Sam and Dianne Harris, Aire Serv of the Gold Country

In 2006, franchise owner Sam Harris transitioned his 14-year-old business into the Aire Serv of the Gold Country franchise. While he understood the importance of treating a customer well before purchasing the franchise, Sam and his wife, Dianne, credit a good business system and support from the franchise system for much of their success.

What was business like before you bought a franchise?
I had the basic instinct to treat customer quite well – I had uniforms, t-shirts with our logo and good-looking trucks that were labeled with magnets. We had a call-taker and dispatcher in place, but our business structure was not fine-tuned.

We also didn't know how to keep customer records. Our only real method of keeping records was through QuickBooks. Aire Serv was a big benefit to us with financing and maintenance contracts. I now have employees that keep busy by doing the maintenance contracts. The office business model is huge. I also cheated myself for 14 years by not having the Aire Serv business model to follow by undercharging my services. When you charge by the hour, versus flat rate, it was a significant difference. I was a technician, not a business man.

We also operated in an upstairs bedroom of our house. With the office in the house, Dianne would get up for work and have employees walking past our room. Having an office space allowed us to expand and grow. The salesman now has his own office, Dianne and I share a space and our book keeper has her own room. We also have a huge conference table at the center of the building to hold our morning meetings.

Why buy a franchise?
I was driven by age. I was 59 at the time and didn't want to be on the roof for another 15 years. I figured there must be a business model out there that wouldn't make me reinvent the wheel. I didn't want to be in a service truck, but in the business. I received a call from Aire Serv and eventually listened. My wife, Dianne, and I attended a conference and ended up signing the franchise agreement at the Reunion. We were thoroughly impressed by everyone we met, saw and heard. The Dwyer Group was very impressive. It struck us right.

What challenges did you face when you first started your Aire Serv franchise?
Aire Serv provided us with the office chart of accounts along with some items we didn't have in place. We didn't have any maintenance contracts, for instance, and had to implement them; it has been good for us. We had an install crew, a service side and a maintenance side before purchasing the franchise, but we didn't have a sales side. We have attended Aire Serv sales training courses and have added sales positions.

There are opportunities to go back to the corporate office for retraining, which I think would behoove everyone to do every two or three years. It's such a growing process – you always learn a little bit more.

What impact has the Aire Serv brand had on your business?
Everybody knows who we are – they see our trucks everywhere. They stand out. We have worked Home and Garden shows and cross marketing with other Dwyer Group companies in our market. A coffee shop owner in our area complimented us on our marketing because we have a huge presence. We also had brochures printed with a neighboring Aire Serv franchise to promote our national giveaway, which gives the grand prize winner a complete HVAC system up to $10,000.

What do you see in the future for your franchise?
From the time I bought an Aire Serv franchise, my goal was to be an office person. I don't really like the office, but I want to work on the business and not in it.

We are constantly improving the way we handle things so we are a more efficient running machine. In 10 years, my ultimate goal is to have someone manage it so I don't have to come in unless we want to throw a party for our employees. Whether we are in the office or not, my goal is for the business to continue to provide a steady income for us. We would truly want an employee that's dedicated enough to Aire Serv that their goal is to be the next owner. That would be the ultimate compliment. Overall, we have better business practices and have increased our maintenance agreements and sales in the last four years.

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