I was brought up in a small city in which everyone knew each other. I was raised to treat everyone well, have high moral values and that my Integrity was to be protected at all cost.
I remember my Grandmother telling me, “Darren , it doesn’t matter how much money you make, how smart you are, or how many friends you have . The only thing that matters is the person you have become and that starts with Integrity.
Right out of High School I went to work for a Auto Repair Shop this was my major at a Vocational High School. I then received my first big lesson in life.
I was instructed to inspect a customer vehicle for a state inspection the shop was pretty slow at this time. After checking it out with a fine tooth comb I could not find anything wrong. I went to the owner and informed him the car was good to go for inspection.
“Darren, there has to be something wrong with the car. Go look again.” He instructed.
“I went through every part of that car Mr. Jones, it’s perfectly fine. It doesn’t need any work at all” I repeated.
Mr. Jones stood up from his desk, tucked in his shirt and motioned me to follow him. We walked to the rear of the shop where the (make of car) was perched upon the repair rack. Mr. Jones walked over to the workbench and grabbed a bottle of brake fluid. He approached the rear of the vehicle and proceeded to pour brake fluid on one of the tires.
“You didn’t check the rear brakes. Looks to me like they are leaking on the tire. We need to recommend a brake job. Write it up Darren” he said, and walked back up to his office.
I was aghast! I couldn’t believe what he had just done! The car was perfectly fine but he had “manufactured” a problem, an expensive one!
The lesson I received was very clear, its all about sales and dollars, no matter what.
I quit that job shortly thereafter. My integrity would not allow me to do anything like that ever again. I spent a couple more years in the auto repair industry but then settled into the HVAC (heating, ventilation, air conditioning) industry.
Guess what? The HVAC industry was the same as the auto industry. Time after time I went to work for companies that did the same things as Mr. Jones.
* I was told to sell products to homeowners that didn’t need them.
* Inflate the price on a repair in the hopes they will spend even more on a new system
* I was told to not just clean a furnace, but replace anything that could be replaced, even if it didn’t need to be replaced.
Company after company I went to work for had the same deceitful business practices. Every time they told me I should be selling more and pushing more products my Grandmother’s voice echoed in my head…
“The only thing that matters is the person you become, and that starts with integrity.”
I finally had enough. I simply could not deal with this any longer. In (year you opened the company) I finally decided to do what I should have done years before, I started my own heating and cooling company. D&L Mechanical named after myself Darren Billington and my beautiful wife Leisa was created to be the company I always wanted to work for, one with honesty, integrity and real professionalism.
Running my company in Fredericksburg Virginia has been amazing. We love our customers and treat them like family. I wouldn’t give this up for anything. The problem is, I can only service people in my general area. The distaste I have for the business practices I experienced at the auto repair shop and other HVAC companies I worked for still bothers me. I’m disgusted by it because it still goes on to this day!
I always wished for a way to help homeowners not get screwed over. There was simply nobody out there telling the truth, so I decided to do it myself. I wrote this book to help you, the homeowner, that needs work on their HVAC system or is in the market for a new system. I wrote this book to cut through all the bullshit out there and give you the tools to make certain you have a good experience with a contractor. I’ll tell you how to make sure you select a reputable company (and no, its not Angie’s list), how to keep from getting scammed, and finally how to understand HVAC systems so you can make educated choices.
Download your FREE copy of Heating and Cooling Secrets. I hope it helps you!
