I'm an HVAC enthusiast, not a technician, and I usually want to learn as much as I can if I see a tech working. Be it by watching or asking. Glad to see these videos so that I can learn without bothering the kind gentleman who's just trying to get my A/C working again!
As a HVAC tech we all tend to hold no patience for the helicopter customers, remember you are on THEIR property, in THEIR home, taking THEIR money for our services, we should be commending these people for showing even a shred of interest in what we do, so little of what we do for a living goes unnoticed. Reassurance of confidence is the only way to calm these clients with a nervous disposition. Keep up the vids Ted
I worked apartment maintenance for years and I was never bothered by residents that were engaging and interested to learn what I'm doing(or just good to shoot the shit with). They only annoyed me when they got attitudes about "oh hell no I need a new fridge" because I needed to replace the freezer fan... The people that just stood and stared for an hour were weird, like go the pile of dishes overflowing on the counter.
When I had new HVAC installed, I asked if I could observe a bit. I asked a few questions on how to take care of the system. I learned to wash my AC coil every year... and where to cut the power to it when I did. I also said, "If I am too much of a bother, just tell me". My tech was nice enough to show me the basics of taking care of it. My goal was to be a responsible home owner who doesn't neglect the equipment.
It not about their house being special, it’s about being ripped off or people not believing you when you say there is a problem. When she said there is something you gotta understand, the last guy out there probably told her nothing is wrong and charged her for the call. Scammers are getting worse. Great video and glad you didn’t lose your cool with her.
Patience is something that's required in life in general. I've been an HVAC tech for 42 year's, I'll be 63 next week, and I'm STILL learning and practicing patience and tolerance. Those two principles aren't taught, they're learned through time and understanding. Dealing with "helicopters" has been invaluable with dealing with people in general. As usual, Ted another professional job. The haters in the comment's just need to be more patient and tolerant of you! Stay strong brother.
I've had this exact situation trying to help a woman and she was questioning me about everything. After I was a little strong with her to give her a ultimatum she apologized and then told me her husband left her. Guy went to work and never came home, literally left all his possessions there because being away from her was better than any of his stuff. I sat and talked with her and quickly realized it was the stress making her a maniac. The rest of my visit there went alot better once I didn't feel like she was attacking me. Nice job Ted. It was just the stress of her father making her crazy.
I was a service electrician for 2 years and i never minded the helicopters if they at least sat there and conversed with me. I enjoyed teaching people about how things worked. But questioning everything was always cancerous
Had a customer try and run to my van and get things for me and was coming up my ladder to try and help me in the attic. Very nice person but I just told them they can't climb up my ladder or try and help because of insurance purposes. They calmed down after that. Also explained to them that it's my business to fix the air conditioning and they shouldn't have to help me if I know what I'm doing lol.
Im glad that I watched this guy. He tested the capacitor and then looked at the evaporator coil which did have some rust on the drain pan. I called because the unit suddenly stopped. Since I work on cars and PC boards, I replaced the capacitor myself and the unit worked and I had cold air in the house. I do need a drain pan but I will not use that company to do it. How can you find good HVAC guys if you don't know about these things. Most companies will not even come out without you paying 80 to 120 bucks! Please continue to make videos for us homeowners who really appreciate your help.
You deserve a medal. You are so polite and patient it's no wonder you are so popular with all your clients. You are a genuinely nice man and there aren't too many of us left.
Fellow HVAC guy in your area. 17 years experience. I dont sell any service that isnt needed but your dollar bill trick just opened up a lot of condenser coil cleanings for me in the future. We change so many caps, fan motors and even compressors where the coils look clean but they are clogged and probably WHY these parts fail so much. Ran one last week on the same type of unit, no air flow out the top, only the sides. They were cooling so I didnt think anything of it. Thank you for sharing your knowledge!!
I don't helicopter, but I'm so fascinated by what they do, I love to watch and ask questions, so I hope it doesn't annoy them lol, I just am fascinated with the craft
HVAC Technician with 22 years experience in the trade. You done a great job man. I can very much relate to this video many times in my career. You got her cooling and kept your cool. In the end that's what matters. It's funny as I watch you work your mind goes the same direction as mine for the entire diagnosis. Keep up the great work, we need more techs like us lol.
And I thought this was reference to bad condenser fan motor…. On a serious note don’t assume previous capacitor was proper size - previous guy might have used whatever was on truck as well…
Bless you for your patience. Any service-oriented business requires this kind of professionalism, regardless of how the customer acts or interacts with us. Great job!!
Gotta tip my hat to you on this one, kept your cool a lot better than I would have. I try to keep my conversations with HVAC guys limited to one or two curiosity questions and "Do y'all need any water?".
Love how you show how the dirty condensers affect the airflow. It's something they didn't cover in HVAC school. Of course they can't cover everything. That's why I watch channels like yours!
Last time I used a loaner t-stat for the weekend (old beater) called the customer to tell her I had the new one and what I was going to charge her for the past svc call, she told me it was working fine and hung up on me.
For all the service techs out there trying to get the helicopter to fly off I simply tell them that due to insurance and company policy I am unable to work if anyone is closer than 25', and tlet them know it's for both of our Safety in case some thing happens. Like I turn and don't see them and they get injured by a tool in my hand. Or like in the video "get hit in the head with a door"
I think she was interested in the process. Sometimes people feel like they want to understand what they have. Would you want the opposite where someone doesn't know what proper maintenance to follow? Or someone who's completely ignorant to what's being told? I feel like your personality and her personality didn't mesh well. Glad to see you took care of her system though.
i went down a rabbit hole of your videos. I do it everyday and here i am saturday morning watching someone else do it. Your easy going methodical ways are one i need to master. I dont mind people watching, but the continuous second guessing and asking of prices of every little thing me does get under my skin eventually. Your a rockstar, well done sir.
dude i love how calm u are , really ur a champ . these are the classic helicopter - skeptics who think you're going to sell them something they don't need and NEVER leave u alone with there unit , I've been meeting them for the last 20 years and u need steal ball nerves to last in this job , ac-oil burner tech here , my god still remember a Chinook years ago that was installing the Indoor split unit for me !! i sent him 2 times to buy me a coffee so i finish the install correct and in time lol , greetings from Greece ,
Thanks for the dollar bill demonstration man! I have an identical unit to the one in this video and it was blowing at the sides. I cleaned it and it blows up now.
lol man, the things I'm going to have to deal with when I go out into the field and start working in HVAC. Thanks for showing me how to handle this, I could tell you were getting a little agitated but you definitely weren't rude or anything. Thanks for your videos, I learn a lot Ted.
Ted, HELICOPTERS! THAT'S AWESOME!! as a teenager,I worked for my stepdad. Seen& dealt with many like that. THIS WORLD TAKES ALL KINDS! NEVER HEARD A BETTER DESCRIPTION THOUGH!! GREAT VIDEO, GREAT CHANNEL. THUMBS UP & SUBSCRIBED!! KEEP EM COMING!!
Had a customer like this recently... got in the way the entire time, questioned us the entire time, said how bad we were at our job, ect, ect... Four days later and repeat from her we got her fixed and installed. Why did we persist? Elderly lady that needed it working... still. It took levels of patience my boss, who was on site, did not have.
Absolutely the best HVAC video of the day! I think she's lonely and likes you. Surprised she didnt invite you in for a beer. You wew very patient! 👍🏻 True customer service. Y'all done good. 👍🏻 😁
ROFL! - Before the video started, I thought the 'helicopter' was a reference to the a fan motor being loose and trying to take-off/wobble free from the unit... but it became pretty clear pretty quick what you meant 😅
My wife seldom makes comments while I watch you videos, but she said “Oh my, he has a real helicopter this time”. She also wondered if maybe she was kind of flirting by hanging around. 😂😂
I think that's a woman without a man and she feels like she has to do things herself. Most wives just tell you the problem and then go on about what they are doing until you tell her it's fixed.
1. Test the power at the condenser after turning off the breaker- it may have killed power to the indoor unit instead, causing the outdoor unit to shut down!!! 2. Customers; Leave the guy alone to do his job. He will report to you what he finds after a complete evaluation and then you can ask all the questions you like. 3. If you don't trust him, call someone else. This lady was extreme. I keep my patience but I may not return. lol
This was so much fun to watch Ted. I have a lot of customers like this myself. Great job with the diagnosis, handling the customer, and going the extra mile to clean that dirty coil. And showing the dollar bill trick so the "arm chair technicians" will believe it about the fan blowing. 😎👍
I realize that this is an old video, but I wanted to comment. There could be two valid reasons for the customer "hovering": 1. She wants to learn. To most people, HVAC technology is a 'dark science' that is not easily understood. 2. There are many unscrupulous contractors out there who will say they did something (and charge for it) even if they did not perform the task. Keeping an eye on them seems to discourage such activity. Just my 2 cents...
lolol I didn't think she was that bad. I'd much rather work for someone cheerful (and perhaps a bit quirky) instead of a grumpy person. If Steve L repaired this system, he'd just say "you need ya a new system" 100 times.
Great information of what clogged coils do. When she asked if that was the Freon I laughed out loud. I was really impressed with how patient you were with her until you told her she was right on top of you. It was clear at that point it was the end of a long day and you wanted to be left to fix the unit. I enjoy watching people do things I don’t know how to do to learn something. Good thing there is TH-cam, otherwise I’d probably helicopter too. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and service calls. They are informative and entertaining. I watched all the way through the video.
I've been doing A/C service for 30 years and a Florida licensed contractor 25 of it. I have had my share of that customer. Maybe it's all the years but sometimes I look at them seriously and tell it's going to be extra charge if they help. They get the point. You Sir are one hell of guy to have so much patience with that lady. Good work great video
Late Friday night, not sure I could of kept my cool. Ted, you truly are a saint to our business. I’m always learning something from watching your videos; whether technical or human nature based. Thank you!
How DARE that customer want to watch over the person she's paying her hard-earned money to? You might be a good tech. If so, you are rare. Typical HVAC techs are why MORE customers need to watch over techs like a hawk. If you do any amount of work in the industry whatsoever, you darn sure know why... and if you think a used capacitor isn't "that big of a deal", and that caustic coil cleaner is a good idea to use, then indeed YOU are the reason why customers should be more diligent.
I just had my system go from running just fine to a 6 month check up then all of a sudden two failures in a two week period just after the warranty expired.. I am sorry some helicopters are just people that have been scammed before.. Just as in any profession bad apples spoil the barrel..
My favorite is when the stand over your shoulder and record everything you do. I usually give them some arbitrary task to get them out of my face. I’ll ask them to go get their filter out so I can examine it in the daylight. That’s usually 5 minutes worth of break.
20:33 I love it! When you” helicopter” I wasn’t really sure what you were referring to. And then I watched the video! I also run my own business. I’m a service technician for over 20 years that repairs some medical but mostly dental equipment. I’m in multiple dental offices multiple times a day every single day For over 20 years and I know their equipment better than they do. I work on things like compressors, Vacuum Pumps, x-ray machines, chairs, lights, etc. all specialty to the dental office. Like you I’m really good with the” helicopter” clients because some of them just want to learn but others are like the client that you dealt with in your video. All I can say is I think you handled it very well. You just have to know your client and it’s obvious that you’ve dealt with her before. I’m just so glad I don’t do residential because dealing with homeowners can really be a treat. I did construction before I got into my current career. You handled it so well and I would love to have someone like you servicing my HVAC because it’s hard to find someone like you. Keep up the good work brother and thanks for the video. My only regret is that it took me so long to go out on my own after working for a big corporations for so long. I wish I would’ve gone out on my own years ago, and I really have respect for people that can go out and run an honest business.
What I really like here, is the video documentation and the genuineness and patience of the service guy, Props to you man, nothing like some good old Coil Clean, that stuff is the best on the market
I'm sure everyone could tell she was getting to you. You were pretty gracious to her, considering the circumstances. I'm sure she had no idea how irritating she was.
Hey Ted Cook! This Is Jermey McGuire, I’m A Huge Fan!!! I Watch Your Videos. You Handled The Helicopter Situation The Best You Could That’s All You Can Do.” I Love You So Very Much!!!!! 🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗
This was a excellent video. Show is real life what we as HVAC professionals "CAN" face on a daily basis. I for one, thought you handled it very well. Thank you for the content. Cheers
Yea I thought the fan blades were gonna shoot thru the unit but now I see the helicopter...great job on helping this lady, If I did this as a trade I would go broke just helping people
I would say that 1 out of 5 of my callers end up being helicopters. What I don’t understand is how homeowners simply don’t get that they are being an obstruction when they are following us around asking a gazillion questions. Let me do my thing, get the unit back up and running and I’ll answer all the questions you have at the end.
Sometimes I get a sense that some customers think we're gonna try to deceive them. I don't mind customers looking in on a maintenance or a service call but at some point leave me be cause I tend to get distracted if I get a bunch of questions or just have someone shootin the breeze. I may forget to put something back in place or forget a tool etc 😂
I worked in I.T. for 25 years we have helicopters too. generally (in my experience) when someone does that they have multiple things going on: funds are tight personal problems bad experience with previous techs really and truly trying to help in rare occasions they may find you attractive. when I was just starting I would answer questions like hers with definitive answers, as I got more experience my answers became more vague. people don't like vague. what I got from here is: she's leaving town, she wants it to be working for the other person she mentioned, and she's worried a used capacitor will not last. she's trying to facilitate getting it fixed but falls all over herself. I would have told her that it is highly unlikely that a used capacitor taken from a working system would fail in the next couple of weeks. I would have then used as much technical jargon as I could muster. remember people think that anything they don't understand must be easy.
"I could just leave lady, you want me to fix it?" You handled that well Ted. 👏 I've had people pull up a chair and sit and watch me do an entire change out, it's mostly old guys who wanna have someone to talk to other than their wives. Lol. One time this old single lady had a bed and TV in this unfinished basement right next the furnace, she sat in that bed and watched PBS the entire change out, the only time she wasn't talking to me was when I went to the truck to get something, really sweet lady. She gave me a hug when I was leaving, this was when covid started. People are usually pretty blown away when they see me building the sheet metal right in front of them. Had one guy tell me I had to 20 mins to finish a change out because he had a hair appointment, I got it done and he was stunned. Fortunately all I had to do was finish the drain and tune it. He literally said that walked up stairs and came back minutes later and the drain was done and I was tuning, that was the fastest I've ever plumbed up a drain.
I've been on many service calls in my life & only once had a customer like her. She immediately started telling me what I needed to do to fix the problem when she obviously had no concept of how things worked. I had to tell her that if she wanted me to fix it, that she needed to leave me alone, but if she wanted to fix it, I'd leave her alone. She got real pushed out of shape but I wasn't going to endure any more of her blabbermouthing. Come to think about it, I had a guy do that to me, too. He kept sticking his fingers in front of me pointing at parts & telling me he knew what was wrong. I gave him the same response that I gave to the lady. Blessed be the quiet, for the repair guy loves customers like you.
“Ma’am I’m going to need you to go watch the thermostat and make sure the temperature doesn’t climb more than 3 degrees while I’m out here working.”
oh NOoooo,, get them "involved"? you'll have your own Tonto the rest of the call.
I use that line more than once a week 🤣
“Aren’t ya hot?” Translation: please go in the house and let me do my job.
came her looking for this comment lol
Some people just don’t get social queues
“Is that the freon” when testing the capacitor 😂😂
I'm an HVAC enthusiast, not a technician, and I usually want to learn as much as I can if I see a tech working. Be it by watching or asking.
Glad to see these videos so that I can learn without bothering the kind gentleman who's just trying to get my A/C working again!
As a HVAC tech we all tend to hold no patience for the helicopter customers, remember you are on THEIR property, in THEIR home, taking THEIR money for our services, we should be commending these people for showing even a shred of interest in what we do, so little of what we do for a living goes unnoticed.
Reassurance of confidence is the only way to calm these clients with a nervous disposition.
Keep up the vids Ted
I get annoyed when they stand there and not talk
I worked apartment maintenance for years and I was never bothered by residents that were engaging and interested to learn what I'm doing(or just good to shoot the shit with). They only annoyed me when they got attitudes about "oh hell no I need a new fridge" because I needed to replace the freezer fan... The people that just stood and stared for an hour were weird, like go the pile of dishes overflowing on the counter.
Agreed. With the number of shady people in the HVAC profession i'ts no wonder people helicpter.
I do 2 or 3 unnessary things so get confused
When I had new HVAC installed, I asked if I could observe a bit. I asked a few questions on how to take care of the system. I learned to wash my AC coil every year... and where to cut the power to it when I did. I also said, "If I am too much of a bother, just tell me". My tech was nice enough to show me the basics of taking care of it. My goal was to be a responsible home owner who doesn't neglect the equipment.
That air flow test works better with 100 bill just saying
It not about their house being special, it’s about being ripped off or people not believing you when you say there is a problem. When she said there is something you gotta understand, the last guy out there probably told her nothing is wrong and charged her for the call. Scammers are getting worse. Great video and glad you didn’t lose your cool with her.
Patience is the hardest part of the trade
Patience is something that's required in life in general. I've been an HVAC tech for 42 year's, I'll be 63 next week, and I'm STILL learning and practicing patience and tolerance. Those two principles aren't taught, they're learned through time and understanding. Dealing with "helicopters" has been invaluable with dealing with people in general.
As usual, Ted another professional job. The haters in the comment's just need to be more patient and tolerant of you! Stay strong brother.
I've had this exact situation trying to help a woman and she was questioning me about everything. After I was a little strong with her to give her a ultimatum she apologized and then told me her husband left her. Guy went to work and never came home, literally left all his possessions there because being away from her was better than any of his stuff. I sat and talked with her and quickly realized it was the stress making her a maniac. The rest of my visit there went alot better once I didn't feel like she was attacking me. Nice job Ted. It was just the stress of her father making her crazy.
I’m a bit of a tard. Was actually expecting the blades to be going crazy when I saw worst helicopter ever
I was a service electrician for 2 years and i never minded the helicopters if they at least sat there and conversed with me. I enjoyed teaching people about how things worked. But questioning everything was always cancerous
Had a customer try and run to my van and get things for me and was coming up my ladder to try and help me in the attic. Very nice person but I just told them they can't climb up my ladder or try and help because of insurance purposes. They calmed down after that. Also explained to them that it's my business to fix the air conditioning and they shouldn't have to help me if I know what I'm doing lol.
Im glad that I watched this guy. He tested the capacitor and then looked at the evaporator coil which did have some rust on the drain pan. I called because the unit suddenly stopped. Since I work on cars and PC boards, I replaced the capacitor myself and the unit worked and I had cold air in the house. I do need a drain pan but I will not use that company to do it. How can you find good HVAC guys if you don't know about these things. Most companies will not even come out without you paying 80 to 120 bucks! Please continue to make videos for us homeowners who really appreciate your help.
You deserve a medal. You are so polite and patient it's no wonder you are so popular with all your clients. You are a genuinely nice man and there aren't too many of us left.
Fellow HVAC guy in your area. 17 years experience. I dont sell any service that isnt needed but your dollar bill trick just opened up a lot of condenser coil cleanings for me in the future. We change so many caps, fan motors and even compressors where the coils look clean but they are clogged and probably WHY these parts fail so much.
Ran one last week on the same type of unit, no air flow out the top, only the sides. They were cooling so I didnt think anything of it. Thank you for sharing your knowledge!!
You handled it well Ted. She sounded like a bundle of nerves. Some people are just that way, God bless her.
Lol helicopter omg that's hilarious. 🤣
I don't helicopter, but I'm so fascinated by what they do, I love to watch and ask questions, so I hope it doesn't annoy them lol, I just am fascinated with the craft
Loved the dollar bill demonstration! It made it easy to see the difference between a clogged coil and a clean one. Very nice!
For an anti-DIY focused channel this sure has encouraged me to work on my own ac 😂
She's just lonely Ted. Needs a man in her life😂😂😂
How the hel did you grab that capasitor with out discharging it?!😱
Steve lav would've been a fantastic help on that job.
He would've been like "Look lady just let me do my flipping thing ok?!"
@@tytig94 yup!
She’s a lurker.
Apreciated your patience is astounding i wish i had someone like you in my neighborhood keep up the excellent job
Wow, thank you
Looks like that lady got the right brand ac, Payne.
HVAC Technician with 22 years experience in the trade. You done a great job man. I can very much relate to this video many times in my career. You got her cooling and kept your cool. In the end that's what matters. It's funny as I watch you work your mind goes the same direction as mine for the entire diagnosis. Keep up the great work, we need more techs like us lol.
And I thought this was reference to bad condenser fan motor…. On a serious note don’t assume previous capacitor was proper size - previous guy might have used whatever was on truck as well…
Bless you for your patience. Any service-oriented business requires this kind of professionalism, regardless of how the customer acts or interacts with us. Great job!!
Gotta tip my hat to you on this one, kept your cool a lot better than I would have. I try to keep my conversations with HVAC guys limited to one or two curiosity questions and "Do y'all need any water?".
Love how you show how the dirty condensers affect the airflow. It's something they didn't cover in HVAC school. Of course they can't cover everything. That's why I watch channels like yours!
Last time I used a loaner t-stat for the weekend (old beater) called the customer to tell her I had the new one and what I was going to charge her for the past svc call, she told me it was working fine and hung up on me.
I love the questioning, curious and helpful sorts like her. Bless them.
Dude I love this guy’s laid back but professional way of talking to the customer
For all the service techs out there trying to get the helicopter to fly off I simply tell them that due to insurance and company policy I am unable to work if anyone is closer than 25', and tlet them know it's for both of our Safety in case some thing happens. Like I turn and don't see them and they get injured by a tool in my hand. Or like in the video "get hit in the head with a door"
I think she was interested in the process. Sometimes people feel like they want to understand what they have. Would you want the opposite where someone doesn't know what proper maintenance to follow? Or someone who's completely ignorant to what's being told?
I feel like your personality and her personality didn't mesh well. Glad to see you took care of her system though.
i went down a rabbit hole of your videos. I do it everyday and here i am saturday morning watching someone else do it. Your easy going methodical ways are one i need to master. I dont mind people watching, but the continuous second guessing and asking of prices of every little thing me does get under my skin eventually. Your a rockstar, well done sir.
Had 2 customers back to back calls yesterday pull up a chair and watch the entire time. Gotta love it.
dude i love how calm u are , really ur a champ .
these are the classic helicopter - skeptics who think you're going to sell them something they don't need and NEVER leave u alone with there unit , I've been meeting them for the last 20 years and u need steal ball nerves to last in this job , ac-oil burner tech here , my god still remember a Chinook years ago that was installing the Indoor split unit for me !! i sent him 2 times to buy me a coffee so i finish the install correct and in time lol ,
greetings from Greece ,
Some say that lady is still helicoptering him to this day.
Thanks for the dollar bill demonstration man! I have an identical unit to the one in this video and it was blowing at the sides. I cleaned it and it blows up now.
You demonstrated a trick that I’ve taught my students. Why when I pass my hand over the condenser fan I’m looking for more that a temperature.
lol man, the things I'm going to have to deal with when I go out into the field and start working in HVAC. Thanks for showing me how to handle this, I could tell you were getting a little agitated but you definitely weren't rude or anything. Thanks for your videos, I learn a lot Ted.
She wasn't bad. I went into a million homes in my career and came across every kind of human God ever made.
Good job buddy. 👍
She’s just curious
Ted,
HELICOPTERS!
THAT'S AWESOME!!
as a teenager,I worked for my stepdad. Seen& dealt with many like that.
THIS WORLD TAKES ALL KINDS!
NEVER HEARD A BETTER DESCRIPTION THOUGH!!
GREAT VIDEO, GREAT CHANNEL.
THUMBS UP & SUBSCRIBED!!
KEEP EM COMING!!
Maybe she has "other" plans for you...Like, are you free for dinner? Date night on Friday!
Had a customer like this recently... got in the way the entire time, questioned us the entire time, said how bad we were at our job, ect, ect... Four days later and repeat from her we got her fixed and installed.
Why did we persist? Elderly lady that needed it working... still. It took levels of patience my boss, who was on site, did not have.
Absolutely the best HVAC video of the day! I think she's lonely and likes you. Surprised she didnt invite you in for a beer. You wew very patient! 👍🏻 True customer service. Y'all done good. 👍🏻 😁
It is great you put your perspective out there so that people understand they need to get out of the way and let you do your thing.
@5:20 freaking killed me man.... "is that the freon?" lmfao
ROFL! - Before the video started, I thought the 'helicopter' was a reference to the a fan motor being loose and trying to take-off/wobble free from the unit... but it became pretty clear pretty quick what you meant 😅
My wife seldom makes comments while I watch you videos, but she said “Oh my, he has a real helicopter this time”. She also wondered if maybe she was kind of flirting by hanging around. 😂😂
* Tells her she’s standing over him asking questions *
* She apologized yet continues to do so *
Do you think she might be interested in the HVAC field lol
I subscribed after I saw how you handled that "situation". Felt terrible for you, but I was chuckling a bit as well. Good job.
That woman was driving me crazy just watching. I would have had to go to the truck and chill out!!!
I think that's a woman without a man and she feels like she has to do things herself. Most wives just tell you the problem and then go on about what they are doing until you tell her it's fixed.
Bless her heart
1. Test the power at the condenser after turning off the breaker- it may have killed power to the indoor unit instead, causing the outdoor unit to shut down!!!
2. Customers; Leave the guy alone to do his job. He will report to you what he finds after a complete evaluation and then you can ask all the questions you like.
3. If you don't trust him, call someone else.
This lady was extreme. I keep my patience but I may not return. lol
This was so much fun to watch Ted. I have a lot of customers like this myself. Great job with the diagnosis, handling the customer, and going the extra mile to clean that dirty coil. And showing the dollar bill trick so the "arm chair technicians" will believe it about the fan blowing. 😎👍
Got on my last nerve .....
I realize that this is an old video, but I wanted to comment. There could be two valid reasons for the customer "hovering":
1. She wants to learn. To most people, HVAC technology is a 'dark science' that is not easily understood.
2. There are many unscrupulous contractors out there who will say they did something (and charge for it) even if they did not perform the task. Keeping an eye on them seems to discourage such activity.
Just my 2 cents...
lolol I didn't think she was that bad. I'd much rather work for someone cheerful (and perhaps a bit quirky) instead of a grumpy person. If Steve L repaired this system, he'd just say "you need ya a new system" 100 times.
Great information of what clogged coils do. When she asked if that was the Freon I laughed out loud. I was really impressed with how patient you were with her until you told her she was right on top of you. It was clear at that point it was the end of a long day and you wanted to be left to fix the unit. I enjoy watching people do things I don’t know how to do to learn something. Good thing there is TH-cam, otherwise I’d probably helicopter too. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and service calls. They are informative and entertaining. I watched all the way through the video.
I've been doing A/C service for 30 years and a Florida licensed contractor 25 of it. I have had my share of that customer. Maybe it's all the years but sometimes I look at them seriously and tell it's going to be extra charge if they help. They get the point. You Sir are one hell of guy to have so much patience with that lady. Good work great video
They asking me questions does NOT bother me ONE BIT. I enjoy helping others...
Well, well, well! Ted finally runs across someone with a blessing of the gift of gab equal to his.
Your customers are lucky to have you a knowledgeable, patient & honest tech 👍🏽
Late Friday night, not sure I could of kept my cool. Ted, you truly are a saint to our business. I’m always learning something from watching your videos; whether technical or human nature based. Thank you!
How DARE that customer want to watch over the person she's paying her hard-earned money to?
You might be a good tech. If so, you are rare. Typical HVAC techs are why MORE customers need to watch over techs like a hawk. If you do any amount of work in the industry whatsoever, you darn sure know why... and if you think a used capacitor isn't "that big of a deal", and that caustic coil cleaner is a good idea to use, then indeed YOU are the reason why customers should be more diligent.
I just had my system go from running just fine to a 6 month check up then all of a sudden two failures in a two week period just after the warranty expired.. I am sorry some helicopters are just people that have been scammed before.. Just as in any profession bad apples spoil the barrel..
Sir, i give you props for dealing with a customer like that. Theres a reason i dont deal with customers.
Most techs wouldn’t have cleaned the coils
Great job
What brand coil cleaner did you use, that coil looked brand new after you cleaned it. Great job.
The soap thing sounds interesting.Ants are a curse here too. And the coil looked a hundred times better after quick wash too.
My favorite is when the stand over your shoulder and record everything you do. I usually give them some arbitrary task to get them out of my face. I’ll ask them to go get their filter out so I can examine it in the daylight. That’s usually 5 minutes worth of break.
Great find with the dollar bill trick! Sorry she got to you.
Ted always handling these strenuous helicopter situations as smooth as a hot knife through a stick a butter
That would be my wife. She knows everything. Did you add a customer assistance surcharge?
20:33 I love it! When you” helicopter” I wasn’t really sure what you were referring to. And then I watched the video!
I also run my own business. I’m a service technician for over 20 years that repairs some medical but mostly dental equipment. I’m in multiple dental offices multiple times a day every single day For over 20 years and I know their equipment better than they do. I work on things like compressors, Vacuum Pumps, x-ray machines, chairs, lights, etc. all specialty to the dental office.
Like you I’m really good with the” helicopter” clients because some of them just want to learn but others are like the client that you dealt with in your video.
All I can say is I think you handled it very well. You just have to know your client and it’s obvious that you’ve dealt with her before.
I’m just so glad I don’t do residential because dealing with homeowners can really be a treat. I did construction before I got into my current career.
You handled it so well and I would love to have someone like you servicing my HVAC because it’s hard to find someone like you. Keep up the good work brother and thanks for the video.
My only regret is that it took me so long to go out on my own after working for a big corporations for so long. I wish I would’ve gone out on my own years ago, and I really have respect for people that can go out and run an honest business.
I don’t know how you dealt with that lady homeowner. She was driving me nuts just watching it.
Really it's not hard to politely ask people to give you some room. She was just being curious and helpful.
Great work getting that old unit up and running! You have that woman one less thing to worry about and she learned something from you :)
What I really like here, is the video documentation and the genuineness and patience of the service guy, Props to you man, nothing like some good old Coil Clean, that stuff is the best on the market
I'm sure everyone could tell she was getting to you. You were pretty gracious to her, considering the circumstances. I'm sure she had no idea how irritating she was.
Hey Ted Cook! This Is Jermey McGuire, I’m A Huge Fan!!! I Watch Your Videos. You Handled The Helicopter Situation The Best You Could That’s All You Can Do.”
I Love You So Very Much!!!!!
🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗
This was a excellent video. Show is real life what we as HVAC professionals "CAN" face on a daily basis. I for one, thought you handled it very well. Thank you for the content. Cheers
That lady would have been a tough start on a first call Monday morning. At the end of the day at the end of a hard week, this guy is a saint!
I think that used capacitor will outlast the unit lol
Yea I thought the fan blades were gonna shoot thru the unit but now I see the helicopter...great job on helping this lady, If I did this as a trade I would go broke just helping people
I would say that 1 out of 5 of my callers end up being helicopters. What I don’t understand is how homeowners simply don’t get that they are being an obstruction when they are following us around asking a gazillion questions. Let me do my thing, get the unit back up and running and I’ll answer all the questions you have at the end.
Wish i could come work for you Mr. Ted , you are a great teacher..
Got to love those customers get one of those at least once a week
I can't believe your patience in dealing with bothersome people while working on high voltage. Good job.
The deflation of the dollar. $100 to clean a flame sensor and $1 to check the condenser.
Exactly !!
You’re a good man Ted. The public can definitely be challenging. Thanks for the great videos.
Sometimes I get a sense that some customers think we're gonna try to deceive them. I don't mind customers looking in on a maintenance or a service call but at some point leave me be cause I tend to get distracted if I get a bunch of questions or just have someone shootin the breeze. I may forget to put something back in place or forget a tool etc 😂
100% agree with that. We need space to work some people think we’re there to socialize lol
I worked in I.T. for 25 years we have helicopters too. generally (in my experience) when someone does that they have multiple things going on:
funds are tight
personal problems
bad experience with previous techs
really and truly trying to help
in rare occasions they may find you attractive.
when I was just starting I would answer questions like hers with definitive answers, as I got more experience my answers became more vague. people don't like vague. what I got from here is:
she's leaving town, she wants it to be working for the other person she mentioned, and she's worried a used capacitor will not last. she's trying to facilitate getting it fixed but falls all over herself. I would have told her that it is highly unlikely that a used capacitor taken from a working system would fail in the next couple of weeks. I would have then used as much technical jargon as I could muster.
remember people think that anything they don't understand must be easy.
Two minutes in. Already can't take it. Damn.
"I could just leave lady, you want me to fix it?" You handled that well Ted. 👏 I've had people pull up a chair and sit and watch me do an entire change out, it's mostly old guys who wanna have someone to talk to other than their wives. Lol. One time this old single lady had a bed and TV in this unfinished basement right next the furnace, she sat in that bed and watched PBS the entire change out, the only time she wasn't talking to me was when I went to the truck to get something, really sweet lady. She gave me a hug when I was leaving, this was when covid started. People are usually pretty blown away when they see me building the sheet metal right in front of them. Had one guy tell me I had to 20 mins to finish a change out because he had a hair appointment, I got it done and he was stunned. Fortunately all I had to do was finish the drain and tune it. He literally said that walked up stairs and came back minutes later and the drain was done and I was tuning, that was the fastest I've ever plumbed up a drain.
You could have went Steve Lav on her! haha that would have been funny! She just wanted to be close to you, you big hunk!
I've been on many service calls in my life & only once had a customer like her. She immediately started telling me what I needed to do to fix the problem when she obviously had no concept of how things worked. I had to tell her that if she wanted me to fix it, that she needed to leave me alone, but if she wanted to fix it, I'd leave her alone. She got real pushed out of shape but I wasn't going to endure any more of her blabbermouthing.
Come to think about it, I had a guy do that to me, too. He kept sticking his fingers in front of me pointing at parts & telling me he knew what was wrong. I gave him the same response that I gave to the lady. Blessed be the quiet, for the repair guy loves customers like you.