Steve wrote:


My work is aboard the International Space Station, while yours is
rusting in moldy basements, and your industry has a reputation worse
that TV repairmen used to.

I am not a rocket surgen, but my company has been working for excellence for
many years. I am *not* "billy-joe-jim-bob". Yes there are a lot of hacks out
there, but there are some true professionals out there too. I keep trying to
help change the rep that HVAC industry has, and raise the bar in my area.
FWIW, my company has all but stopped advertising in the yellow pages, it
doesn't need to. 90% of our new customers are all from word of mouth
referals.


After I left the US Army, I started an Industrial Electronics repair
business. I never had a sign on the business, or even a listed
telephone number. I also did all the electronic repair for three school
systems. The only time they asked for a price up front was when they
needed new equipment. The rest of the time, the principals called me,
and at the end of the month I billed the school systems. When I
started, some customers had piles of 'unreparible' equipment that took
six months to two years to get back from their previous contractor. I
fixed all of it.


Someone really needs to clean up that industry, and I wish you luck.
A lot of companies around here were hiring anyone with a valid driver's
license. They don't care about their reputation, or their customers.
Some operate under five or more business names, so when they screw a
customer, they end up calling the same people.


--
Politicians should only get paid if the budget is balanced, and there is
enough left over to pay them.