Message from the President, Ryan Rastetter

As we approach the end of 2025 and prepare for the winter season, I want to share some updates on some Operational changes recently implemented.  First, we have established three Teams that will be meeting on a regular basis under the EOS L10 model to streamline operations, resolve issues, and accelerate operational improvements.  Those teams include the following:

• Marketing Operations
• Sales & Install Operations (Retro, Newcon and Commercial)
• Service Operations (Plumbing and HVAC)

In order for this new structure to be successful, we have made two additional adjustments.  First, we have hired a new Marketing Director, Timi Oyebanjo who is working out of Sumner and focused on improving customer acquisition and retention.  In addition to this change, the plumbing team will now report to Mark Morgan.  Greg Forsell has moved onto another opportunity and I want to thank him for providing a smooth transition and for all he contributed throughout his time at Home Comfort Alliance.

In addition to those organizational changes, we are also working through the feedback from your survey responses on the EOS meetings and structure.  I am pleased to say that we had over 140 responses.  Each department’s responses have been provided to each manager, and based on the responses you all provided, each manager has shared a plan to make improvements where needed.  I certainly appreciate all of your feedback and have summarized some key points of the survey below for you to review:

• Almost 70% of the responses indicated they have meetings on a consistent schedule
• 53% of responses indicated they liked the frequency and 28% would like more. 15% would prefer less.
• There was mixed feedback on metrics, and I have asked the team to focus on this as we move forward. 40% feel great about the metrics, 40% don’t and about 20% sit in the middle.  We need this to improve.
• 2/3 of respondents said they can bring up issues at meetings, and about the same amount indicated they discuss those issues. We drop off a bit in resolving those issues, with about 40% of respondents indicating that issues are resolved.  This is another area I have asked managers to focus on.

This has provided a great baseline for us to improve upon, and your feedback is truly helpful for your manager to understand how to improve the time you spend in meetings to make them productive, informative, and value-added. If you want any additional information on this survey and the results for your department, please reach out to your manager.

I want to share a quick update on some of the more measurable annual objectives for the year listed below:

1. Consolidation into one Sumner location and enhancement of the Everett office
   We are still working on some signage and training room details, but we are fully moved into both sections of the building in Sumner and the new office furniture, carpet and paint is complete in Everett.
2. 6,000 Comfort Club Memberships
   We currently have over 5,758 memberships. While the 6,000 number may be difficult to reach, with over a month to go we have seen some great improvements.  We have surpassed 2024’s growth rate, our new sales % is up 2.5%, and our cancellation rate is down to 10% from almost 30%.   Our first-year renewal rate,  unfortunately, is still lower than we want to see (4% down from 2024), but in the last three months, we have seen a nice improvement (1% up compared to 2024).
3. 1,200 Total Google Reviews
   We are maintaining about 100 reviews a month and right now have 1,051 five star reviews this year. We will need to continue to deliver 100 reviews in December, and 50 more in the remainder of November in order to reach our goal.  Please make sure you are asking for a review at each job and also when following up from the office.
4. $2M Growth in Retro and Service and 150 Water Tanks sold:
   Through October, it looks like we will fall short on this objective. That said, October was an outstanding month and we currently are $641K above prior year for Retrofit and Service departments (This does not include Costco).  I believe this is an indication that while we might fall short, the focus on these departments’ growth has been positive, with overall year-over-year growth.  As for the Hot Water Tank sales, we are currently nearing 100 tanks sold and over $250K in additional revenue.

On a final note, please make sure to read the emails from Patrick Leifer on open enrollment, specifically if you need to make any changes to your current elections for benefits!  If you have any questions, please reach out to Patrick.

Thank you for all you do each and every day to delight our customers and exemplify our values.

– Ryan Rastetter