r/hvacpeople

35 years in the trade. Started in ‘94 with $3,200 and a window van we primed brown because we couldn’t afford a real paint job. Called it the Brown Bomber. Thing was ugly as sin — I’m still surprised anyone hired me off that first look.

But they did. Because I showed up, did the work right, and stood behind it.

Sold the company debt-free in 2018. Still running another shop today.

Here’s the hard truth about pricing:

The cheapest guy always loses. Maybe not this quarter. Maybe not this year. But eventually he burns out, goes broke, or kills somebody’s equipment trying to squeeze a dime out of a job he never should’ve taken.

Your price is a filter. Low prices don’t just mean low profit — they pull in the worst customers. The ones who nickel-and-dime every invoice. Who call you back for free warranty work on stuff you already told them needed replacing. Who leave a 1-star review because you showed up at 2:05 instead of 2:00.

Hold the line.

When a customer says “the other guy is cheaper” — say thank you, shake their hand, wish them well. That other guy is either lying about the scope, using junk parts, skipping the permit, or about to be out of business. Let him have it.

You don’t need every job. You don’t want every job.

Say it out loud. Put it on a sticker on your dashboard if you have to.

The jobs you lose on price aren’t jobs you lost. They’re jobs you were protected from.

Quality work. Fair price. Stand behind it. That’s the whole game.

Your best customer isn’t the one who hired you because you were cheapest. It’s the one who hired you because they trusted you — and they’ll call you every time for the next 20 years. Tell their neighbor. Tell their kid when they buy a house. Tell their brother-in-law in the next town over.

That’s how you build something that lasts.

If the Brown Bomber could earn trust, your truck can too. Charge what you’re worth.

Stop racing to the bottom. The bottom is a graveyard.