An Example of Dedication and Loyalty: Interview with Chas Roberts’ Longest Serving Employee

In 1942, Chas and Alice Roberts started a business on the basic tenets of offering excellent products and honest service at competitive prices. In the early years, the company sold home appliances, coolers, furnaces and air conditioners and air conditioning repair in Phoenix. In 70 years, the company has grown to become Arizona’s largest HVAC provider. Along the way, that growth was handled by hard-working, loyal employees like leading engineer Jim Colgan. He recently sat down to talk about his lengthy career with Chas Roberts.

Q: You have been with Chas Roberts for 41 years. To what do you attribute the company’s longevity?

A: It’s pretty simple. Chas Roberts has always provided quality products at fair prices and outstanding customer service. The company’s guiding principle for generations has been to be the best. The many years of success, teamed with the recognition the company has received in the industry and community, show that the company’s philosophy is working.

Q: Tell me about the growth you have seen the company go through during your tenure.

A: It’s been remarkable to see the growth of the company through the decades. When Chas and Alice started the business, the focus was on sales of home appliances, coolers, furnaces, air conditioners and air conditioning repair in Phoenix. In the 50s and 60s, the company began retrofitting houses for air conditioners and branched out into new installations in custom and tract homes and light commercial air conditioning. With the new home construction boom that began in the 1970s – when I first joined Chas Roberts – the company’s business also boomed with installations in new construction homes. That success and growth continues today.

Q: How has Chas Roberts made an impact on the local community?

A: A family-owned company understands the importance of giving back to the community because they live in the community. Chas Roberts has made “giving back” a family tradition. The company sponsors an annual contest to award free home cooling and heating systems to needy families in Arizona and New Mexico. Chas Roberts has also contributed new units and installations for Habitat for Humanity and HomeBase Youth Services homes. And the company and its employees have donated more than a quarter-of-a-million dollars and thousands of hours to local and national charities.

Q: What is the benefit to the customer of working with a family-owned, long-standing business?

A: Providing quality products, at fair prices, and with exceptional service was always very personal to our founder Chas Roberts. He always said, “My name is on every comfort system this company has ever installed and every member of Chas Roberts knows that means the world to me…and to our customers.” This statement is still true today, as Chas’s granddaughter Sissie Roberts Shank now leads the business. Chas Roberts’ longevity as a company provides direct benefits to customers. Because of the company’s long-standing, solid relationships with manufacturers and suppliers, Chas Roberts is able to offer the highest quality systems, by the best manufacturers in the industry and at the most competitive rates.

Q: What do you think the future holds for Chas Roberts?

A: After spending more than 40 years with this company, and seeing the monumental growth it has gone through, I know the future holds great things for Chas Roberts. In the last year alone, the company has expanded services to New Mexico and added residential and commercial plumbing services. The sky is the limit.

Looking for air conditioning repair in Phoenix, Tucson or New Mexico? Experience for yourself the benefits of working with a long-serving, family-owned HVAC contractor. Schedule an appointment online or call (602) 943-3426 in Phoenix, (520) 618-1884 in Tucson or (505) 264-7257 in New Mexico.