Being an HVAC technician isn’t all just about working on heating and air conditioning systems. Sure, that is a big part of the job and it requires a lot of in-classroom training and education to become a master of that trade. However, often overlooked as another important aspect of life for an HVAC technician – almost equally important as working on equipment – is working with people. 

Talking with customers before and after your inspections or repairs is integral to the process of helping your customers fully understand the situation they are experiencing. Chances are, the people you’ll interact with on a daily basis as an HVAC technician won’t be very happy to see you. They are likely going to be uncomfortable, given the condition of their comfort system, and also looking down the barrel of a hefty bill. 

The circumstances in which you’ll find your customers necessitates the need for HVAC to know exactly how to talk to customers. Much like the art of knowing how to fix an air conditioner, correctly dealing with customers who are going to be emotional or even disgruntled is equally an art that takes time and practice.

How to talk to customers is an aspect we cover in-depth here at the Training Center of Heating and Air Conditioning, so let’s cover some of the basic principles here now.

Be respectful at all times… no matter what

You’ve just broken the news to a customer that they are going to have to spend a couple of thousand dollars on repairing or installing a new air conditioner in the middle of summer: tempers are going to be high. Customers may get mad, they may even get downright nasty with you. 

What is important in this situation is no matter what happens, it is the responsibility of the HVAC technician to remain calm, cool, and collected at all times and be respectful to the customer. Always keep your voice down, always address your customer as “sir” or “ma’am,” and never ever stoop to any nastiness, even if they start it first.

Always keep in mind that your behavior and how you conduct yourself doesn’t just affect you. When you are on a call and interacting with a customer, you aren’t just representing yourself, but you are also representing the company you work for. 

Leave the technical jargon at the office

Heating and cooling technicians possess a skill set and knowledge that few do. The training you go through that gives you the ability to look at, understand, and repair an HVAC system requires an understanding of a certain set of words, terms, equipment, and lots of technical jargon to go along with it. 

While commonplace to you, the terms you use during the course of your job are completely foreign to your customers. Using words and terminology that your customers are likely not going to be familiar with puts them at a disadvantage in the conversation and can make them feel like you outsmart them in the conversation by talking circles around them. 

While you of course do have a better understanding of the situation than your customer does, you never want your customer to feel talked down to. So, keep all the technical jargon back at the office when you are talking to your coworkers. Always keep any technical talk with customers in a manner or presentation that they can easily understand so they don’t feel out of the loop. It is their system after all. 

Give it to them straight

A lot of times as a technician you have to give customers bad news. Something is broken, it needs to be fixed or replaced, and it may not be cheap. Think about how you would want to be treated if the shoe was on the other foot. Would you want your service tech to dance around the facts, throw around a lot of hypotheticals, relying on technical jargon, and wait to dump any information on you until after you have received the estimate?

Or, would you prefer your tech to give you the news straight and upfront so that you know exactly what the issue is and how you can fix it? We imagine, like us, you prefer option two. Bad news is always going to be bad news. But, if the person delivering the news is honest and upfront, it always tends to soften the blow a bit. 

Dealing with customers the right way is just as important as fixing their heating and cooling systems. That is why at the Training Center of Heating and Air Conditioning this is a subject that we spend a lot of time on. If you are interested in beginning your career as an HVAC technician, learn more about our available and upcoming classes by calling us at 281.580.4239.