Working an HVAC Job in Sacramento: A Day in the Life of a Bell Brothers Professional

blog-icon-requestsOur HVAC technicians are knowledgeable and competent, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Bell Brothers. When someone calls us, they’re not just asking for someone who’s good at their job — they’re asking for someone to come into their home, work on very expensive and important equipment, and answer any questions they might have. Our technicians could be in your home for several hours, and that’s putting a lot of trust in someone you don’t know to come into your home. But our technicians aren’t strangers — we treat our clients like family. We’re respectful, courteous, and have high client retention. All of those good qualities start with our HVAC technicians in the field. It’s because of our technicians that we’ve developed a great reputation in our community.

Hiring for the Right Stuff

When we look at a potential employee, their specific HVAC and plumbing experience isn’t the only qualification we look at. It’s important that our technicians are good, respectful, and reliable people. When a potential hire comes in for an interview, we’re not asking ourselves “Do they seem like they know all about HVAC?” We’re wondering, “Is this someone I’d be happy to have around my own family? Are they willing and capable of learning? Are they respectful and courteous? Is what they put on their resume true?”

As one of our trainers put it, “A green apple may ripen, but a bad apple will rot.” At Bell Brothers, we don’t hire bad apples.

Training new hires is a long process, and it should be. Most of our new hires go through our rigorous training program (and get paid for it). Our training facility has almost every HVAC and plumbing device known to man so even the greenest of recruits will be old hands by the time they’re done. Realistically, though, training never really “ends.” Our technicians are always ready to learn something new, no matter how long they’ve been on the job.

It Starts With a Call

Last week it was an AC installation in Roseville, two days ago a plumbing blockage in Dixon, and yesterday a solar installation in Davis. All these jobs are different, but they have one thing in common – they all start when a homeowner makes a phone call. Sometimes that call happens days or weeks in advance, and sometimes there’s an emergency that requires immediate action. No matter what, our clients will know exactly when to expect when the technician to arrive.

Our arrival is prompt — our technicians don’t show up late and our dispatch center communicates with the client if anything changes before they get there. A knock on the door and interaction with the customer is the first priority when they get to the jobsite. Even in an emergency, we want to make sure the customer knows we’re there and get any necessary information before we start working. If there isn’t a pressing time constraint, we like to take a minute to build a relationship with our customers because it’s important that customers feel comfortable asking our technicians any questions they might have. And answering questions is a huge part of the job – one of our top priorities is educating our customers on their home.

The Work

Crawl spaces, attics, backyards, lofts — our job takes us to pretty wild places around the house. We’ll get access to wherever is necessary and start working in earnest. This is where our HVAC technician’s wide array of tools and serious experience come into play.

This is also where you’ll see our “No Surprise!” promise in action. Say one of our guys is there to unclog a condensate drain. While he’s there, he notices that part of the issue is a serious mildew situation in the duct — he’ll clean that too. It’s part of the work, and he won’t charge you any more than you were quoted at the start of the job. It goes back to family treatment. We wouldn’t run up the prices on our own family, and we won’t do that to yours.

As the work progresses, our customers will ask questions or get clarification if they feel it’s needed — our technicians are always happy to answer those questions and will make sure to ask the right person if it’s not in their field of expertise. Communication with the rest of the Bell Brothers company is a big part of the job.

Follow-Up

Before they leave, our technicians always talk to the customer and go over the work that’s been completed, any future work required, and see how the customer is feeling so far. A little casual conversation goes a long way toward easing concerns and making sure everyone is happy with the results. But this isn’t the only follow-up that will occur: our office will also maintain contact and make sure the customer is content even after the technicians has left the home. Our technicians stay busy, but when they’re at a customer’s house, their attention is 100% devoted to that customer’s job.

Sound Interesting?

If you’re a homeowner, we hope you’ve gotten an idea of what’s important to us and why we’re different than a lot of companies. If you want family treatment and trustworthy people in your home, Bell Brothers is the best in the business.

If you’re looking for a career in the trades with a company that moves fast and cares about their customers, Bell Brothers wants you. We’re always looking for new talent no matter what experience level you have. As we said before, we want good apples! If that sounds like you, give us a call today.