Title: Office Manager Been at company since: 1989 Role (or Roles since start): started as a CSR Interests/about me: I have 5 grandchildren & 2 great-grandchildren who keep me busy following their activities. Hobbies: love to travel, and read.
Mark Gagnon
Title: President Been at company since: 1989 Role (or Roles since start): Started out making deliveries, working with Techs etc in 1989. Became President upon my fathers passing unexpectedly in 1991. Interests/about me: Married with three children. Enjoy the outdoors. (fishing, hunting, skiing etc) Active in several community organizations. Two time Rotary Club President, founding member of Marshwood Education Foundation, Maine Energy Marketers Executive Board, South Berwick Building Committee, Coached youth soccer when kids were little.
Scott Hemingway
Title: Sales Manager Been at company since: July 2004 Role (or Roles since start): Develop builder and contractor networking programs, commercial projects, customer retention and LP Gas sales. Interests/about me: Married w/ 2 adult children and 5 grandchildren. Enjoy family time, golf, hunting and watching the New England Patriots and the Red Sox.
Mark Leach
Title: Director of Operations Been at company since: 1977 Role (or Roles since start): Driver, Service Tech, Sales & Operations / Safety - Training Interests/about me: my family, member of the South Berwick Fire Dept. since 1975, Safety trainer for Propane Gas Assoc. of New England, providing training for first responders throughout New England.
Mike Place
Title: Equipment Sales Been at company since: 2007 Role (or Roles since start): Started here as an Oil and Propane Service Tech/Installer. Learned Air Conditioning service and installations. Then moved into sales. Interests/about me: Spending time with the family, being outdoors, and camping.
Kent Davis
Started in the business by wearing the uniforms, painting oil and propane tanks, and threading pipe for his Dad and Grandmother in the late 70’s. He has learned the difference between working for a family owned business and a family operated business. Just because a family owns a business doesn’t mean they take care of their customers like they are family. That is one of main reasons Kent has worked for the Gagnon Family since 2006. The Gagnon’s both treat their employees and customers like extended family and operate their business with the same vision. Kent’s number one role is customer retention as he considers it an honor to visit with our current customers and sign up new folks and serve them with the best products in the industry matched with excellent support and service. Kent’s longevity in the industry equips him with a vantage point of seeing what works and what doesn’t from a management perspective, a technician’s view, and from our customer’s standpoint. Kent is our heating oil salesman and focuses too, on liquid oil sales and protecting our customers with oil pricing. Kent’s family has been born and bred in Eliot and they all have a special affection for the Seacoast area. Kent considers it a privilege to be able to work in his “homeland” every day of the week. Kent and his wife live in Eliot, serve their local church in Eliot, and find joy in helping local residents by serving Kittery’s Fuel and More Board, Incorporator of Kennebunk Savings, and State of Maine and Eastern Region Advent Christian Association of Churches.
Dan Richardson
Title: Service Manager Lifelong Eliot resident and graduate of Marshwood High School. Two adult sons, Shawn and Patrick. Has been in the industry, primarily on the service and installation side, since starting at Davis Oil while still in high school. Enjoys a round of golf and spending time at his families camp. Coached youth basketball for many years. Member of the South Berwick Rod and Gun Club and former member of the Eliot Fire Dept.
There are not enough positive adjectives in the English language to describe how happy and proud I am of our entire P. Gagnon & Son team. During the truly historic cold snap at the beginning of this winter, everyone pulled together, worked extremely long hours in the worst conditions and just did a great job of taking care of the folks who depend on us to keep warm. The office staff, drivers, dispatchers, service staff, technicians and salespeople all stepped up like never before.
To keep on top of deliveries, we had trucks on the road seven days a week for nearly three weeks. Our team delivered about 70% more fuel than it had in the same period last year. Incredible!
Normally, we have a few technicians available to take care of fuel customers who need us at night and on weekends. On both weekends of the cold spell, our service department was fully staffed. One weekend, we had more than eight guys responding to no-heat calls and other emergencies. Our service dispatcher and manager worked the whole weekend to make it all happen: more long hours in cruel conditions. Once again, incredible!
It all begins with our office staff. The volume of calls and folks walking in that they handled those weeks was staggering, and that doesn’t even include our regular deliveries. It required long days and a couple of Saturdays to keep a lid on things, and everyone stepped up. Somehow, too, everyone was able to keep their sense of humor through the whole ordeal. (Or maybe that’s what got us through!)
We did drop a few balls here and there. But as always, we did our best to pick them up quickly and take care of our customers. I genuinely appreciate the level of understanding you all displayed during this most difficult period.
One thing I learned is that our team is capable of absolutely remarkable things. They worked tirelessly through a period that will become legendary in our industry. Thank you to every single one of them.
Warmly,
Mark Gagnon President
From mid-December 2016 to mid-January 2017, we handled 988 night and weekend calls for service.
For the same period this past winter, we took 2,315 night and weekend calls.
Surveys have shown that while propane and heating oil customers have exceptionally high levels of satisfaction with the service they receive, most don’t realize all the ways their home fuel can enhance their comfort and save them money.
5 key propane benefits
Clean and green — Propane emits far less greenhouse gas than most other energy sources. Because of the clean-burning characteristics of propane, little maintenance is required.
Cost-effective — Propane appliances can be less expensive to operate than comparable electric appliances, and they last longer too!
Safe — The National Fire Protection Association enforces strict rules about the handling of propane, so few accidents occur each year. Every propane appliance is made with safety shutoffs, and most appliances are equipped with electronic ignition systems to give you years of trouble-free operation.
Efficient — Propane appliances typically reduce energy costs, delivering better value and comfort than other heating sources. Today’s propane furnaces are now as much as 98% efficient.
Flexible installations — Propane tanks can be installed just about anywhere, above or below ground. Additionally, propane water heaters take up less space, have more accurate temperature adjustment and offer more size and installation options.
oil heat “techs” it to the limit
Technology has brought great improvements in efficiency that have reduced annual fuel consumption by as much as 40%, saving oil heat consumers a lot of money on fuel. And because new systems burn cleanly and don’t need as much fuel, they do not pose a hazard to the environment.
Additionally, sulfur levels have been reduced dramatically, improving heating system efficiency and cleanliness and reducing emissions. This reformulated fuel also eliminates the source of most equipment breakdowns. The advent of heating oil with low sulfur content has paved the way for the next generation of compact, super-efficient boilers and furnaces.
Many gallons of heating oil now include Bioheat®, a blend of heating oil and renewable materials like vegetable oils. Because Bioheat integrates seamlessly with all heating oil systems, no changes to your heating system are necessary!
According to a comprehensive report conducted by Brookhaven National Laboratory and presented to Congress by the National Oilheat Research Alliance (NORA), biofuel blends containing 20% or more Bioheat produce lower greenhouse gas emissions than natural gas!
propane power vs. electric power
CLEANER than electricity
Because propane is nontoxic and doesn’t pose a threat to soil and water, (above or below ground), it is not regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency.
The average propane-powered home reduces carbon dioxide emissions by nearly 30% compared with all-electric homes.
Direct use of propane for space heating, water heating, cooking and drying clothes reduces greenhouse gas emissions up to 50%.
MORE EFFICIENT than electricity
Propane is more efficient than electricity when evaluating the total energy consumed (this includes the energy used in the extraction, production, processing and transportation of the fuel to the point of use).
Most high-efficiency propane furnaces feature two-stage gas burners and variable-speed motors to deliver all the warm air you need. That’s why, on the coldest of nights, propane-heated homes are much warmer than those that rely solely on electric heat.
how efficient is oil heat?
Oil heat is efficient and more economical than ever! The latest oil heating systems are small, smart and super-efficient and can save you, on average, about 30% on your annual heating costs. Here are six more quick points about oil heat efficiency.
New oil heat systems have efficiency ratings as high as 95%! This provides oil-heated homes with more warmth for less fuel.
Compared with 25 years ago, homeowners now need an average of 500 gallons less oil to heat their homes each year. That’s because new oil heating systems are much more efficient than those from a generation ago.
New oil heating systems are much smaller than older ones. The average boilers and furnaces today are powerful, yet compact — similar in size to a three-drawer filing cabinet.
There’s no crystal ball when it comes to predicting fuel prices. But SimplePay — and its price protection options — is designed to shield you from extreme volatility.
Remember that price contracts are meant to provide cost certainty — you may see savings, but it’s not guaranteed. That’s why we recommend sticking with the same plan every year, rather than trying to jump from one program to the next in an attempt to time the market.
Take this winter, when prices went up: Customers who were signed up for either our fixed-price or capped-price plans saved money. (The year before, however, it didn’t work out that way for everyone.)
If you were signed up for a price protection plan, you should have received your new contract in the mail for next heating season. Are you interested in signing up? Please visit our price protection page or give us a call to enroll.
We’ll be happy to answer your questions.
Q: When it got really cold this winter, I couldn’t get my home warm enough. Did a lot of people have this problem?
A: Yes. A variety of factors can prevent your home from warming up in extreme cold. Cranking up the thermostat won’t solve the problem — it will just cause your system to burn more fuel and waste money.
It could be that you’re in need of a tune-up to get your system running more efficiently, but, more likely, you may just have an older system that can’t generate heat effectively. Your home may also not be adequately insulated or sealed.
Give us a call and we can assess your situation and offer solutions that can help you stay warm no matter how cold it gets, and still keep your heating costs down.
It’s not just a motto for us: We truly care about your comfort, and we go above and beyond to help, every day. That’s why it’s always nice to hear from customers who notice our efforts.
“We ran out of oil on Dec. 27th, on the first of many sub-zero nights. Your polite, professional driver had us up and running in about an hour, even though the demand on your services must’ve been HUGE!”— Paul A.
“We had two visits (for different reasons) during the January cold snap. Both repairmen resolved the situations in a minimum amount of time. While here, both explained exactly what the problem was and left me with more understanding of our heating situation. Much thanks — it sure is cold out!”— Richard M.
