How Mackie Martin scheduled 105 HVAC tune-ups overnight
William runs maintenance alone for about 220 high-end homes in Phoenix’s Paradise Valley and Arcadia neighborhoods. For three years, Lula’s maintenance coordination has handled the company’s twice-yearly HVAC tune-ups.
- 165 tune-ups sent at 1 p.m. and 105 scheduled by the next morning
- Photo invoices with the unit’s age that turn into owner health reports
- Work order prices about 20% below local market rates, from Mackie Martin’s own six-month review of every job
105 / 165
HVAC tune-ups scheduled between 1 p.m. and 9 a.m. the next day
Company
Mackie Martin
Market
Paradise Valley and Arcadia, Phoenix metro
Portfolio
About 220 homes, furnished and unfurnished
With Lula
3 years of HVAC tune-ups
“I would absolutely recommend them. Our work orders are unique. Lula was able to actually handle all of it. It’ll save your maintenance coordinator a lot of time and a lot of calls.”
The starting point
220 luxury homes and a maintenance department of one
Mackie Martin manages homes in two of the most expensive parts of the Phoenix metro. Average rent runs around $10,000 a month, and some homes rent for $40,000. William is the maintenance supervisor and the only person in the department.
Owners often keep the service providers they already trust, so every new vendor has to learn how property management works: where quotes go, what needs owner approval, and how to submit a bill. The morning we spoke, William had already been on four calls with a new electrician about a single repair.
HVAC tune-ups doubled the load. Before Lula, he dealt with HVAC vendors who didn’t schedule the work or send bills on time.
“If I get sucked down into one work order, that could take an hour of my day. Then I can’t really focus on advancements in my department.”
William, Maintenance Supervisor, Mackie Martin
A typical week for William
The overnight round
165 work orders sent at once
William and Lula agreed on the scope and price of each tune-up up front, filter changes included. When the round starts, he sends every work order in one go.
Day 1, 1:00 p.m.
165
tune-up work orders sent to Lula
Day 2, 9:00 a.m.
105
already scheduled with Lula Pros when William got in
Within two weeks
~100
tune-ups completed, with photos and invoices back
“I have an account manager that’s able to dissect the problem, has the time to really sit down with me, and find a solution that everybody’s happy with.”
William, on the problems any 165-job round runs into
What comes back
Details that keep owners approving
Screens below are examples for illustration.
Photo invoices that prepare owners early
Each completed tune-up comes back with photos and the unit’s age. William turns those into a short health report, so owners see the condition of their system months ahead, with a replacement quote on file if they want one.
“We’re not saying it needs to be repaired. We’re just prepping you.”
William, on his owner health reports
Note for owner: Unit is getting close to the end of its useful life. Replacement quote on file if you’d like to plan ahead.
Quotes that explain the repair
At a third-party property manager, repairs over the threshold need an owner’s approval. A quote with no reason attached means a call to the tech and then a call to the owner. Quotes from Lula Pros spell out what they found, with photos and the cost to fix it.
“That right there is saving me a call to the tech to figure out why he’s recommending a replacement. It’s saving me a call to the owner.”
William, Maintenance Supervisor
“We went out there to try to fix the sink. It’s unrepairable, the flange is broken, the flange is no longer available, you need to replace it. Here’s the cost to replace, here’s pictures, here’s what we’re gonna put in.”
Field notes on demand in Slack
When an owner or resident asks what happened on a visit, William used to call Lula, who then called the Pro. Now he types the work order number to AskLula in Slack and gets the visit back: when the Pro was on site, what they did, and whether a quote is coming. He can answer while the caller is still on the phone.
“The Pros are actually putting their notes in live, and they’re very detailed.”
William, Maintenance Supervisor
William10:42 AM
@AskLula what happened on WO 48213?
AskLula10:42 AM
Here’s the latest on WO 48213:
Pricing
Six months of checking every work order
Mackie Martin reviewed the price on every Lula work order for six months against local market rates. Their finding: Lula prices came in about 20% below what local providers charge for the same work. In a portfolio where high repair bills push owners to sell, that keeps homes under management.
“I would describe the pricing as a ship sailing through the night.”
William, Maintenance Supervisor
Results
What the tune-up program delivers
105 of 165 tune-ups scheduled overnight in one round
From a single round of 165 work orders: about 100 completed within two weeks of sending it.
Filters changed twice a year
Filter changes are built into every tune-up, across every home in the program.
Prices about 20% below local market rates
Mackie Martin checked the price of every Lula work order against local market rates for six months. Lula came in about 20% lower.
Two calls saved on each quote
No call to the tech to ask why, and no follow-up call to explain it to the owner.
Hand off your next HVAC round
Lula’s maintenance coordination sends the whole round to the Lula Pro network, with photo invoices and quotes your owners can approve without a follow-up call. There’s no monthly, annual, or setup fee. Lula earns only on completed work.
