Day: April 28, 2018

Giving Full Customer Satisfaction One Customer at a Time by Melissa LaScaleia Chris Quade grew up in Indiana, and when he was 19 years old, he decided to join the Navy and travel the world.  He met his wife in Philadelphia when he was stationed there.  After his military term expired, he used his GI Bill to attend technical college, where he studied heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration.   “I graduated in 1997 and we moved to Myrtle Beach,” Chris tells the Insider in an interview.  “I was from a small town and didn’t want to live in a big city, and my wife was from a big city and didn’t want to live in a small town.  Myrtle Beach felt like a good compromise, and we’ve been here for twenty-one years now.  It’s kind of like a big city with a small town feel where everybody knows everybody.  And there’s tons of opportunity here.  Probably if you can think of it and want to do it, you can do it here.”  What Chris thought of was his own company— Beach Air. Chris started off his career in Myrtle Beach working for a heating and air conditioning company doing installation and duct work.  He worked his way up and eventually became a service manager.  “The company was purchased after I was there for a year,” he tells the Insider.  “When I started, there were twelve employees, and when I left, there were 100.  So I had a unique experience because I saw the steps the new owner took to transform this smaller company into a larger one.”  After eighteen years, Chris wanted more from his job.  But he had hit a ceiling where he was at, and couldn’t grow any further.  In 2015, he decided to start his own business.  Trading in his pickup truck for a work van, he began working out of his garage alone.  In under three years, he’s grown to thirteen employees.  “We’ve definitely had a huge amount of growth in a short period of time.  It’s been great,” he says.  “My main focus and the mindset with which we conduct our work, is to give full customer satisfaction one customer at a time.  We’re going to make sure that customer is completely happy; then we go to the next one.”  Beach Air conducts residential as well as commercial repairs, installation, and servicing for heating and cooling units.  One of the most important services that they provide is bi-annual maintenance work.   Chris likes to educate people on the importance of having their heating/cooling unit serviced twice a year so that it’s functioning optimally, and will be reliable in extreme temperatures.   “Heat pumps are not really designed to be in that cold of temperatures,” he explains.  “They will work when it’s 15 degrees outside, but they have to be operating at their peak performance.  And similarly, when it’s 95 degrees outside, it’s pushed to the max and is going to struggle.”   Reader, you have been warned.  “When I was deciding what I wanted to do for a career,” Chris says, “I figured out that I like to fix and repair stuff.  With heating and cooling, it’s work I wasn’t ever going to worry about going away.  And I like to see new places, rather than being in the same place every day.  In the service industry, we’re at a new location daily, answering calls, and so this line of work really fits me.”   “But my biggest satisfaction,” he continues, “is being able to bring awesome customer service to people who really need it.  A lot of people are elderly, or have small babies and it’s 50 degrees in the house.  I really get a lot out of helping people in those types of situations.  “My biggest satisfaction is being able to bring awesome customer service to people who really need it.” — Chris Quade, center, surrounded by Beach Air employees. – Photo courtesy of Beach Air “If you look at our reviews on Google you’ll see all the great comments people have written about us. Seeing that stuff drives me to do my best.  I want to see more of that.  I want to be looked at as a community-based company.  We’re a part of the community too, and we want to help the community.  I don’t want to be seen as a huge company just trying to take the next dollar.”  In keeping with that philosophy, Beach Air contributes yearly to Habitat For Humanity, the non-profit organization that builds houses for those in need.  Chris donates the equipment and labor to install the heating/ cooling system— a job which otherwise would cost almost $8,000.   He also donates his time by attending career day at Forestbrook Middle School, where he speaks to the children about what it’s like to work in his industry.   “I’m always looking to the future and planning for it,” he says.  “I certainly want to grow our customer base and we’re going to grow our employees, but from a place of where we can still hold our same core values.  I want to be known as the preferred heating and air conditioning company on the Grand Strand, not necessarily the biggest.   “I just want people to see our logo or van driving down the beach, and to be recognized as the company that’s best in customer service.  I don’t want a one-time customer, I want lifetime customers.”  “I don’t think about my competition too much,” he continues.  “Obviously I know they’re there.  I know the market values for what we do.  But a lot of people will come to me and say, ‘do you know these people are doing this?’   I just focus on what I’m doing, on the road in front of me.”  One of the things he’s doing is hiring good technicians, those with a lot of talent, and sending them for additional training.   “I want to make sure we have the right guys on the job so that we’re doing the job properly, … Read more

Save Money, Be Comfortable, Live Happier by Melissa LaScaleia  Jeff Thompson started Carolina Energy Conservation with his friend, Fred Baker, out of his garage in Surfside Beach nine years ago.  “I’ve always had a passion for energy conservation,” he says, speaking of his start in the industry. As the oldest of five children, Jeff remembered his parents receiving high power bills and witnessed the resulting stressful impact on his family. Fueled by this memory, out of college he worked for an energy conservation company in his hometown of Niagara Falls, New York. Then, seeking sunnier skies, he moved to Myrtle Beach. The relocation inspired him to start his own business.  “I saw a need to create ways that we can save money in operating our homes, be more comfortable, and live happier,” he says.  He began by conducting educational seminars on home energy efficiency strategies that were applicable to house designs in the South. Jeff went on to get a BPI, Building Performance Institute certification, to learn what the standards were from the best resource available. He and his employees continue their training with continuing education to this day.  BPI approaches energy efficiency as a whole-house system, and examines how all the factors affecting efficiency— like insulation, attic, lighting, doors, windows, vents, and garage spaces— are functioning together. Jeff fuses this aspect of his business with solar installation, repair, and maintenance.  Solar panels soak up the rays in sunny Myrtle Beach reducing power bills by a whopping 90%.- Photo by Meganpixels “There are a lot of different ways to help people make their home more efficient,” Jeff says. “One of the things we really pride ourselves on is providing the right solutions for our clients that would best serve them.”  And the philosophy has served them well. Jeff bought a building for his expanding business on Hwy 707 in 2014, and today Carolina Energy Conservation has over 28 employees. Their technicians are all trained through a company called Dr. Energy Saver— the largest energy conservation company in the U.S. The knowledge based company shows them ways to fix things in innovative ways.  “The relationship gives us access to a large variety of individuals who know everything about what’s energy efficient,” he says. “Using infrared camera and other tests, we can pinpoint exactly where and how much air is leaking in a house. That’s important because when you’re heating or cooling a house, the air that’s leaking will be replaced by either your heating or your air conditioning system.  “Many people have overhead lights that are extremely leaky. We go over the house and seal those areas to make it as efficient as it can be, then we conduct a solar analysis to determine the number of panels you need.”  You will need less power to run your home after the improvements, and therefore, less solar panels installed. Because of the cost of the panels, conducting energy efficiency improvements first can save homeowners considerable money. Yet, most solar companies don’t offer this service.  Carolina Energy Conservation earned the top spot on Santee Cooper’s Trade Ally List (a list of contractors Santee Cooper recommends) for insulation, three years in a row when Santee Cooper was offering that list. They also won the Solar Contractor of the Year for the past three years with Santee Cooper’s Trade Ally List for solar.  “We’ve had our solar division going on for six years now,” Jeff says. “We have a NABCEP certification, the highest certification you can have in solar; it’s like a doctorate degree in solar energy. Our work is very clean. Solar is one of the main things we do.”  “A big reason people pick solar is because they’re looking for the peace of mind that goes along with their purchase,” Jeff says. “But if you don’t install solar properly, you could have any number of issues.  “You have to go through the company that sold it to you, and if they’re not very good, they’re going to be out of business in few years and there’s nobody to help you.”  Jeff Thompson, front center, with his team outside of Carolina Energy Conservation’s office on Hwy 707. From humble origins he’s grown to over 28 employees. – Photo by Meganpixels To give his clients the peace of mind they seek, Jeff uses solar panels that have a 25 year manufacturer warranty for labor, maintenance and any other issues that may arise— meaning if anything goes awry during that time, the solar company will pay to repair it.  Jeff understands the importance first hand of having dealings with a reputable solar panel company. Many of his customers call him because they are having problems with faulty installations executed by companies in other states, or companies that have gone out of business.  The warranty, he clarifies, doesn’t mean the panels will stop working after 25 years. They have a life expectancy of forty or more years.  To make the process seamless, Jeff manages the interconnection agreement and permitting with the utility company, and he has a third party engineer ensure that everything is structurally sound.  There are two different ways to have solar in your home. The first is to install it as a battery backup in the event of a hurricane, with the solar acting as a replacement for a generator. The second, which most people opt for, is to install it on the grid system which will eliminate as much of your regular utility bill as possible, up to 90%.  “A lot of people in this area are on fixed incomes,” Jeff explains. “And you can’t control a rising energy bill. With solar, you’re locking in your power rate. It will basically always be the same. You will still be tied into the grid, but you’re getting credited for the amount of electricity you produce.  “In South Carolina, you can’t be paid for producing more energy than you use in a month, but if you do, it would be carried forward as a credit on the … Read more