Heating repair: a guide for pros

What customers ask, how to win the job, and what to put on your profile.

Offering heating repair

Heating repair is diagnosis work, and the part making the noise is often not the part that failed. You win the job by finding the cause and proving it with readings.

What customers ask

  • Is my furnace dead, or does it just need a part?
  • Is it safe to keep running the furnace until you arrive?
  • It worked fine last winter. Why did it fail now?
  • Can you still get parts for my model?
  • Will this repair fix the cause, or will it come back?
  • How soon can you come out during a cold snap?

How to win the job

  • On the first call, get the make, model and serial number, the fuel type, the symptoms and the unit's age, so you arrive with the right parts.
  • Ask whether a carbon monoxide alarm has gone off or whether there is a gas smell, and give the gas emergency instructions before the visit.
  • Bring a combustion analyzer and a carbon monoxide meter, and write the readings on the work order.
  • Photograph the failed component in place and show the customer before you replace it.
  • List each part on the quote with its model number and whether it is new, refurbished or used, and state the warranty on each.
  • Before you close the cabinet, run a full heat cycle and record the temperature rise, the shutoff and the flame current.

What to put on your profile

  • Photos of a finished repair on a furnace or boiler, with the cause of the failure in the caption.
  • The fuel types and systems you service, such as gas furnace, oil furnace, electric furnace, boiler and heat pump.
  • The brands and models you are equipped to repair.
  • Whether you take after-hours or weekend no-heat calls.
  • Combustion testing and carbon monoxide testing, listed as services only if you perform them.

Follow-up that helps the customer

  • After a repair, send a written note with the part replaced, its warranty period and the filter size and change interval for that unit.
  • Offer a maintenance visit before the next cold season, so any fault that is developing shows up early.
  • If the unit is near the end of its life, give a written replacement option and let the customer decide when.
  • Call back after a few days of heavy use to confirm the system is holding temperature.

Licenses and permits

Heating repair is commonly done under a contractor license, and gas or electrical work may need its own trade license. Confirm your requirements with your state or local licensing agency before you take the job.

Questions

Does infinibell charge me for leads?

Joining is free. You pay only for leads you accept, and you can decline a lead for free. Your profile is reviewed before it goes live.

What does the Insured badge mean on my profile?

The Insured badge appears when we have checked your current insurance.

Who sees a heating repair request?

Customers describe the job and pick the pros they want by name. Only the pros a customer picks see that request.

About this guide

This national guide is written and checked by infinibell. Rules and conditions differ by place, so local pros are credited on guides for the cities they serve, not on national ones.

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