Trane Air conditioning

[PrecisionMachinisT]

I can assume you haven't met Dave yet, then.....

It's a free market economy....either adapt or be assimilated.

[Stretch]

In my area, Trane runs classes in my town and lots of other towns and cities as well so there are no travel costs incurred. They usuallycahrge a small fee, on the order of $20 to $50 per tech. This normally includes one buffet style meal. Since the classes are small, there is good interaction between the instructor and any tech with questions. I have found their classes to be informative. Maybe you should talk to your rep. Hopefully you can get about 20 people in your area to attend to make it worth while for Trane or their rep to put on a class. If you can't afford $20 TO $50, YOU HAVE A HOBBY, NOT A BUSINESS. You need to go work for someone else.

Stretch

[stevie]

This issue is kind of bitter to me. I started doing HVAC back in the late sixtiest at the time pretty much every manufacturer ran classes on their products, one of our local supply houses had controls seminars monthly, many of the manufacturers would set up training sessions on request, all for the grand total price of- nothing. They realized that it was to their advantage to have their products installed and serviced properly, and if their dealers were more familiar with the product they would prosper and sell more and the end users would be happier and the world would be a better place. Sadly, most of them have decided that training is a luxury they do not need, and they have to make a profit on that luxury, so we wind up with a bunch of people in the field who are totally unfamiliar with the machines, and customers who do not say "that tech was an idiot because he could not fix my furnace" but say instead " That Carrier (or Trane, or Lennox) is a real POS". Maybe if the manufacturers start to realize this they will return to training as a not for profit, but ever since I started getting charged for classes that were little more than pep rallies and sales blurbs, I stay away. I can afford 20 or 50 or more, but I want to get value for dollars, and a crappy lunch and a crappier session consisting of marketing and rah rah us does not constitute a worthwhile investment of dollars OR time.

[Stretch]

Sorry guys, but I understand the Trane side better. First of all the buffet is hot food, not s sub sandwich. Second thing, they used to be free, but 100 people would sign up, Trane (or Carrier or Lennox or York, etc.) would rent a hall & ready enough hot food for that many, and 15 to 20 people would show up! This went on for years. Then the manufacturers started charging for training. When people realized they would pay whether they showed up or not, they stopped signing up for stuff they probably could not or would not go to and anything they signed up for they attended.

The training sessions were not Rah Rah! stuff but very good training with their top tech advisors. The sales sessions are still free. And yes, I definately get something out of them. These companies just got tired of training for free and no-one would show up.

I recently did a humidity control session for my local RSES chapter. We had 60 people sign up. I had 1.5 hour talk with overhead slides and with 20 pages of handouts for each person. We had pizza and soft drinks provided by another member for 60 people. 15 people showed up. You should be on the other end sometime. If the training is good, quit griping and pay up. If the training is not any good, after the first time you know better.

Also if you are not happy with the training at the price, TELL THEM!

Is there enough interest in your area fore the manufacturers to povide good training? If not, why not? Do you work for free? Then why do you expect them to?

Stretch

[Eric Houkal]

This issue is kind of bitter to me. I started doing HVAC back in the late sixtiest at the time pretty much every manufacturer ran classes on their products, one of our local supply houses had controls seminars monthly, many of the manufacturers would set up training sessions on request, all for the grand total price of- nothing. They realized that it was to their advantage to have their products installed and serviced properly, and if their dealers were more familiar with the product they would prosper and sell more and the end users would be happier and the world would be a better place. Sadly, most of them have decided that training is a luxury they do not need, and they have to make a profit on that luxury, so we wind up with a bunch of people in the field who are totally unfamiliar with the machines, and customers who do not say "that tech was an idiot because he could not fix my furnace" but say instead " That Carrier (or Trane, or Lennox) is a real POS". Maybe if the manufacturers start to realize this they will return to training as a not for profit, but ever since I started getting charged for classes that were little more than pep rallies and sales blurbs, I stay away. I can afford 20 or 50 or more, but I want to get value for dollars, and a crappy lunch and a crappier session consisting of marketing and rah rah us does not constitute a worthwhile investment of dollars OR time.

[Telstra]

Trane charge a great deal of money for their training courses and restrict information about their products to technicians who are prepared to pay for it.

This leads to a very small labour pool, based not on technical ability but the ability to pay.

Therefore the service cost is higher and the quality of work lower on trane products.

[Dr. Hardcrab]

"Eric Houkal" wrote

Amen to that, brother.

I remember the first course i took was a week long Carrier and i think it cost $75 to cover the cost of the books and other materials. Now you go to a "course" and they charge upwards of $300 and it's just a salesman for the manufacturer saying "Look what we got! We want you to BUY it!". But I guess the soda and pieces cut off a 5 foot Subway sub make up for the cost of the "class".

I understand it's not cheap to run these things, but, like you said, I don't mind paying for something if i get SOMEthing out of it.

[Stormin Mormon]

Right, avoid that brand.

[Dr. Hardcrab]

Just my opinion, but:

Sorry. Trane is good stuff, but just overpriced IMHO.....

[Lee]

Hi

I cann attest to it being good, I bought mine in 86 and I live in Floridda which means the heatpump that I have has been running 24/7 and the only thing that had to be repaired/replaced was the capacitors. Mine is still running strong. I don't mind paying the price for a good and trouble free product. Whoops forgot the original drain pan did rust out and they had to replace it under that 10 year warranty I had.

Lee