Please don’t tell anyone that’s my favorite question to ask applicants during job interviews. That’s our secret! Occasionally the applicant gets those answers right. What are the right answers?
Without hesitation, my top three important things in life are faith, health, and family. The list goes on from there with friends, happiness, hope, a positive attitude, security, comfort, and compassion. That’s my top ten, but there are many other “right” answers.
This question is designed to see if applicants have a solid appreciation for life and a planned direction. It reflects their heart and soul. Some fail miserably. One young man answered, “communication is important because it helps him pick up chicks”, which of course is the wrong answer for a job interview.
What are the 3 most important things in life is a meaningful question because my goal is to hire for attitude and train for skill. A responsible team starts with the right mental attitude. A good attitude is contagious and becomes the culture.
You probably noticed that comfort and health were on my list as being important to me. Comfort today includes simple things like shoes and clothes that fit comfortably, with maybe a little less concern for style.
This time of year, comfort especially includes breathing nice cool air that is at the perfect relative humidity in controlled environments. Of course, it needs to be filtered to remove at least 95% of the allergens to protect the lungs. In many ways, comfort and health go hand in hand.
Indoor air comfort and quality are probably high on the list for everyone. It’s always possible if we plan and make an effort. Indoor air comfort starts with having heating and cooling equipment that is maintained and operating properly.
Although Deb and I own John Henry's Plumbing, Heating, Air, and Electrical and I am a Master HVAC contractor, it’s difficult to find the time to service our HVAC equipment. That’s OK because servicing our equipment is accomplished much better by John Henry's Plumbing, Heating, Air, and Electrical’s HVAC technicians that follow our Service Maintenance Agreement methods. Yes, even I have a Service Maintenance Agreement (SMA)!
Having a Service Maintenance Agreement is kind of a luxury for this farm boy from Rising City that understands the value of money, but it provides peace of mind with another pair of eyes checking things out closely to ensure safety. Those HVAC NATE technicians are experts that work daily in that trade. I trust them.
Maintenance is too important to ignore, and I do not have the time to pay attention to maintenance schedules. Our Customer Service Representatives track SMA schedules with their computers and send out our HVAC Technicians at the exact time maintenance is needed. That is of course twice per year for lots of reasons. It’s an automatic process now.
One reason is the cottonwood tree seeds and other debris clog the outdoor units, which makes cleaning condenser coils a necessity. Dirty coils will drive up energy costs and also ruin the compressor.
Carbon monoxide risks also drive the need to get equipment serviced before the homes are closed tight for the winter or summer. We may not think about it as much in the summer when the homes are closed tightly, but the risks may even be higher than because squirrels and birds can get trapped in the flue pipes. Typically, they end up dead near the furnace or water heater and can block the flue gases.
There is no safe level of carbon monoxide. At this moment you may be experiencing one of the 50 symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning and not even realize it.
I have seen almost every age of HVAC equipment fail for various reasons. The risk of newer equipment failing is substantially lower, but each day that passes increases that risk. Some brands have internal weaknesses within their lines of equipment.
The cost of energy and concern for safety drives the need for regular service. Service maintenance agreements are usually under a few hundred dollars a year and the cost of not having one is much greater. Why not increase equipment life and reduce energy costs?
On my list of the most important things in life is family. When our children and grandchildren come to visit we want our home to have healthy air. Their health and safety are important. Scheduled maintenance is the answer to reducing risks so we can enjoy the most important things in life!
