What and Who do your customers know by name? Brands

KDN_MW

Hey everyone
I was just curious to know how many customers you have that recommend a brand or request a certain model they want installed? Did they do research or get a recommendation from a Friend/family member? Would not only like to know how many have asked but also who are they most interested in, is it Rheem, Bosch, Navien or Someone else? Also wondering who you guys recommend for condensing Boilers, Combi-Boilers or even tankless Units. I find customers for the most part are asking us who we recommend but once and a while... You cant always put the one you recommend in. Love to hear back. Thx.

RayWohlfarth

It is a bit different than that for me. I see residential customers doing a lot of research on line but get really confused. Typically, the customer will say something like, I have looked on line and hear that Xbrand is really good. Or they may say, my relative bought Y brand. What do think? I always say the same response, "If I were putting one in my house, I would use This brand." I explain my reasons and my reasons are usually parts availability or reliabillity. I tell them about a boiler we installed for friend whose son was on the same soccer team as mine. The owner was adament about this brand as they saw it on HGTV or something. Two months after installing it, the inducer failed on a Friday monring and the part was not in stock. The person was without heat and hot water for an entire weekend. He blamed me for the failure. Once I tell people that story, most will ask what I recommend.

Commercially, my customers will allow me more freedom to choose the brand as they know I will be the one there on a freezing cold day getting it running.
Hope this helps
Ray

DanHolohan

I think what repair parts the wholesaler has in stock also makes a big difference in which boiler gets installed. That came up in this thread loud and clear: https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/169887/wholesaler-pet-peeves

KDN_MW

Hi All,
Love the feed back, and I agree that not only units need to be available but the parts are crucial to have on hand by wholesalers. Customers hate to hear "sorry no parts available". What I would love to know more is what Brand sticks out as being best for installs in Boilers, combi-boilers or even tankless WH? So many choices and I'm new to this and don't really want to recommend anything that is crap. They all seem to be very close on design and offerings.

Paul Pollets

I've recommended Viessmann for many years. They're well represented here which is a major market for radiant heating. Parts availability is always crucial, and most parts are in stock. If you can't easily obtain the parts, it will affect the consumer's opinion of the brand's rep, or the ability of the company to do the repair

RayWohlfarth

@KDN_MW As you said most boilers are pretty close as far as quality and they all do the same thing. What is really important is the support you get in your area. If I have great support selling one boiler here, someone in another city may have a lousy rep and support. We were asked to sell a line of residential boilers and I asked the wholesaler about the support and parts. He said they would eventuallly stock parts. I respectfully declined and they stopped selling the equipment. No one wants to be the Beta Tester

DZoro

The installer will make or break the product of choice. I'm not a big Navien fan, but I have worked on so many Naviens installed by others, and 90% of the issues with them seem to be poor/improper installation.
Lochinvar is my choice, but I'm sure someone out there has messed up the install and then blames the Mfr.....
See it all the time, F/A or boilers, size correctly read the instructions and follow them to a tee.
D

HVACNUT

But... nothing stops a Trane.