March 28, 2024
BANGOR DAILY NEWS (BANGOR, MAINE

Irving Oil works hard to keep Maine homes warm during the winter

When it comes to heating oil, Irving Oil Corp. has one goal: keeping its customers warm during a cold Maine winter. This means doing far more than simply filling a tank with heating oil or kerosene. There are times when a customer requires much more than a thank full of fuel.

One evening in late February 1993, a Bangor man arrived home to find water filling not only his household boiler, but the steam pipes rising to the first-floor radiators. A special valve that added water to the boiler whenever its water level dipped too low had leaked, flooding the heating system.

After shutting down the boiler and every valve connected to it, the Bangor resident called his oil company. A service technician promptly arrived, fixed the problem, and told the homeowner, “Your boiler’s kaput.”

With a crack developing in its firebrick, with rust a potential hazard from the impromptu flooding, the 45-year-old Sears Kenmore steam boiler lasted until spring. The homeowner realized he needed to replace the boiler. There were a few problems, though.

That’s where Irving Oil stepped into the picture.

Recently divorced, the homeowner shared the house with his two teen-agers. Cash reserves were rather low, and although not a heating specialist, the man figured a new boiler would run in the four-figure range.

An unaffordable price, at least for cash up front. And replacing the steam system with hot-water baseboard was an impossible dream.

The Bangor man contacted his oil company for help with the installation and financing of a new boiler. His credit was good; he’d always paid his bills when due.

His oil company did not offer any financial arrangements for new heating-system installations. “Sorry, we can’t help you,” the long-term customer was informed. The last word was, “When you get the money, we’ll be glad to put in a new boiler for you.”

The homeowner contacted two other oil companies. They provided him with the estimates for a new boiler. One estimate matched that written by the man’s own oil company; the other estimate tacked on a separate oil-fired water heater and boosted the price about $1,000.

Unacceptable under any financial scenario.

The greatest problem was not affordability (a new steam boiler cost about the same at any oil company), but financing. The Bangor man did not have the cash to pay for a new boiler; he needed help to make the purchase.

None of the three oil companies could help, so the homeowner called Irving Oil. An Irving rep arrived within hours, examined the existing heating system, made some calculations, and quoted the installation price of a new boiler.

The homeowner replied, “I can’t afford that.”

“Well, let me tell you about our `lease-to-own’ program,” the Irving representative responded.

He did, and the Bangor father signed a contract. Within the week, Irving Oil service technicians had removed the old boiler, its weight estimated at 600 pounds, and installed a new energy-efficient Peerless boiler. With the lease came a free service contract on the boiler — and the homeowner could renew the free contract annually as long as he bought his heating oil from Irving, for a period of up to five years.

He did, naturally.

The “lease-to-own” program was the homeowner’s salvation in this situation. According to Tim Fitzgerald, the propane and heating-oil division manager for Irving Oil, this program “is only an example of what we will do to make sure our customers’ heating needs are met.”

Irving Oil entered the Maine home-heating market after acquiring D.W. Small & Sons. Since heating oil is the No. 1 heat source in Maine, the market has always been competitive. To penetrate the market, Irving Oil not only had to provide the product and competitive pricing, but endeavored to add value by adopting a concept sometimes foreign to many businesses: customer service.

“We say that Irving is `where service means everything,’ and we mean it,” Fitzgerald said. “It applies in all situations, but particularly when someone’s home is involved. The heating system is all that is keeping the cold at bay during a long winter.”

By becoming an Irving Oil heating customer, a homeowner can rest assured that Irving will not only supply the proper heating fuel (No. 2 oil, kerosene, or propane), but will also maintain the customer’s heating system. The company employs many skilled, experienced service technicians based at local branches throughout its service area of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont.

Each local branch covers a particular geographical area. For example, from the company’s Bangor branch, service technicians and delivery drivers handle customers in the region encompassing Bangor, Holden, Milford, Dover-Foxcroft, Guilford, and Newport. Page Oil, a corporate affiliate based in Limestone, serves customers living in central Aroostook County, including Presque Isle and Caribou.

Irving Oil personnel are available to assist customers 24 hours a day. “We are as near as a phone call,” Fitzgerald said. “Whether you need a fill up, emergency service, or scheduled service, you only have to call us.”

Unlike some competitors, Irving Oil has its own employees answer customers’ calls after hours. Strict quality standards are in place from the time fuel product is produced until the time a customer calls for service. This ensures a higher-quality response to a customer’s needs.

“We maintain control over everything, because by doing so, we ensure our product quality and our customers’ satisfaction,” Fitzgerald said.

He explained that:

Irving Oil manufactures its own petroleum products at its own refinery. No other Maine-based oil company can make that claim. “We know where our oil comes from, because we produce it ourselves,” Fitzgerald said;

Irving Oil transports petroleum products in its own tankers and trucks. “There is no question as to what’s been in that truck before, no question on possible contamination,” he said;

Irving service technicians are extensively trained in oil- and propane-based heating systems, whether water or hot air. The technicians are also constantly evaluated and undergo periodic training to keep informed about the latest technological changes in their industry.

To help its customers maintain their heating systems, Irving Oil offers two maintenance plans: a Comfort Plan and a Supreme Comfort Plan. The Comfort Plan covers the repair or replacement of an array of heating-system components, including the burner motor, couplings, fan, transformer, and switch; the hot-water circulator and control; the fuel pump; and the ignitor.

The Supreme Comfort Plan takes this Irving-offered protection to a higher level; if necessary, Irving Oil will replace the furnace or boiler at no charge to the customer under this plan. All parts are covered by the plan, too.

“Both plans are popular with our customers,” Fitzgerald said. “Since the Supreme Comfort Plan doesn’t cost a whole lot more, many people, especially in a house with an older heating system, opt for that. It’s just added protection and peace of mind for them.”

Another program popular with Irving Oil customers is the “lease-to-own” option for replacing an existing heating system. The customer does not have to make a downpayment, Fitzgerald said, and can take up to five years to pay for the new heating system under a monthly installment plan.

“During the term of the lease, we are 100-percent responsible for what we install,” he said. “We fully service the heating system, either a boiler or a warm-air furnace or a water heater, at no additional charge to the customer.”

Although a heating-system installation might take a day or two, depending on the particular system, the customer approval does not. According to Fitzgerald, Irving Oil will decide on whether or not to approve a lease application within two hours after taking the application “during regular business hours.”

“We want to make it easy for you to have new heating equipment. When you are running an older, inefficient furnace, you’re basically throwing at least some of your money away,” Fitzgerald said. “By installing a new system, you will burn less oil (Irving Oil estimates up to 30 percent less), so you will save money.”

Under this program, the customer’s monthly payment accrues toward the cost of the new heating system. Any time during the lease or at its expiration, the customer can cancel it by having Irving Oil remove the furnace. At the end of the lease, if the customer chooses to keep the heating system, the accumulated payments will fully cover the system’s cost.

“We will work with the customer to install a heating system sized to their needs,” Fitzgerald stated. “No two heating situations are exactly alike. You would put one size boiler in a large, well-insulated house, a different-sized boiler in a smaller house. We tailor the system so it will do the job, without providing too much heating capacity.”

Later this year, the heating-oil division will move into the new facility that Irving Oil is building off South Main Street in Brewer.


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