Best Buy Enters the Energy Auditing Field

[Roy D. Cooke, Sr]

http://www.homeenergy.org/show/blog/id/201

SUBSCRIBE VIA RSS
VIEW OLDER ARTICLES
SHARE
Best Buy Enters the Energy Auditing Field

Posted by Macie Schreibman on November 21, 2011

If you buy electronics from Best Buy, you can rely on their Geek Squad to come to your home and help you should those electronics have a problem. But now, the Geek Squad is going one step further and offering home energy audits to its customers.
Here’s how it works. Step 1: A Geek Squad Agent comes into the customer’s home and performs an interview to determine how energy is used and where their money is going each month. Step 2: The Squad explains to customers how they can reduce bills and energy use with small changes (switching to CFLs, turning off electronics when they are not in use, or ensuring they are running optimally) and large ones (getting a blower door test done and adding insulation). Step 3: If the customer agrees, the Geek Squad can do small replacements right then and there, and additional auditing can be done.
Although the Best Buy website doesn’t say what kind of training their Agents have in energy auditing, it does share that they know how to perform a blower door test, as well as use infrared imaging—and, most importantly, offer the data and results to their customers.
What’s your opinion on Best Buy getting into the energy auditing field? Comment below with your thoughts.
You can also view the Best Buy video explaining their new services

[An HI]

Originally Posted by rcooke

http://www.homeenergy.org/show/blog/id/201

SUBSCRIBE VIA RSS
VIEW OLDER ARTICLES
SHARE
Best Buy Enters the Energy Auditing Field

Posted by Macie Schreibman on November 21, 2011

If you buy electronics from Best Buy, you can rely on their Geek Squad to come to your home and help you should those electronics have a problem. But now, the Geek Squad is going one step further and offering home energy audits to its customers.
Here’s how it works. Step 1: A Geek Squad Agent comes into the customer’s home and performs an interview to determine how energy is used and where their money is going each month. Step 2: The Squad explains to customers how they can reduce bills and energy use with small changes (switching to CFLs, turning off electronics when they are not in use, or ensuring they are running optimally) and large ones (getting a blower door test done and adding insulation). Step 3: If the customer agrees, the Geek Squad can do small replacements right then and there, and additional auditing can be done.
Although the Best Buy website doesn’t say what kind of training their Agents have in energy auditing, it does share that they know how to perform a blower door test, as well as use infrared imaging—and, most importantly, offer the data and results to their customers.
What’s your opinion on Best Buy getting into the energy auditing field? Comment below with your thoughts.
You can also view the Best Buy video explaining their new services

The energy auditing field is starting to act like the home inspection field: with a little bit of training, anyone can be one.

[KEVIN WOOD]

Buyer's Choice has also started advertizing Home Inspections here. What is the story on there training?
Card says, get this Inspected Once. Inspected Right!

They provide on site reports
Clients are encouraged to attend inspection
Pre-purchase
Pre-sale
Renovation deficiency
Multi Family and Commercial
Nationally Certified Inspectors
What's next Staples providing Professional Report Writing while you do the inspection.

[Joseph Hagarty, CMI]

Originally Posted by kwood

What's next Staples providing Professional Report Writing while you do the inspection.

Multiple printed color copies at discounted rates......
LOL

[James H. Bushart]

I heard that the engineers of New York are lobbying against Best Buy clerks, now. When will it end?

[An HI]

Originally Posted by kwood

Buyer's Choice has also started advertizing Home Inspections here. What is the story on there training?
Card says, get this Inspected Once. Inspected Right!

They provide on site reports
Clients are encouraged to attend inspection
Pre-purchase
Pre-sale
Renovation deficiency
Multi Family and Commercial
Nationally Certified Inspectors
What's next Staples providing Professional Report Writing while you do the inspection.

Ah! "Buyers Beware"- A franchise operation from the east coast. They seem to use INACHI a lot for "certification" purposes although the guy in your area isn't on your list yet. So it appears as with other franchises, in-house book learning and a few hours in the field and your in business!

[Scott May]

Has anyone let Nick know about use of the "Inspected once, Inspected right" tagline or maybe he authorized it? Do they not have to give equal advertising on their websites if they are inachi certified?

[KEVIN WOOD]

I am not sure but I doubt Nick would allow it on the business card of some franchise operation. The individual on the business card I have here in SSM On is not even Certified by InterNachi.

[Stephen W. Stanczyk]

The President of the franchise is a member as are SOME of the regional franchise holders.

They should individually be able to use the tag line as members but the Franchise advertising should not and neither should the non members.

[KEVIN WOOD]

How about offering Continuing Education to Real Estates to get an edge.
Check this out in SSM On also.

We offer Continuing Education Courses to local real estate agents, to educate them on home related topics. Since receiving certification to instruct these courses we have conducted 5 CEPS, and will continue to offer these courses as long as the demand for them is high.

[KEVIN WOOD]

This person is also listed as InterNachi and yet has no equal Logo use on his web page and does not even mention InterNachi.

[Stephen W. Stanczyk]

Originally Posted by kwood

How about offering Continuing Education to Real Estates to get an edge.
Check this out in SSM On also.

We offer Continuing Education Courses to local real estate agents, to educate them on home related topics. Since receiving certification to instruct these courses we have conducted 5 CEPS, and will continue to offer these courses as long as the demand for them is high.

What is wrong with that? Agents need to get CEU's. I know other inspectors that put together a class about home inspections or pest inspections, got the approval from the state, to teach agents what to expect from their inspector. If it garners the home inspector more referrals, more power to him/her.

[Stephen W. Stanczyk]

Originally Posted by kwood

This person is also listed as InterNachi and yet has no equal Logo use on his web page and does not even mention InterNachi.

A member does not need to list themselves as a InterNACHI member on their website unless they advertise as a member of another organization. Then it must be equal. He does not list another organization so he doesn't need to list InterNACHI.

Nothing better to do this evening?

[KEVIN WOOD]

He is a member of another organization and has already been reported to Nick. He has chosen to list himself as both and this is confusion to many. He is the only one meeting with Real Estate Brokerage for the inside meetings and has offered soft reports. I have seen his reports and have even been asked to do reports after his to find what he missed.
Does that look good to InterNachi? I don't think so.

[Stephen W. Stanczyk]

Where does he advertise membership in another organization? I don't see it on his website. There is no rule against being a member of another organization.