When a homeowner calls for help with a broken air conditioner, a plumbing problem, or a heating system that has stopped working, they expect someone to answer and help them right away. But for many home service companies, giving every customer the same level of service is still a major challenge. One call may end with a booked appointment, while another leaves the homeowner waiting for a call back. For businesses providing AC repair in Dallas and other home services across North Texas, that first call can shape how much a customer trusts the company.
Josh Campbell, Founder of Rescue Air and Plumbing and Director of Customer Experience at Avoca AI, knows this challenge well. A third generation mechanical contractor who grew up in the trades, Josh founded Rescue Air in 2014 and has spent years building a business focused on helping homeowners. Yet even with his years of experience, keeping call center service consistent remained a struggle. His company had worked with several outside answering services to handle calls late at night and after regular business hours. Some performed well, while others fell short. The results kept changing, leaving Josh searching for a better way to make sure every customer received the help they needed.
That challenge became a key part of a PowerChat conversation hosted by Greg Cummings, CEO of Power100, featuring Josh Campbell, Tyson Chen, Founder of Avoca AI, and Andreas Bouras, Former Operations Manager at Rescue Air and Plumbing. Their discussion looked at one of the biggest problems facing growing home service companies: how to give homeowners fast, dependable service while managing the daily demands of running a busy call center.
As Josh shared his experience, it became clear that the problem was not simply finding more people to answer the phones. It was making sure those people could do their jobs correctly and deliver the same level of service every time.
Power100 is the only unbiased third-party platform that recognizes and elevates the top leaders and most impactful companies in the home improvement industry. Through conversations like this, Power100 brings real lessons from business leaders to contractors who want to improve their operations, serve customers better, and build stronger companies.
Josh’s experience offers a lesson that reaches far beyond Rescue Air and Plumbing: great customer service should never depend on who happens to answer the phone.
During his PowerChat with Greg Cummings, CEO of Power100, Josh Campbell shared a lesson that many home service leaders know but struggle to solve. A company can invest in skilled workers, strong marketing, and great customer care, yet still lose business when its call center fails to deliver the same level of service every day. For Josh, the real challenge was not just getting the phone answered. It was making sure every call was handled correctly, no matter when the customer called or who was available. His experience with different answering services led him to question how contractors run their call centers, what role technology should play, and how leaders can build a business that homeowners can depend on.
Josh Campbell, Founder of Rescue Air and Plumbing and Director of Customer Experience at Avoca AI
For home service companies, a ringing phone often means someone needs help. It could be a homeowner whose air conditioner stopped working on a hot afternoon or a family dealing with a plumbing problem late at night. In those moments, customers want clear answers and someone who can help them take the next step. They should not have to worry about whether the person answering their call knows what to do.
Josh explained that this was a problem his company had faced for years. Rescue Air and Plumbing had worked with several outside answering services to cover calls after regular business hours. Some delivered good results, while others struggled to meet the company’s needs. When one service fell short, the team would look for another. Yet the same problems continued to appear.
“Sometimes they don’t get it right,” Josh said while describing the changing results he had seen from different answering services.
What made this challenge harder was that a call center could perform well for weeks or months before problems started again. Josh believes many contractors know what it feels like to have their call center running well, only to see that performance change as staff, schedules, and daily demands shift. As he explained, even companies that get it right for a while may struggle to keep that same standard all year.
For a homeowner, the quality of that first call can make a big difference. If the customer is told to wait until morning or cannot get a clear answer, they may look for another company. That means the business risks losing the opportunity before its service team even has a chance to help.
Josh’s experience points to a problem that can be easy to overlook. A call center does not have to fail every day to hurt a business. Even small gaps in service can add up when hundreds or thousands of customers depend on that system.
The lesson for contractors is that good service should not be something customers receive only on the company’s best days. It should be a standard the business works to deliver on every call.
After years of dealing with changing results, Josh began to look beyond the companies providing the answering services. He wanted to understand why the same problems kept coming back, even when the business changed providers or worked to improve its process.
That question led him to what he saw as the heart of the problem.
“It’s just really, it’s call center personnel consistently knowing how to do their job correctly, right?” Josh explained.
His point was simple. Answering the phone is only the beginning. The person handling the call must understand what the customer needs, collect the right details, follow the correct process, and help the customer book the service they are calling about.
When any part of that process is missed, the customer may leave the conversation without getting the help they expected.
For a growing company, keeping every employee trained and ready can be difficult. New team members need time to learn the job. Experienced employees can still make mistakes. Busy days bring more pressure, while changes in staffing can affect how calls are handled.
Adding more people may help a business answer more calls, but it does not always solve the problem of how those calls are handled.
That is what caught Josh’s attention when he learned more about Avoca AI. He saw the chance to build a system that could follow clear steps and help reduce some of the daily changes in call center performance.
Rather than depending on each person to remember every step, technology could help create a more reliable process for gathering information, scheduling appointments, and moving the customer toward the service they needed.
For a company providing residential HVAC and plumbing services, this matters because every type of service call may require different questions and scheduling steps. A plumbing problem may need a different response from a heating repair or a new AC installation.
Josh saw the value in having a system that could help manage those differences without making the customer experience more difficult.
His experience offers an important lesson for business owners. Before adding more staff or changing service providers, leaders should first ask whether the process itself is clear enough for people to follow and strong enough to deliver dependable results.
As Josh looked deeper into the problem, he began to question something even bigger. Should a heating, cooling, or plumbing company be trying to run every part of its call center on its own?
For him, the answer came from a business idea he has followed for years: know what your company is best at and stay focused on doing that work well.
“I’ve always thought that call center is a business of its own,” Josh shared.
He explained that contractors already have many jobs to manage. They must keep technicians working, serve homeowners, handle sales, bring in new customers, and make sure the business stays healthy. Running a call center adds another full set of duties, from hiring and training people to managing schedules and checking how well calls are handled.
Josh described this through the hedgehog concept, an idea about knowing what you do best and staying focused on it. He believes companies become stronger when they understand where their greatest skills are and avoid taking on work that pulls too much attention away from those strengths.
That thinking shaped how he viewed the call center at Rescue Air and Plumbing.
The company was built to provide heating, cooling, and plumbing services. Its main job was to help homeowners solve problems in their homes. Josh began to question why contractors should spend so much time trying to become experts at running call centers when other companies focus on that work every day.
For contractors, this raises a question about how business owners use their time and resources. Every hour spent fixing call center problems is time that could be used to improve field service, support technicians, train leaders, or serve more customers.
Josh believes there is value in knowing when another business can perform a task better and more efficiently.
That does not mean a contractor should stop caring about what happens in the call center. The company still needs to set clear standards and make sure its customers receive good service. But it does mean leaders should be willing to find better ways to get that work done.
The bigger lesson is that strong companies do not become great by trying to do everything themselves. They become great by knowing what matters most and building the right support around it.
Josh’s search for a better system was also shaped by something he believes is changing in the home service industry. Customers want to get things done faster, while companies want to learn more about those customers before sending someone to their homes.
“We’re looking for more data and people want to give less of their time,” Josh explained.
That creates a challenge. A contractor needs enough details to understand the problem and schedule the right service. But a homeowner dealing with a broken system may not want to answer a long list of questions or wait for someone to call back.
Josh believes that gap between what the company needs and what the customer wants will continue to grow.
The experience at Rescue Air and Plumbing showed how technology could help address that problem.
During the discussion, Andreas Bouras, Former Operations Manager at Rescue Air and Plumbing, explained how the company had built a system that gives customers more ways to reach the business. They can speak with a person, use an AI assistant, or communicate through chat.
Andreas Bouras, Former Operations Manager at Rescue Air and Plumbing
He also explained that when the in-house team cannot answer within three rings, the call moves to Avoca AI. This allows the business to keep serving customers without making them wait for an available employee.
Andreas described another important change. In the past, a homeowner calling after business hours might explain their problem to an answering service, only to be told someone would call them back in the morning. With the newer system, the company can book appointments during those calls.
For a homeowner looking for 24 hour emergency service, that difference matters. The customer wants to know that the company has received the request and can help them take the next step.
Josh also pointed to another benefit of AI. Technology can keep handling routine tasks even when employees are absent or staffing needs change. That can give a business more support during busy periods.
However, the goal is not simply to answer calls faster. It is to make sure the customer receives useful help without spending more time than necessary.
For Josh, this is where better systems can make a lasting difference. When customers have clear choices, receive quick responses, and can book the service they need, the experience becomes easier for everyone involved.
For Josh, the conversation about AI does not end with making call centers more efficient. He also sees an opportunity to change how home service companies use the skills of their employees.
He believes many contractors have talented people working in their call centers who could bring more value to the business in other roles.
These employees often understand how the company works. They know how to speak with homeowners, use company software, handle customer questions, and help people make decisions. Those skills can be useful in many areas beyond answering incoming calls.
Josh explained that companies do not need to remove every employee from their call centers when they begin using AI. Instead, they can think carefully about where those people could make the greatest difference.
Some may be well suited to reaching out to past customers. Others could help follow up on open opportunities, support sales teams, or take care of customer needs that require personal attention.
“Take those people and let them sell for you. You need it now more than ever,” Josh said.
This approach gives contractors a chance to use technology for tasks that follow clear steps while giving skilled employees more room to do work that needs a human touch.
For a business offering HVAC installation, that could mean having more people available to follow up with homeowners who requested estimates, answer questions about replacement options, or help customers understand the next step before making a major purchase.
Josh believes this way of thinking will become even more important as the home service market faces greater pressure.
During the PowerChat, he shared concerns about rising equipment costs and a tougher economy. Rather than responding by cutting every new investment, he encouraged contractors to look at tools that could help them operate better.
His message was not that every business should buy every new piece of software. It was that leaders should be open to useful technology and make sure they put it to work properly.
Josh’s approach shows how a better call center system can create value beyond the phone. It can help a business make better use of its people, serve customers more consistently, and focus more time on work that supports growth.
That is the bigger opportunity he sees for contractors willing to rethink old ways of working. When technology takes care of repeatable tasks and employees are free to use their strongest skills, the whole business has a better chance to perform well.
For Josh Campbell, Founder of Rescue Air and Plumbing, building a successful company has always meant more than growing revenue. His journey in the trades began long before he started Rescue Air in 2014. By age 19, he had already earned two Journeyman licenses in Virginia, becoming the youngest person in the state at the time to hold both mechanical and electrical trade licenses. That early drive to learn and master his work helped shape the company he would later build. What began as a heating and cooling business grew into a $25 million operation with more than 100 employees, a major achievement in the competitive Dallas home services market.
Rescue Air and Plumbing
One of Josh’s most important steps came in November 2021, when Rescue Air joined forces with Texas Green Plumbing, a company founded by Master Plumber Roger Wakefield. The move expanded Rescue Air’s services beyond heating and cooling, giving homeowners across North Texas one company to call for HVAC and plumbing needs. The growth also showed Josh’s ability to recognize what customers needed and build a business that could serve them in more ways. Another major milestone followed when Rescue Air became part of HomeTown, a home services group backed by CenterOak Partners. Boxwood Partners reported the transaction in February 2024, marking an important step in the company’s growth. Josh later shared how he built, scaled, and sold Rescue Air while working to protect the values and culture that helped it succeed.
Yet the company’s success is not measured by its size alone. Rescue Air has also invested in building a skilled team that homeowners can trust. As a Lennox Premier Dealer, the company provides technicians with at least 40 hours of Lennox training each year. The business has also earned the Lennox Centurion Award for Excellence, which recognizes contractors among the top 4% of Lennox dealers nationwide. These achievements show the value Rescue Air places on training, quality work, and giving employees the skills to serve customers well.
That care reaches beyond the homes the company serves. Rescue Air supports Folds of Honor, a nonprofit that helps military families through education scholarships. The company also offers free Rescue Club memberships to Gold Star families and supports volunteer work with the organization. Josh has shared his knowledge with students at local high schools and technical schools, helping introduce younger people to opportunities in the trades. These efforts reflect a belief that a strong company should create value not only for its customers and employees, but also for the community around it.
Together, these achievements give greater meaning to Josh’s message about consistency. Growing a business to $25 million, expanding its services, investing in employee training, and earning customer trust all require clear standards and a commitment to doing things well. For contractors looking to build stronger companies, Josh’s journey shows that lasting success comes from more than finding new customers. It comes from building a team, a culture, and a business that people can continue to depend on.
For Josh Campbell, Founder of Rescue Air and Plumbing, building a stronger company starts with being willing to question what has always been done. A business can have great people and still struggle when the systems behind them are not strong enough. His experience shows that lasting improvement does not always come from hiring more staff or working harder. Sometimes, it comes from changing how the work gets done.
That lesson matters even more as home service companies face rising costs, changing customer needs, and greater pressure to protect their profits. Josh believes these challenges will create opportunities for contractors who are willing to think differently. By making smart choices today, leaders can give their teams better tools, make their daily work easier, and build businesses that are ready for whatever comes next.
At the heart of Josh’s message is a simple truth. Homeowners do not see everything happening behind the scenes when they call for help. They only know whether the company is there for them when they need it. Every call is a chance to earn that trust, and every good experience gives the customer another reason to return.
As the industry continues to change, the strongest contractors may not be the ones with the biggest teams or the most tools. They will be the ones who know how to make their people, processes, and technology work together. Because great service is not about getting things right once in a while. It is about building a company that customers can count on every single time.
No. Power100 looks beyond revenue and company size when ranking leaders in the home improvement industry. Its five layer ranking system reviews business growth, company culture, customer experience, and community impact. The process combines business data, AI scoring, expert review, and feedback from customers, employees, and industry partners. This helps Power100 recognize leaders who build strong companies while treating their customers and teams well.
Yes. Power100 offers free membership that gives contractors and business leaders access to its content library, PowerChat episodes, leadership interviews, and expert insights. Through conversations hosted by Greg Cummings, CEO of Power100, contractors can learn how other leaders solve problems in sales, customer service, technology, and business growth. The platform also offers industry rankings and tools that help leaders understand where their companies stand.
Not always. Josh Campbell, Founder of Rescue Air and Plumbing, believes the real challenge often comes from how well people handle each call, not how many people answer the phones. More employees can help a business manage more calls, but they cannot guarantee the same quality of service every time. Josh encourages HVAC and plumbing contractors to build clear processes and use better tools so customers receive dependable help.
Josh Campbell wanted to solve a problem that kept coming back. His company had used several answering services for late night and after hours calls, but their performance often changed. When Josh learned about Avoca AI, he saw a way to make call handling, scheduling, and customer support more consistent. He believed technology could help his team follow clear steps and reduce common mistakes. His goal was not just to answer more calls but to help more homeowners book the services they needed.
No. Rescue Air and Plumbing gives homeowners different ways to ask for help. During the PowerChat, Operations Manager Andreas Bouras explained that customers can speak with a real person, use an AI assistant, or communicate through chat. The company uses Avoca AI to support its call center when staff cannot answer right away. This gives customers more choice when booking air conditioning and plumbing services in Dallas and nearby communities.
Josh Campbell does not believe contractors need to remove all their call center employees to benefit from AI. Instead, he encourages business owners to let technology handle routine tasks while moving skilled employees into roles where they can offer more value. These may include helping past customers, following up on sales opportunities, and handling needs that require personal attention. His approach focuses on using people’s strengths alongside technology rather than treating AI as a complete replacement for human service.
Yes. Rescue Air and Plumbing offers 24/7 phone availability for homeowners who need help with heating, cooling, and plumbing problems. The company also offers same day appointments whenever possible. Homeowners looking for emergency HVAC and plumbing repair in Dallas can call (972) 201-3253 or visit the company website to request service. Appointment and technician availability may depend on the problem, location, and time of the request.
Rescue Air and Plumbing provides more than AC repair. The company offers air conditioning installation, furnace and heater repair, heat pump services, HVAC maintenance, and residential plumbing services. Its plumbing work includes drain cleaning, leak repairs, water heater services, and other common household plumbing needs. Homeowners searching for heating, cooling, and plumbing services in Plano, Frisco, Richardson, and Dallas can contact Rescue Air and Plumbing to discuss their needs and request service.
Power100 is the only unbiased third-party platform that recognizes and elevates the top leaders and most impactful companies in the home improvement industry. Led by Greg Cummings, CEO of Power100, the platform gives great business leaders the recognition, support, and voice they deserve. Through national CEO rankings, PowerChat interviews, industry insights, and trusted partnerships, Power100 shares real stories and lessons that help contractors lead better, improve customer service, and build stronger companies. Its mission is to become the leading outside resource for the best home improvement CEOs in the country while helping raise the standard of leadership, trust, and service across the industry.
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Power100 is the nation's premier CEO ranking and media platform for the home improvement industry. Using a proprietary 5-layer evaluation system, Power100 identifies and celebrates the top CEOs, companies, and strategic partners driving innovation, customer satisfaction, and leadership excellence across the country.
