Saturday Night Live Sketch Goofs on the HVAC Industry

The salesperson will be friendly enough, but you will never see him again. The installation crew that shows up will spend three days trying to figure out what is going on with the air conditioner while making a complete mess of your house. They only take Venmo, but you need to write in the payment app that the money is for pizza.

It culminates in this simple statement: “This whole process is going to be a nightmare.”

Like I said, the skit is funny. But it does exaggerate the very things that HVAC contractors need to work hard to overcome when they are trying to earn a homeowner’s trust and get their business.

Here are four points HVAC contractors can take away from this sketch:

#1: The HVAC contractor has an image problem: Any comedian will tell you there is a bit of truth in every joke. That is what makes it funny. The fact that this sketch made it on air is proof that this is how a large portion of people view the HVAC industry.

Of course, they do not view HVAC contractors exactly like this. As with any comedy bit, the fact that it is exaggerated is what makes it so amusing. The bigger question is why some homeowners have this view of the HVAC field in the first place.

The easy answer is just to blame Chuck in a Truck and dismiss the feedback. And that might be as good an answer as any. There are a few bad apples out there making life difficult for the rest of you.

Be that as it may, this is still the perception out there — one that contractors need to confront every time one of their employees walks into a customer’s home. While they will not verbalize it, they might be thinking about it. Be prepared.

#2: The sales experience might not match the installation experience: One of the most interesting observations comes very early in the sketch. The friendly, very professional salesperson is at the house, makes a great first impression, and then disappears.

What happens next is the homeowner is left dealing with an entirely different group of people who do not make the same type of impression the salesperson made.

Contractors need to ask themselves: Does the professionalism demonstrated during the sales process get carried out through to the installation process? Have the techs and installers received the same soft skills training that the salesforce has?

#3: Homeowners are not just buying equipment; they are also inviting strangers into their homes. In the sketch, there were many uncomfortable interactions between the technicians and homeowners. Again, highly exaggerated. I do not imagine many technicians are actually encouraging a 5-year-old to try out cigarettes.

But what are they doing? Are they making throwaway political statements (left or right) that could be offensive or off-putting? Are they taking the male homeowner more seriously than the female homeowner? All of these could offend, and how employees behave inside someone’s home is part of the service that is being purchased.

#4: Price is not the same thing as value. This goes back to the final line that Gillis says to camera in the sketch: “We’ll save you money, but it’ll cost you.”

This suggests that homeowners who prioritize the lowest price might end up paying in other ways, such as inconvenience, frustration, and an overall unpleasant experience.

Customers want a good deal, but they do not always comprehend what they are sacrificing by going with the lowest-price contractor. Professionalism is something customers will pay for on a consistent basis.

But it is not just customer service and professionalism. Technical expertise is a value proposition. A properly designed and installed HVAC system requires more than just a quick equipment changeout. Contractors can demonstrate value by explaining the work that customers may never see, including performing a load calculation, evaluating the ductwork, and verifying the system performs as intended.

Do all these things and you can be part of the group laughing at the sketch, knowing that it does not in any way reflect your business.