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.
Some years ago, our company chose the phrase “Your comfort is our concern” to summarize what P. Gagnon & Son is really all about. This is the core of our mission and it guides our entire team every day.
We are living this commitment in many ways. Recently, we invested in the expansion of our propane storage facilities. By adding 30,000 gallons to our capacity, we can now store 90,000 gallons of propane, significantly increasing the security our customers enjoy. And that’s on top of the 45,000 gallons of oil we store at our facility in South Berwick.
A lot of fuel companies don’t have any storage facilities. Last winter, we fielded calls from homeowners, businesses and competitors looking for propane or heating oil because their regular dealers couldn’t take care of them.
Another recent initiative for us has been updating our website, which should be “going live” soon. In addition to having a fresh new look, our improved site will be easier to navigate and will provide you with convenient access to your account information.
These are just a few examples. All of this is being done with an eye toward taking the best care of you. None of this happens without a great team of committed employees. They are the heart of our company, and the reason you can always feel confident as we buckle down for another winter. Every day, your comfort is their concern.
Warmly, Mark Gagnon President
There has been a revolution going on in energy production that has created a huge surge in oil and propane produced in the U.S. We’re finally starting to see the impact at the gas pump, and it is filtering into the wholesale cost of heating oil and propane as well.
This steep drop has led to forecasts that average household expenditures for heating oil and propane will be about 15% lower than they were last winter.* That’s a big relief for all of us.
Of course, by the time you read this, prices could be moving up again — the market is always unpredictable.
But no matter what happens, whether prices remain stable or spike up again, or New England gets battered by another cold and snowy winter, we will be here for you, fulfilling our commitment to giving you real peace of mind.
* EIA Short-Term Energy and Winter Fuels Outlook, 10/7/14.
Learning How to Save Money and Stay Comfortable
We love kids! They have a lot of wisdom and they’re not shy about asking questions. Follow along as Ava and Jarrett quiz us about what we do. What they learn could make a difference in your own comfort—and save you money too!
How do you know that thing is going to work right?
Well, if this were a refrigerator, we would just bring it to your house, plug it in and we would be done. But a heating system is not that easy. First, we had to figure out what size system works best for your home and family.
Do systems come in small, medium and large?
Not exactly. When we talk about size, we’re talking about how much power the system has, sort of like a car’s engine. A system that has more power than your house needs will waste money.
But if there isn’t enough power, your home will not feel comfortable. And it will cost more money because a system that’s too small will keep running and running.
What size fits just right?
There are tests that help us figure out how much heat your home loses in the winter. This is one way we know how much power your home’s heating system needs.
Once we pick out the right equipment, we make sure we put it in the right way. Some companies take shortcuts, but then the heater won’t work right. Your family will spend more money and your house won’t feel comfortable enough. We don’t take shortcuts. We always do things the right way because you’re important to us. We want you to feel comfortable and save money.
We’re trying to save for college. What else can we do to save money?
Replace old equipment. Because we’re putting in a new heating system, your family is probably going to save hundreds of dollars every year on energy. You’ll also save money on repairs, because old machines break a lot. New ones, if they’re taken care of properly, will have very few problems.
Take care of your equipment. Proper maintenance is essential to keeping equipment running efficiently and saving money. Your parents can talk to us about a service plan or maintenance program.
Change the temperature in your home. You can probably help your parents with this. There are programmable thermostats that let you set the temperature you want at different times of the day and night. You don’t need to keep your home as warm when you’re sleeping or away from home, so this saves you money. There are also “smart” programmable thermostats that let you change the temperature with your smartphone or computer at any time, no matter where you are. If you use a programmable thermostat right, you may be able to help your parents save about $100 a year.
Do some window dressing. Here’s another one you can help out with. In the morning, open the window blinds and let sunlight heat up your home naturally during the day. At night, close drapes to hold in the heat and keep out the cold. You can also stop cold air from getting inside by taping clear plastic film to the inside of the window frames.
Can you explain how we get all our hot water out of something that small?
This is what we call a tankless water heater. We also call it an on-demand water heater because it only heats water when it’s needed. So the next time you take a shower and turn on the hot water faucet, cold water will go through a pipe into this heater. There is something inside called a flow sensor that will turn on a propane gas burner to heat the water as it goes through. When you turn off the faucet, the gas burner shuts off.
So why is this one better than the other tank we had?
The old tank we just took out used a lot of energy to heat the water. That can be expensive because it needed to keep 80 gallons of water hot at all times. You don’t need to do that with a tankless water heater. Most tankless water heaters have a life expectancy of more than 20 years, which means they last twice as long as a storage tank.* And look at all the extra space you now have! The tank we took out was five feet tall and two feet wide. You can see that this tankless unit can fit right on the wall because it’s a lot smaller than that.
Will this save us money?
Yes! We have found that tankless water heaters save the average home about $90 every year on hot water costs.** If you’re good at math, you’ll find that after 20 years that’s going to add up to a lot of money.
*U.S. Department of Energy **U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Are we being green?
You certainly are! Many products are Energy Star rated, including oil heating systems and propane appliances. A blue Energy Star label means a product will use less energy and cause less pollution.
In just one year, Energy Star products helped Americans avoid the same amount of pollution as comes from 23 million cars! And together, these people saved $12 billion on their energy bills in one year.
Sometimes, even one little thing you do can make a big difference. If every home in America replaced just one traditional lightbulb with a compact fluorescent lamp, we could save another $600 million—and create less pollution because we would use less electricity.
It’s the people who make P. Gagnon & Son the best fuel and service provider in the area! Here are two members of our team who work hard year after year to ensure your safety, comfort and satisfaction.
Joined our service team one year ago
Enjoys being on the road and helping customers
Likes to take his two young sons out on hikes
A member of our team since 1998
Loves meeting different people every day
Best part of job: restoring heat in the middle of the night and seeing customers smile
Refer a new customer to us and we’ll credit your account $100; we’ll give your referral $50 too!* It’s easy! Tell your friends to call or email us and mention your name.
* Conditions apply. Contact us for details. ** No purchase necessary. A purchase will not improve chance of winning. See enclosed card for details.
Our newsletter is one of the ways we try to keep in touch with our customers, but it’s not the only way. Please send us your email address so we can keep you informed about new programs, exclusive offers, weather alerts and other important updates about home comfort. We also use email to confirm customers’ service appointments.
We will not share your email address with anyone else! It’s simple. Just email us at CustomerService@pgagnon.com.
If you lose your heat, never fear: We are here for you 24 hours a day for both service and delivery. Sometimes there is a simple fix that can help you avoid a costly emergency service visit. Our new website will feature an interactive troubleshooting guide, but in the meantime, please follow these tips:
Check to make sure the power switch for your system hasn’t been accidentally turned off
Check for a blown fuse or a tripped circuit breaker
See if your thermostat is properly set; it may need new batteries
Make sure you have fuel in your tank.
If none of these is the problem, give us a call and a member of our service or delivery team will be available to help you.
