Best HVAC Company | Best Contractor | Statewide Winner and Best of Treasure Valley

One cold and stormy night years ago in the Treasure Valley, things had gotten dire. The phone lines stayed busy as calls kept coming in for emergency repairs, but technicians at Diamond Heating and Cooling were entirely booked.

As the storm progressed and the cold deepened, they were unable to keep up with the demand and were forced to schedule some repairs for the next day.

One customer in particular was entirely without heat. Diamond couldn’t get to her that night. The soonest they could help her would be in the morning.

She set the appointment for the morning, but called back a little bit later because another company could get to her sooner.

Diamond canceled the appointment but told the client, “Hey, if the other company tells you that you need expensive repairs or a new system—anything like that—please at least call us to get a second opinion.”
The next day, she called for the second opinion. The other company said she needed an entirely new system. The Diamond technician went in to give that second opinion.

The problem? Her thermostat needed new batteries.

Turning the Tide, Changing Minds

Back in 2009, Rick and Sue Ellen turned the focus of Diamond Heating and Cooling to servicing residential clients.
Prior to that, the business had been focused on new construction. With the new angle, their immediate goal was to change the way contractors in their industry were regarded—they wanted to build trust back into the expectations and experiences of their clients.

They knew it was an uphill battle, but they didn’t balk at the challenge. From the outset Rick and Sue Ellen have striven to hold their brand to strong standards.

Sue Ellen says, “It’s been tough building that trust, but we’re so dedicated that, sadly, we’ve had to let people go in the past for not sticking to our standards.”

One of the ways Diamond demonstrates their commitment to being a trustworthy company is to offer free second opinions on all major repairs.

If another company says a compressor is bad or a unit needs to be entirely replaced, a Diamond technician will go out and check to make sure the part or unit truly is bad. They do this free of charge, provided a competitor’s bid has been presented to a client.

 

Apprenticeships and On-the-Job Training

As a trade industry, HVAC technicians are well paid and enjoy a constant demand for their work.
However, it’s not always easy for up-and-coming job seekers to even know where to begin to get into the trade. Never to be deterred, Diamond has built a full training facility so that they can bring in new technicians.
They also offer one-month paid apprenticeships so that prospective technicians can discover for certain that they want to enter the full apprenticeship program.

There’s a lot of on-the-job training, riding out to jobs with technicians to see what it’ll be like. By the time a technician is a journeyman—about four years into it—the techs at a place like Diamond make anywhere from $70K to $90K a year.

If there’s one thing that the past three years have taught us, it’s that we always need to be ready to change course and adapt. Diamond has made a point of implementing new ways of doing things to keep up with the desires of their clientele.

That’s why Diamond recently added electrical to services they offer their clients. Through constant dialogue with their customers, they knew this was something their clientele wanted.

The evidence is there when you look for it. The folks at Diamond Heating and Cooling pay attention and listen, and they’ve established a brand with unexpectedly strong trust through a values- and people-driven approach in an industry that has often been seen as dishonest, complicated, and baffling.