Before and After (A Customer's Bill Of Rights Part II)

Vol. 5: Issue #8: Letter #83 (Previous newsletters available in archives on web site)

Before and After
A Customer's Bill Of Rights (Part II)

A little over a year ago (02/20/03) we posted on our website, an article entitled "A Customer's Bill of Rights".* It concerned itself with the things that we think a customer should expect from a HVAC company before they contract its services. This follow up concerns itself with the things we think a customer should expect from a HVAC company after they contract as its services.

Replacing an existing heating or cooling system (or installing a new one) is like having "major surgery" done on your home. It's not something you do regularly and you probably have concerns about what's going to happen. We'll go over the details of the actual installation with you in person before we start the work. Most of all, we want you to be comfortable with us. In addition…


	1.	We promise not to arrive at your home before 8 AM without your approval. We realize that you have to get your family off to school and to work. We promise to respect and work around your schedule. After all, you're the customer.

	2.	When we do arrive at your home we're not going to make a lot of noise that might disturb your neighbors. We won't start unloading equipment and dropping it in the street. We won't shout at each other and we won't play loud music on the truck's radio.

	3.	We also want you to know that we keep our vehicles in top shape. You won't be hearing a loud muffler first thing in the morning. We'll be as quiet as can be. Promise!

	4.	We won't park in your driveway without your permission. We recognize that your driveway is your personal space and we respect that. If we park in the street, we'll make certain that we don't leave any dangerous tools or equipment lying around that might present a hazard to your children or to your neighbors' children.

	5.	We'll cover the floors and stairways in your home with drop cloths as we move between our truck and your job during the day.

	6.	We'll use shoe covers to provide additional protection for your floors and carpets.

	7.	We'll take great care if we have to move any furniture out of the way to get equipment in and out of your home.

	8.	We will, of course, have complete liability and comprehensive insurance coverage when we show up to work at your home. If one of our employees gets injured while on your property, it will not affect your homeowner's insurance policy. And should we accidentally damage your property, we want you to know that our insurance will cover that damage. We are a responsible company.

	9.	Our professional licenses will be current and the technicians who work in your home will be fully bonded. None of our people will wander into parts of your home where they have no business being.

	10.	We have a no-tobacco policy in our company. You can rest assured that none of our people will be smoking or chewing tobacco either in your home or anywhere on your property.

	11.	We also have an alcohol-free policy in our company. None of our people will be drinking beer or any other alcoholic beverage during the day - whether they're in your home or away on a lunch break.

	12.	We also have a drug-free policy. As a condition of employment, all employees may be tested, and are subject to random testing, to assure a drug free work place.

	13.	We won't use your bathroom without your permission. This, too, we recognize as your personal space. If you should decide to give our technicians permission to use your bathroom, we can assure you that they will leave it as clean as they found it.

	14.	And we promise not to use your hand towels. We furnish all our employees with hand cleaner and paper towels. They won't leave a mess.

	15.	We won't use your kitchen or bathroom sink or your glassware to get a drink of water. Our employees will bring their own beverages with them, and they won't leave their empty bottles lying around during the course of the job. We like to keep our work area as neat as possible

	16.	We'll be planning your job carefully. In the unlikely event that your water, heat, or electricity should have to be interrupted, we'll be sure that it is off for the shortest possible time of course. No one likes to be inconvenienced. We recognize that and we'll plan accordingly.

	17.	And don't be concerned about our service personnel using your telephone. We're a modern company and all of our technicians carry cellular telephones and beepers. If we need to reach them, we'll get hold of them in one of those ways, not by calling them on your home telephone.

	18.	And in the same spirit, we promise that our installation mechanics will not be receiving any personal calls on your home phone during the time they're on your job. It's your phone, not ours. We understand and respect that.

	19.	We won't play music while on your job without your prior permission. Even with your approval, we're not the sort of company that shows up with a boom box and listens to loud and offensive music. We like to work as quietly as possible. If you have small children who take naps during the day, please let us know in the morning and we'll take care to be especially quiet during those times.

	20.	We will not use foul language in your home. Even if we drop something heavy on our toes! We make it our policy to treat your family members with the same respect we would expect others to show toward our family members.

	21.	If you have a family pet, we promise to be very careful when we go back and forth to our truck. Many of our people own dogs and cats and we know how quickly a pet can scoot out the door. We're sensitive to that and we'll take great care as we come and go.

	22.	When we're done working we'll clean up thoroughly and to your satisfaction. We'll go over the job with you and make sure you're happy with our work. We'll take all our trash with us when we leave. If any debris has scrap value, we'll ask your permission before removing it from the job. We won't leave any of our refuse in your trashcans.

We're going to treat you better than family…with all the respect you deserve while we're working in your home. You are after all; our valued customer and we promise to serve you in a most professional way.

Note:

For a limited time (Apr-May) Climatemakers is again offering the most comprehensive (33 points) "check up-tune-up" for heat pumps and air conditioners in the area. For proof, and to see the effect each of them has on the performance of your system (and why you should not settle for less), go to our website…click on http://www.climatemakers.com

For PURELY, SELFISH REASONS Climatemakers offers a substantial seasonal discount on this service, to try and persuade people not to wait for the 1st hot day of summer to call. We hate to give away so much money, but to date, haven't been able to devise any other way to properly prepare all the cooling systems for our hundreds of customers before the summer sets in for earnest.

If you make your reservation on-line http://www.climatemakers.com , be sure and click on that 9th button to get the extra discount. You will be joining hundreds of others who every summer, make Climatemakers their contractor of choice.

Climatemakers Ltd.

Merry Sherman, President
Phone #: 757-468-5800
Fax #: 757-468-5805
email: comfort@climatemakers.com
Web site: http://www.climatemakers.com
"Your family's indoor comfort is our family's business"

     P.S. Our website is constantly being updated to add content and to make it easier to navigate…so that you can find answers to your questions about HVAC, quicker than ever before.

     P.P.S. Remember, if you have any questions about the HVAC system in your house; how we can be of better service to you, or about our web site, please email them to me. I'd like to hear from you. Our newest web page, "Y'all Come"…A Pictorial Journey, has just been posted. You are especially invited to visit it by clicking here .

     Programmable Thermostat. Automatically regulates the heating/cooling in your house to suit your lifestyle. Click here to find out how.

     Electronic Air Cleaner. Removes dirt, dust and pollen to improve your health. Click Here to find out how.

     Humidifiers. Adds moisture to the air in the winter. Click here to find out how.

     Zoning System. Saves even more energy as it increases or decreases the heating/cooling in those rooms where and when it is not needed. Click here to find out how.

     To see our whole web site at a glance, click Click here.

      * Permission JC Heating & Cooling founded by Juan Cardona, Charleston, W VA.