HVAC Community Hub | Alistair | Activity

Alistair posted a new activity comment

Tue, 22 Sep 2026 03:46:33 +1200

This happened to my buddy last year, someone left a review describing a plumbing job on his HVAC company page, took him 4 months and 11 support tickets to get it removed.

In reply to - Charles posted an update in the group HVAC Installation Best Practices Got a 1-star Google review overnight from a customer I’ve never heard of and have zero record of in my system. Different city. […]

Alistair posted a new activity comment

Sun, 20 Sep 2026 12:04:51 +1200

You said $12 for a capacitor, where are you buying capacitors for $12? Mine are $18-24 from the supply house depending on the MFD, just curious.

In reply to - Liam posted an update in the group Troubleshooting & Repairs Flat rate is a scam and I’ll die on this hill. Charging a customer $450 to swap a capacitor that costs $12 and takes 8 minutes is not “selling […]

Alistair posted a new activity comment

Tue, 15 Sep 2026 10:51:45 +1200

20 minutes on the phone, I would have stopped at 5 and just scheduled the visit because some people need to see you standing there saying it’s fine in person before they believe it.

In reply to - Andrea posted an update in the group Troubleshooting & Repairs Just got off the phone with a customer who wants me to come back and “fix” a system I installed 3 weeks ago. Her complaint? The vents make a […]

Alistair posted a new activity comment

Fri, 04 Sep 2026 22:38:28 +1200

Post the after photo when it’s done, I want to see the finished product.

In reply to - Charles posted an update in the group HVAC Installation Best Practices Old and new. 2004 vs 2026. Changeout day.

Alistair posted a new activity comment

Fri, 28 Aug 2026 23:25:31 +1200

I don’t even bother waiting for my truck to warm up anymore I just get in and go, by the time the heat actually kicks in I’m pulling into the first driveway anyway.

In reply to - Matteo posted an update in the group Troubleshooting & Repairs First call is a no heat on the other side of town and I told dispatch I’d be there by 6:30. Customer has been without heat since last night and […]

Alistair posted a new activity comment

Sat, 15 Aug 2026 17:52:13 +1200

That unit has been cooking itself under there for three summers with zero airflow above the fan. Head pressure must have been through the roof the entire time.

In reply to - Grayson posted an update in the group Troubleshooting & Repairs Customer said the system just stopped keeping up last summer and has been getting worse. Asked where the outdoor unit was. She pointed at the […]

Alistair posted a new activity comment

Sat, 15 Aug 2026 11:10:15 +1200

Marriage is just agreeing with things you don’t understand so you can eat dinner in peace.😂

In reply to - Emmett posted an update in the group Troubleshooting & Repairs Somebody tell me I’m dreaming. No cool call. Walked around the house and this woman painted her entire condenser with spray paint to match […]

Alistair posted a new activity comment

Thu, 13 Aug 2026 02:51:46 +1200

The condensate line just hanging there draining into the crawlspace means this problem is partially caused by the furnace itself. Whoever installed it and left the condensate line like that created this. Not all of it but definitely made it worse.

In reply to - Alexander posted an update in the group Troubleshooting & Repairs I need somebody to explain to me why I’m the fourth company this customer has called about this. Three other companies came out, looked at it, […]

Alistair posted a new activity comment

Wed, 12 Aug 2026 16:03:42 +1200

I’ve started carrying a small tape measure and physically showing customers what 24 inches looks like next to their unit. Changed the conversation completely. They can see it instead of just hearing a number.

In reply to - Callum posted an update in the group HVAC Installation Best Practices Got dispatched for a “system not keeping up” call. Showed up and couldn’t even find the condenser at first. Homeowner pointed me to […]

Alistair posted a new activity comment

Fri, 03 Jul 2026 19:16:37 +1200

Based on the dust accumulation around that opening I’d guess at least a season, maybe longer.

In reply to - Tyler posted an update in the group HVAC Installation Best Practices Customer called saying one room won’t cool no matter what. Found this under the house. Conditioned air has been dumping straight into […]

Alistair posted a new activity comment

Fri, 03 Jul 2026 05:58:26 +1200

At some point this just becomes a new version of price shopping. annoying but not actually new.

In reply to - Tyler posted an update in the group Troubleshooting & Repairs Anyone else getting customers who pull up ChatGPT mid-call and start reading you the “correct” price for the repair? Happened twice this week.

Alistair posted a new activity comment

Thu, 02 Jul 2026 06:23:59 +1200

I had a counter guy literally pull up the same outdated spreadsheet I was looking at on my phone and act surprised it was wrong.

In reply to - Juan posted an update in the group HVAC Installation Best Practices Anybody else’s supplier just randomly stop carrying a part you’ve ordered for years with zero warning? Needed a specific contactor today, […]

Alistair posted a new activity comment

Sun, 31 May 2026 20:37:24 +1200

😂 And they always come back.

In reply to - Michael posted an update in the group Troubleshooting & Repairs Anyone else feel like equipment prices are just never going back down. Quoted a 3 ton Carrier install today. My cost on the equipment alone […]

Alistair posted a new activity comment

Wed, 27 May 2026 20:26:03 +1200

Standardize all your renewals to October. Takes one slow admin week to sort out but changes everything about how winter feels financially.

In reply to - Fabio posted an update in the group Troubleshooting & Repairs How are you actually surviving the slow months financially as a small business owner. Not the textbook answer. The real one. January through […]

Alistair posted a new activity comment

Wed, 27 May 2026 20:09:14 +1200

Does anyone know if running google ads during a suspension actually helps or hurts the reinstatement.

In reply to - Aiden posted an update in the group Troubleshooting & Repairs so my google business profile got suspended this morning with zero warning no email. no explanation. just suspended when I went to check […]

Alistair posted a new activity comment

Thu, 21 May 2026 23:42:29 +1200

The 800/mo on ads isn’t the problem. The landing page and follow up probably are. Most people click an ad and don’t get called back fast enough.

In reply to - Cameron posted an update in the group HVAC Installation Best Practices Question for the group, specifically for the people who have been running their own shop for 3+ years. What actually moved the needle for […]

Alistair posted a new activity comment

Wed, 20 May 2026 20:09:11 +1200

That’s exactly what I needed to hear. Thank you.

In reply to - Alistair posted an update in the group Troubleshooting & Repairs Honest post here because I see a lot of highlight reel stuff and I want to share something real.Year 2 of being on my own. started with my truck, […]

Alistair posted an update in the group Troubleshooting & Repairs: Honest post here because I see a lot of highlight reel […]

Tue, 19 May 2026 21:54:00 +1200

Honest post here because I see a lot of highlight reel stuff and I want to share something real.Year 2 of being on my own. started with my truck, my tools, and $800 in savings. first year was survival mode. lost money some months. ate through savings. almost quit in October.
Year 2 has been different. not rich but I’m actually paying myself… Read more

Alistair posted a new activity comment

Fri, 15 May 2026 19:12:26 +1200

The biggest thing for us was getting financing built directly into the estimate process. Way less friction for the customer.

In reply to - Connor posted an update in the group HVAC Installation Best Practices Been looking at changing financing companies after one of our dealer fees jumped from 1.9% to almost 4%. Not a huge deal on smaller tickets […]

Alistair posted a new activity comment

Tue, 12 May 2026 05:48:00 +1200

Every insurance company acts interested until they hear HVAC.

In reply to - Alessandro posted an update in the group HVAC Installation Best Practices Started looking into health insurance options for employees this week and honestly didn’t realize how all over the place pricing […]

Alistair posted a new activity comment

Sat, 09 May 2026 08:56:46 +1200

I wasted a ton of money on ads before I realized half the leads were garbage.

In reply to - Dylan posted an update in the group HVAC Installation Best Practices Realizing lately being good at HVAC and actually growing a company are two completely different things 😅 Feels like everybody online’s selling […]

Alistair posted a new activity comment

Sat, 09 May 2026 04:25:53 +1200

Most guys focus so much on getting work they forget to build systems.

Alistair posted a new activity comment

Fri, 08 May 2026 22:36:50 +1200

Residential customers got way more price sensitive the last couple years.

Alistair posted a new activity comment

Mon, 04 May 2026 19:58:31 +1200

Buy once cry once.

In reply to - Gordon posted an update in the group HVAC Installation Best Practices Just getting into HVAC and already realizing I’ll probably go through a few tool bags 😅 trying to figure out if it’s better to start cheap […]

Alistair posted a new activity comment

Wed, 29 Apr 2026 23:16:33 +1200

In 2026 I still don’t get how someone’s running a business without a website you’ve gotta be missing calls, leads somewhere.

In reply to - Miles posted an update in the group Troubleshooting & Repairs Curious what you guys are spending on your websites these days. Feels like it can go from cheap to expensive real fast.

Alistair posted a new activity comment

Wed, 08 Apr 2026 20:48:28 +1200

I only upgrade after the cheap one fails kind of my system now.

In reply to - Robert posted an update in the group HVAC Installation Best Practices Bought one of those cheaper tools thinking it would get me through a few jobs, and now I’m replacing it way sooner than expected. Starting to […]

Alistair posted a new activity comment

Sat, 24 Jan 2026 21:30:39 +1300

Every. Single. Time.

In reply to - Matthew posted an update in the group HVAC Installation Best Practices Had plenty of Schrader valve cores last week. Needed one today gone.

Alistair posted a new activity comment

Fri, 23 Jan 2026 00:10:19 +1300

Could be a loose low-voltage wire. I’ve chased this for hours before and it was a half-pulled spade.

In reply to - James posted an update in the group HVAC Installation Best Practices Unit won’t respond even though everything has power.

Alistair posted a new activity comment

Mon, 19 Jan 2026 04:05:02 +1300

The flue can be used as a chase if it’s properly terminated at the top and no other appliances are tied into it.

In reply to - Adam posted an update in the group Troubleshooting & Repairs Well… that’s a solution.

Alistair posted a new activity comment

Fri, 09 Jan 2026 08:34:39 +1300

That ceiling tile was hiding secrets.

In reply to - Carlos posted an update in the group HVAC Contractors & Subcontractors Today went for this job.From below the ceiling looked clean.Opened it up and… same story again. Multiple units, tight space, no access. And […]

Alistair posted a new activity comment

Wed, 07 Jan 2026 03:06:06 +1300

Usually ends up being airflow paths or past changes nobody documented.

In reply to - Miles posted an update in the group HVAC Tools & Equipment The hardest issues are the ones where nothing is technically wrong.

Alistair posted a new activity comment

Thu, 18 Dec 2025 15:01:36 +1300

Fair point. Might depend on how similar the pages are across services.

In reply to - Alistair posted an update in the group HVAC SEO Accelerator: Rank Higher, Get More Calls At this point, SEO feels less about ranking and more about managing volatility. Pages don’t just rank or drop – Google […]

Alistair posted a new activity comment

Thu, 18 Dec 2025 15:01:34 +1300

That’s what I’m realizing – silence from the site equals experimentation from Google.

Alistair posted a new activity comment

Thu, 18 Dec 2025 15:01:33 +1300

Same here. More pages gave Google more choices… maybe too many.

Alistair posted a new activity comment

Thu, 18 Dec 2025 15:01:30 +1300

Exactly. It’s not a drop or a gain – it’s rotation, and that’s harder to manage.

Alistair posted an update in the group HVAC SEO Accelerator: Rank Higher, Get More Calls: At this point, SEO feels less about ranking and more […]

Thu, 18 Dec 2025 15:01:29 +1300

At this point, SEO feels less about ranking and more about managing volatility.
Pages don’t just rank or drop – Google keeps rotating which page it tests for the same intent, even when nothing changes on the site.
Feels like if you’re not actively reinforcing page intent and internal signals, Google just starts experimenting with your traffic on its own.

Alistair posted a new activity comment

Thu, 11 Dec 2025 21:48:41 +1300

Our site has old info everywhere. Didn’t even notice until a customer pointed it out 😅

In reply to - HVAC Community Hub posted an update in the group HVAC Contractors & Subcontractors Just a quick note for anyone who hasn’t checked their website in a while – keeping it updated is a lot more important than most […]

Alistair posted a new activity comment

Tue, 09 Dec 2025 19:13:41 +1300

I was honestly waiting for your reply 😅
I thought once you jumped in, this whole thing would make a lot more sense.
Please connect with me when you can – really need your help on this.

In reply to - Alistair posted an update in the group HVAC SEO Accelerator: Rank Higher, Get More Calls Not sure if it’s just us, but Google’s been shifting our rankings around every time the weather changes. Some days our […]

Alistair posted a new activity comment

Tue, 09 Dec 2025 19:13:40 +1300

Yeah we probably need to clean up some of our linking.

Alistair posted a new activity comment

Tue, 09 Dec 2025 19:13:38 +1300

Exactly – traffic is fine, just going to the wrong pages.

Alistair posted a new activity comment

Tue, 09 Dec 2025 19:13:37 +1300

😂 literally feels like that right now.

Alistair posted a new activity comment

Tue, 09 Dec 2025 19:13:35 +1300

Good idea – I’ll take a look at that today.

Alistair posted a new activity comment

Tue, 09 Dec 2025 19:13:34 +1300

Makes sense, just never seen it jump around this much.

Alistair posted an update in the group HVAC SEO Accelerator: Rank Higher, Get More Calls: Not sure if it’s just us, but Google’s been shifting our […]

Tue, 09 Dec 2025 19:13:33 +1300

Not sure if it’s just us, but Google’s been shifting our rankings around every time the weather changes.
Some days our AC page shows up, next day it’s the furnace page, even when nothing on our site changed.
It’s not hurting traffic, but it is messing with which pages actually get the leads.

Alistair posted a new activity comment

Tue, 18 Nov 2025 15:36:36 +1300

Not sure if AI will ever replace real field experience though. Some things you just can’t automate.

In reply to - HVAC Community Hub posted an update in the group HVAC SEO Accelerator: Rank Higher, Get More Calls I’ve been watching how fast AI tools are growing, and it’s crazy how much they’re starting to show up in the […]

Alistair posted a new activity comment

Fri, 14 Nov 2025 19:20:44 +1300

This is good info. Thanks for sharing.

In reply to - HVAC Community Hub posted an update in the group HVAC CRM Playbook: From Lead Capture To Customer Loyalty Something I keep seeing inside the group: a lot of HVAC businesses set up their CRM or automations once… […]

Alistair posted a new activity comment

Wed, 12 Nov 2025 19:59:30 +1300

At 40% load, approach shouldn’t be that high if flow and tubes are right. Could be an expansion valve hunting or lagging behind load change.

In reply to - Owen posted an update in the group Troubleshooting & Repairs Chiller’s showing a 17°F condenser approach at about 40% load – tubes clean, water flow good. Starting to think it’s a low mass-flow or EXV […]

Alistair posted a new activity comment

Tue, 04 Nov 2025 21:16:55 +1300

Do you think adding separate pages for each service area still helps? Or is it getting outdated?

In reply to - HVAC Community Hub posted an update in the group HVAC SEO Accelerator: Rank Higher, Get More Calls I’ve noticed many HVAC business owners treat SEO like a one-time checklist – but real growth comes when you […]

Alistair posted a new activity comment

Sun, 12 Oct 2025 21:24:08 +1300

I just updated my H1s and titles with city names last week. Fingers crossed!

In reply to - HVAC Community Hub posted an update in the group HVAC SEO Accelerator: Rank Higher, Get More Calls If your HVAC business isn’t showing up when someone searches “AC repair near me” or “commercial HVAC […]

Alistair posted a new activity comment

Wed, 24 Sep 2025 16:05:53 +1200

I feel like CRMs are just another expense. Why not just stick to Excel and WhatsApp?

In reply to - HVAC Community Hub posted an update in the group HVAC Reputation Powerhouse-Win Trust, Dominate Reviews, and Stand Out Outline 👨‍💻 Why Every HVAC Business Needs a Proper CRM Setup One common challenge I notice […]