KINDNESS IS CONTAGIOUS – Small HVAC company tries to help when they can, and you can help too!
There is no exercise better for the heart and soul than reaching out and lifting others up.
When life is pressing on you and stressing you out, pause, take a deep breath, and remind yourself that you are not at the center of the universe.
When you’re overwhelmed by life’s daily struggles, it’s so easy to feel like you’re at the center. But you aren’t. None of us are.
Truth be told, we all have the occasional tendency to put ourselves at the center and see everything in life from the viewpoint of how it affects us. This can have all kinds of unfavorable effects, from feeling sorry for us when things don’t go exactly as planned, to doubting ourselves when we fail to be perfect.
The bottom line is that finding a way to give back – to practice a little kindness and generosity – made a big difference in my life this morning. And it can make a big difference in your life too.
Call from a new customer:
We recently took a call from a new customer (for privacy we will call him John), John explained to us that he had no heat and was on a limited income. He is a disabled Navy veteran. We thanked him for his service and got out to his home later that day and found a bad part (rollout sensor). We replaced the part however about 24 hours later he called and said his heat is out again. We went back out only to find he had a crack in his heat exchanger. For those who don’t know what this is or how this works:
your furnace will start up like normal, but air could blow the fire out of your firebox into the burner chamber and your rollout sensor would then shut down your furnace for safety. With the sensor failing the flame could roll out and catch fire. A cracked heat exchanger poses a serious threat to the safety of your home. If there's a crack in one of the cells of the heat exchanger, the gases being burned – carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrous oxide – could leak into your home, causing illness or, in extreme cases, death.
Dangerous.
We explained to John he CANNOT turn on the heat, he said I have 3 kids that I am their sole guardian we need heat, the lows are in the 20-30’! We offered financing he explained due to his limited income he cannot afford that, but he would reach out to local organizations that help disabled veterans. We advised him for now use space heaters, and we would see if there were anything on our end to help.
Rick, our lead technician, came back home that night and said, “Well we were able to help someone last year and I think this gentleman and his kids could really use our help.” He has given so much to our country and now he needs help.
Now comes the hard part we are a small HVAC company and any additional help we can get helps this situation I called anyone and everyone that I could. I contacted suppliers, vendors, manufacturers, local territory managers, sub-contractors, neighbors, and other contractors who owned their own companies (yes, the competition). There was no stone that we left unturned.
Affordable Air Experts Helping Others
In the end, this is how our contagious kindness grew:
Martin Mechanical, our install crew (comprised of TJ, Patrick, and Logan), stepped up and took a pay cut and offered their time and valuable skills to help install this unit for this family.
Our territory manager, Hunter Justice with our local Ferguson HVAC DistributionSupply, was able to discount our materials.
In our hearts, we knew that even though this was a significant gift it was the right thing to do. We were challenged by the fact that a business's purpose is to make a profit (after all, it is how you grow), but sometimes you must look past your needs and help someone even if it hurts your wallet. So that is precisely what we did for the second time.
So on Thursday, November 17, 2022 (the same date as the last time we did this last year, gives me the chills) we met with John and told him we would help him and his family.
Continue reading below:
We explained that we would give him a new unit for his home with no strings attached, and we would reach out to vendors, manufacturers anyone to see if they can help. John was speechless his eyes welled up with tears and he could say nothing but give us a hug. John later explained that as a father he had no idea where the money was coming from, his oldest son offered to work more at his job while he finished his senior year in high school. It broke his heart he is trying to provide and it’s hard being on a limited income due to his injuries sustained. John and his fellow servicemen/women had a grenade go off, he has shrapnel in his back along with an implanted device on his spine to help his injuries. He is unable to work due to his injuries and watches every dollar just to make ends meet. When he heard he needed a new unit he had no clue how that was happening, or where the funds would come from. He reached out to a few organizations and unfortunately no one could help at this time.
We said, “Well now that’s one less thing for you to worry about for you and your kids and you can enjoy this Thanksgiving and Christmas.” He no longer had to worry about keeping the kids warm or the space heater catching fire.
What we got out of this was so much more, being in a position where you can give to someone that needs help.
Giving is the most selfless act of love and we got to give it and receive it from those who helped us make this happen in less than 48 hours.
