Windshield Time

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 tim...

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 yo...

Most techs diagnose the one thing the customer called about, fix it, and leave. The best techs diagnose the whole system, because the thing they called about is never really on its own. That's the difference between a callback and a customer who buys the real fix. Chris Elmore breaks down what he calls common bonds: the things that tie every part of a home's system together. Age. Maintenance. Filt...

You got 800 hours of technical training. You got 3 hours on customer service. You weren't trained for the moment a customer says "that's too expensive." That's why you freeze. Chris Elmore breaks down why handling objections is troubleshooting with a person instead of a machine. Same process. One difference: emotions. He walks through how LEAP works on real objections, why "that's too expensive" r...

You pull up to a house. You see the yard, the cars, the neighborhood. Before you knock on the door, you've already decided what this customer can afford. You don't know you're doing it. But it's costing you money. Chris Elmore walks through the five cognitive biases that affect every tech in the field — and shows how each one shows up on real service calls. The plumber who skips the shower and goe...

Every tech knows how to troubleshoot a system. But when a customer objects  (I need to think about it, I need to talk to my spouse, that's more than I expected), most techs stop troubleshooting and start guessing. Chris Elmore shows you that troubleshooting an objection uses the exact same skill you use on every diagnostic call. The only difference is that there's a person on the other end instead...

You built four options. You laid them all on the table. The customer's eyes went straight to the cheapest one. This episode fixes that. Chris Elmore breaks down why presenting all four options at the same time costs you money on every call — and teaches the top-down method that uses the trust you've already built to guide the customer toward the best solution. He covers the psychology of forced bu...

A lot of technicians think customer resistance starts at the price. Chris Elmore says it starts much earlier. In this episode, Chris uses a vivid analogy to explain what happens when a technician gives a customer bad news without preparing them first. The result is confusion, defensiveness, and the urge to escape... just like someone reacting to an unexpected explosion. The point is not the drama...

"What is your job?" Most technicians answer the same way: fix the problem. But that answer reveals something important—many technicians see their role too narrowly. In this episode of Windshield Time , Chris explains why professional technicians carry a much larger responsibility when they enter a customer's home. A technician isn't just there to repair equipment. They are responsible for discover...

If you're a technician who believes your job is to "just fix it," this episode will challenge that mindset. In this episode of Windshield Time, Chris Elmore sits down with Joe Bates, owner of Northern Air Plumbing & Heating, to break down what separates average service technicians from true professionals. A technician's job is to diagnose the entire system, tell the story of what's happening, and...

What does a service business owner actually expect from technicians? In this episode of Windshield Time , Joe Bates, owner of Northern Air Plumbing and Heating , shares the ownership perspective most technicians never hear. This is not theory. It's what ownership sees every day. Payroll. Margins. Reputation. Risk. Joe explains what sets average technicians apart from trusted professionals — and ho...

Most service calls don't fail during diagnostics. They fail in the moment after . The inspection is complete. The findings are clear. And then the conversation stalls. In this episode of Windshield Time , we break down why service calls stall after diagnostics and what technicians can do to move the call forward without sounding salesy, awkward, or unsure. This isn't about closing harder. It's abo...

When a service call goes bad, it's rarely because the work was wrong. It's because the conversation wasn't documented. In this episode of Windshield Time , Chris Elmore and Matthew Barbosa explain how to document a service call properly and why documentation protects technicians long after the job is done. This episode reframes documentation away from paperwork and toward clarity, protection, and...

Experience is your greatest asset—until it creates your biggest blind spot. In the Season 2 premiere of Windshield Time , Chris Elmore and Matthew Barbosa dismantle the myth that "seasoned pros don't need checklists." If you're relying on your gut to diagnose, you're leaving money, trust, and your reputation on the table. We dive into why the diagnostic checklist isn't about finding the problem—it...

Most people don't quit on self-improvement. They quietly drift away from it. Not because they don't want change. But because they never built a system to support it. In this episode of Windshield Time , Chris and Noel break down why New Year's resolutions fail, why motivation is a terrible strategy, and what real, lasting improvement actually looks like, especially for people in the trades. This i...

The holidays change everything. Customers are more patient. Mistakes get forgiven. Standards quietly soften. Then January hits...and all of that disappears. In this episode of Windshield Time, Chris Elmore and Noel Tarter break down what technicians experience every year but rarely talk about: the holiday hangover. Not the fun kind. The professional one. You'll learn: Why customer behavior shifts...

If the same objections keep showing up, it's not coincidence. It's information. This Windshield Time compilation brings together the most replayed conversations on objection handling — not because they're clever, but because they reveal the same mistakes happening over and over in real service calls. Across these moments, one pattern is clear:  Technicians aren't losing trust because they say the...

Technicians aren't losing deals because they lack answers. They lose trust because they solve problems too early. In this episode of Windshield Time , Chris Elmore and Noel Tarter reframe objection handling through a mindset every great technician already understands: diagnostics . An objection isn't resistance. It's a signal that something hasn't been understood yet. This conversation breaks down...

The holidays don't just change schedules...they change mindsets , customer behavior , and the entire rhythm of the trades. And most techs don't realize how much the season is influencing their decisions… until it costs them. In this episode of Windshield Time , Chris and Brandon break down the psychological pressure of November–December and how it quietly causes techs to slip: cutting corners, ass...

Most technicians think customers push back because of the price. But the truth is simpler: Customers push back because they don't understand the problem. In this episode of Windshield Time , Chris Elmore and Brandon Cockrell break down the "value gap" — the space between what the technician knows and what the homeowner understands. When techs jump from "Here's what's wrong" straight to "Here's how...

Technicians don't lose the call because of price. They lose it because they solve too fast . In this episode of Windshield Time , Chris Elmore and Brandon Cockrell break down why techs jump straight to the fix — and why that instinct backfires with homeowners. When you skip LEAP (Listen, Empathize, Ask Questions, Problem Solve), you end up negotiating, apologizing, discounting… and sometimes even...

Customers decide more in the first 10 minutes than most technicians realize. Company reputation may get you the call — but  your credibility determines everything that happens after the door opens. In this episode of Windshield Time , Chris Elmore and Brandon Cockrell break down the quiet, powerful signals that make customers trust you…or question you. From the moment you park the truck to the way...

Most technicians think their job is to fix the system. But great technicians know—the real mission is to serve the person behind the problem. In this episode of Windshield Time , Chris Elmore and Brandon Cockrell break down why The People Are the Priority in every home service call. They explore why techs fall into target fixation, how base programming shapes reactions under pressure, and what it...

Most people don't want your advice. They don't want you to fix their problem. They just want to feel understood. In this episode of Windshield Time , Chris Elmore and Brandon Cockrell unpack what it means to be a Super Communicator — someone who knows how to connect with people's needs before trying to change their minds. They'll show you how DISC profiles, empathy, and body language can help you...

Most of your day runs on autopilot — about 40% of it, to be exact. In this episode of  Windshield Time , Chris Elmore and Brandon Cockrell dig into the Power of Habit — how tiny routines decide your results long before motivation does. From trading a morning Dr Pepper for water to learning how Tony Dungy rebuilt a football team through simplicity, this episode shows how to change your routines wit...