We recently spoke with two experienced HVAC service technicians, Clay Winters, the Design Team Leader at Control Tech Heating and Air, and Chad Engle, a Field Manager at Mite‑E Ducts, to get their take on the challenges they face in the field and tips on better photo documentation for HVAC service techs.
Here’s what they had to share:
Organization is Key
Clay Winters pinpointed a critical issue in the industry: “The main challenge is the organization of photos and finding ways to effectively communicate job-related questions, concerns, and issues through these images.”
Organizing photos in a central, accessible location helps HVAC techs quickly find and reference specific images, reducing time wasted on searching through disorganized files. By using CompanyCam, teams can tag and categorize photos, making it easy to pull up visual documentation during any phase of a project.
Clear Communication
Proper photo documentation can resolve disputes and clarify customer communications. This not only helps in resolving disputes but also build trust with customers in the service provided, turning potentially negative situations into opportunities for demonstration of accountability and professionalism.
During our conversation, Chad Engle noted how before-and-after photos provide undeniable proof of the quality and scope of work performed:
“We see a lot of ‘he said, she said’ issues, but those are quickly remedied with great documented photos. We can show Before & After photos, and immediately prove the quality of our work.”
Accountability & Proof of Work
Both Clay and Chad recount how CompanyCam has saved the day in situations where there was a potential for significant misunderstandings or disputes.
Clay shares a specific incident, “I took a picture of the toilet and posted a comment in the photo stating that ‘the toilet was running while I was on the jobsite, but that I didn’t see any water leaking out. Recommended having customer contact a plumber.’ This just saved your @$$!”
Having a reliable way to document and timestamp job site conditions with photos ensures that HVAC professionals can provide proof of the state of the site when they arrived and when they left. This level of detail is invaluable for legal protection, customer satisfaction, and insurance claims.
