Sorry that I need to abuse my blog for this. Usually my posts always say something about PHP, PostgreSQL and MySQL, even if sometimes most of the blog post is about Frisbee. But this time its entirely off topic, because I am trying to help my sister and her husband who was just layed-off from work without any prior notice. As a result he was pushed to do what he was thinking in the back of his head anyways, start his own business as an A/C repair service company. Of course now things are a bit rushed and so he is having trouble finding enough clients to keep him busy enough.
So I am calling out to all people in Florida. Ok he can probably not cover all of Florida. My sister and her husband are based in Sarasota. I asked and the work range is from North Port and Punta Gorda in the south to as far north as St. Pete. Anyways here is a partial "reprint" of a letter Bob send out to a potential customer:
I am a maintenance, service and repair company only. And do not sell or install new equipment; however, I do have several reputable companies that I can recommend for change-outs and replacements. You will find that this makes working with me more comfortable, as I will not try to sell you equipment but rather want to keep it operating as long as it is economically sound to do so.
My day begins at 9am and does not end until each and every service call has been completed. I also have on call service 24 hrs a day Monday through Saturday for those customers who have maintenance agreements with me. You can be assured that all work performed by me will be done so only with prior customers' approval.
His contact details are:
Robert Warzyk, Owner
Bob's A/C Maintenance Service and Repair
cell 941-232-5995
office 941-371-4915
fax 941-371-4914
e-mail bobsac@repairman.com
Again sorry to disturb the world at large with this. The people within reach will hopefully soon thank me for bringing this great service man to their attention to fix their A/C. In the mean time I will do a voodoo dance to let the temperatures sky rocket :)
Good for him to take initiative (and good for you for helping him)!!! He should never get discouraged regardless of how slow things seem at first.
Having worked in the plumbing business for several years now (granted I don't do residential work), I'd like to offer a suggestion for you to pass on to him.
He should strongly consider starting his day at something more like 5:00AM or earlier. 9:00AM should be considered a vacation. And he should accept that a good night's sleep is a thing of the past.
First, many people have emergencies overnight and want their equipment fixed ASAP- even before they go off to work themselves. Second, if he becomes sucessfull, early AM will be the only time he will have for paperwork. Third, because it IS Florida, he's gonna want to get as much work as possible done before it get's insanely hot.
Very early morning can be the most productive part of the day. I write most of my best PHP code between 3:00AM and 5:00AM before going off to work. You get used to getting up insanely early it after a while.
Oh and he should never offer discounts for friends- ever. They should pay the same as everybody else. If he gives discounts then his whole day will be filled helping friends and making no money. It only leads to resentments. He'll end up in the same boat he was but only a lot of new friends.
Very good suggestion about the time change. I showed hubby and he agreed. Thank you. Very true about the friends, I will have to keep him under control in that aspect.
By the way, my god-mother says she doesn't need AC services, but she sent this note about her husband's company: RingPower has Sarasota and even St. Pete locations. They fix and maintain Caterpillar equipment (steamshovels, bulldozers,etc.) and might just need his skills.
Pass that along to him if you would like.
