Much like WalMart has changed the face of retailing (some say it's not for the better), The Home Depot has also changed the hardware industry.

 

To get into the heating and air business, Home Depot has some brochures laying around the store and appears to be selling and installing heating and air equipment! But they don't. Local contractors do the work and Home Depot takes a percentage of what the customer pays for the job. We've been approached to be the contractor for that retailer, and we said no.

 

We want to run our business the right way and make sure there is no "corporate intervention" either financially or by telling us how to treat our customers (and no, we don't like the self-check-out at WalMart or Home Depot). Instead, we prefer to go beyond their minimum corporate requirements and continue to be independent. This allows us to keep pricing low and not take any shortcuts to try and get the percentage they skim off the top back into the company!

 

Every now and then, all across the country, an organization is formed to "overtake the world" of some particular industry. McDonalds did it with hamburgers. Lens Crafters did it with eyeglasses. Now there is a franchise giant that is trying to do the same with heating & air conditioning.

 

This same organization has attempted this before and the local dealers they gobbled up then are now gone. The customers that bought from them are left with no local company. The giant franchise can "buy" a local contractor/dealer and get all of their customers and a local address. The original owner is paid to stay long enough to get through a season and then retire... they do national marketing and even sell their "own brand."

 

We received their latest "letter to buy your business" and said no way! The local dealers that sold to the franchise were already in trouble... already had a bad reputation. Now they are running under a franchise brand name hoping no one will notice or remember the bad work they did! The names were changed to protect the innocent?

 

If you could buy a Chevrolet with less of a factory warranty, and instead of Chevrolet it was named "One Hour Special" and cost about the same as the Chevrolet... would you buy it? You couldn't take the "One Hour Special" car to a Chevy dealer for warranty work. They would say "Yup. looks just like a Chevy, but we can't do the warranty work because we won't get paid by the factory. Take it to where you bought it to get it fixed." What if they are already out of business? A generic brand may be OK for tissue or peanut butter, but not for your home health and comfort.

 

And so it is with heating and air equipment. We sell actual brands from actual manufacturers. With the full factory warranty. Anyone can work on it that services that brand... 

 

And by the way... the Franchise takes a percentage from the sale to support the corporate structure (based in another state) so they can buy more local dealers. We still don't like the self checkout at WalMart or Home Depot. How about you?

 

 

UNKNOWN BRAND SOLD at FRANCHISE!	What is a FRANCHISE BRAND?   Be sure you know what BRAND THEY REALLY SELL! They change the name and logo before they bring it to your house.