HVAC-Talk.com - InspectionNews

imported_John Smith · #1 (**permalink**) 04-01-2008, 06:52 PM

I have been spending a lot of time trolling hvac-talk.com lately. I have learned a
lot from it, like I have learned a lot from this site. They even have a person who seems to know everything HVAC like Jerry P knows everything home inspection. Maybe they are one in the same, and Jerry is there under an alias.

What a wonderful world we live in when I can can get help from real experts in their field (something I hope to aspire to someday).

The site even looks a lot like this one. Maybe its a standard product.

Rick Hurst · #2 (**permalink**) 04-01-2008, 07:14 PM

Are you talking of Payson?

fritzkelly · #3 (**permalink**) 04-01-2008, 07:25 PM

Just don't let them know you are a home inspector.

Rick Hurst · #4 (**permalink**) 04-01-2008, 07:35 PM

Yeah, they'll eat you alive.

Half of their comments are of bashing some HI for not calling out something that they don't realize you'd have to have a HVAC license to even get into.

Last man at the house always gets blamed by the HVAC man.

rick

Bob Harper · #5 (**permalink**) 04-02-2008, 05:10 PM

I'm on there nightly and I get bashed routinely. I also go to bat for the HIs but many who frequent that site live miserable lives and want to export their misery. Don't take it too seriously. Those with any gray matter btw their ears recognize ya'll are in a great position to help one another. Your referrals feed their families. They should reciprocate. If you should mis-speak on an issue, I've suggested they contact the HI, explain the scoop and make it a learning experience. I also pointed out the vast majority of their complaints are when a HI calls out something they feel is a non-issue. I asked them would they rather you guys miss the serious stuff? No response.

Hang in there, keep learning and try to find an HVAC company or two you can network with and learn from one another.

Bob

Jerry Peck · #6 (**permalink**) 04-02-2008, 07:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bob Harper

many who frequent that site live miserable lives and want to export their misery.

I went there a few times myself, but when the above became apparent, I just did not have time for their arrogance nor their (in some cases) ignorance.

I encountered the same thing on some plumbing sites a few years ago and did not have time for their crap either. Crap runs downhill, and they are already downhill and knee deep in it, so I just let them feel like a pig in mud in it.

I went to those sites to learn, but they are not about learning or teaching, they are about bashing each other.

John S. · #7 (**permalink**) 04-04-2008, 11:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jerry Peck

I went there a few times myself, but when the above became apparent, I just did not have time for their arrogance nor their (in some cases) ignorance.

I encountered the same thing on some plumbing sites a few years ago and did not have time for their crap either. Crap runs downhill, and they are already downhill and knee deep in it, so I just let them feel like a pig in mud in it.

I went to those sites to learn, but they are not about learning or teaching, they are about bashing each other.

Nice to know that we are all arrogant and standing in the crap that runs downhill.

Not everyone there is an arrogant a**. I follow the rules set forth by the site, hence no DIY advice. I am willing to teach, but I will not teach someone how to blow themselves up or kill their family. (arrogant I know

)

I spend more time at a customers house explaining how things work than I do fixing broken systems.

#8 (**permalink**) 04-05-2008, 05:31 AM

Quote:

Nice to know that we are all arrogant and standing in the crap that runs downhill.

OK, maybe not all HVAC contractors are arrogant. There are certainly many that I have not yet met. The non-arrogant, presumably like you, must reside in that camp.

And even (most) plumbers understand the concept of gravity.

I receive calls from tradesmen of all sorts each week wanting to argue about issues in my reports. Surly, know-it-all assholes that cannot seem to come to grips with the fact that they would not be there, reading my report, and collecting a check if I had not referred the client to a trade "professional".

I registered on their forum and look forward to learning something. I'm not itching for, but will certainly not back down from a fight, should one ensue there.

Aaron

John S. · #9 (**permalink**) 04-05-2008, 12:14 PM

Aaron, I would recommend that you do not mention that you are a HI. Many do see you guys as the enemy, why I don't know

, and will not hesitate to let you know how much they dislike you. Usually it is the ones who "hack" their way through the job. Some just don't like to be told that they aren't doing things correctly, "I've been doing it this way for 20 years and it has always worked and I am not going change it."

IMHO if a tech in my field isn't learning they aren't working. Every day I learn something new and I am sure I will until I either leave the trade or die.

Unfortunately the only way for you to learn anything technical on the site is to be a "professional member".

We all have to get along in the trades (whether or not we like it) because without each other we won't have a job.

#10 (**permalink**) 04-05-2008, 01:14 PM

Quote:

We all have to get along in the trades (whether or not we like it) because without each other we won't have a job.

John:

True enough, though I'm not quite sure how you start the détente process with someone who's simultaneously gunning for you and profiting from your referrals.

I prefer to use the tired and true method of ripping their phuquing head off and then waiting for the dust to fall. As a builder for 20 years I learned that most are not to be quietly and diplomatically negotiated with.

I registered myself on their site and made no effort to conceal what I do for a living. I'm no stranger to scuffles, verbal or otherwise, and can hold my own with the best of them. Even Peck.

Aaron

John S. · #11 (**permalink**) 04-05-2008, 01:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aaron Miller

John:

True enough, though I'm not quite sure how you start the détente process with someone who's simultaneously gunning for you and profiting from your referrals.

I prefer to use the tired and true method of ripping their phuquing head off and then waiting for the dust to fall. As a builder for 20 years I learned that most are not to be quietly and diplomatically negotiated with.

I registered myself on their site and made no effort to conceal what I do for a living. I'm no stranger to scuffles, verbal or otherwise, and can hold my own with the best of them. Even Peck.

Aaron

Never bite the hand that feeds you is my take on being an a** to someone who refers me for a job. If someone is out to get me and talking smack I just stop dealing with them. If someone is pointing out something I may have missed I don't get mad at them, if I get mad it is towards myself.

I am only human and I do make mistakes or overlook something. If you were to show up to inspect at a job I have done and tell me I didn't do something how you believe it should be done I will fix it if it is incorrect, or I will teach you why it is done that way if it is correct. Teach and learn, a very vicious cycle that repeats itself.

I'm a "young gun" so I haven't developed the attitude that you HI's are the enemy.

#12 (**permalink**) 04-05-2008, 02:21 PM

Quote:

I'm a "young gun" so I haven't developed the attitude that you HI's are the enemy.

John:

The older you get, the easier the enemy becomes to find. Just a mirror's glance away . . .

Aaron

Jerry Peck · #13 (**permalink**) 04-05-2008, 08:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John S.

Teach and learn, a very vicious cycle that repeats itself.

I, and others here, feel the same way.

Quote:

I'm a "young gun" so I haven't developed the attitude that you HI's are the enemy.

Okay, so maybe I should not have said "all", just "all but two" (you and David R. who visits here occasionally) ...

... wait just a friggin' minute now! I *DID NOT* say "all".

I said "they" and "their", which *only implies* all.