Windshield Time

Hosted by Chris Elmore

Business Education

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Episodes

100

Latest episode

Oct 2026

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About the show

Windshield Time, formerly known as The Service Contractor Radio Show is a podcast dedicated to home service technicians and salespeople. Your host, Chris Elmore will be there for you during your windshield time (or whenever you have time to listen!) to give advice on managing customer expectations, obliterating objections and connecting with your customers on a deeper level in the home.

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60 recent

October 28, 2026Episode 2228 min

How Service Techs Explain Value Without Sounding Salesy

A service technician can know exactly what a customer needs and still struggle to explain why it matters. The answer isn't a harder sales pitch. It's a clearer explanation. In this episode of Windshield Time, Chris Elmore breaks down Features, Advantages, and Benefits, or FAB, as a framework service techs can use to communicate value and urgency without sounding salesy. Start with the feature: What is it? What does it do? How does it actually work? Then move to the advantage: Why does this customer, their home, or their system need it? Finally, quantify the benefit: What could they gain or avoid losing in time, money, and emotion? That becomes especially important when you're talking about something that hasn't completely failed yet. The customer sees something that still works. You see what is dirty, missing, deteriorating, or failing. Chris shows how deeper technical knowledge, better translation, real evidence, and specific information help close that gap. In this episode: -What Features, Advantages, and Benefits actually mean -Why FAB is a communication framework, not a sales pitch -Why service techs need to understand how the things they recommend actually work -How to connect technical information to a specific customer -Why yellow items create a bigger value gap -How to quantify value in time, money, and emotion -Why specifics make you sound more professional and less salesy -How to build and practice your own FAB playbook Windshield Time is the podcast for service technicians in HVAC, plumbing, and electrical who want to improve customer communication, service calls, and the entire craft of serving homeowners. All episodes: https://www.servextra.com/episodes/ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5DlsGABopPu9Qq9NNhK4hu Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/windshield-time/id1386770507 The October PRESS PLAY workshops are sold out. February is next: https://www.servextra.com/press-play-training-series

October 14, 2026Episode 2125 min

The Customer Communication Gap Technicians Miss

A service technician can explain a problem clearly and still have the customer understand something completely different. That's the customer communication gap Chris Elmore breaks down in this episode of Windshield Time. He demonstrates it with one simple exercise: draw a picture of yourself at the beach. Same instruction. Different people. Completely different pictures. The same thing happens on a service call. You know what you mean when you explain the problem, urgency, value, or best long-term solution. But customers hear those words through their own experiences and priorities. If you assume they see what you see, you can end up trying to convince them that your picture is better. Better customer communication starts earlier. Ask questions. Observe. Diagnose thoroughly. Understand what matters to the homeowner. Then present the technically correct solution in a way they can connect to their home and situation. In this episode: - Why customers fill in the blanks when technicians make assumptions - Why understanding your words does not mean understanding your meaning - How customer perspective changes value and urgency - What Chris means by the value gap - Why discovery and observation come before presentation - How thorough diagnostics support better recommendations - How to present the best long-term solution without manipulating the customer Windshield Time is the podcast for service technicians in HVAC, plumbing, and electrical who want to improve customer communication, service calls, and the entire craft of serving homeowners. All episodes: https://www.servextra.com/episodes/ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5DlsGABopPu9Qq9NNhK4hu Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/windshield-time/id1386770507 The October PRESS PLAY workshops are sold out. February is next: https://www.servextra.com/press-play-training-series

September 30, 2026Episode 2027 min

The Technician Trap That Stops Growth

For an experienced service tech, working alone can start to feel like proof you've made it. Nobody is shadowing you. Nobody is watching you minute to minute. You can handle the calls. That's also where you can start getting stagnant. In this episode of Windshield Time, Chris Elmore challenges technicians to look at the whole craft, not just the technical side of the job. Technical excellence matters. But so does how you communicate with customers, explain technical information, use your software, manage your truck, follow the process, and continue getting better at the work. Chris says two things have to happen to improve: you need the courage to seek criticism, and you need to be willing to learn and implement something new because of it. That is where internal accountability starts. In this episode: - Why working on your own can create an "I got this" mindset - Why technical excellence is only part of a service technician's craft - What Chris means when he says to seek criticism instead of waiting for feedback - Why criticism does nothing if you never implement what you learn - How internal accountability changes the way you respond to outside accountability - What to bring into every training session and how to protect your attitude toward learning - Why becoming stagnant gets more dangerous as the knowledge required by the job keeps changing All episodes: https://www.servextra.com/episodes/ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5DlsGABopPu9Qq9NNhK4hu Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/windshield-time/id1386770507 #ServiceTechnician #HomeServices #SkilledTrades #ServiceCalls #TechnicianGrowth

September 16, 2026Episode 1934 min

Why Customers Say No When Techs Are Right

Every tech has had this write-up. The outlet in his garage was cracked and gummed up. You told him it wasn't safe, because it wasn't. He said no. Here is why. He has never been shocked out there. It has never tripped on him. So what you told him was a story about something that has never happened. Now say it the other way. That outlet is broken. If it ever trips, it probably won't reset. His bandsaw won't run. Nothing he has plugged in out there will run. Same problem. Different reason to care. Chris Elmore puts three things in order on this one. Is it safe. Is it working the way the maker built it to work. And how the customer uses it and lives with it. Techs rank it safe first. Customers put how they use it first. They can't tell if it's running right, so if they can use it the way they want, they figure it must be working, and if it's working it must be safe. Chris says the logic is 180 degrees out. He is not telling you to skip the safety talk. If something is unsafe, you have to address it. All three get presented. But lead with what he stands to lose. People buy on emotion and justify it with logic. A danger he has never lived through isn't emotional. Losing what he uses every day is. In this episode: -Why techs rank safety first and customers rank it second or third -Why "I can use it" turns into "it must be safe" in a customer's head -What your customer can feel and what he can't... air and water, but never electricity -How to lead with the loss without skipping safety or the manufacturer spec -Why selling a possibility is harder than selling a probability -The cracked outlet in the garage, and the wording that would have -changed the answer -Why this hits hardest on yellow items, and why red items mostly take care of themselves Windshield Time is the podcast for techs in the trades... HVAC, plumbing, and electrical. Hosted by Chris Elmore. Talk to Chris: elmore@servextra.com Free downloads and past episodes: https://www.servextra.com/episodes/ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5DlsGABopPu9Qq9NNhK4hu Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/windshield-time/id1386770507 Join the next class: https://www.servextra.com/press-play-training-series #WindshieldTime #Technicians #Trades #HomeServiceBusiness #ServiceExcellence

September 2, 2026Episode 1837 min

Most Techs Ask the Wrong Questions

Every tech has had this call. You found the problem. You showed them the fix. They said no. So you blame the price. But the price wasn't the issue. You asked questions to get answers, and that's all you got. You never gave them a reason to trust you. And you don't get a do-over. One visit. One house. A limited number of questions. Here's the rule: if a question only gets you an answer, it's the wrong question. Chris Elmore shows what he means with a game. Pick a number between 1 and 20, and you get three yes-or-no questions to find it. Easy to win. Then he takes away the yes-or-no, and it falls apart because now he doesn't want to give up the number. Nothing about the number changed. A person got involved. That's the difference between a system and a customer. A meter answers yes or no. A homeowner decides how much to tell you. Chris calls the mistake target fixation. When all you want is the problem or the yes, you stop seeing everything around the target. Including the person standing in the room. In this episode: -Why a question that only gets an answer is the wrong question -Target fixation, and how chasing the yes makes you miss the customer -Troubleshooting a system vs. talking to a person -Why open questions are harder, and why they work -The introduction at the door, question by question -Why asking about allergies at the thermostat backfires -How to split "too expensive" into the money or the thing Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5DlsGABopPu9Qq9NNhK4hu Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/windshield-time/id1386770507 Windshield Time playlist: https://www.servextra.com/episodes/ Join the next class: https://www.servextra.com/press-play-training-series Windshield Time is hosted by Chris Elmore. #WindshieldTime #Technicians #Trades #HomeServiceBusiness #ServiceExcellence

August 19, 2026Episode 1726 min

How to Get Through a Long Day of Service Calls Without Burning Out

How do you get through a long day of service calls without burning out? Almost none of it is external. It's what's between your ears. Start with your morning ritual. A routine can be interrupted or thrown off. A ritual has enough meaning that you do it no matter what. That's the three Ds: duty, discipline, devotion. Duty is because you have to. Discipline is because it's a habit. Devotion is because it means something. Then it's practical. How you fuel a day of hunger, dehydration, and physical effort. Why you work one call at a time instead of scanning the whole schedule. The five-minute reset between calls, not 30 minutes at the supply house. What you put in your ears during windshield time. Last point: take comfort in a predictable process. Follow it on every call, and your last call is as good as your first. In this episode: -Ritual vs. routine, and why a routine is the one that gets skipped -The three Ds: duty, discipline, devotion -How to prepare your body for hunger, dehydration, and heat -Why one call at a time beats seeing your whole schedule -The five-minute reset between calls -What to listen to during windshield time -How a predictable process protects your last call of the day Free downloads and past episodes: https://www.servextra.com/resources/ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5DlsGABopPu9Qq9NNhK4hu Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/windshield-time/id1386770507 Windshield Time is hosted by Chris Elmore.

August 5, 2026Episode 1625 min

The 3 Cs Every Technician Needs: Competence, Confidence, Control

Most customers object for two reasons: lack of trust and lack of value. Someone who doesn't seem to know what they're doing because they can't communicate well is less valuable. So Chris walks the 3 Cs... competence, confidence, and control. Competence is the minimum level of technical excellence for your trade and your company. Confidence is knowing that you know. Control is not manipulation of the customer, it means the outcome is more predictable because you are competent. Together they let you step into being a professional expert authority. You can live at the best technical academy on the planet for three weeks and never get any customer communication training. Chris's urging: spend as much time learning to communicate the work as you spend working on the thing. In this episode you'll learn: -The 3 Cs and why they work as a loop, not a one-time ladder -How to know a tech is competent... the line of minimum technical excellence -Why "my work speaks for itself" quietly costs you sales and trust -The two real reasons customers object, and how communication creates both -The doctor test, and how to close the authority gap with your customers -The fastest way to grow all three Cs: be a sponge, practice till you can't get it wrong Free downloads and past episodes: https://www.servextra.com/episodes/ Listen on the go: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5DlsGABopPu9Qq9NNhK4hu Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/windshield-time/id1386770507 Windshield Time is hosted by Chris Elmore. If this one hit home, send it to a tech who thinks the work speaks for itself. #WindshieldTime #HVACBusiness #PlumbingBusiness #TechnicianTraining #ServiceExcellence

July 22, 2026Episode 1526 min

How to Stop "Too Expensive" From Killing the Sale

Your tech hears "too expensive," packs up, and rolls to the next call. Another lost ticket... and he'll tell you the customer was just a cheapskate. But he didn't diagnose anything. He guessed. In this episode of Windshield Time, Chris Elmore breaks down the Anatomy of an Objection... how to diagnose a price objection instead of reacting to it. Here's the problem: "too expensive" has fifteen or twenty different reasons behind it, and they don't all get the same response. Is it a smokescreen or a true condition? Is the customer objecting to the price, or to the thing you recommended? You can't know until you ask. So you LEAP: Listen, Empathize, Ask questions, Problem solve. It's the same move a tech already makes on a service call. Walk in on a dead ceiling fan and the first question is "is there power?" The answer tells you which path to take. An objection works exactly the same way... ask the right question first, and it directs you to the real issue. Handle it right, and "too expensive" isn't the end of the call. It's the moment you separate the money from the recommendation and move the customer to the next step. 🎧 Listen on the go: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5DlsGABopPu9Qq9NNhK4hu Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/windshield-time/id1386770507 All episodes: https://www.servextra.com/episodes/ #HVAC #Plumbing #Electrical #ServiceTech #WindshieldTime

July 8, 2026Episode 1428 min

The 30 Minutes That Decide Every Service Call

A typical service call runs two hours. But only about 30 minutes of it is spent face to face with the customer, and that small window is where trust gets built and decisions get made. Most techs have never realized how little time they actually get, or how much rides on it. Chris Elmore walks through a simple paper exercise that changes how you see every call. Map PRESS PLAY across a two-hour timeline and the picture gets clear fast. Most of your time goes to the diagnosis and the repair, the technical work that everything depends on, and a smaller slice, about a quarter, is your time with the customer. Both matter. But because that customer window is so short, you have to be just as sharp there as you are with your tools. You'll learn: -Why only about 30 minutes of a two-hour call is customer-facing time -How to map PRESS PLAY across the timeline of a service call -Why that short window is where trust and decisions happen -The NFL comparison that reframes how you see your time on every job -Why objections get handled in the first 15 minutes, before they come up -Why you should practice the customer conversation as hard as the craft 🎧 Listen on the go: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5DlsGABopPu9Qq9NNhK4hu Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/windshield-time/id1386770507 All episodes: https://www.servextra.com/episodes/ Windshield Time is hosted by Chris Elmore. If this changed how you see your time on a call, share it with a tech who thinks the job ends at the repair.

June 24, 2026Episode 1334 min

How to Get Customers on Your Side in the First 15 Minutes

A customer gets defensive the second you bring up money. It feels like it came out of nowhere. It didn't. You lost them the moment you walked up to the door and failed to set a single expectation. Chris Elmore breaks down setting and resetting expectations, the skill that decides whether the end of your call is a smooth yes or a standoff. Customers show up expecting the worst. You show up with your own assumptions. Left unspoken, those expectations turn into resentment every time. The fix happens in the first 15 minutes, long before money ever comes up. You'll learn: -Why customers expect the worst before you even knock -The one sentence behind almost every bad reaction at the end of a call -Why the risk of offense is the price of clarity -How to use the red, yellow, green checklist to reset expectations -The money reset that puts the decision back in the customer's hands 🎧 Listen Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5DlsGABopPu9Qq9NNhK4hu Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/windshield-time/id1386770507 All episodes: http://servextra.com/episodes/ Windshield Time is hosted by Chris Elmore. If this changed how you start a call, share it with a tech who keeps getting blindsided at the end. #HVAC #Plumbing #Electrical #ServiceTech #WindshieldTime

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