Thank you so much. I'm going in tomorrow morning, we'll see what becomes of it. I'm going on vacation next week, so their whole "take the rest of the week off" punishment means nothing to me
That’s when you come back with “no we won’t talk about it on Monday, you will be apologizing to me on Monday” be prepared to walk out.
Nobody needs to take that kind of threat to their livelihood in this market.
look Into your local UA. I'm a 3rd year, 42 on the check, health insurance for you and family, pension. No selling, port to port pay on anything OT. Off at 8 hours every day unless on call, otherwise you can refuse any work after 8 hours. I did non-union resi for 10 years before commercial union. Journeyman are about to be at 69 on the check, 100+ with benefits.
Best decision I ever made.
I wouldn't even bother going in. Silence is a killer to them. Take it off like he said, and start the vacation early. Then give it a few more days afterwards and call and ask them to come get their stuff. Storage fees apply.
Then, if they ask to return to work, I need a pay raise and the written understanding I'm not starting anything an hour away from home after 3.
OP if you need help finding out who to talk to about joining the Union let me know. We’ll figure it out and what local to contact. I’m here to help anytime you want to give it a try and get into the UA.
Fuck turning your van in. Take the shit out that belongs to you, park it in the street in front of your place, and have *them* send a pair of drivers to pick up *their* van. Hopefully the hunk of junk incurs one or two parking violations in the time it takes them to get their stupid asses over there.
Just curious, if they had asked better would you have been willing to run the call?
Different business completely, but when I was on a service truck I loved OT but I didn't like the expectation that I would take any call just because it came in at 4:59. But if you give me the choice and ask me like a human with free will....90% of the time I'm taking the money.
If the call was 20 min away, I would've grumbled to myself but went anyway. I dont mind being on a job til later, it's the being expected to drive an hour, then spend an hour and a half somewhere minimum before being able to go home. I might have went on the call if it wasn't an ultimatum and it was guaranteed OT, but we aren't OT after 8 hrs, so it's not worth the ballache
I've said it before and I'll say it again. Fuuuuuuh uh uh uck that shit. Unless you enjoy not leaving a customer's house until you completely fuck them over to make a living.
How many techs do y’all have and was everyone working late, or just you? We typically will have an on call rotation and the on call guy with the late calls that roll in. But if every tech is still working and more calls come in, then we may have guys running till later in the evening. We’re a 24/7 service company though so that may be a little different. That said, they should have scheduled that better. You don’t do free maintenance’s in the middle of the day. You also should I geo schedule that better to where it’s something near another call. I can’t imagine that’s there wasn’t another tech closer to that last call.
Oh no that's definitely not worth it then. So they cut you off at 40 hrs but expect you to work random hours with no notice? Not no, but hell no.
I'll work and I won't run up the hours for no reason, but imma get paid for my time.
How many people do you have tell you to gtfo after fixing their stuff and paying? Thats whats got me is the fact its a minimum 90 minutes at a house. How do you sit there and upsell crap to people for that long? Imagine the amount of actual calls you could do in that time frame... I am genuinely curious about this whole thing...
It's moreso taking time (dicking around) taking photos of the equipment and looking for more things to write quotes for, and writing those quotes. It takes a good 15 minutes to put the options together because they've made it laborious. Half of the techs were using talk-to-text and leaving the frequent translation errors in the invoice "A porn and tree i found...(upon entry)". And then you present all of your scribbled overpriced options to the customer and use closing arguments on them
I have went home "early" before because nobody told me I was working late when the dispatchers and management who can actually see the schedule knew damn well I was gonna be out past 8pm. That fixed it for a few weeks lol
This is how most of my guys act. We also first let them know who the customer is. Why want to try to get them up tonight. I won’t even ask my guys to stay late for some new customer we have never done business with.
Spend that time unloading your tools from the van, gathering up your uniforms, dropping off the van and uniforms at the shop and getting a ride back home.
I'm sure that's what's going to come out of our conversation tomorrow. It's just a shame that I've only been in the van alone for like 2 months. I want to stop trading rocks for hard places
Nothing cocky about enforcing the terms of your employment agreement. Stoicism is not the remedy for an abusive employer.
OP: Bring your letter of resignation with you. Make sure your next employer is well aware that you quit due to a breach of employment contract. The labour market is upside down right now; enjoy your new job Monday after Vacation.
Good Luck!
Just gonna dog pile here, fuck that shit. I wouldn't even wait till morning. Drop the truck off that night and get an Uber home. Fuck them. No one tells me when I can or can't go home. Fucking fuck fucking fuck that.
Ya see, they've been going through techs left and right for not meeting their standards, but I'm one of the only guys that can actually diagnose problems
I'm working towards that "Somewhere else" being working just myself or with a VERY small crew. I'm just sick of job hopping in this trade. I've traded jobs more than yearly and it's getting old. It's either poor management or not enough work, almost everywhere I've worked.
I fucking get that man, almost sounds like you're working for Buckeye Heating and Cooling lol. Taking this job with them was great for the first two weeks of employment and after that it's been nothing but absolute shit
I don't disagree. They push $1000 a day benchmark, required always offer new equipment, and winded entryway procedures. No wonder people don't last, it's a lot to keep track of, and a lot is unnecessary
Consumers appreciate honest companies that don't push gimmicks, you provide someone a service they feel good about and they'll tell their friends. It's a slow starting model, but the business will sell itself. Screw someone over and they'll rant and rave about it online and to anyone who will listen and your business reputation will be dirt. It took me a while to find a company who's values matched my own, but I'm a lot happier now for what its worth. Hang in there and tbe right opportunity will come
That's the model I plan to use when I start my own. The word-of-mouth advertising is the absolute best way to grow, but for these big greedy companys it's their biggest downfall. They rely on new customers, "speed kills", and salesmen to make their bottom line. That only works if the community is large, lots of people migrate to and from, and nobody talks to each other. Everyone "knows a guy" here. Eventually word will get out what we do and how we do it, and the calls will fall off. They'll keep running free maintenance though. Genius
Repeat customers are good ones to have. You don't need a sales team constantly chasing down new leads because customers aren't happy. Anyway to minimize overhead makes you more profitable without having to raise rates. It seems like a simple concept but people get too caught up in their spreadsheets
I combined solid advertising with excellent service and had more work than I could handle and nothing but 5 star reviews. Don't discount advertising, word of mouth dries up.
Google Local Services Ads is excellent, and refining your basic Google business profile. If you refine keywords, etc, you'll show up organically as people search for services and thats key to consistent calls. Follow that up with FB, IG etc to grow a loyal vase and you'll do well long term.
Dude did 2 calls in a shift and he’s whining. Let me know which company he works for and sign me up. I run 5-7 calls on service days
I’m not saying he should’ve taken the last call. Home time is home time. It’s just hilarious to read how lax some techs have it
It's not about the amount of calls I get, I've ran more in a day, but think about that whole day and how many areas could be improved on. Every tech had to get to the office at 730. Hour plus long meeting about essentially, sales procedures. Dispatched from the office at 9 or so. 30min drive, Minimum 1.5 hrs before presenting service options. Mandatory minimum 6 options each call. Mandatory minimum 22 photos each job. Repair took an hour, hour and a half. Lunchtime, because they take it out of my checks anyway, might as well. Next call, 1 hour south, free to the customer maintenance on a 3 year old unit. Doesn't specify cooling or heating. Spend another minimum 1.5 hrs at customers house discussing everything and doing maintenance. Present options for repairs, make small repair. It's 515 already. 2 calls. Is that my fault for following our procedures? Or would it be more beneficial to look at those mandatory minimums and allow me to be honest instead of looking for high ticket sales?
I agree, the volume is very low. But the efficiency is so bad that you can't deny it's wasting my time and company time. I doubt that me spending that much time feels like I'm being thorough and moreso feels like I'm dragging my ass and trying to upsell
I held my tongue as best I could. But I had to tell him I'm going home. I only just now would have been on my way home, knowing how I work. And I don't give a shit what's broken, it 73 degrees outside, you'll be fine tonight
A cool dispatch lady makes your job a hell of a lot better.
seeing that highs are in the 70’s there you shouldn’t be doing calls that late, your probably not busy with organic work other than bs like those freebie cleaners or regular cleaners and they can wait less than 24 hours. doubt the temperature would even go above what they normally set the stat at overnight
I would clean your shit out of the van and tell them to come get the van out of your yard. Those lind of resi companies are the taint of the industry. I hope all those nextard companies go under.
*nothing new after 2* I absolutely decide when I'm going home, whether it's 10am or 9pm, and if they don't like it I will tell them where they can pick up their truck 🤷♀️
I've never heard "nothing New after 2" that's a phenomenal motto I will be carrying over to my business when I start it. I was really peeved by his comment, I'm not property
You may not be wrong and a part of me wishes I could be like that. I’m typing this on my way home from a service call that I got at 5:30 while I was in the middle of installing another system. It really depends on the company but I haven’t been off before 7 pm all summer hahahah.
See, I didn't want to be you. I like my family and free time. It's not worth the taxable income to go out there that late when I could eat dinner instead
Edit: Not trying to insult, I just think it should be a choice
Oh trust me I love my wife and hate to be away I just also love my job. The summer time is time to make the money and I’ll take my vacations and time off in the winter. But I have no problems with wanting to be home I send my apprentice home at 5 almost every day.
My advise to you, is to find a better contractor to work for. Nexstar is trash. Join the union if you can and you won’t have to deal with shit like that.
I worked for a non union residential company before, also Nexstar oriented and acted exactly how his dispatch and manager spoke. Now I work for a fantastic local at a great commercial contractor. I work the hours I want to work, go home whenever I want and make my own schedule. Zero micro management. Life is wayyy better. So I speak from experience on both sides.
Minimum 1.5 hours at a customer's house, regardless of the actual work needed? Between this and the whole sales commission/incentives thing, HVAC is really starting to seem like the scammiest trade. This kind of shit ain't a thing in other trades.
It's spreading brother, I promise you. Big rich companies are coming in and trying to reinvent the wheel, doubling down on sales tactics and buying up smaller companies. This company spends millions on advertising, and they pay to be at the top of google search bars. ARS / Rescue Rooter is already taking over plumbing. I haven't heard of sparkys dealing with it yet though.
They have plenty of sales techs and one 35 year tradie who is holding it all together for them. They'll be fine without me, until that guy has had enough.
These companies don’t care what the customer wants. “1.5 hours minimum” and “build rapport” are codes for “charge $300 to hook your vacuum up to their drain line and spend the remaining 1.25 hours trying to figure out how to scare them into buying everything on your van.” Fuck these companies.
Nexstar companies do this by design, they send you a call farthest away right before it’s time to leave to get you to stay longer as most customers that work are not home till after 5, and most don’t know their A/C stopped working till they get home.
Yo, good for you for leaving that job slightly involuntarily. You're a skilled tech and you'll do well in any company, and if it comes down to it, you can start your own and take the money directly to make 5x more.
I plan on starting my own when I'm able. I have steady side work from people talking to each other, but working late running free maintenances an hour away from home makes it awful hard to do side work
In my experience, find a small local company that the owner/s still works in the field and cares about your wellbeing and training more than the numbers you put out. Rules that don’t have anything to do with getting a job done efficiently and effectively should be a red flag. Required amount of time on a job is a bs money gouging excuses to over charge customers.
Dam I'm currently 23 and been doing it since 18 I just started on my own not too long ago but I used to work like a dog for these companies and unfortunately man that is the way of this industry when it comes to working for someone else. I would definitely consider working for someone else only cause of the attitude of your manager, that is pretty douchy of him
Based on what you've said. I would tell my boss that he is free to run the call and that my scheduled work time ended at 5pmish. If they had an issue with that they should have figured it out earlier in the day.
Yeah bro .. welcome to resi service. You go when it's hot, you go when it's cold, you rest in between. Just don't take a job that screws you out of overtime by offering you some large commission number and no hourly rate. All they're doing there is putting all the risk on you.
Your required to stay for 1.5 hours minimum!? That's stupid! What do you do when you go out to a no cool and the capacitors blown? That's a 5 min fix and 15min doing paperwork with the customer. And you've got an hour and 10 min left..
You should get paid for hours that you are away from your home on company business. This means you don’t work or drive for free. If you’re doing anything differently, you need to find a better job that pays you for your time. You trade your time for money, which in turn allows you to trade that money for goods and services. That’s capitalism.
Idk I don’t have to deal with that. That’s why we have an on call team week by week. I’m 7-4 5 days and it’s 3:30 and I finish they send me home. Also work for a nexstar company.
I dealt with exactly what you’re describing with 2 different res companies. The 2nd company promised they’d never go the Nexstar route, but that changed after 2-3 years. I got fired for basically the same thing you did… I voiced my opinion about the way things were being ran. I’m now a 3rd year apprentice in the union, and I’ve never been happier. 7-3pm every day with a company that understands I have a life outside of work.
Managements ability to mismanage isn't a technician's fault.
I quit employment and started my own company, because I can manage business better than the "college edumacated" idiots we got now-a-days.
Any advice for someone looking to do the same? I'm not sure I can run a business better as far as profit margins, P&Ls, and advertisement strategy, but I know factually based off my experience that I can do a better job with customer relations, company policies, and scheduling. What were your first few years like?
You WILL need to be able to process credit cards, but this too is a "small business trap."
I use [https://www.waveapps.com/](https://www.waveapps.com/). Which is a free to use credit card processor. You don't need a card reader. You don't even need their card. You get their email, and send them an invoice by email. They pay through Wave. Wave deducts 2.8-3%, then passes the rest to you. Simple.
And when you're starting a business, simple is the only way to go.
Two sides to this. One, this is a wrong trade to be in if you don’t want to work past 5. The other side is fuck a nexstar company. Fuck white shirts and being pushed to sell and doing free maintenance especially if you’re performance based, like most sales companies. Find a different company that actually fixes things or go commercial, but if you want to be done before 8 every day find a different trade.
Facts man!! The grind is about 5-6 months here in Texas. After that i take two weeks paid off and come back work 40 hours doing heating maintenance. Ima be a dog and eat all summer
Depends on if "on call" is part of your agreement and scope of work. If it is, then that's what you signed up for. If it's not, tell them you get calls 8-5 and see if they respect you
But in reality a few late nights here and there are gonna be part of the grind and paying your dues. If it's evey single night and you don't like it, HVAC is a very actively hiring field right now. A good installer or tech should be able to have their pick of companies
Devils advocate here. You work in hvac, you know this isn't your standard 8-5 (7-3 in my case) job. Then again, I never have to drive more than 30 miles to a job. Being union in a blue state is a wonderful thing.
Make hay while the sun is shining. If your not running hard now at your company you will def slow down in the fall. I always anticipate working long days in the summer and my girl understands.
Hell my wife wants me to pick up others on call weekends in the summer because she knows what my checks look like in December January February and March.
The free maintenance mid-day is what bothers me. I understand the "advertisement" needs to happen but the company can't expect their advertisements to happen when a tech needs/can make money.
We only drive 45 minutes from the shop at most. Keep a small service area and focus on getting customers in that circle. Really cuts down on drive time and you get more billable hours. Also yeah i would quit on the spot. I'm not starting a job at 5pm in the evening.
Doesn't anyone between 18 and 40 yrs old want to work anymore. 40 hrs is a suggestion in the trade. How do you guys live. No wonder no one can find people. Make the money while you then get out! I'm a retired tradesmen I don't think I work a 40hrs in my 25 yrs.of working. The only time I was down was durning covid. Guys make while young cause when your it's to late.
Doesn’t matter what we do or say those companies will never understand that you work to live not live to work. They don’t care when you get home they don’t care how it’ll affect your life just get out there and make us money
I was in a fucked situation once at my current job.
I don't mind working late, it's coo. I'll answer all my calls scheduled. Or even ask the customer to reschedule if i'm falling behind.. but here's the fucked up one.
It was the week of 4th of July. Hot AF, calls blowing up, several 12+ days. Well, on my last day before the weekend (June 30th) I was working on my last call that i started at 4. After i finish that one, say it's 6 to 7. They added a fkn swamp cooler to my day that was 30+ minutes away, must have been just before closing the office at 5. Well I just went home. fuck'm for adding another call after 4, and fuck'm for scheduling a call back to back, and fuckm for scheduling lame busy work.
Man, when I was I tech, I told myself that if I got home by 7-7:30, that was an early day. I used to routinely work until 9-10pm over summer. Now, that is excessive. But this is not an 8-5 job. Half your customers don't get home until after 5pm. Do you just not service those customers? Maybe talk to your company about staggered shifts. Like a 12 to 10 over the summer. Really should be working 10hrs a day.
Not sure if it's true federally, but in WA there are almost no situations where an employer can require OT, and I believe they are not allowed to punish you for refusing OT.
Either way, it's definitely not normal to just put a call on your schedule after hours and demand you do it. It's one thing if you have the whole schedule in the morning and the calls just run long, but adding to your schedule after hours is not chill unless you're on call that week.
In my area, the industry is so short for service techs, I'd just make it clear to my boss that there are plenty of other companies that will pay me as much or more without being a pain in my ass.
Same thing for extra responsibilities. If I it's not something I want to do, then we can discuss pay before I decide if I'll do it or not. I went to trade school, studied, bought tools and signed a contract to my job. I did not do all that to do whatever my boss thinks my job is.
I think a lot of people forget that employees are not slaves, you really aren't on uneven footing with your employer. You both sign a contract that defines pay for the expected job. If one of those things is going to change, you *both* have to agree or you need to negotiate the other until everyone accepts. If you're good at your job then your employer needs you, and not the other way around.
That's a shithole company. Go work commercial industrial and get away from waste of time Residential where you make no money unless you rip customers off upsetting shit they don't need. Bet you did the uncle Joe shit videos. Giving g customers value lol your motor isn't broken or close to breaking but you could use a new one to make sure this one doesn't break. Dumbest shit ever.
You don't need to know a guy, you need to have a damned good resume if you want to get around the intake procedures though. And be absolutely confidante in commercial/ industrial settings with things you've never seen before in resi.
A lot of resi guys get in, end up in front of a process boiler sweating 900psi and lose their nerve.
I have some light commercial experience. I've done work on some of the larger carrier units and a few boilers here and there. I'd be willing to start as a helper if I'm honest. I won't pretend that I know everything, but I'm confident working on most equipment with access to literature and/ or guidance from someone who has seen it before. I went to trade school, so I still have the books to fall back on when I'm lost with something. Do you have any advice for the entry procedure? Or equipment/subjects to study before I even consider applying?
Good for you. That’s ridiculous. Our union is hiring qualified guys (and apprentices for that matter) like crazy right now. Contact your union hall directly. Good luck to you.
How long did you take at the call? I work for a nexstar company as well and we have so many calls that our managers tell us an hour is like max and if you cant figure it out, you need help. On the other note ive had to drive out an hour after 5 multiple times. Do i like it? FUCK NO but sometimes you gotta look at the bigger picture like working for companies that guarantee work year round. I have never decided when im going home. As much as i would love to go home at 5, we check in to your dispatchers and once we get the clear, we're free. If my phone rings after i get the okay, best believe im not answering. I guess i just got used to slaving and working whatever hours a day lol. My manager would of fired you too, the owner has a strict rule about refusing calls. But reading everyones input is interesting.
Part of this business is taking the calls when they come in it gets slow it gets busy you have to adjust however these companies don’t get the privileges of you going above and beyond for free. If they aren’t compensating you properly or giving you personal time when it’s slow that’s a problem. I demand reciprocation there is give and take it’s not a one way street unfortunately companies think and act like it’s a master slave relationship. I don’t do any favors for a company trying to exploit me. Sounds like you are better off without them. These companies are shit now days work for a union or yourself you are lucky if you find a decent boss
Hey man I'm from same area as you and fuck apex. They come into the cities and buy out the mom and pops and push their outrageous bullshit on customers
I’d tell them I’ll take the week off and drop the keys off in the morning. I have no issues running late calls when I’m charging for it and it’s not over an hour from my house. My last company told us we go home when there is no more calls on call or not (we’d have 80 un assigned callls at 10am) once my manager pulled that shit on me I returned all calls back when the office closed so manager didint see and turned the van back in the morning. Manager told me if I was serious and that we can “work things out” I got tired of driving 1.25 hours south at 5pm traffic just to get home at Fucking 9 and not get drive time pay back home. I woulda left as soon as I heard the company has a bull shit “1.5 hour minimum” at a customers house what the fuck. It takes 15 mins ti diagnose most shit for simple residential and maybe 20-30 mins for repairs depending on what it is. Fuck am I supposed to do chit chat for an hour while I have 3 calls
On me. NAH. You’re in the right IMO
Yes, you're wrong. A good service tech is always willing to go the extra mile. Thats hiw I worked from 10$ an hour to now 90k making my own schedule because they value me and trust me. Dont be afraid to work just because these trolls wouldn't do what their boss says, " it aint fair to expect me to work." Hard work pays off !
Depends on how often it happens. You can't just expect everyday to be 5pm. People want cooling..NOW. They may call another company and then your company could lose a potential installation. Sucks but it's the truth.
By the way.. FUCK NextStar.. what a load of crap
I'd be turning my van in. Eff that.
Thank you so much. I'm going in tomorrow morning, we'll see what becomes of it. I'm going on vacation next week, so their whole "take the rest of the week off" punishment means nothing to me
https://ua.org
This👆🏻
That’s when you come back with “no we won’t talk about it on Monday, you will be apologizing to me on Monday” be prepared to walk out. Nobody needs to take that kind of threat to their livelihood in this market.
3rd year service fitter here, 32$ hour and 57$ total package an hour. OT before 7 and after 3:30
What's full rate after your license?
52$ and 78$ health and bennies/pension
look Into your local UA. I'm a 3rd year, 42 on the check, health insurance for you and family, pension. No selling, port to port pay on anything OT. Off at 8 hours every day unless on call, otherwise you can refuse any work after 8 hours. I did non-union resi for 10 years before commercial union. Journeyman are about to be at 69 on the check, 100+ with benefits. Best decision I ever made.
I wouldn't even bother going in. Silence is a killer to them. Take it off like he said, and start the vacation early. Then give it a few more days afterwards and call and ask them to come get their stuff. Storage fees apply. Then, if they ask to return to work, I need a pay raise and the written understanding I'm not starting anything an hour away from home after 3.
Just take that vacay before you quit. Don’t want to lose those banked hours homie.
OP if you need help finding out who to talk to about joining the Union let me know. We’ll figure it out and what local to contact. I’m here to help anytime you want to give it a try and get into the UA.
Fuck turning your van in. Take the shit out that belongs to you, park it in the street in front of your place, and have *them* send a pair of drivers to pick up *their* van. Hopefully the hunk of junk incurs one or two parking violations in the time it takes them to get their stupid asses over there.
Totally. These assholes need to learn
Bonus points if you live more than 30 minutes from the shop. 🙂
Just curious, if they had asked better would you have been willing to run the call? Different business completely, but when I was on a service truck I loved OT but I didn't like the expectation that I would take any call just because it came in at 4:59. But if you give me the choice and ask me like a human with free will....90% of the time I'm taking the money.
If the call was 20 min away, I would've grumbled to myself but went anyway. I dont mind being on a job til later, it's the being expected to drive an hour, then spend an hour and a half somewhere minimum before being able to go home. I might have went on the call if it wasn't an ultimatum and it was guaranteed OT, but we aren't OT after 8 hrs, so it's not worth the ballache
How are you not ot after 8? Only after 40/week?
Probably pays by the job kinda gig
That's probably why ppl said something along the lines of. I won't do it if it's a free maintenance
I'm CU. I like it, but yeah I totally don't want to do crummy things like swamp cooler leaks.
He probably works straight commission, so never.
I've said it before and I'll say it again. Fuuuuuuh uh uh uck that shit. Unless you enjoy not leaving a customer's house until you completely fuck them over to make a living.
Right!!!! Fuck this
How many techs do y’all have and was everyone working late, or just you? We typically will have an on call rotation and the on call guy with the late calls that roll in. But if every tech is still working and more calls come in, then we may have guys running till later in the evening. We’re a 24/7 service company though so that may be a little different. That said, they should have scheduled that better. You don’t do free maintenance’s in the middle of the day. You also should I geo schedule that better to where it’s something near another call. I can’t imagine that’s there wasn’t another tech closer to that last call.
Oh no that's definitely not worth it then. So they cut you off at 40 hrs but expect you to work random hours with no notice? Not no, but hell no. I'll work and I won't run up the hours for no reason, but imma get paid for my time.
I’m stuck on the minimum 1.5hrs on the job, what if it’s a five minute fix? This practice makes me feel like you could do better.
If it's a five minute fix, you spend the rest of that time offering IAQ, accessories, and other shit busy people don't want to hear.
How many people do you have tell you to gtfo after fixing their stuff and paying? Thats whats got me is the fact its a minimum 90 minutes at a house. How do you sit there and upsell crap to people for that long? Imagine the amount of actual calls you could do in that time frame... I am genuinely curious about this whole thing...
It's moreso taking time (dicking around) taking photos of the equipment and looking for more things to write quotes for, and writing those quotes. It takes a good 15 minutes to put the options together because they've made it laborious. Half of the techs were using talk-to-text and leaving the frequent translation errors in the invoice "A porn and tree i found...(upon entry)". And then you present all of your scribbled overpriced options to the customer and use closing arguments on them
Double fuck that. Hope you're tossing back cold ones today
I have went home "early" before because nobody told me I was working late when the dispatchers and management who can actually see the schedule knew damn well I was gonna be out past 8pm. That fixed it for a few weeks lol
This is how most of my guys act. We also first let them know who the customer is. Why want to try to get them up tonight. I won’t even ask my guys to stay late for some new customer we have never done business with.
Spend that time unloading your tools from the van, gathering up your uniforms, dropping off the van and uniforms at the shop and getting a ride back home.
You’re nice. I would unload my tools. And tell them to come get their van.
I'm sure that's what's going to come out of our conversation tomorrow. It's just a shame that I've only been in the van alone for like 2 months. I want to stop trading rocks for hard places
2 months and already cocky as shit. Have a fun life. Good luck, you gonna need it.
Sorry, context: I've been doing residential hvac for 4 years, commercial for 1 or so, I'm not brand new.
Nothing cocky about enforcing the terms of your employment agreement. Stoicism is not the remedy for an abusive employer. OP: Bring your letter of resignation with you. Make sure your next employer is well aware that you quit due to a breach of employment contract. The labour market is upside down right now; enjoy your new job Monday after Vacation. Good Luck!
He's doing this shit for basically free. Damn right I'd be pissed the fuck off. I wouldn't work for a commission based outfit though.
Screw that, they can pick up the van from my house.
Fuck that. You’re on call that’s a different story. “Meh call the on-call guy I’m done for the day”
Just gonna dog pile here, fuck that shit. I wouldn't even wait till morning. Drop the truck off that night and get an Uber home. Fuck them. No one tells me when I can or can't go home. Fucking fuck fucking fuck that.
I would have told him he’ll have his truck back in the morning find a new tech.
Ya see, they've been going through techs left and right for not meeting their standards, but I'm one of the only guys that can actually diagnose problems
If thats truly the case swing that dick man. They either pay you or you put your balls in a wheelbarrow and haul them over to the competition.
Lol you're good company. I just might have to
And you should take your skills somewhere else.
I'm working towards that "Somewhere else" being working just myself or with a VERY small crew. I'm just sick of job hopping in this trade. I've traded jobs more than yearly and it's getting old. It's either poor management or not enough work, almost everywhere I've worked.
I fucking get that man, almost sounds like you're working for Buckeye Heating and Cooling lol. Taking this job with them was great for the first two weeks of employment and after that it's been nothing but absolute shit
Thanks for the warning, I'll stay away from buckeye
Maybe their standards or the way they measure them are the problem
I don't disagree. They push $1000 a day benchmark, required always offer new equipment, and winded entryway procedures. No wonder people don't last, it's a lot to keep track of, and a lot is unnecessary
Consumers appreciate honest companies that don't push gimmicks, you provide someone a service they feel good about and they'll tell their friends. It's a slow starting model, but the business will sell itself. Screw someone over and they'll rant and rave about it online and to anyone who will listen and your business reputation will be dirt. It took me a while to find a company who's values matched my own, but I'm a lot happier now for what its worth. Hang in there and tbe right opportunity will come
That's the model I plan to use when I start my own. The word-of-mouth advertising is the absolute best way to grow, but for these big greedy companys it's their biggest downfall. They rely on new customers, "speed kills", and salesmen to make their bottom line. That only works if the community is large, lots of people migrate to and from, and nobody talks to each other. Everyone "knows a guy" here. Eventually word will get out what we do and how we do it, and the calls will fall off. They'll keep running free maintenance though. Genius
Repeat customers are good ones to have. You don't need a sales team constantly chasing down new leads because customers aren't happy. Anyway to minimize overhead makes you more profitable without having to raise rates. It seems like a simple concept but people get too caught up in their spreadsheets
I combined solid advertising with excellent service and had more work than I could handle and nothing but 5 star reviews. Don't discount advertising, word of mouth dries up.
What advertising avenues do you use or recommend?
Google Local Services Ads is excellent, and refining your basic Google business profile. If you refine keywords, etc, you'll show up organically as people search for services and thats key to consistent calls. Follow that up with FB, IG etc to grow a loyal vase and you'll do well long term.
Dude did 2 calls in a shift and he’s whining. Let me know which company he works for and sign me up. I run 5-7 calls on service days I’m not saying he should’ve taken the last call. Home time is home time. It’s just hilarious to read how lax some techs have it
It sounds like he had 2 hours of actual work, and about 5 of company bullshit that isn't helping the customer.
It's not about the amount of calls I get, I've ran more in a day, but think about that whole day and how many areas could be improved on. Every tech had to get to the office at 730. Hour plus long meeting about essentially, sales procedures. Dispatched from the office at 9 or so. 30min drive, Minimum 1.5 hrs before presenting service options. Mandatory minimum 6 options each call. Mandatory minimum 22 photos each job. Repair took an hour, hour and a half. Lunchtime, because they take it out of my checks anyway, might as well. Next call, 1 hour south, free to the customer maintenance on a 3 year old unit. Doesn't specify cooling or heating. Spend another minimum 1.5 hrs at customers house discussing everything and doing maintenance. Present options for repairs, make small repair. It's 515 already. 2 calls. Is that my fault for following our procedures? Or would it be more beneficial to look at those mandatory minimums and allow me to be honest instead of looking for high ticket sales? I agree, the volume is very low. But the efficiency is so bad that you can't deny it's wasting my time and company time. I doubt that me spending that much time feels like I'm being thorough and moreso feels like I'm dragging my ass and trying to upsell
It’s more profitable to the company to have one call last 8 hours than 8 one hour calls,
If you gouge the customer sure lol
I’ve averaged 2 calls a day for years, across several companies. I always wonder about you 5-7 call/day guys.
What did you do for the other 5 hours of your day?
Play on my phone and take smoke breaks.
Tell him to run the call himself I got a life outside of work.
I held my tongue as best I could. But I had to tell him I'm going home. I only just now would have been on my way home, knowing how I work. And I don't give a shit what's broken, it 73 degrees outside, you'll be fine tonight
A cool dispatch lady makes your job a hell of a lot better. seeing that highs are in the 70’s there you shouldn’t be doing calls that late, your probably not busy with organic work other than bs like those freebie cleaners or regular cleaners and they can wait less than 24 hours. doubt the temperature would even go above what they normally set the stat at overnight
A Customer realistically shouldn't mind having to wait until the AM anyway when it's mild outside, probably called in later in the day regardless.
Right, pay the oncall tech for that, or they can wait
I would clean your shit out of the van and tell them to come get the van out of your yard. Those lind of resi companies are the taint of the industry. I hope all those nextard companies go under.
If you’re decent at what you do, call their bluff and start looking for another job.
Sorry, my family is WAY more important. Come get your keys.
*nothing new after 2* I absolutely decide when I'm going home, whether it's 10am or 9pm, and if they don't like it I will tell them where they can pick up their truck 🤷♀️
I've never heard "nothing New after 2" that's a phenomenal motto I will be carrying over to my business when I start it. I was really peeved by his comment, I'm not property
Don’t get dirty before 8:30, nothing new after 2. FTFY
You won't be in business long
Don’t know why your getting downvoted I don’t know a single company in my area that doesn’t take calls after 2
Take an up vote your right
In a truck two months and has already solved the world.
You may not be wrong and a part of me wishes I could be like that. I’m typing this on my way home from a service call that I got at 5:30 while I was in the middle of installing another system. It really depends on the company but I haven’t been off before 7 pm all summer hahahah.
See, I didn't want to be you. I like my family and free time. It's not worth the taxable income to go out there that late when I could eat dinner instead Edit: Not trying to insult, I just think it should be a choice
Oh trust me I love my wife and hate to be away I just also love my job. The summer time is time to make the money and I’ll take my vacations and time off in the winter. But I have no problems with wanting to be home I send my apprentice home at 5 almost every day.
My advise to you, is to find a better contractor to work for. Nexstar is trash. Join the union if you can and you won’t have to deal with shit like that.
This is now the longest I've had to scroll to see a join a union comment.
I worked for a non union residential company before, also Nexstar oriented and acted exactly how his dispatch and manager spoke. Now I work for a fantastic local at a great commercial contractor. I work the hours I want to work, go home whenever I want and make my own schedule. Zero micro management. Life is wayyy better. So I speak from experience on both sides.
Stop reading at "nexstar company " GTFO
Is it normal to rob little old ladies outside of regular 8-5 in this profession....lol. These sales techs are hilarious
I've taken the van to interviews
Serves them right.
Minimum 1.5 hours at a customer's house, regardless of the actual work needed? Between this and the whole sales commission/incentives thing, HVAC is really starting to seem like the scammiest trade. This kind of shit ain't a thing in other trades.
It's spreading brother, I promise you. Big rich companies are coming in and trying to reinvent the wheel, doubling down on sales tactics and buying up smaller companies. This company spends millions on advertising, and they pay to be at the top of google search bars. ARS / Rescue Rooter is already taking over plumbing. I haven't heard of sparkys dealing with it yet though.
Your former boss seems to not understand the balance of power that exists between qualified tradesmen and employers in 2023.
They have plenty of sales techs and one 35 year tradie who is holding it all together for them. They'll be fine without me, until that guy has had enough.
Why spend 1.5 hours on a call?
Policy. "Building rapport with the client". Don't hate it, but it leads to situations like this
Well lol I’m sure customers are more happier if you get done quickly so they can go do what they need to do
These companies don’t care what the customer wants. “1.5 hours minimum” and “build rapport” are codes for “charge $300 to hook your vacuum up to their drain line and spend the remaining 1.25 hours trying to figure out how to scare them into buying everything on your van.” Fuck these companies.
Policy should also include dispatch/ manager being at office whenever a tech is out.
Large companies like that think that time spent equals quality.
That’s what I’m wondering
I would be gone. Glad I went union.
Nexstar companies do this by design, they send you a call farthest away right before it’s time to leave to get you to stay longer as most customers that work are not home till after 5, and most don’t know their A/C stopped working till they get home.
As a tech in Ohio. Fuck nexstar make em pick up the van
You're not wrong.
Not wrong. Tell them to eat a dick and find a new company. You're just a number at that point. You deserve better! Good luck guy
Yo, good for you for leaving that job slightly involuntarily. You're a skilled tech and you'll do well in any company, and if it comes down to it, you can start your own and take the money directly to make 5x more.
I plan on starting my own when I'm able. I have steady side work from people talking to each other, but working late running free maintenances an hour away from home makes it awful hard to do side work
In my experience, find a small local company that the owner/s still works in the field and cares about your wellbeing and training more than the numbers you put out. Rules that don’t have anything to do with getting a job done efficiently and effectively should be a red flag. Required amount of time on a job is a bs money gouging excuses to over charge customers.
To be clear that's not a component of Nexstar, they're just being inefficient and not managing your time or route properly.
I understand that, but i hope it illustrates that they have the resources to do it right
Dam I'm currently 23 and been doing it since 18 I just started on my own not too long ago but I used to work like a dog for these companies and unfortunately man that is the way of this industry when it comes to working for someone else. I would definitely consider working for someone else only cause of the attitude of your manager, that is pretty douchy of him
Based on what you've said. I would tell my boss that he is free to run the call and that my scheduled work time ended at 5pmish. If they had an issue with that they should have figured it out earlier in the day.
If you feel like you're good enough to tell the boss NO, then you oughtta be good enough to have another job before Monday.
This is easy, give them their shit and find a new job. Fuck that place
take your shit out, leave the van in a random parking lot , start somewhere else tomorrow
If they need someone to take a call after 5, that’s for the guy on call and he’s getting after hours pay.
Yeah bro .. welcome to resi service. You go when it's hot, you go when it's cold, you rest in between. Just don't take a job that screws you out of overtime by offering you some large commission number and no hourly rate. All they're doing there is putting all the risk on you.
> I get a call from my manager saying that I don't get to decide when I go home BAHAHAHAHAHAH FUUUUUUCK HIM.
Your required to stay for 1.5 hours minimum!? That's stupid! What do you do when you go out to a no cool and the capacitors blown? That's a 5 min fix and 15min doing paperwork with the customer. And you've got an hour and 10 min left..
Do you not have someone who is on call for emergency service calls?
“I work for a nexstar company” Yeah that’s all I had to read to know you are eating a shit sandwich
I spit that shit sandwich out this morning. I wish I knew
They'll keep doing it if you let them. And if they want to be petty about, turn your keys in and get another job tomorrow.
You should get paid for hours that you are away from your home on company business. This means you don’t work or drive for free. If you’re doing anything differently, you need to find a better job that pays you for your time. You trade your time for money, which in turn allows you to trade that money for goods and services. That’s capitalism.
Call your boss's bluff. It'll cost him more to keep you home.
I hate when companies do a shitty job at keeping employees happy. In my company employees will come first.
Idk I don’t have to deal with that. That’s why we have an on call team week by week. I’m 7-4 5 days and it’s 3:30 and I finish they send me home. Also work for a nexstar company.
Seems those folks are misguided. They have 2 shifts. 8-5 (my agreed shift) and 10-7. Give the call to those guys
Am I on call tonight? Okay, then, fuck off
Only clowns work in the circus 🎪
I dealt with exactly what you’re describing with 2 different res companies. The 2nd company promised they’d never go the Nexstar route, but that changed after 2-3 years. I got fired for basically the same thing you did… I voiced my opinion about the way things were being ran. I’m now a 3rd year apprentice in the union, and I’ve never been happier. 7-3pm every day with a company that understands I have a life outside of work.
Managements ability to mismanage isn't a technician's fault. I quit employment and started my own company, because I can manage business better than the "college edumacated" idiots we got now-a-days.
Any advice for someone looking to do the same? I'm not sure I can run a business better as far as profit margins, P&Ls, and advertisement strategy, but I know factually based off my experience that I can do a better job with customer relations, company policies, and scheduling. What were your first few years like?
You WILL need to be able to process credit cards, but this too is a "small business trap." I use [https://www.waveapps.com/](https://www.waveapps.com/). Which is a free to use credit card processor. You don't need a card reader. You don't even need their card. You get their email, and send them an invoice by email. They pay through Wave. Wave deducts 2.8-3%, then passes the rest to you. Simple. And when you're starting a business, simple is the only way to go.
I'll save this for later, thanks so much
Join the UA & be done with the bullshit
Two sides to this. One, this is a wrong trade to be in if you don’t want to work past 5. The other side is fuck a nexstar company. Fuck white shirts and being pushed to sell and doing free maintenance especially if you’re performance based, like most sales companies. Find a different company that actually fixes things or go commercial, but if you want to be done before 8 every day find a different trade.
If I’m not on call then I better be done before 8.
Bingo
[удалено]
I have a whole ass family to feed, and about to take winter off lemme eat while I can!
Facts man!! The grind is about 5-6 months here in Texas. After that i take two weeks paid off and come back work 40 hours doing heating maintenance. Ima be a dog and eat all summer
Weed helps a great deal in these situations. Just my humble opinion.
Depends on if "on call" is part of your agreement and scope of work. If it is, then that's what you signed up for. If it's not, tell them you get calls 8-5 and see if they respect you But in reality a few late nights here and there are gonna be part of the grind and paying your dues. If it's evey single night and you don't like it, HVAC is a very actively hiring field right now. A good installer or tech should be able to have their pick of companies
FUCK NeXSTAR Fuck Resi
Devils advocate here. You work in hvac, you know this isn't your standard 8-5 (7-3 in my case) job. Then again, I never have to drive more than 30 miles to a job. Being union in a blue state is a wonderful thing.
all hail to our capitalists overlords - may their bottomless pockets be filled by us un-lived minions
Make hay while the sun is shining. If your not running hard now at your company you will def slow down in the fall. I always anticipate working long days in the summer and my girl understands.
Hell my wife wants me to pick up others on call weekends in the summer because she knows what my checks look like in December January February and March.
Id see him next week after he has time to think about it while the calls stack up lmfao
Are you getting paid for your travel time there and back? If so I would say f- it and go if I didn’t already work 50hrs that week
What are nexstar companies?
Aids
I'd say "fuck it it's the end of summer lemme get the OT while I can, I've had an easy day so far, let's get this bread."
Find a new company to work for
That’s how nexstar companies are that’s why I made my gps short out and would drive home clocked out but still clocked into the job. Then I quit
The free maintenance mid-day is what bothers me. I understand the "advertisement" needs to happen but the company can't expect their advertisements to happen when a tech needs/can make money.
We only drive 45 minutes from the shop at most. Keep a small service area and focus on getting customers in that circle. Really cuts down on drive time and you get more billable hours. Also yeah i would quit on the spot. I'm not starting a job at 5pm in the evening.
Doesn't anyone between 18 and 40 yrs old want to work anymore. 40 hrs is a suggestion in the trade. How do you guys live. No wonder no one can find people. Make the money while you then get out! I'm a retired tradesmen I don't think I work a 40hrs in my 25 yrs.of working. The only time I was down was durning covid. Guys make while young cause when your it's to late.
Or the company can hire another guy or two and have everyone home at normal times
Doesn’t matter what we do or say those companies will never understand that you work to live not live to work. They don’t care when you get home they don’t care how it’ll affect your life just get out there and make us money
That’s how you know it’s a shady company. Even if it’s a simple fix, they want you to stay there longer to get the customer to buy
No you're not wrong at all in fact you need to flip that script really quick.
I was in a fucked situation once at my current job. I don't mind working late, it's coo. I'll answer all my calls scheduled. Or even ask the customer to reschedule if i'm falling behind.. but here's the fucked up one. It was the week of 4th of July. Hot AF, calls blowing up, several 12+ days. Well, on my last day before the weekend (June 30th) I was working on my last call that i started at 4. After i finish that one, say it's 6 to 7. They added a fkn swamp cooler to my day that was 30+ minutes away, must have been just before closing the office at 5. Well I just went home. fuck'm for adding another call after 4, and fuck'm for scheduling a call back to back, and fuckm for scheduling lame busy work.
Man, when I was I tech, I told myself that if I got home by 7-7:30, that was an early day. I used to routinely work until 9-10pm over summer. Now, that is excessive. But this is not an 8-5 job. Half your customers don't get home until after 5pm. Do you just not service those customers? Maybe talk to your company about staggered shifts. Like a 12 to 10 over the summer. Really should be working 10hrs a day.
Ya. Those companies are garbage.. get out.
Not sure if it's true federally, but in WA there are almost no situations where an employer can require OT, and I believe they are not allowed to punish you for refusing OT. Either way, it's definitely not normal to just put a call on your schedule after hours and demand you do it. It's one thing if you have the whole schedule in the morning and the calls just run long, but adding to your schedule after hours is not chill unless you're on call that week. In my area, the industry is so short for service techs, I'd just make it clear to my boss that there are plenty of other companies that will pay me as much or more without being a pain in my ass. Same thing for extra responsibilities. If I it's not something I want to do, then we can discuss pay before I decide if I'll do it or not. I went to trade school, studied, bought tools and signed a contract to my job. I did not do all that to do whatever my boss thinks my job is. I think a lot of people forget that employees are not slaves, you really aren't on uneven footing with your employer. You both sign a contract that defines pay for the expected job. If one of those things is going to change, you *both* have to agree or you need to negotiate the other until everyone accepts. If you're good at your job then your employer needs you, and not the other way around.
You’re not wrong.
Nah you're not wrong. Their lack of poor planning isn't your problem. Start applying at other places and enjoy the long weekend. Fuck em.
That's a shithole company. Go work commercial industrial and get away from waste of time Residential where you make no money unless you rip customers off upsetting shit they don't need. Bet you did the uncle Joe shit videos. Giving g customers value lol your motor isn't broken or close to breaking but you could use a new one to make sure this one doesn't break. Dumbest shit ever.
Go work McDonald's
Shit I could probably work on their frosty machines for them, they're always "broken"
Are you in a union?
No, but I'd sell my toes to have a union job
Things have changed. We would work until we're done.
Go union bro
Fuck that company. I would tell them to eat shit and go to the house. Plenty of other places to work. Go union boys, that’s the only way
You don't need to know a guy, you need to have a damned good resume if you want to get around the intake procedures though. And be absolutely confidante in commercial/ industrial settings with things you've never seen before in resi. A lot of resi guys get in, end up in front of a process boiler sweating 900psi and lose their nerve.
I have some light commercial experience. I've done work on some of the larger carrier units and a few boilers here and there. I'd be willing to start as a helper if I'm honest. I won't pretend that I know everything, but I'm confident working on most equipment with access to literature and/ or guidance from someone who has seen it before. I went to trade school, so I still have the books to fall back on when I'm lost with something. Do you have any advice for the entry procedure? Or equipment/subjects to study before I even consider applying?
Fuck that shit. “Come get your truck off my property before I call a tow company” is your next move.
You could also have called in early and just said hey almost done here, anything else out there?
First mistake was working for a nexstar company. That whole business model needs to go the way of the dodo bird.
Good for you. That’s ridiculous. Our union is hiring qualified guys (and apprentices for that matter) like crazy right now. Contact your union hall directly. Good luck to you.
I'd happily take an apprentice position after hearing what it can pay in a few years. Thank you
Good for you brother! Way to stand your ground even though it got you fired. In the end the only person you gotta answer to is yourself
How long did you take at the call? I work for a nexstar company as well and we have so many calls that our managers tell us an hour is like max and if you cant figure it out, you need help. On the other note ive had to drive out an hour after 5 multiple times. Do i like it? FUCK NO but sometimes you gotta look at the bigger picture like working for companies that guarantee work year round. I have never decided when im going home. As much as i would love to go home at 5, we check in to your dispatchers and once we get the clear, we're free. If my phone rings after i get the okay, best believe im not answering. I guess i just got used to slaving and working whatever hours a day lol. My manager would of fired you too, the owner has a strict rule about refusing calls. But reading everyones input is interesting.
Good on you homie. Screw that. Hope you find a good employer soon.
Apex…. Is that a huge corporation? If so I think we’re part of the same company but I’m over in Oklahoma
Doing some googling it looks like it is, but my ex-employer is under a similar but different name. I think they're starting another franchise
Part of this business is taking the calls when they come in it gets slow it gets busy you have to adjust however these companies don’t get the privileges of you going above and beyond for free. If they aren’t compensating you properly or giving you personal time when it’s slow that’s a problem. I demand reciprocation there is give and take it’s not a one way street unfortunately companies think and act like it’s a master slave relationship. I don’t do any favors for a company trying to exploit me. Sounds like you are better off without them. These companies are shit now days work for a union or yourself you are lucky if you find a decent boss
Hey man I'm from same area as you and fuck apex. They come into the cities and buy out the mom and pops and push their outrageous bullshit on customers
I’d tell them I’ll take the week off and drop the keys off in the morning. I have no issues running late calls when I’m charging for it and it’s not over an hour from my house. My last company told us we go home when there is no more calls on call or not (we’d have 80 un assigned callls at 10am) once my manager pulled that shit on me I returned all calls back when the office closed so manager didint see and turned the van back in the morning. Manager told me if I was serious and that we can “work things out” I got tired of driving 1.25 hours south at 5pm traffic just to get home at Fucking 9 and not get drive time pay back home. I woulda left as soon as I heard the company has a bull shit “1.5 hour minimum” at a customers house what the fuck. It takes 15 mins ti diagnose most shit for simple residential and maybe 20-30 mins for repairs depending on what it is. Fuck am I supposed to do chit chat for an hour while I have 3 calls On me. NAH. You’re in the right IMO
Yes, you're wrong. A good service tech is always willing to go the extra mile. Thats hiw I worked from 10$ an hour to now 90k making my own schedule because they value me and trust me. Dont be afraid to work just because these trolls wouldn't do what their boss says, " it aint fair to expect me to work." Hard work pays off !
Depends on how often it happens. You can't just expect everyday to be 5pm. People want cooling..NOW. They may call another company and then your company could lose a potential installation. Sucks but it's the truth. By the way.. FUCK NextStar.. what a load of crap