Terry Tanker met with Tom East, president of Refrigeration Sales Corp. (RSC), at their corporate headquarters to discuss running, training, education, wholesale distribution, contracting, and leadership.
I have run in marathons, and I do train every day and average 70-80 miles per week.
If it’s too nasty outside, I’ll train on the treadmill.
(Laughs) No. But it certainly helps. Running is simply something I enjoy and view as a hobby, along with reading and learning.
There are new people and new technologies continually entering our field, and it’s imperative that we train technicians to properly install, maintain, and service all brands of equipment.
About 1,500-plus students divided into two categories — technology courses, which range from three to 18 weeks in length; and skills courses, which are one-time, selected topics.
Yes. Good education comes at a cost. And, charging for training is a great feedback mechanism. If no one is willing to pay, then we need to change or improve our classes.
Our website, regular e-newsletters, direct mail, and counter displays in our stores. Our sales team also carries training brochures and information. And finally, we include mail stuffers with our monthly statements.
My father owned his own heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration business for 38 years. I grew up cleaning his service trucks, and then eventually running the service business for him, before I took over for him in the late 1970s, after returning from the U.S. Marine Corps and a tour of Vietnam.
I enjoyed owning and growing the business, but felt I wanted to further my education and work with small businesses, and believed working for a wholesaler would allow me to do that. So in 1984 I sold the family business to a good friend and took the opportunity to work in the wholesale business.
RSC began as the Kelvinator Cleveland Company in 1921, selling mechanical refrigeration “ice-boxes.” Despite the success we had as a contractor, the growing refrigeration (and now air conditioning) industry was ready for the advantages that wholesale distributors had to offer. Between 1943 and 1945, Warren Farr Sr. (our founder) — after what is described as “several meetings with Willis Carrier” — finally agreed to transition his contracting business into pure wholesale.
We do a good deal of marketing and recruiting. We proudly promote our company culture, and work to define our values to make sure they are upheld. We make our goals and mission clearly understood so all employees can incorporate them into their work. And, we have an industryleading mentoring program for new hires and an excellent review program for all employees.
We have several new productinitiatives and are investing in new store locations. Our new products are green, energy efficient, reliable, easy to use, and affordable.
The extremes do help. However, we are continually trying to take weather out of the equation when we help our customers market their businesses, and generate leads.
Our long-term strategy is to become a super regional player. The HVACR market has matured, and in order for us to continue to grow and build value, we will continually look for new-location opportunities in markets we are not currently servicing, and we’ll be looking for acquisition opportunities.
Last year we opened a call center to expand our customer services, and to relieve our store counter people so they could spend more time with their walk-in customers. Another area we want to expand is our website.
We constantly want to better understand what our customer’s need and wants are. We then strive to develop marketing promotions and programs aimed at filling these wants and needs. This means that we carefully conduct and evaluate marketing research as an essential component of our marketing process.
Service Speed, Expertise, Relationships! RSC believes that the most valuable minute belongs to the customer, and we provide Service Speed to make sure we are respecting their labor productivity. Expertise means that we are recognized and trusted for our ability to share industry knowledge; while loyalty and deep trust are earned through Relationships.
Our senior management’s leadership style is authentic. An authentic leader chooses to live a life of integrity. They are not only honest in relationships with others, but most importantly, they are honest and true to themselves.
It promotes an environment of continual growth. The employees and their collective creativity adjust to changing conditions. This shapes our culture. People become more honest with themselves and others, developing higher levels of trust and goodwill toward each other.
Charting a successful course in this new economic environment today will require a combination of bold initiatives and prudent investments. Striking the right balance will require an intense focus on getting much closer to customers and building a highly motivated, capable, energized, and enabled workforce.
Terry and Gene discuss family businesses, bucket lists, preparing for business every day and upcoming industry trends, challenges and opportunities.
Words of advice for the small business owner.
John Akhoian discusses learning the trade as a teenager, managing a team and learning from audiobooks, as well as mentors.
Terry Tanker sat down with Mark Hyde, of Hydes Air Conditioning, Heating and Electrical. They discussed operating a family business, the pending refrigerant change, and more.
Renew your HVACR Business subscription and meet our new Editor-in-Chief, Tom Peric.
