D & H Air Conditioning & Heating Company returns as sponsor; Robles leads the way on his bike

Phillip Robles knows all about perseverance and persistence, given his life on a bicycle and business world.

“Absolutely,” he said. “There is never a quit.”

The key to it all is that he and D & H Air Conditioning & Heating Co. are back as part of the 42^nd El Tour de Tucson.

And if the saying – tough times forge future champions – then Robles and D & H will be more than fine.

Robles is an avid cyclist and took part in his fourth El Tour last year and will be back again on Nov. 22.

“It was not good, both my legs cramped up with about 20 miles to go,” said Robles, the general manager of D & H. “I was about 30 minutes slower than what I planned on.”

According to Robles, it was “just one of those things that happened”, given he trained the same way he always has.

“There was one thing: I always like being there early, never like being somewhere late,” he said. “I got there early but I don’t think I wore warm enough clothes. I was a little chilly and my legs got tight.”

But, he toughed it out, and finished.

“I’m always happy to finish,” he said.

He’ll be there again, as D & H will be one of our great sponsors. Robles feels he must be in as much as there’s some great visibility at El Tour in a tough market and in the changing landscape of the business.

“The market has been a difficult one, we’ve got a lot of competition,” Robles said.

That includes air conditioning and plumbing, an area D & H jumped into last year.

“We have to differentiate ourselves by improving what we do in every opportunity,” he said. “There is a high focus on that in every department.”

For D & H it’s about great customer service, “and making sure we do that every time,” he said.

Recently, the company purchased some software to record customer interactions with technicians, sales people, installers and “it highlights what our in-home process is.”

“It grades the performance and shows the manager on each call if something is missed,” he said, “so they can coach really effectively with the team. It helps for every service.”

Be sure to see them at the Zenni El Tour de Tucson Expo & Fiesta on Nov. 20-22 at the Tucson Convention Center.