A successful career, just like a successful marriage, takes a lot of hard work and dedication. In companies today, it is unusual to have one or two employees celebrate a 10 year anniversary, but dESCO was fortunate enough to have 5 employees hit that achievement in 2011 alone. Aside from those five, there are 4 employees with over 15 years tenure, 2 with over 20 years and one who will be celebrating 25 years of service in 2012.  Currently, the average dESCO employee tenure is 9.7 years – an amazing achievement!

The culture at dESCO has long stood out in contrast to more freewheeling software companies who continually seek to lure new employees, creating a constant churn. While dESCO has established a strong base of long-tenured employees, many of whom have spent their entire careers here, that model is hardly common in today’s workplace.

“It is important to me to hire the right people and retain them over the long haul in order to give our customers the best all-around experience with our company and products,” explained Dean E. Schreiner dESCO Owner and President. “We have built an environment that permits creativity and autonomy, while maintaining the discipline to stay focused on the needs and goals of our customers.”

This commitment and loyalty is translated to dESCO customers through each interaction. dESCO’s customer service/support process is high-touch and focused on total care, digging deep into each customer’s business needs to deliver true results. With clear communications and a personal approach to help service companies overcome business challenges, dESCO values cultivating long-term customer relationships and having the opportunity to watch businesses grow and thrive.

While its employees give the company a competitive advantage in the marketplace, dESCO remains committed everyday to converting that into continued success. With over 6,000 dESCO customers nationwide, great products AND great people really do make the difference.

With a recent string of hackers breaching security, stealing sensitive customer credit card information and stealing money from customer bank accounts, it makes me wonder why service companies would not want to protect themselves further with simple painless measures. 

One important step is becoming PCI compliant with credit card transactions.  But you are probably wondering why … what’s the big deal? At first glance, especially if you are a smaller service company, it may seem like a confusing topic and a daunting task.  But let me break it down for you.

PCI Compliance Benefits Versus Consequences
Compliance with data security standards can bring major benefits to businesses of all sizes, while failure to comply can have serious and long-term negative consequences. Here are some reasons why.

• Compliance with the PCI DSS means that your systems are secure, and customers can trust you with their sensitive payment card information. Trust means your customers have confidence in doing business with you and confident customers are more likely to be repeat customers, and to recommend you to others.
• Compliance improves your reputation with acquirers and payment brands — the partners you need in order to do business.
• Compliance is an ongoing process, not a one-time event. It helps prevent security breaches and theft of payment card data, not just today, but in the future. As data compromise becomes ever more sophisticated, it becomes ever more difficult for an individual merchant to stay ahead of the threats. The PCI Security Standards Council is constantly working to monitor threats and improve the industry’s means of dealing with them, through enhancements to PCI Security Standards and by the training of security professionals. When you stay compliant, you are part of the solution – a united, global response to fighting payment card data compromise.

But if you are not compliant, it could be disastrous. Compromised data negatively affects consumers, merchants, and financial institutions. Just one incident can severely damage your reputation and your ability to conduct business effectively, far into the future. Account data breaches can lead to catastrophic loss of sales, relationships and standing in your community, and depressed share price if yours is a public company. Possible negative consequences also include lawsuits, insurance claims, cancelled accounts, payment card issuer fines and government fines.

Achieving PCI Compliance is EASY
Through a recent partnership with Merchant Warehouse, ESC has become PCI compliant, in adherence to security and liabilities, when handling customers’ credit card information. Merchant Warehouse uses strong encryption technology ensuring the safe handling of cardholder information, which tremendously reduces your liability. Plus ESC Version 12 customers using Merchant Warehouse services have also seen lower rates and improved efficiency.

You’ve worked hard to build your business – make sure you secure your success by securing your customers’ payment card data. Your customers depend on you to keep their information safe – repay their trust with compliance to the PCI Security Standards. Contact dESCO or register for more information with Merchant Warehouse to take the first step toware PCI compliance today.

 [Via PCI Security Standards Council: https://www.pcisecuritystandards.org/security_standards/why_comply.php]

Like it or not, the workforce is increasingly mobile and workers on the go need to be fully productive from mobile devices. Service companies need to keep up with the demand of an ever-growing digital world and should take advantage of the continued streamlined benefits that go along with a mobile solution. A recent article in The Air Conditioning/Heating/Refrigeration News speaks to this very message.

Most service companies already have cell phones distributed to improve in-the-field communications and most cell phone providers now offer bundled text/phone/internet solutions that are the same price if not cheaper than the individual plans. Adding a mobile service management solution will organize and streamline the work flow of both small and large service companies, making them more manageable and profitable.

ESC Mobile is a simple and affordable way to outfit your mobile technicians with real-time job information and time tracking. ESC Mobile is a powerful and intuitive smartphone, tablet and laptop App for Service Technicians to manage work orders in the field, Technician managers to manage technicians in the field and office personnel to monitor everything with real-time updates to and from the field.

ESC Mobile has all the tools and features growing service companies need. Benefits and advantages include:

• Increased tech productivity by arming your team with the right information in the field ensuring jobs are completed faster and more efficiently.
• Increased response time with features such as GPS tracking and mapping.
• Increased field accuracy with access to all information needed to identify and work on the right equipment and eliminate illegible hand-written field notes.
• Increased customer care and professionalism with easy access to complete customer information across your network.
• Increased sales by increasing the productivity of your technicians and in turn allowing them to complete more jobs daily as well as giving your team information needed to quickly identify up and cross sale opportunities.
• Reduced costs by identifying areas of waste and inefficiencies. (Example. Reduced fuel costs with ESC’s route optimization and mapping functions.)
• Improved internal communications by giving your employees access up-to-the-minute company and customer information, all in a single location.
• Improved external communications with appointment reminders, status updates, technician profile emails, surveys, coupons and more.  
• Reduced collections by allowing techs to process payments in the field lowering processing costs, ensuring accuracy, reducing collection issues and improving cash flow.

The benefits of implementing a mobile solution far outweigh the cost. So what are you waiting for? Contact us today for a personalized demo on our ESC mobile solution.

The ACHR News has a great article in this week’s issue about how HVAC companies are adopting mobile technology to increase productivity and operational efficiency. John Hall’s article, Mobile Office Changes How HVAC Business Is Done, explores how “a company’s ability to access on-the-spot information is vital to working efficiently and professionally” and how new developments in mobile technology makes that possible.

The article is great, not just because it features dESCO’s app ESC Mobile, but also because it demonstrates the importance of implementing the right mobile technology in an HVAC company. Here are a few choice quotes from the article about what ESC Mobile is doing for HVAC companies:

“Our app appeals to and is accessible to everyone,” said Jonathan Frei of dESCO LLC. “First, the app appeals to the computer illiterate in its ease of use. Most people who are able to operate the basic built-in apps on their smart phone, like the calendar and contact manager, will be proficient with our app in a matter of minutes.”

[…]

Frei said the key is being able to connect with customers. “Connecting with customers is and always will be the most critical function of mobile technology for businesses,” he said. “Other connections, such as communications with the office, suppliers, and web data, are important, but only in so far as they enable better connections with customers. The measure of value for any new communication technology is how well it frees up your staff to pay attention to and spend time with your customers.

[…]

“In the past, if a technician needed a phone number, the service history on a customer, or a customer’s service agreement status, he would have to call the office and have someone look up the information and give it to him,” said Frei. With the advent of mobile computing, the tech can look it up himself, getting the information quicker and leaving the person in the office free to talk to customers or to do other important work.

“The technology is turning many two-person jobs into one-person jobs. Therefore, I am comfortable asserting the technology saves at least 50 percent of the time spent communicating work information,” Frei said.

You can read the full article on the ACHR News site here.

You can learn more about ESC Mobile for iPhone/iPad, Android or Windows Phone 7 on our site or you can try the app yourself by searching “ESC Mobile” in you phone’s app store.

As part of our continued effort to provide our customers with quality information about running their business, we are hosting a webinar with our partner Callahan Roach to show why this is the year to introduce flat rate pricing to your business.

Join us for a free 45-minute webinar that shows how to use the power of flat rate pricing to propel your business forward through 2011 and beyond. Attend and you will learn what flat rate pricing is, why you should consider the switch, what’s in it for you, what’s in it for your customers, the bottom line impact, and different ways to implement and incorporate it into your business.

Wednesday March 23, 2011 @ 8 am PST / 10 am CST / 11 am EST

Sign up today to save your seat, and we will have it ready for you for next week.

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

Space is limited, so reserve your Webinar seat now at https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/175258598

System Requirements:
PC-based attendees need Windows® 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server

Macintosh®-based attendees need Mac OS® X 10.4.11 (Tiger®) or newer

Participants at the March 9 broadcast, “Technicians Don’t Have to Write Anymore” got a live look at ESC Mobile in action. However, for those of you that missed the live broadcast on HVACChannel.TV last week, you can still see recording of the show.

HVACChannel.tv’s Channel Manager, Ruth King, talked with Mike Haley and Jonathan Frei about how ESC Mobile can help contractors increase their efficiency and accuracy in the field by eliminating written paperwork and going paperless.

Click here to watch the recording of the show.

Reading tech’s handwriting on service tickets and invoice is difficult, and can cause mistakes and lost profits. However, by using ESC Mobile on the Android phone, techs are able to dictate their notes right into ESC from the field.

The app, ESC Mobile, is a simple and affordable way to outfit service technicians with real-time dispatch information and time tracking in the field. It lets technicians receive dispatches in the field, get directions to customers homes, view the customer’s service history, track their travel and working time, create quotes and invoices, dictate dispatch notes, process credit card payment, capture customer’s signatures, attach photos of work they’ve completed, and much more.

ESC Mobile is available for download from the iTunes app store, from the Android Marketplace, or from the Windows Phone 7 Marketplace.

For more information about ESC Mobile, call us at 800-226-7529.

The 2011 ACCA Indoor Air Expo is in its final day today. Below are a few videos from the conference.

The Indoor Air Expo is the ACCA Conference where HVAC professionals gather each year to learn about their industry and how to run their businesses better, collaborate with peers, and share their successes from the past year.

This year’s theme, “Take a Stand,” is all about taking a stand for your business to get the best results possible as well as to take a stand for the entire HVAC industry.

This first video is a highlight reel from the show in San Antonio, Texas.

Next up are Chairman John Sedine’s opening remarks at the beginning of the conference.

This third video is ACCA President and CEO, Paul Stalknecht welcoming the attendees to the conference and letting them know what it is all about.

The conference featured more than 30 specialized learning labs and general session that featured some of the top names in the HVAC industry.

From the ACCA Conference website:

The ACCA Conference is the leading educational event designed specifically for (and by!) the best HVACR contractors in America. Sponsored by the Air Conditioning Contractors of America, the conference has grown rapidly over the last few years as contractors have learned that there’s only one place each year to meet, and learn from, truly outstanding HVACR professionals from all over the nation.

The ACCA Conference is held in conjunction with the Indoor Air Expo, the industry-wide tradeshow for HVACR, indoor air quality, refrigeration, and radiant panel professionals. In 2011 the industry-wide Indoor Air Expo is co-sponsored by ACCA, the Indoor Air Quality Association, and the Radiant Professionals Alliance. These organizations will be holding their annual meetings at the same time as the ACCA Conference, turning San Antonio into the largest gathering of indoor environmental pros in the country in 2011.

According to an infographic by Mindflash.com, which drew upon data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, PayScale.com, and other sources, HVAC Technicians may be one of the bright spots for job growth in 2011.

mindflash.com believes HVAC Technicians will be one of the hot jobs of 2011

The report projects that employers will have 86,600 openings for HVAC Technicians in the coming years, meaning there will be plenty of opportunities for young people with strong mechanical skills and a few years of training to get started in the field. HVAC companies in need of new technicians may find it difficult to recruit top talent, with the greater demand for experienced technicians.

mindflash.com predicts which jobs will be hot in 2011

Will your company be hiring new service technicians in 2011? What factors are determining your answer? Let’s talk about it over on the ESC Facebook Page.