Important Information About The Talking Thermostat

Important Information About The Talking Thermostat What a Contractor Needs to Know About Using the Talking Thermostat Customers are not going to beat your door down just to buy a Talking Thermostat. Customers will buy something that adds value, convenience, comfort, and saving energy.. Like any business or marketing plan, it is up to you to make it happen. Yes, it is nice and easy to sell and install one on new construction or replacement sales. It is a great way to build a service business, which will lead to replacement sales later. The real challenge is to find a way to get the Talking Thermostat installed on every service and maintenance call. As a contractor, you need replacement equipment sales and demand repair calls. This is how you generate profits. This is what pays the bills. This is the purpose of the Talking Thermostat - to keep your name and phone number in front of the customer at the exact time they are taking action. When it is getting too hot or cold, what do 98% of the people do? They go to the thermostat and see your name, phone number and message when they press the HELP button. So as you can see, the Talking Thermostat is not just another piece of equipment, it is a marketing tool that can help you survive the many changes facing our industry. How Should You Purchase and Pay for Your Talking Thermostats? A major contractor stated: I noticed that the sales of Talking Thermostats were not what I expected the first few months. Speaking with my sales and service manager, I discovered why Talking Thermostats sales were down. He wanted to keep his margins up. Why spend $50 or $60 for a thermostat when he can buy a cheapie for half the price? So the idea came to me: Allocate the purchase of the Talking Thermostats in differently. Charge 50% of the cost to the job or repair, and the other 50% to advertising. Now with a $25 or $30 job or repair cost, why would anyone want to sell anything else? Why charge fifty percent to advertising? Because I believe the lifetime thermostat warranty will motivate customers to call you for repair service. Repair service calls leads to replacement sales. I also believe that the CFS feature (Call for Service) will automatically create additional maintenance or tune-up calls. I call it cost free telemarketing. The customer calls me when the thermostat reaches the preset running hours and then I m in the power seat. I also receive additional opportunities from new homeowners who purchased a home with a Talking Thermostat installed by the previous owners. They press the HELP button and hear my guarantee. Who do you think they will call? So, in summary, you are not selling or discounting a thermostat, you are building a replacement and repair business. Page 2

Why Should the Service Technician Embrace the Talking Thermostat? Number one reason in my mind: the Talking Thermostat creates more work. More work means the company can offer greater job security and better pay. More work means the company can offer more and better benefits. More work means the company can offer more advancement opportunities. Service technicians need to understand that the customer wants comfort, and a thermostat that can turn the system On and Off according to the desired temperature. In addition, the service tech needs to realize the Talking Thermostat is the most important future business-building opportunity available for their company at this time. Company owners, service managers, service techs and installation techs all need to learn about the Talking Thermostat. When installed and set up correctly, A SERVICE CALL ON THE WALL system benefits the customers, the technician, and the company. It is a win, win, win situation for all. Marketing Ideas Using the Talking Thermostat Highest Priority: Systems over 10 Years Old Start with developing a way to get the Talking Thermostat on equipment over 10 years old. This will create your fastest return on investment (ROI). It offers you the greatest repair and or replacement opportunities. Make a special offer to your existing customers to upgrade their heating and cooling systems. Offer one on each and every service or maintenance call. Offer one at a reduced cost or free to anyone that has a system over 10 years old if they will allow your Comfort Advisor / Technician to show them how to cut current and future utility bills. Use it to help get client excited on sales leads (One for them and one for a friend or relative). Use in direct mail, radio and or newspaper advertising pieces. Next Priority: Systems over 5 Years Old Same as above, however repair and replacement opportunities will be less. Page 3

Presenting the Talking Thermostat after the Sale After you complete the mechanical installation of the Talking Thermostat, the really nice part begins. It s your time to shine! Give your client a chance to see what a wise decision they made, and to become familiar with the wonderful features available in their new thermostat. Show them how sharp and wise you are about programming this amazing Talking Thermostat. Important Demonstration Information Here is an additional feature that is not in any instructional sheets. You can demonstrate or preview the two most important alert messages. It sounds impressive, adds value to the thermostat, and give you a reason to ask a number of questions about their filter and service habits. To hear the two messages, press and hold the REPORT button until the voice starts on the first message which is Your batteries are getting low. At that point you can release the button and the message will continue. Right after the Low Bat alert, the It is time it check your air filter message will play. You can explain that these are the messages they will hear when batteries or filter changes are necessary First, there are a couple of things you need to know to create a customized program for the client. The first two items you should start with are the Filter Alert and the Call For Service Alert. Setting Filter Alert (FH) The Filterlter Hours are the total running hours that the fan operates. The Filter Hours can be a little longer or shorter than the Service Hours. This will depend on the type system, any blower time delays ON or OFF, or if the customer runs their fan in Constant Fan ON mode. You first must determine the type and recommended use of the client s particular filter. You need to know or ask if they run a constant blower. Look for general construction conditions, such as a very loose or breathy home on a dirty road. Do they have indoor pets? This requires filter changing or cleaning more often. This is an excellent time to ask if anyone has any types of allergy symptoms or problems. These are all things you should be doing anyway, but now you have a reason to ask. Why do you need this information? You want to customize the thermostats Filter Alert feature just for them. P.S. This may be a good time to recommend a better, healthier filter system. Once you have this information, you can refer to the accompanying chart to set the filter alert hours to match the clients needs. Page 4

Setting the Call For Service (CFS) Feature The Service Hours are the total running hours that accumulate from both the heating and cooling cycle (excluding any fan only hours). If the unit operated 200 hours in heat and 100 hours in cooling the service hours would equal 300 hours. The next step is to ask the homeowner if the have a service agreement or club membership. If they do, how many inspections or visits do they receive each year? Again, you can use the accompanying chart to set the Call For Service alert hours to match the homeowner s inspection schedule, membership or any special needs or wishes. If they do NOT have a maintenance program, this again is an excellence time to advise the client of the many benefits of having routine preventive service on their equipment. Explain how the computer in the Talking Thermostat records the running hours of their heating and cooling system just like the computer in their automobile records the miles their drive. Explain how most equipment manufactures require that their equipment be professionally maintained to honor the (extended) warranties. Studies by a number of utility companies have all proven that maintaining your air conditioning and heating system will save them money on their utility bills and extend the life of the equipment (but that is another whole training session!). Now set the CFS hours with the approval of the client, let them know it will alert them every 50,000 or 100,000 miles. Yes, say miles, they can relate to that easier. Now, it s just a matter of going over some of the programming features. Be sure and remind them, should they ever have a problem or need your phone number, just press the HELP button. Adjusting Filter and Service Hours Filter and the Service operating hours can be adjusted for your client s individual life style. The range is a minimum of 200 hours to a maximum of 3,000 hours in increments of 100 hours. The factory default settings are Filter Hours: 400 and Operational Running Hours: 3,000 Filter Hours (FH) are controlled by the furnace or air handler blower total run hours. Service Hours (SH ) is an accumulation of both the Heating and Cooling operating hours (but not fan only hours). Page 5

To set both the Filter Hours (FH) and the Service Hours (SH), open the cover and locate the WEEKDAY and NO buttons. Start by pressing and holding the NO button then press and hold the WEEKDAY button together and watch the set point temperature section of the LCD. In approximately six seconds the letters FH (Filter Hours) will appear on the screen. Notice that the Hours of the Day will start Flashing. The factory or last default setting will be displayed. Pressing the UP or DOWN keys will change the numbers to your desired setting. After setting the FH ( Filter Hours) press the RUN key to advance to the SH (Service Hours.) Again, notice the Hours of the Day flashing with the factory or last default numbers. Press the UP or DOWN keys to set, when finished press RUN. That is all there is to it! Resetting the FH Filter Hours and the SH Service Hours from the LCD display. The CHK FILT icon that is displayed when the FH (total blower hours) are reached is removed when the client presses the report button and hears the voice message. Service Hours SH When the accumulated running hours are reached the letters CFS will alternate between the Set Point temperature numbers and CFS ( Call For Service ) The only way to remove this is by pressing the NO button and holding for 6 seconds. When your client calls you to ask, What does CFS mean? Your answer: It s time for your 100,000 mile service check and tune -up, etc CFS = Call for Service Viewing Filter (FH) and Service Hours (SH) Start by pressing and holding the NO button then press and hold the WEEKEND button together and watch the set point temperature section of the LCD. Both the Filter and Service hours will display the running or operating hours since the last reset period. This is very useful if you are on a demand call and want to advise client approximate time before next tune-up. Page 6

General Information The Tables Below are for General Information Only They are based on a total of 3,000 operating hours. Please adjust setting for your individual climate conditions. FH Filter Hours on the Talking Thermostat Filter Hours Hours Change Thermostat FH Setting Default Setting 400 Monthly 04 Home with Pets 200 Bi-Monthly 02 Pleasted Filters 800 Every Other Month 08 6 Month Filters 1500 Every Six Months 15 12 Month Filters 3000 Once per Year 30 Client runs fan 24 hours per day which averages 720 hours 08 SH Service Hours on the Talking Thermostat CFS (Call for Service) Hours Change per Year Thermostat SH Setting Default Setting 3000 Once 30 Two Inspections 1500 Twice 15 Three Inspections 1000 Three 10 Quarterly Inspections 0700 Four 07 Monthly Inspections 0400 Twelve per Year 04 Note!!! Anytime the NO button is pressed and held for 10 seconds, it resets the Service Hours. So, every time you do a tune-up on the system, remember to press and hold the NO button for 10 seconds. It does not reset the filter hours. To reset the Filter Hours, press and hold the YES button for approximately 10 seconds. Page 7

Talking Thermostat Scripts Customer Calls About CFS on Display: Customer introduces himself and says something is wrong with thermostat. He or she informs the CSR that CFS or CF5 is flashing on the thermostat display. New Install? Is this a new installation, or have you had the thermostat for awhile? Customer explains that this thermostat has recently been installed No problem Mr./Mrs. Jones. CFS is a new technology built into that thermostat. It comes with a Check Filter voice message as well as a Call for Service reminder. The reason the CFS came up so soon is that we must have forgotten to clear the start up time. Just walk over to the thermostat and press and hold the NO button until CFS quits flashing. By the way, Mr./Mrs. Jones, how is everything operating? Customer replies that unit is not new No problem Mr./Mrs. Jones. CFS is a new technology built into that thermostat. It has a feature like the warning light on your automobile. The warning light reminds you when you need to change the oil or have your vehicle serviced. The CFS is flashing because the computer in the thermostat is indicating that it is time to have your unit serviced. Did you know that most Equipment manufactures require that their equipment be professionally maintained to honor the (extended) warranties? Several studies by a number of utility companies have all proven that maintaining your air conditioning and heating system will save you money on your utility bills and extend the life of the equipment. The computer in the thermostat records the running hours just like your automobile records the miles you drive. Therefore, it s time to perform the required maintenance on your system. When would it be convenient to come out and service your equipment? Page 8