HVAC Contractors’ Office Staff To Learn Furnace Basics

Have you ever called an HVAC (heating, ventilating and air conditioning) contractor’s office to discuss a furnace problem only to come away thinking you know more than the person on the other end of the line? If so, you didn’t call a company that belongs to the Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA), according to Paul Maier of Webster, chairman of the trade association’s Upstate New York chapter.

For more than five years, the local trade association has held an annual training session called “HVAC for the Office Person”. The 2006 edition will take place at a dinner meeting Tuesday, September 13 at the Wishing Well.

This is a real hands-on experience, Maier explains. The program begins with an explanation of how a furnace operates using an actual unit with all the panels removed. The presenter then explains individual components and passes them around for everyone to examine up close. Finally, a quick reference guidebook is distributed and the presenter explains how to use it.

“We are not training office people to diagnose problems over the phone,” Maier explains. “However, there are some basic checks that he/she can guide the customer through over the phone. These may eliminate embarrassing service calls. We hate to make service calls when the only problem is a clogged filter or an improperly set thermostat.”

Another goal of the program is to train office people to accurately communicate the problem to a company technician. The technician can then be sure he/she has the right parts and tools when making the service call.

The annual HVAC for the Office Person programs alternate between spring and fall. While the fall sessions focus on heating, the spring sessions concentrate on air conditioning. Maier notes that new technology has radically changed furnace and air conditioning design, making it even more important that contractors send their office staffs to training like that being offered on September 13.

The training is open to both members and nonmembers of ACCA. Contractors wanting more information can contact chapter executive Michelle DeLeo at 585.232.4770 or director@accaupstateny.org.

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For further information, contact:

Duane Pancoast, APR

The Pancoast Concern, Ltd.

27 Maple Avenue

Victor, NY 14564

T: 585.924.4570

F: 585.924.2929

E-Mail: duane@thepancoastconcern.com