The other day I was surfing the web looking for some information on a defrost control. Much of the search engine's top spots were populated with the typical garbage we're all familiar with.

You know the sites I'm talking about; the sites where the writer doesn't know their ass from their elbow but have decided to 'educate' the world with their blathering anyhow.

Normally I skip over these sites, but today I took a gander at them. Why? I wanted to see the misinformation the average homeowner is being bombarded with. Again, why? Why would I care? Simple; you need to know your enemy. Why are these sites the enemy?

Because when a trained professional (you) interacts with their customer they need to be ready to dispel the bad information the homeowner may pick up online.

Here is an example of one of the entries I found:

                     "...the defrost board on your (brand X) heat pump can develop ice on it throughout the winter..."

Really? That's interesting! I've never known a defrost board to "develop ice". Let's read some more of this HVAC wizard's insight into our industry-

"...if the defrost board has too much ice on it, you can fix the problem yourself........you can do it yourself with little hassle and minimal knowledge of the subject...."

Wow! This is good news for the home owner! He can save a huge amount of money by not paying an expert (you) to resolve the problem. I can't wait to see what they recommend.

"...fill a bucket with hot water from your sink and go to the defrost panel on the back of your heat pump. Pour the hot water on the ice to melt it..."

If you're like me, you were shaking your head and laughing as you read the authors advice.If you're really like me, your next reaction was a sick feeling, sick because if some unsuspecting homeowner actually used this advice they would likely be electrocuted and killed.

At least the author gave some useful advice at the end of the article...although if the home owner followed his previous advice, it's probably too late.

"call a certified HVAC technician to take a look at your heat pump if these solutions are not working for you. They will be able to properly diagnose your unit and make an appropriate repair.

If the end user is wise enough to call an expert first, be sure to warn them against blindly following advice found on the internet. Why? (There are a lot of 'whys' in this article...)

Because after they get your quote for the repair, they may look to the internet for advice on an alternate money saving solution, and worse, they may follow it.

Patrick

I'm sure you have heard of the Peter Principle--"You will rise to your level of incompetence".  One of the most common paths to someone's "incompetence" is via promotion.  The logic tends to go, if so-and-so is a good __________ (mechanic, technician, lumberjack) than he "should" make a a great manager. 

I can see the logic, at least at first. A manager knowing something about his trade is certainly useful, but this logic overlooks one key point; managing people is skill (a trade in itself),  and it is a skill that seldom just drops out of the sky. So why is it commonsense that a technician, electrician or plumber is expected to go to trade school, apprentice and then spend reasonable amount of time-in-grade before they become an good technician; however, the skills of management are just supposed to miraculously appear? 

In a recent Tech Republic article Death By Promotion, Patrick Gray points out that when promoting a unprepared employee to a management role that you run the very real risk of Killing Two Birds with One Stone:

"Unfortunately, promoting an unprepared employee to a leadership position without training effectively kills two resources for the price of one. That exceptional business analyst who is promoted to team lead can no longer perform their analyst role, and if they wallow and fail as a low-level leader you’ll also soon be in the market for a replacement, trading one position with a high-performer for two failures. To mitigate the risk of turning a technical star into a failed manager, I suggest the following."

The line that sticks out to me is, "...trading one position with a high-performer for two failures", Ouch!

Today is a very special day for the HVAC industry. Today is the 110th anniversary of Willis Havilland Carrier's invention of modern air conditioning.

On July 17, 1902 Mr. Carrier changed everyones lives for the better and created an entire industry.

On this day it doesn't matter what brand loyalty you have, Willis Carrier's invention of modern air conditioning unites us all.

I urge everyone to lift a pint of your favorite suds (with responsibility of course) in honor of  Willis.

Social media is a broad term that means many things to different people. We all agree that LinkedIn and Facebook are social media, but what about message-boards and forums? How about Angie's List?

Social Media and Your Business Reputation

For our purpose, anywhere online where your customers (happy or mad) can communicate with the public is social media. Social media is word-of-mouth on steroids. And most importantly, it is impossible to control. Social media, like word-of-mouth, is the exact opposite of a slick, well crafted marketing brochure. With social media, the only say that you have about the content of the message is the quality of your work and your customer service. That's it.  Right, wrong or indifferent, it is out of your hands.

It's hard not to have heard the term Web 2.0 and not to have heard some techno-geek or self-proclaimed "change agent" spouting out his theories and recommendations.

• "Your business needs to be on FaceBook (or LinkedIn, or Google+, or Pinintrest, etc...)"
• "Web 2.0 and social media are the new..."
• "Social media is the ...of our times..."

I am not web illiterate, I built the site you're reading this on, it just seems to be a lot of details and lists, but no clear definition. Perhaps Web 2.0 is something you simply had to understand, rather than explain. Like the movie "Anchor Man", either you get it or you don't.

But I'm going to try to explain it ways.