The Eagles’ Nest January 2026 Edition

I began to write our winter newsletter in the first week of December. It was snowing, we didn’t get a lot but I have to say – it made me feel in the Christmas spirit.

I hope that you and your family were able to be together this holiday season. May you be blessed with health and good times.

As I look forward to the future and changes we need to make to be better, I contemplate how we can service our customers better. It’s always my top priority. Below are the items we are working on…

✓ Scheduling

• Online 24/7 touchless scheduling. For those customers that want to schedule their appointments after the office has closed or without having to talk to our staff.
• AI powered scheduling. For those customers that just need to schedule an appointment and do not need the human touch.
• Don’t worry, I’m not an AI person, we will 100% make sure you have the ability to reach a human without having to communicate with AI first.

✓ Communication

• I truly feel we can’t over communicate to you. Confirmation of appointments, schedule reminders, 2-hour time frame confirmations and “on the way” email and text will continue to improve.
• Our installation department is rolling out better communication of the items we need to connect your new equipment to your home. Sending invoices, warranty, rebate forms, and web application information prior to the start of a job.

✓ Quality Service

• We are limiting the number of service men to a manager. Kind of like student to teacher ratio, we are finding that the smaller team groups provide better service to our clients. The more support our technician in your home gets from our office staff and technical support, the more successful the outcome of your service visit.
• Technology that puts our technical help staff “in your home”. We have moved to a team approach in addressing all service calls and installations. Even our most tenured technicians are required to call and review their jobs, suggestions and outcomes with a service manager. We have greatly reduced our call backs thus reducing multiple visit trips to fix problems. Costing customer less money and time away from work.
• Stocked Trucks – we moved to a more functional inventory tracking system that should allow us to be more prepared for your service call. We never charged our customer additional for parts not in stock, but trips to supply houses cost everybody time and time is money.

As I write, I can’t help but shake my head. Scheduling, Communication and Quality Service seems to be a never-ending improvement process. If you have any suggestions or complaints about any of our processes, please reach out to me. I’m always open for feedback.

We’ve seen snow and below freezing temperatures, so Winter is here. Outdoor water spigots should already be winterized. Please remove hoses from the spigot to ensure water is able to drain from the faucet.

If you need help, reach out to us.

EmPower Maryland is pushing for electrification. You do not have to go fully electric to take advantage of $5000 of rebates. If you have gas heat and move to a hybrid gas/electric system, you may be eligible for up to $5000 in rebates plus up to $3000 of any cost to convert. Up to $8000 towards a new super-efficient, super comfortable hybrid heating / cooling system. Heat Pump water heaters are also getting increased rebates through EmPower Maryland. DC homes can also go electric but must be fully electric to receive up to $5000.

If your systems are 9–12-years old and have had service issues, call. If your systems are 13-years or older, call. These programs will not last.

Thank you for being a Wheat & Sons Customer. I hope you had an amazing holiday season and new year. Here’s to hoping you do not HAVE to call us this year, but we are here if you do.

Thank you,
Michael Wheat