Paying It Foward

A couple of years ago, I had the opportunity to fulfill a childhood dream by backpacking through the Big Horn Mountains in northern Wyoming. For three days, seven of us hiked deep into the Bighorn National Forest, reaching elevations of over 13,000 feet. Guided by Willy, a 70-year old Navajo descendent, our group pushed through grueling alien terrain.

The journey was the most strenuous thing anyone in our hiking party had ever done.

Yet, we did it. We achieved our goal. With the encouragement and support of our group, along with Willy’s experience and knowledge of the wilderness, we reached Cloud Peak.

All great dreams begin with an investment and a willingness to take a chance. Those dreams become even greater realities with a little support.

In 1980, I took a chance and followed another great dream by becoming a small business owner. Many, including the first bank I asked for a loan, did not believe I was worth the risk. And, by all logic and statistics, they were right. I was young and inexperienced with no proven work record or management skills.

Thank goodness you can’t measure a person’s heart by statistics alone.

In my heart, I knew I was on the right path moving toward a great goal. With a $1500 loan from a small financial institution, I planted the seed for Custom Services, one of Oklahoma’s premiere heating and cooling companies.

That investment, along with community support, loyal customers and dedicated employees, has allowed Custom Services to expand exponentially, offering heating and cooling service in both Tulsa and Oklahoma City.

Yet, our business is only as strong as the community it serves. To “pay it forward,” Custom invests in projects like Broken Arrow Public Schools’ Partners in Education . I have had the privilege to serve on the advisory committee for this organization for the last four years, inspiring the next generation of business owners, dedicated employees and community leaders by investing in the seeds of their great dreams.

As the new school year begins, it seems an appropriate time to remember the daily investments we can each make in the youth of our community by guiding and supporting them as they strive toward their dreams. With a little help, these students can achieve great things.

On the last day of our hike through the Big Horn Mountains, we crossed an almost waist-deep river. The bone-chilling water rushed rapidly against our legs, trying to push us down the mountain. As we reached the far bank, I watched two other hikers attempt the same crossing. One made it across; the other panicked. She stood frozen in the gushing water, crying out for help. Half-numb myself, I got back in the river and gave her a hand. With gentle support and encouraging words, the hiker fulfilled her goal, too.

And, that is what it is all about: a willingness to dream big and to encourage the great dreams of others.

With a little help, we can all climb our own mountains and cross our own rivers.

–Bob

Professional Service on a Hot Tin Roof

I was talking to an out-of-state friend the other day and he mentioned his new heating and cooling system wasn’t working. He is now on Day 10 of frustration with intermittent cooling. While I wasn’t able to solve his problem from 800 miles away, he did say something that really caught my attention: “The company is working hard to get it right and make the corrections. And that’s what is important. I probably should offer the service tech something to drink today because he has a tough job.”

HVAC technicians do have a tough job.

Before our technicians step into your home, they have been through nearly two years of classroom and real world training to understand electrical diagnostics, refrigerant characteristics, wiring schemes, and operation sequences. They study everything from a tiny one ton condensing unit installed for Fido’s luxury dog house to giant commercial rooftop units big enough to house a family of four in sheet-metal comfort (we don’t recommend this living arrangement). Our technicians must pass a state journeyman’s license test. Additionally, Custom Services requires our technicians to maintain their North American Technician Excellence (NATE) certification, a rigorous national test that is a standard for HVAC technical knowledge. As heating and cooling technology evolves, our technicians continue their education through factory-training schools and other more intensive instruction to stay up-to-date on industry trends.

After training and certification, they work in harsh, often unpleasant conditions, with temperature extremes most of us only experience in hotel saunas.

A couple of summers ago, I was on a rooftop on a 104 degree day, diagnosing a cooling problem with a commercial unit. Below me, office workers were melting popsicles in their arm pits and threatening mutiny if they didn’t get some cool air NOW. As I walked across the roof, I instantly felt the heat radiating through my shoes, and nearly sizzled my hand when I touched the metal surfaces. The temperature analyzer I carried read 142 degrees. In those temperatures, popsicles sputter and spit into oblivion before they reach an arm pit. Yet, the job must get done in order to provide greater comfort to others.

Our technicians, with their their extensive training and professionalism, will do what it takes to restore heating and cooling comfort in your home, even in extreme conditions. We understand it takes a certain amount of trust for you to allow strangers into your home to crawl among the spiders in your attic, squeeze through crickets in your crawl space or open the closet where you keep the deflated basketball, the bent 9-iron golf club, and the half-empty, dried out paint cans. Yet, that is what our technicians must do to solve your heating and cooling challenges.

So, if our technicians look a little flushed when you answer your door, remember they have a tough job. But, they are there to help and are working hard to get it right.

Tell us about one of your favorite Custom Services technician. I’m sure they would love the feedback.

–Bob

If the shoe fits…

When I was a little boy, my mom would take my brothers and me to J.C. Penney’s to get our school shoes. Each September, she would line the three of us up on a bench in the shoe department to get our feet measured. We would take turns slipping our bleached-white, hole-free socks into the cold metal measuring device, probably punching each other a few times when she wasn’t looking, then waiting for the salesperson to bring each of us the perfect-sized pair of shoes. No pinched toes. No blisters on the heel. We bounced out of the store with our new footwear.

Professional shoe salespeople, the kind who take the time to measure your feet, consider your arch, and help you pick the perfect style, are a dying breed.

But, heating and cooling professionals, the kind who take the time to analyze your home’s heating and cooling needs, are alive and well and ready to help you find the perfect-fitting air conditioner and furnace, sized just-right to keep your family comfortable.

Does your spouse sleep with a huge box fan blowing across the bed because the master bedroom is ten degrees warmer than the family room?

Do the kids refuse to go to bed because their rooms are too hot?

Do you keep turning the thermostat down hoping your ice cream won’t melt before you get back to your chair to watch the game?

These may be indicators your air conditioner is not sized correctly for your home. When temperatures reach the extreme heat of the last few weeks, an improperly sized unit will  struggle to keep your family comfortable, increasing your energy costs. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, “Heating and cooling account for about 56% of the energy use in a typical U.S. home, making it the largest energy expense for most homes.” A properly-sized, high-efficiency air conditioning system can reduce your energy use by 20%-50%, saving you money and freeing you from the hassle of finding another box fan to circulate the lukewarm air.

One of our professional consultants can help determine the best unit for your cooling and heating needs by analyzing the square footage, insulation, windows, foundation, even the number of people living in your home.

You know how great a perfect fitting pair of shoes feel on your feet? Don’t you deserve the same Custom Fit for your home’s cooling and heating system?

Contact us today for a free in-home estimate.

Leave a reply below and tell us about the craziest things you have done to stay cool when your air conditioner wasn’t keeping up.

–Bob

 

Air conditioning maintenance is the key

Last week, I waited for a red light at 71st and Memorial, grateful for the smooth idle and quiet hum of my truck and its air conditioner. The coolness pouring out of the vents eased away some of the day’s heat, creating a sharp contrast to the waves radiating off the pavement. I glanced at the thermometer on my rearview mirror: 119 degrees! More than 25 degrees above Tulsa’s average summer temperature!

As the light turned green and I pressed the gas pedal, my well-maintained vehicle continued down 71st Street with no jolts, sputters or stops and got me home in time for a relaxing evening in my geothermal cooled home.

I don’t know about you, but I am not a pleasant man if I have to sizzle on the side of the road inhaling gasoline and diesel fumes while waiting for a tow truck. That’s why I regularly have the oil and filters changed in my truck, the coolant and brake fluid checked, and the brake pads and spark plugs inspected.

And, I’m sure you’re probably not in the best of moods if you come home to an overheated house with Goldie boiling in her fish tank and Fifi panting on the kitchen floor because the air conditioner fizzled out.

Preventative maintenance on your air conditioner is as important as the regular maintenance on your car. It is the key to saving the pets and yourself an evening of steamy misery. Poorly maintained air conditioning systems account for 60-80% of repair service. A dirty filter, a clogged coil, or a grimy blower motor can cause your air conditioner to shut down.

Waiting three, four, or more years between air conditioning maintenance service almost guarantees a break down in extreme temperatures. It is the equivalent of me driving my truck 50,000 miles without changing the oil. Think about that: would you drive from New York to California and back sixteen times without popping the hood. Sure, you might make it, but I bet you’re not willing to take the risk as you climb the Rockies or cross Death Valley?

So, next time you’re hanging out in your mechanic’s garage sipping bad coffee, reading outdated magazines, and waiting for your car’s oil change, take a moment to call us and schedule the regular maintenance on your home’s air conditioning system. An Energy Savings Maintenance Agreement will get your air conditioning system ready to cross Death Valley, or at least, make it through the summer’s heat wave.

Your goldfish and Fifi will thank you.

Leave us a reply telling about your 2012 extreme heat stories. Maybe we will feature your story in a future blog.

Until then… Stay cool.

–Bob