Some people believe that cooling is the most critical function of an HVAC unit. After all, what’s more miserable than a hot store in August?

The answer: Not much. But a cold store in December is miserable, too. Frankly, customers are just as likely to avoid a cold store in December as they would the hot store in August.

From an HVAC perspective, the heating season is no less important to you and your business than the cooling season. In fact, with the holidays right around the corner, many retailers will enter their busiest selling season. If retailing is your business, you need to be selling during the holidays, not dealing with HVAC issues.

An HVAC preventive maintenance (PM) schedule is the key to ensuring that the systems in each of your stores run smoothly and efficiently, no matter what the seasons may bring. When it’s well-designed and thoroughly implemented, PM will also help to avert potential problems before they manifest into full-blown crises.

We know you know about PM. If you’ve read this blog before, you understand just how important we think PM is, and how often we stress the need for a customized PM program.

But just having the program isn’t enough. If you have a PM program in place, now is the time to review and assess it honestly. Are you getting everything you’re paying for? What exactly are you getting? Do the components address the specific needs of your stores, including stores that may be located in different geographies, and stores with different units? To that end, is it comprehensive, and does it address different makes, models and ages of various units in your HVAC portfolio? Lastly, how well does your PM provider perform against established performance benchmarks? Do they respond to service calls in a timely manner? Do they do what they promise to do as part of the PM contract? Are they strategic and thorough in their approach, and accountable in their actions?

These are questions you should be asking, of yourself and your PM provider. The time to ask them is now – before problems arise, before stores go cold and before potential business is lost.

In our next installment, we’ll tell you what to look for as you and your team prepare your HVAC system or systems for the heating season, and we’ll provide links to general PM checklists and other important information about start up strategies for various heating sources.

If you want to learn more about CLS’s national HVAC services, or all other CLS services, please call us at 800-548-3542.