to ask how to im- prove. To serve them, we investigated the causes of callbacks. This investiga- tion led us to training areas we had to address. Once we knew those areas, we pro- vided the appropriate training then re-evaluated those KPIs. We repeated this process. Over time, the callback percentage trended downward. Fur- thermore, not only were our techs bet- ter trained, but they also became more confident to do their job. Plus, our customers were served better. TRUE SERVANTS INSPIRE You know there are many more ob- servations about serving others. One thing is for sure; a true servant in- spires those around him to serve. Now how does that relate to the Servant Leadership philosophy? How can you inspire those around you? How can you become a better servant? Look for those examples around Jim Ball was the general manager of Ball Heating and Air Conditioning, Biloxi, MS. He was National Comfort Institute’s (NCI) 2017 Medium Contractor of the Year and is a strong believer in High-Perfor- mance HVAC Contracting. He recently sold his company and joined NCI as a trainer. You can reach him at ncilink.com/ContactMe .22 APRIL 2022HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAYTraining Incentive Partnership Program (TIPP). Mosaic® is a financing company that helps to make financing high-efficien- cy HVAC systems and other home im- provements accessible and affordable for homeowners. Contractors who offer Mosaic financ- ing through TIPP earn incentive dollars (known as NCI Bucks) that they can then use to offset the costs of training and more. If you are unfamiliar with TIPP, go to ncilink.com/TIPP to learn more. Mosaic makes it easy to offer no money down at-the-point-of-sale loans with fixed interest rates and multiple term options. Some of these options in- clude 10- and 15-year terms for 16 SEER and up systems. The company provides a streamlined financing platform to help contractor partners increase their margins and drive sales growth. Learn more by pointing your browser to ncilink.com/mosaic . NCI’s Online U. Offers Many Training Options From HVAC contracting firm owners, office staff, to field technicians and ev- eryone in between, the NCI Online Uni- versity has something for everyone in your company - at all learning levels. These courses are created by the team at NCI and are focused on helping your organization succeed and grow, at your pace. If you’re just starting out, or have been in business for decades, there’s training that you will find helpful on your path to high-performance HVAC contracting. Our Online University is organized into “logical learning steps” that begin with: z Advanced Technical Training z Business Management Training z Customer Service Training. Members get a 10% discount on all classes, while those with the Learning Excellence Premium and Learning Ex- cellence Online subscriptions get the entire Online University included. Here are the highlights of two classes available in the Online University: In the advanced technical training category you can find System Perfor- mance Testing. This series of modules covers the basics of sys- tem temperature measurements, sys- tem and equipment Btu measurement fun- damentals, and much more. In the customer service category, con- sider the Proactive Customer Service 201 module. This online class will teach you how to get customers to the right person , setting up service appointments, escalat- ing calls, accountability, and much more. This class provides more than two hours of education that in- cludes downloads and more. Use NCI Online University to keep your team sharp, to prepare them for live training where they can earn certifica- tions, and to keep your team ahead of competitors. Find out more by visiting ncilink.com/ OnlineU or call 800-633-7058 and ask for a customer care representative. NCI Welcomes New Members Membership in National Comfort In- stitute (NCI) is a step toward becoming a High-Performance HVAC Contracting firm. It is a commitment that has an ex- traordinary impact on your business and your team. So, it is our pleasure to recognize and welcome those new members who joined our ranks since January 1, 2022: Baggett Heating and Cooling , Clarks- ville, TN Comfort Monster Heating and Air, Raleigh, NC Greg Steger Heating & Air, Plymouth, WI Greiner HVAC , Dixon, CA Mid South Air Cond. , Starkville, MS Picture Rocks Cooling, Heating, and Plumbing , Tuscon, AZ Thermo Direct, Raleigh, NC Volpe Service Co. , East Hanover, NJ. We are pleased you all opted to join our family and look forward to working with all of you. Meet the Latest NCI Partner The team at NCI are pleased to welcome the newest partner to our NCI UPDATE APRIL 2022 23HVACTODAY.COM24 APRIL 2022HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAY HVAC SMART MARTAPRIL 2022 25HVACTODAY.COM Advertiser Index AD INDEX To Subscribe to High-Performance HVAC Today: ONLINE: Visit HVACToday.com/subscribe for a FREE digital subscription. PRINT: 1 year/$72; single copy $7. Canada: 1 year/$92; single copy $9. Payable in advance with U.S. funds. Prepaid subscriptions may be sent to: High-Performance HVAC Today, PO Box 147, Avon Lake, OH 44012. Phone: 440-949-1850; toll free 800-633-7058; or visit HVACToday.com/subscribe to order online. Arzel Zoning Technology, Inc. | www.ArzelZoning.com .......................................... 11 & 18 Baker Distributing Company | www.BakerDist.com ................................................. 14 & 25 CI Web Group | www.ciwebgroup.com .................................................................................... 22 Duct Saddles | www.DuctSaddles.com ..................................................................................... 24 Goodman Manufacturing | www.GoodmanMfg.com ............................................... 5 & 22 Lazco Corp. | www.LazcoCorp.com ............................................................................................ 27 Mosaic | www.JoinMosaic.com .................................................................................................... 21 Pearl Certification | www.PearlCertification.com ................................................................... 2 R.E. Michel Company | www.REMichel.com ............................................................................ 6 The New Flat Rate | www.TheNewFlatRate.com ................................................................ 24 To Your Success | www.ToYourSuccess.com .......................................................................... 24 Publisher Dominick Guarino Editor-in-Chief and Associate Publisher Mike Weil Art Director Judy Marquardt Online Development Director Brian Roseman Circulation Manager Andrea Begany-Garsed Go to ncilink.com/ContactMe with your comments and questions. HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAY TM26 APRIL 2022HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAY download a PDF of the certificate and final report at any time. WHY SHOULD I CERTIFY SYSTEMS? This certification can build great value for you and your customers. It sets you apart from oth- er contractors in your market. It also gives your customers the certainty that you delivered high value for the work that you performed. You can certify equipment replacements, Air Upgrades™, or complete system renovations. The result of the above is that a certified system increases the resale value of a home as it proves it is more comfortable and energy efficient. Another great benefit of an NCI Certified Sys- tem is you create a base- line that you can test against whenever you perform service or main- tenance. It’s a great way to promote maintenance agree- ments that include a quick, easy-to-perform re- test of their system allowing you to continue to add value on every visit. This helps ensure your customers continue to enjoy the comfort and energy efficiency of their improved HVAC systems year after year. HOW DO I LEARN MORE? You can start by checking out NCI’ s consum- er website at NCICertified.com. Here you can learn about how the certification works from a homeowner perspective, its benefits, and how to access a certification. Access our contractor web- site on System Certification at NCICertified.net. For more details on this ground-breaking prod- uct be sure to read, “NCI Certified System Per- formance – An Idea Whose Time Has Come” on page 12 of this issue. I t’s very exciting and humbling to announce that at NCI’s High-Performance Summit this year we are unveiling a brand-new product we have been working on for several years: Cer- tified System Performance. HVAC System Certification allows High-Per- formance Contractors to take their great work to the next level. Want to learn more? Read on. WHAT DOES IT DO? This brand-new certification allows you to test, verify, and certify an HVAC system’s delivered performance into the home. Certified contractors are now able to offer this certification on any of the systems they install and service. System certification lets you promise a highly performing system – and prove it! Plus, it is backed by one of the HVAC in- dustry’s top training and certification organiza- tions. National Comfort Institute has helped tens of thousands of HVAC professionals deliver high- ly-performing systems for more than 28 years! HOW DOES IT WORK? The process is pretty straightforward. A tech- nician starts by testing an HVAC system that has been upgraded to deliver a high percentage of its rated capacity into the home. Next, they enter data from the testing into NCI’s cloud-based ComfortMaxx Verify™ software to determine whether the system meets the mini- mum criteria for Silver or Gold certification. Once the system achieves certification, a serial- ized number is assigned to it, and your technician applies labels to indicate it has been certified. A packet that includes literature on the certifi- cation is handed to the homeowner. They can also ONE MORE THING... By Dom Guarino NCI Unveils Certified System Performance At High-Performance HVAC Summit 2022! Dominick Guarino is publisher of High-Performance HVAC Today magazine and CEO of National Comfort Institute, Inc. He can be reached at ncilink.com/ ContactMeAPRIL 2022 27HVACTODAY.COMNext >