Inside Shouldice Mechanical and Murray Heating & Cooling’s pursuit of operational excellence and a customer-first mindset.
Most HVAC conversations start with equipment.
Furnaces, air conditioners, heat pumps; efficiency ratings, brands, and specifications.
At Ottawa’s Murray Heating & Cooling, a Shouldice Mechanical company, the conversation starts somewhere else entirely: the customer experience.
It often begins with a moment of uncertainty. A homeowner wakes up to a cold house in the middle of winter, unsure whether they’re facing a simple repair or a major replacement. They’re not looking for a sales pitch, they’re looking for clarity, guidance, and confidence in what comes next.
For Glenn Carley, Operations Integrator and Residential Manager, overseeing operations and customer care, that moment defines the company’s responsibility.
“We try to remove the idea that we’re here to sell something,” says Glenn. “Our responsibility is to help homeowners understand their options and guide them to the best solution for their home.”
That mindset shapes how the company approaches all its departments. While Shouldice Mechanical operates across multiple departments—including plumbing, engineering, controls, and commercial mechanical services—the residential team focuses on helping homeowners navigate heating, cooling, and comfort decisions with clarity rather than pressure.
For Glenn, the difference lies in how decisions are structured internally with ownership.
“At the core of how we operate is a customer-first mindset,” he explains. “It’s not a slogan. It’s something we evaluate constantly, how every process, every interaction, every step we take affects the experience for the customer.”
Inside the organization, that philosophy translates company-wide into a culture built around incremental improvement. The team deliberately challenges the idea that “good enough” isn’t acceptable, focusing instead on refining small operational details that add up to a better experience for both customers and employees.
“It’s the accumulation of small improvements,” says Glenn. “How we communicate with customers, how we organize our workflows, and how we follow up after a service call. Those things may seem minor individually, but together they define the experience.”
That discipline is visible even in how installation work is scheduled. Rather than maximizing volume, the company often structures installations so crews can focus on one project per day, ensuring proper testing, walkthroughs, and commissioning before a job is considered complete. Quality is not assumed, it’s verified.
Another structural decision reinforces that philosophy. Unlike many companies in the home services industry, our model does not rely on commission-based sales roles or incentive programs for service technicians. Recommendations are instead built around what the company calls a best-solution approach, guiding homeowners toward a system that genuinely fits their needs rather than the most profitable option.
“When technicians are paid to sell equipment, it changes the conversation,” Glenn explains. “We’ve removed that dynamic. Our technicians are there to diagnose the situation, explain the options, and recommend what genuinely makes sense.”
For homeowners, that means the conversation often centers on education. Technicians walk customers through system performance, efficiency considerations, and long-term reliability before any decision is made.
“People don’t call us because they want to buy something,” says Service Manager Mireille St-Denis. “They call because something in their home isn’t working the way it should. Our role is to help them understand what’s happening and how to fix it or replace it.”
Today, residential services are delivered under the Murray Heating and Cooling banner, a brand that was acquired by Shouldice Mechanical in 2024 and brought together 31+ years of local HVAC expertise. The partnership combined Murray’s long-standing residential reputation with Shouldice Mechanical’s broader commercial capabilities, strengthening the company’s 55+ staff’s ability to serve homeowners and businesses across Ottawa.
The company is also a Carrier Factory Authorized Dealer and a multi-year recipient of Carrier’s President’s Award, including 2026. This top-tier recognition is awarded to a select group of dealers who consistently demonstrate excellence, signaling a trusted benchmark for quality and performance.
Behind that service model is a coordinated team. Glenn oversees operations and ensures daily service delivery aligns with the company’s broader strategic direction. Residential HVAC Advisor Rick Chartrand works directly with homeowners, guiding them through system options with a consultative, no-pressure approach. Service Manager Mireille St-Denis leads service operations while providing technical expertise in the field. Customer Care Coordinator Katie Vance manages scheduling and communication, ensuring customers receive clear updates throughout the process.
“It’s a team effort,” says Katie Vance. “Every role contributes to the experience that our customers ultimately have.”
“Our approach shows up in the details. From technician training to installation standards and code compliance, we place emphasis on craftsmanship, safety, and long-term reliability in every project.”
“We want people to see the difference in how the work is done,” Rick Chartrand says. “When we focus on doing things the right way, the rest tends to follow.”
In an industry where sales pitches often overshadow service, Murray Heating and Cooling has built its residential reputation around a quieter principle: helping homeowners make the right decision, even when that decision takes additional investment in the approach.
Looking Ahead
The goal is simple: ensure customers feel taken care of and confident in the process. That means refining how their team continually operates and holding to one belief—“good enough” isn’t good enough.
“What drives us is setting a standard where the experience matches the technical outcome. That only happens when you continuously push for better.”
“In an industry focused on equipment, we’re focused on something more lasting: building trust through every interaction.”
