Tag: test and balance hvac

Customer Experience – The Key Differentiator

Posted on by Lindsey Burbee

Good is no longer good enough! It seems it was only yesterday that every business claimed the key to winning customers was the quality of product or service they deliver. Here at Melink, we’re changing the game to focus on the customer experience! According to a Walker study, by the year 2020, customer experience will overtake price and product as the key brand differentiator. So, what is customer experience you ask? Customer experience is your customers’ perception of how the company treats them. These perceptions affect their behaviors and build memories and feelings, and may drive their loyalty. In other words, if they like you and continue to like you, they are going to do business with you and recommend you to the others. With customer experience being the new battlefield, companies are changing their approach, offerings, and business practices. Sales teams are working harder to learn their customers and their customer’s business, so they can create the “wow”. Hotel managers, restaurant chains, and even doctors’ offices are focused on creating an experience that knocks their customers socks off, instead of just standard practices.

These days, social media gives the consumer a lot of power and impact. There’s an instant feedback loop and the cluster of data starts to create the company’s reputation. For example, if you get on Amazon to buy a new bike for your son, you’re likely going to check the performance stars and the customer reviews. Any of those reviews can be the difference between you purchasing that bike and moving on to a different bike. If you’re looking for a surgeon and every website has them at 3 out of 5 stars, you’re likely going to move on to the next guy. He may be the best surgeon in the land, but his rude receptionist and office staff have poor bedside manner and make people miserable when they go in to see him. If you go to a fast-food burger joint, how likely is it that you’re going to write a positive Yelp review if you pull up to the drive thru, order your food, pay the correct amount, get the correct change and correct order, and you leave in a timely manner? Probably never! They didn’t go above and beyond and create the “wow”! If you want to improve the customer experience, there must be a “wow”! Recently I went through a drive thru myself and was caught off guard with my experience. When I pulled up it was raining. Normally I would get soaked reaching out to hand over the money. This time the cashier stuck an umbrella out the window, so I wouldn’t get drenched. Super small, super easy, but I was impressed! I’ve never seen it before in my time on this earth and he was focused on my experience! I did write a review and I tipped a drive-thru cashier for the first time!

Millennials are changing the game and companies need to embrace it. Sure, the entitlement is out of control, but the business practice changes are not all bad. If you’re focusing only on your product or service and not how your customer feels about the entire experience, you’re in trouble! Some of the large hotel companies are incentivizing their General Managers on customer experience and guest loyalty. The baby-boomers want to talk, interact, have face-to-face experiences with nice people. The millennials want to check-in swiftly to the hotel with no hiccups and have issues resolved quickly. Management needs to address all their consumer personas in a unique way to setup the individual customer experiences for success.

What happens if you fail to provide a positive customer experience? According to a recent study, 67% of customers mention bad experiences as a reason for churn and only 1 in 26 unhappy customers complain. That means companies not focused on the customer experience will lose customers well after it’s too late! Most of this is the result of what I refer to as “sales autopilot”. When you’re there trying to make it look like your product is perfect for them, without the data, you end up losing trust with them. Trust, brand and customer experience are all built on honesty. And honesty is knowing when your product won’t be a perfect fit for everyone. Therefore it’s so important to stop selling and start solving!

Since most companies will be expected to compete mainly on customer experience, organizations like Melink that focus on customer experience will stand out from the noise and win loyal customers over. One thing is for sure, if you want your customer to have an excellent customer experience and create a “wow” you must know your customers better than ever before! Here at Melink, my team and I are completing customer profiles and personas to improve individual experiences. Once you know your customers well enough, you can use that knowledge to personalize every interaction. Customers these days have more power and choice than ever before. Thus, we are responsible for understanding and acknowledging their needs. When people ask what we do, it shouldn’t be Test & Balance, Demand-Controlled Kitchen Ventilation (DCKV), Solar, or Geothermal, it should be creating the best customer experience in renewable and energy reduction markets for our customers!

The Test and Balance Professional

Posted on by Lindsey Burbee

The HVAC industry is vast; there are many products and services that make up the build of any one system. Test and Balance is a very important niche of the large HVAC industry. Many HVAC companies have offered test and balance services throughout the years, but very few of them have employed technicians dedicated specifically to Testing and Balancing. Enter Steve Melink, circa 1987. Steve knew there was a service gap in the HVAC industry and addressed it. Does it really make sense for an owner to allow an installing contractor to verify the HVAC system they installed is correct? Would it not make more sense if an INDEPENDENT, CERTIFIED and SELF PERFORMING entity verified that the mechanical engineer’s design was met? Of course, it would!

Fast forward 31 years and Melink Test & Balance is still going strong thanks to our dedicated team of technicians. These Balancing Professionals are dedicated to Melink Corporation’s core values of Integrity, Innovation, and Service Excellence.

What is a Test & Balance Technician and What Do They Do??

Our National Network consists of more than 30 professionals across 19 states. Our technician tenure’s range from 15 years to less than a month! 100% of Melink balancers are NEBB trained with more than half of the network being NEBB Certified Technicians. Our technician’s experience prior to Melink varies from HVAC service technicians to general contractors to aircraft systems mechanics. Our team currently services more than 50 major accounts and we are adding more every year. As you can imagine, Melink Technicians have seen nearly every type of commercial HVAC unit utilized by the commercial retail market. There is no typical ‘day in the life’ for our T&B technicians. Between the location, business type, and scope of work, every week is a new adventure!

The lifestyle of our techs is unique, but very rewarding and profitable. All techs are road warriors, traveling across the United States each week to different jobs. Melink covers all travel expenses and supplies each tech with a company vehicle. Not only does this allow the team to see the U.S. on the company dollar, but their personal expenses decrease since most of the week they are being covered by the company. Food, gas, and vehicle expenses add up!!

This position is also very independent and needs a disciplined self-starter. With most projects only needing one tech, most of the travel and work is done alone. Even so, the Melink National Network is a family. Each tech knows that a fellow balancer or office support is only a phone call or an email away if they are ever in a tight spot. Even after hours, our technicians constantly interact with one another to help each other grow and support our customers. This is not just a career or a steady job, this is a lifestyle.

On top of it all, our technicians are also partial owners of the company. Melink Corporation is now an ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan), which gives all Melink employees even more incentive to push the envelope with innovation and succeed as a business. Thanks to our National Network Technician team, Melink Corporation has been listed as a Best Place to Work for 3 consecutive years. Melink Corporation encourages input and recommendations for improving the business and improving the lives of the technicians. Melink works hard to address everything to better the position and the experience, for our employees. Striving for the best possible work/life balance is something very important to Melink Corporation.

One can find challenges in any profession they choose. But Melink’s National Network chooses to be challenged on a daily basis and to thrive in it! Their dedication and their commitment to service excellence is the backbone of Melink T&B!

Click here to learn more about Melink T&B.

Study Finds Building Mold Can Become Airborne, Highlighting Need for HVAC Test and Balance Services

Posted on by Lindsey Burbee

A recent study by The National Veterinary School of Toulouse in France revealed that mycotoxins can be inhaled and should be investigated as parameters of indoor air quality. This means that food fungus formerly thought to have no effect on air quality can actually become airborne and dangerous to building occupants. The results were published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology, which is the American Society for Microbiology’s journal.

 

The researchers were interested in the fact that far less research exists on the dangers of airborne fungal toxins compared to fungal toxins in foods. The research team focused on three fungi commonly found in contaminated food: Penicillium brevicompactum, Aspergillus versicolor and Stachybortys chartarum. The research team conducted this study by creating a flowing stream of air over a piece of wallpaper contaminated with the three fungi and then analyzing the samples of air.

 

The results showed some toxins from the contaminated wallpaper were present on tiny particles of dust that were considered to be easily inhalable. If you own a restaurant, hotel, retail location or supermarket, these results should be eye-opening. These findings should amplify the importance of performing regularly scheduled HVAC test and balance services to ensure your HVAC system is operating as designed, and not contributing to organic growth.

 

As a business owner, it’s extremely important to make sure that your building’s HVAC system is working properly, not only for health reasons like the airborne fungus we specified above, but for first impressions of new customers. An unbalanced HVAC system may cause humidity problems, and this may result in fogged over windows in the morning, which prevents customers from being able to see inside. Poor air pressure can even make it difficult to open doors.

 

An unbalanced HVAC system can also result in uncomfortable temperatures and humidity that does damage to ceiling tiles and creates slippery floors which can become both a safety issue and legal liability. In kitchen environments, an unbalanced HVAC system can also cause smoke and odors to flow past the hood and  seep into the dining area.

 

Here at Melink we provide HVAC test and balance services, HVAC commissioning, indoor air quality tests and water balancing services that will help to alert you to dangerous conditions within your building.

 

 

 

Our 100 percent self-performing network of technicians ensure consistency across your locations. Mechanical systems fall out of alignment over time, you should keep your HVAC at peak performance by rebalancing it every three to five years. We also offer comfort investigations that can be conducted after HVAC complaints or negative building pressure issues.

 

Many of the largest chains in the US recommend Melink because of the convenience, consistency and cost effectiveness of our service. They also know that our reputation for integrity, quality and service is proven. As we’ve demonstrated, not only can overlooking the air quality of your building be dangerous for the health of the building’s occupants, but it can also cause a business owner to lose customers. In order to best help business owners decide if it may be time for an HVAC Test and Balance service, we’ve provided these questions to ask yourself:

 

Is there a draft at the front door of my building?

Is there leakage from units in the ceiling?

Is there condensation dripping from diffusers?

Are there noticeable hot and cold spots?

 

If you answered yes to any of these question, you are likely due for some servicing. Reach out to us today to improve the conditions of your building and increase the quality of your business!

A Balancing Act: Air Balance is an important part of HVAC maintenance

Posted on by Lindsey Burbee

When it comes to HVAC, no news is good news for restaurant facility managers. When you start hearing chatter about the building being hot and humid, drafty, smoky or uncomfortable, you know a problem has already taken root. It’s like a piano being out of tune. In addition to unhappy customers and employees, comfort issues are indicators of energy inefficiency within a system and air balance issues. So, what can facility managers do to prevent comfort and energy threats?

Identifying Common Problems

“Facility managers need to be trained on air balance and push it to their service contractors,” recommends Jeff Dover, resource manager at RFMA.

A good place to start is to gain a foundational understanding of building pressure and common HVAC deficiencies along with following seven easy steps to bring your restaurant back into tune. Most importantly, learn how to look for negative building pressure. Remember, the goal is to stay slightly positive in building pressure.

There are three methods to identify negative building pressure. The first and most reactive method is to monitor signals that your building is negative. These signs are hot/cold spots, entry doors that are hard to open, poor smoke capture, humidity, condensation dripping from diffusers and drafts.
Second, you can measure the building pressure yourself or with the help of your service contractor by using a pressure reading tool such as an anemometer to get a ballpark pressure reading. The third and most accurate method is to hire an air balance firm to check the facility’s building balance once a year. If comfort-related issues or a negative building pressure reading are observed, then an air balance needs to be scheduled.

Investigating the Cause

What causes a building to become negative or unbalanced? The usual offenders are equipment deficiencies, improper preventative maintenance programs, and adjustment errors such as kitchen staff fiddling with thermostats or service contractors opening or closing dampers.

 Here are 10 example deficiencies you or your service contractors should be on the lookout for:
  1. Exhaust fans in poor condition
  1. Supply air leaking above ceiling
  1. OA dampers improperly installed
  1. Exhaust fans not sealed to curb or hinged correctly
  1. Dirty compartment/coil in the RTU
  1. Tops of diffuser not insulated
  1. Filters improperly sized for hoods
  1. MUA not operating properly
  1. Dirty indoor/outdoor filters
  1. Worn/broken belts

Achieving Air Balance in HVAC

Once you’re ready to bring a facility back into tune, there are seven easy steps to complete. These steps may be completed by the facility manager alone, but are more likely in partnership with a service contractor. To get started, pull out the facility’s previous balance report to use as a base line for data.

One Principal Engineer at a hamburger fast food chain overseeing thousands of locations explains how her team uses the air balance report to get started with troubleshooting comfort issues.

“The reports really are my first line of defense when someone says ‘Hey, my store is cold/hot/humid,’ she points out. “The first thing I do is pull out the TAB report and see what it says. I look at the punch list and ask was anything wrong? Not fixed? It helps when I have to remotely assess or diagnose problems.”

7 Steps to HVAC Balance

Whether the previous air balance report has been reviewed or not, proceed to the following steps:

  1. Ask the onsite restaurant managers what the complaints are from employees and customers.
  1. Turn on all HVAC equipment.
    • Verify thermostats are set to “FAN ON”
  1. Check building pressure with the flame test in different areas around the restaurant (Figure 3)
  1. Observe smoke capture
    • Is the hood in the correct overhang position?
    • Are there drafts along the cook line?
  1. Check for common comfort issues (hot/cold spots, entry doors that are hard to open, poor smoke capture, humidity, condensation dripping from diffusers and drafts).
  1. Inspect the equipment.
    • Are the filters clean?
    • Are the belts in good condition?
    • Are the exhaust fan wheels clean?
  1. Determine an intervention plan.
    • If some preventative maintenance actions and/or repairs need to happen, start with the service contractor.
    • If equipment is inoperable, have it repaired or replaced.
    1. If the preventative maintenance actions are in order and the problems persist, call in a certified air balance company that has experience with restaurants like yours.
Facility managers need to trust that their service contractors will notify them of airflow-related issues. Those technicians are out on the roofs and looking at the HVAC system components more than anyone else. If the restaurant has negative pressure or other out-of-tune symptoms, the service contractor needs to inform the facility manager right away. After all, you want your customers and employees to continue singing your praises. 

Top 5 Reasons we get called for an HVAC Test & Balance

Posted on by Lindsey Burbee

An “air balance” is a process for measuring the performance of an HVAC system, and for providing the occupants with a comfortably conditioned space according to design specifications. In other words, it is an overall health check for your HVAC systems to make sure the equipment is mechanically sound, that there is positive building pressure and that the thermostat and air flow are adjusted properly.  –Greg DuChane, Trane

A test and balance service serves the same purpose as changing the oil in a car to keep the engine running healthily.  Preventative maintenance for any vehicle or piece of equipment is understandably a best practice for avoiding high stress circumstances, such as a car break-down in the middle of a deserted road.  In the context of HVAC, a high stress circumstance could be losing your air conditioning on a hot August day and watching customers leave the building!  See our top 5 reasons we get from customers who call for us to come out and balance their stores:

To learn more and see pictures of many of these circumstances, read HVAC Test & Balance: Defined with Examples from the Field