CHICAGO — Grand Hall’s Factory Authorized Service Technician (F.A.S.T.) program, designed to provide reliable and quality installation and repair service to Grand Hall’s water heating systems, recently held its first training session for the new Eternal Condensing hybrid water heater here.

“The class was pivotal to our understanding of the new Eternal Condensing unit,” commented Bill Firestone, sales manager for Banner Plumbing. “The class was great. The style of the sessions is easy going and interactive. After finishing the class, all attendees had acquired the necessary expertise.”

Led by F.A.S.T. Program Developer Jim Firlein, the class involved more than 40 contractors in the Chicago area and resulted in two full classes. By focusing the session solely on the new Eternal Condensing, attendees were able to gain understanding of the unit’s benefits and features as well as necessary installation knowledge.

The class is a supplement of the F.A.S.T. program, which provides each contractor member with ongoing training, factory support and one-on-one instruction. In addition, participating contractors reap the benefits of lead generation from inquiries on the Eternal Web site where each F.A.S.T. member is indicated by a star symbol.

“At the start of the program there were nearly 300 participating mechanical contractors and that number continues to grow,” said Jim Firlein, Eternal’s Mid-Atlantic regional sales manager and F.A.S.T. program developer. “Previously, due to the full year warranty on labor, if these contractors got a call back within that year they would have to go back and fix the problem on their dime. Now we prepare the contractors to ensure everything is installed correctly the first time and the contractors are being reimbursed by Grand Hall – Eternal’s manufacturer – for their time.”

Another benefit of the program is Eternal hybrid owners who need installation, maintenance or repair know that when they call the F.A.S.T. contractor, they will have dependable service from someone who is specially trained.