HEROES OF COMFORT
By MORGAN CHILSON | Photos by JOHN BURNS
Twenty percent of new businesses fail within the first two years after they open. Just 25% make it past 15 years, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Blue Dot Services of Kansas blew through those anniversary dates, showing its strength and stability as they mark 65 years in business. Blue Dot, which began in 1958 as Bob Satzler Heating & Air, specializes in heating, air conditioning, and plumbing and has a division that remodels bathrooms.
Blue Dot Services of Kansasbegan in 1958 as Bob Satzler Heating and Air.
“We’ve done well by constantly staying on our toes, monitoring what our industry’s doing, and trying to be ahead of the times — just staying fresh,” said Brandon Barnette, Blue Dot residential estimator and head of marketing.
HELPING PEOPLE
Barnette found his way to Blue Dot, a career he never considered in high school, and learned a little-known secret about the work.
“It’s the satisfaction of helping people. It’s like we’re superheroes,” he said. “We show up when there’s a problem and we leave when there’s cold air in the summer, or warm air in the wintertime.”
He and the 35-plus employees at Blue Dot find personal satisfaction from solving problems, Barnette added.
SERIOUS BUSINESS
The seriousness of Blue Dot’s work was underscored by 100+ temperatures this last summer.“We were seven calls deep of breakdowns, and there were houses that were over 85 degrees. In this heat, it’s not just an uncomfortable thing. It’s life or death, for pets, for everybody,” Barnette said. “You feel helpless at times because you only have so many employees. You can’t push them. With our industry, we’re not in an air-conditioned spaces — we walk in when it’s not working, we’re fixing it, and we’re leaving at just the time it’s starting to get cool.”
PROTECTING HEALTH
Blue Dot is always looking for people who like to figure things out. People like Nick McCart, plumbing supervisor, who started at Blue Dot in 1999. His father, Terry McCart, owned the business at one point.
McCart began as a plumbing helper, quickly discovering that he’d found his niche on the plumbing side of the business.
“I’ve always been a hands-on person — gardening, canning tomatoes and juice, keeping bees. I’ve always wanted to do something where I see my results,” McCart said. “I have a passion for plumbing. Plumbers protect the health of the nation.”
PROBLEM SOLVERS WANTED
Like many industries today, Blue Dot faces workforce challenges. The National Comfort Institute reports that as many as 80,000 HVAC technician jobs sit unfilled in the United States.
To be competitive in drawing employees, Blue Dot offers excellent benefits including 100% paid health insurance for the employee, Barnette said. They train constantly, using an upstairs classroom to make sure technicians are up to date on new equipment. They continually update their operations. For instance, Blue Dot transitioned from pen and paper to iPads in the last couple of years, which allows them to document everything they do in a customer’s home and keep necessary information at the tech’s fingertips.
Updating technology, constant training, and paying attention to company culture are all keys to staying on top in their market, Barnette said.
“The management circle meets every single day to discuss any issues that we may have, how can we improve ourselves from yesterday,” he said. “We have self-reflection every morning. We never miss that.”
