HYDRONICS | HEATING HELP | CONTINUED FROM PAGE 56
clear of that product because there are so few people around who can service it down the road. “What if that guy goes out of business,” he’ll say. “Who’s going to help you then? You’ll be stuck with a system that no one else can work on. Let me give you something that’s less expensive, nearly as efficient and will last.”
You’re the potential customer. What would you say to that? When you go shopping for technical services, do you
consider the certification of the person who will do the service? When you’re having a conversation with someone, do you consider how many advanced degrees that person has? One of my sons-in-law has a BA in Philosophy from
Northwestern, an MBA from Notre Dame and a Ph.D. in Education from the University of Virginia. He also has a lousy heating system. He’s currently looking for someone to put in a new furnace, and he couldn’t care less about the installer’s certification. He just wants it done right and for the best possible price. I believe in education, but I wonder whether
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certification means anything outside our industry. Inside our industry, it’s a nice way to keep score (That guy’s GOLD!), and it’s bound to be useful when you’re changing jobs (which makes me wonder why the
company would let a certified guy go in the first place). But does it mean anything to the customers? And if it doesn’t, why is the HVAC industry so hell bent on getting technicians certified? I mean, the tech gets the certificate, asks for more money and winds up leaving for another job, because the boss won’t give him a raise. Customers don’t seem to care, but maybe if there was a
big national advertising campaign we could make them care. Great idea, right? Okay, who’s going to pay for it? And how long will it take to make people care about the HVAC technician’s certification? Keep in mind that it didn’t work for Mr. Goodwrench, even with all the power and might of the pre-Great Recession General Motors behind it. What makes you think we could do any better than they did? I believe in education. I believe in a person sitting with
books and reading rather than watching TV or playing video games. I believe in listening hard to others and paying attention to what they have to teach. I believe that the process leading to certification is more important than the certification itself. I believe that the power comes from embracing the journey and collecting the knowledge but not from the patch on the uniform or the certificate on the wall. And I believe that you should do this for yourself and your family and for no other reason than that. l
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phc april 2011
www.phcnews.com
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