Customer Spotlight: Specialize Heating and Air Conditioning

C: Tell us a little more about your company.

L: The owner, Carlos Morales, started Specialize Heating and Air eleven years ago as a family owned business. We’ve been expanding and growing rapidly in the past eleven years. We specialize in Home Comfort; we want to make sure that when we go to the client or homeowner that we take pride in what we do. We try to go above and beyond to bring a peace of mind to their home.

C: Tell us a little bit about yourself and your position at Specialize Heating and Air Conditioning.

L: I head the Operations department for the company. I work hand in hand with the owner, technicians, and installers and make sure the jobs get done correctly in a timely amount of fashion. I also wear a lot of hats here as well and try to create a culture for the company to bring back to the old customer service model and it gives our customers their peace of mind. We assign a technician to a recent install and keep that technician as their technician going forward. In the last fifteen years, my background has been in internal positions where I run the internal business, structure, venue. I help create value within the inner workings of the business and help grow companies from within and externally.

C: Where have you created your best customer stories?

L: It starts here in the office. We try to provide excellent customer service and communication from beginning to end; on the phone, through the visit and after their visit with follow ups. We’ve had great reviews from Yelp and Angie’s List with our follow up and how we’re treating our customers. We keep these values inside the company from the owner to the installer to make sure that everyone through the visit is professional, courteous, polite and goes above and beyond for each customer. Our success rates are very high and very efficient and try to stay on top of our internet reputation as well.

"Online advertising gives you direct exposure online right away. Using a tool like Service Direct will help you expand your search to get you a more visual look. Every small business can utilize Service Direct and gain success if they manage the tools correctly."

- Lorenzo Riveria, Specialize Heating and Air Conditioning

C: What has been your biggest success this year?

L: Our employees are our biggest success. We’ve brought in people who are going above and beyond with our reputation. They’re the ones making our company successful.

C: What is your biggest challenge in the upcoming months?

L: To become better than what we are. We go above and beyond and we try to continue that and be consistent, but we want to strive for better and improve in our customer service.

C: How has Service Direct impacted your business since you started with us?

L: Service Direct has been a major impact to our success this year. Within the first or second call, we had a sale right off the bat which benefited the company and from there it had a domino effect throughout the summer. Utilizing the tools from a personal aspect, I’ve been auditing calls and have been able to challenge calls. We’re building a bigger venue for our customers because our database has been growing from the service and we’ve been able to obtain a lot of great feedback as well from these customers. Service Direct has been a very good tool in our success.

C: What is your favorite feature of the Service Direct dashboard?

L: My favorite feature is the revenue tracking column where I can see how we can tally up the dollar amount to what our overall profit is. It’s very easy to use once we plug in the numbers we need to put in, it automatically starts determining our profit margin and overheard in regards to what we’re paying out. Listening to the recorded calls is also one of my favorite features because I get to get a good response in what’s happening. I get to audit not only our employees but the customers as well. Those are my favorite tools because I can hear the call, book the call, type in personal notes per lead. I like the platform overall because it’s very easy and simple to use.

C: What’s been your best experience so far utilizing Service Direct?

L: The best experience is the experience itself. Seeing the success from the platform. The tool itself has been very successful for us. There’s success behind the whole thing.

C: How has technology overall changed your business?

L: Technology has benefited us a lot on how we can do everything off a desktop or a cell phone and it’s also how we can connect with our customers and with our technicians. It’s affected our bookkeeping and has effects what we do online and our reputation.

C: Why do you think online marketing is important for your industry?

L: Online marketing is important for our industry because it’s the new form of advertising. People read reviews and analyze if you have many reviews or what your ratings are as well. Keeping a good reputation online very important for customers to make an informed decision.

C: What qualities do you think are important to look for when looking for an advertising partner?

L: Customer Service of the advertising partner and the credibility of where they’re advertising is key. Building a relationship with the advertising partner as well to make sure you’re not being handed off to a new person every time you call. Make sure to understand how the advertising partner is advertising to customers for you. Need to have ease of use of the software platform as well when you are looking for an advertising partner.

C: What piece of advice do you have for your peers who are in your industry who are looking to start online advertising?

L: It’s the best way to start. Online advertising gives you direct exposure online right away. Using a tool like Service Direct will help you expand your search to get you a more visual look. The web pages Service Direct designs look very nice and they get you calls right away. Every small business can utilize Service Direct and gain success if they manage the tools correctly.