Industry Voices: Lawson AC & Plumbing's Ashley Davis

Intro

Ashley Davis is the COO of Lawson Air Conditioning & Plumbing. She was recently nominated to ACHR News’ Top 40 Under 40 where she was recognized for her work, her community involvement, and how she navigated the company through COVID-19.

We sat down to discuss staying principled, running the company, and what keeps her up at night. Below is a summary of our conversation, edited for clarity:

What’s your background? 

I’m from Gainesville, Georgia, and went to school around the area. I started studying pre-law — I’m really good at debating — but eventually switched to finance. I started working for a company doing real estate finance, but the culture wasn’t the best and I didn’t see that being my future. 

I was dating my boyfriend for six months at the time (we’re married now) and his family had a 70+ year-old HVAC business. We joked about what would happen if we broke up, but I pivoted and ended up doing part-time office work there while I was still in school. I got immersed in the culture and industry and went full-time after graduating. It’s funny, I didn’t want to stay in Georgia, but everything kept pulling me back here.

Tell me about Lawson Air Conditioning & Plumbing

Lawson was founded in 1946 by my husband's grandfather, L.D. Lawson. We’re the oldest single-line Carrier dealer in Georgia and installed the first AC unit in our county. We stay very true to the values and principles that L.D. laid out in how we do business 77 years ago. Our culture is very much a family atmosphere. We bring in food trucks, have pinata Fridays, and want to take care of our people. 

It’s actually harder for us to recruit new talent because of the standards we hold. We have great relationships with local schools — for example, a local association holds a skills challenge every year and schools will do mock interviews, and we’re involved in both of those. Our technicians carry lightbulbs on their trucks just in case a homeowner's light is out because we want to be there for them. 

We prefer to bring in green talent, pair them with a teammate, and train them that way. When we hire someone, we have a 90-day probation period before benefits kick in where we look for what we call the “three A’s” — attitude, aptitude, and attendance. We want to get to know people first to see if they’ll be a long-term fit.

What was it like navigating the uncertainty of COVID-19?

I developed a 15-page manual that included protocols, how-to’s, and a sick pay policy that I updated every week. The first thing I did when I woke up was check if anything had changed from the CDC, forums, United Way, local health organizations, and medical centers. It was a team effort, but we wanted to do everything we could to stay open and serve the community. 

I ended up sending that manual to other contractors in the area and told them to put their logo on it and use it as their own.

We took the position of providing education and resources to our employees and thought about the right way to frame the narrative of what was going on. We would get pushed by lots of people to do certain things, but we held firm because we didn’t want to compromise the protections we put in place. There was a line. It was not a fun time by any means, but I’m an advocate for our employees and customers, and we wanted to protect all of our partners.

What did you learn from that experience?

The biggest thing I learned was to stick with what we believed made the most sense for us. We outlined principles and stuck with them, even when we’d get backlash. Customers would get mad at us for not forcing employees to get vaccinated, for example, but our stance was that we’d provide as much education and as many resources as possible for them to make their own decisions.

Everyone on the team was working toward the same goal. It forced everybody to take a step back and realize that we all have to buy in and commit to our procedures so we don’t have a huge office breakout and have to shut down and quit operating.

It was heartwarming to see how everyone bought in, one of the most heartwarming things I saw. Everyone was willing to do whatever it took.

In thinking about the business, what keeps you up at night?

I like to find ways to improve processes. We put band-aid fixes on things that aren’t sustainable, so making sure we’re doing things in the most effective way possible keeps me up. I’ll come up with ideas at 2 a.m. 

Then there’s the quote about how the third generation in a family business is the one who blows it. There’s pressure. There are over 90 people here who feed their families based on the decisions we make today. Carrying on L.D.’s legacy, who’s one of only 50 people in the Carrier Hall of Fame, is one of the most exciting and terrifying parts of the position I’m in.

But I’m very fortunate to work alongside literally the greatest people I’ve ever interacted with, who are so fantastic at what they do, and get it, and care. I could not love what I do more and couldn’t imagine doing anything else.

If you could have dinner with anyone in history, who would it be?

L.D. Lawson. He passed away in 2000 and was just a different caliber of person. I never got to meet him, but I feel like I know him. I get to carry on his legacy into the future and hope that he’s looking down from heaven and proud of what we’re doing.