The Hoodview Story

What makes Hoodview Heating different? The short answer, a cup of coffee. Well not really a cup of coffee. More like a story about a cup of coffee.

By the end of 2008, at the beginning of the so-called “economic downturn”, I became increasingly frustrated with owning a heating and air conditioning company. I had been trying to do everything that anybody told me needed to be done to properly run a heating and air conditioning service, maintenance, and installation company. Then one day I was listening to an interview with Howard Schultz (Starbucks CEO), and he said this: “We don’t serve coffee to people, we serve people, coffee”.

Emphasis on serve people. These words would change Hoodview Heating, forever. Hoodview shouldn’t focus on the furnace, or the air conditioner, the flux capacitor, the variable speed warp drive, the widget, the whatsit, or the thing-a-ma-jig. What we needed to focus on was “serving people”. And thus the transformation of Hoodview Heating began. I dedicated myself to transform Hoodview Heating from a company that serviced equipment, to a company that serves people. And I hope that you will become one of those people.

What I realized was that Hoodview Heating should focus on delivering an A+ service experience and develop an ongoing relationship with each customer. Next chapter: “THE EXPERIENCE AND THE RELATIONSHIP”.

“We’ve known for a long time now that Starbucks is more than just a wonderful cup of coffee. It’s the experience.” – Howard Schultz

“We establish the value of buying a product at Starbucks by our uncompromising quality and by building a personal relationship with each customer.” – Howard Schultz

Please notice that none of the above quotes talk about how “good” the coffee is (which it is). Each quote references the “experience” and/or the “relationship”. I decided that Hoodview was going to become the heating and air conditioning company that would develop a relationship with you, the customer, and deliver an A+ service experience.

So first I had to create a vision. Thus was born the Mission Statement.

Second, I focused on earning loyal customers. . Yes, I said earning. I know you have a choice in heating and air conditioning companies. Our goal is to earn your business, your trust, and your loyalty by delivering the greatest service experience you have ever encountered by any trade company, bar none. Thus was born the Comfort Club. If you are already a member of the Comfort Club, I personally wish to thank you. If you are not a member, I invite you to join; the benefits of membership far exceed the cost of enrolling.

Third, I wanted to create a repeatable mechanism of delivering the service experience. . Thus was born “the system”. The system is simply a set of procedures and processes to ensure that every customer receives the same A+ service experience, no exceptions. So we have a diagnostic procedure, a maintenance procedure, an installation procedure, a how to introduce yourself at the front door procedure. We even have a procedure for not following the procedure (we all know that real life sometimes gets in the way of the “the system”).

Finally, I created an infrastructure which allowed Hoodview Heating to fulfill the promise of an A+ service experience.. every time.. no exceptions. . How did I do this? As real estate agents say: LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION

“The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.” – Steve R. Covey

So I had a vision, a system, a customer retention focus, and a huge warehouse and office full of “stuff”. And I began to realize that the “main thing” was to deliver an A+ service experience. Right? So we stopped doing anything that didn’t have “the main thing” as “the main thing”. The idea was simply this: If what we were doing did not enhance the customer experience, stop doing it. I got rid of the sheet metal fabrication tools that made great collectors of clutter. I moved out of the office, invested in technology. We set a goal of being paperless internally, and then externally. We stopped working on equipment that wasn’t part of the “main thing” (e.g. oil furnaces, water heaters, fireplaces, lawn mowers, grills, oven exhausts). I spent two years collecting data on what service parts were used the most. Blah Blah Blah.. But the transformation continued.

Now we have a virtual operation. Paperless. Officeless. Warehouseless (is that a word?) The field personnel have tablet computers to communicate with the “office”. The office personnel have notebook computers to communicate with the “field”. Why should you care?

The field personnel will know everything about you (well not really everything) and your equipment. Your equipment type, filter size, concerns from the last visit, status as a Comfort Club member, interest in new equipment, interest in upgrades and enhancements, etc. etc. etc. The information that the field personnel has will enable us to deliver that A+ service experience.

The resources that Hoodview used to expend keeping and maintaining a warehouse, a showroom, and an office (e.g. paper, lights, cleaning services, stored inventory, RENT PAYMENTS), can now be spent on ensuring that you receive the A+ service experience that you expect.

The story is almost complete. I had one final thing to do. The last thing to take care of, well to use technospeak, required a reboot. You know what I mean, the three fingered salute. The Bill Gates special. CTRL ALT DEL

“The way we see the problem is the problem” – Steven R. Covey

I had a problem. There’s THE WAY that heating and air conditioning companies are organized, and it goes something like this: The owner is at the top. Beneath the owner is a service manager, an installation manager, a sales manager, and an office manager. Beneath the service manager is a dispatcher, the service technicians, and a parts runner. Beneath the installation manager is the installation administrator, and the installation crews. Beneath the sales manager. Blah Blah Blah. I think you get the point. But something was missing.

The customer was missing. So I did something unheard of in this industry. I put the customer at the center of the “organization chart”. In fact, it’s not really much of a chart at all. It just looks like this: The customer (that’s you) is at the top. Everybody else exists to serve you. That’s it. Don’t even need a picture to show it. I envisioned a company where each customer had a dedicated “office” person and a dedicated “field” person.

And almost everybody in this industry (distributors, contractors, field personnel, industry consultants) that I talked to about this “vision” had the same response. It’ll never work. However, I did discuss this “vision” with a very specific group of people, and the answer was a resounding “I Love It”. And that group was you, the customers. You simply said, “I really like having a dedicated person who takes care of all of my comfort needs.” So I listened to the customer, and I began the search to add to your team. So now…

You have a dedicated Customer Relationship Manager, that’s me, Brian, for now, to speak with on the phone, to answer your questions, and schedule your appointments. And anything else you need.

You have a dedicated Home Solutions Provider, Brian, to maintain your system, repair your system when problems arise, provide you a quotation for new equipment, to install new equipment and accessories, to listen to your comfort concerns, and make suggestions as appropriate.

Then there’s me, Brian (again for now). Think of me as the Customer Experience Manager. I really only have one job. Ensure that your team has the training, the tools, and the guidance to provide you with the best service experience possible.

Hopefully, The Hoodview Story doesn’t end here. But I can’t predict THE FUTURE.

“Again, you can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.” – Steve Jobs

If you think you can do a thing or think you can’t do a thing, you’re right. – Henry Ford

Thank you for accompanying me on this journey called The Hoodview Story. Where will all the dots lead? I don’t know. But I do know this. I think we are creating a company that will be like no other heating and air conditioning company.

No matter what happens with Hoodview Heating and Air Conditioning, we will never forget that you, our customer, is responsible for our existence. You have earned the right to expect an A+ service experience. And if we ever fail to meet that expectation, I hope that you will let us know. And I want you to let us know.

Thank you, and I look forward to serving you.

Brian Barrie

Your Customer Experience Manager

You’re Going to Love The Way You Feel