Gen Z Crash Course<\/em><\/a>, Jiahao shared that his dad was running an aircon business when his workers had to return home during the pandemic, leaving him to struggle on his own.<\/p>\n“I saw my dad lose all his workers because they all had to go back. Then he was all alone,” recalled Jiahao.<\/p>\n
Some of the work Dad was doing wasn’t exactly the kind you’d want your parent tackling solo either.<\/p>\n
Jiahao recalled watching his father work on aircon compressors outside high-rise buildings, secured by a harness.<\/p>\n
“Very dangerous. He’s out there with just a harness. Then it’s like 10 storeys, 20 storeys high,” he said.<\/p>\n
“I feel a bit useless as a son,” he admitted, before adding, “Like, I studied so hard, right? I got all these Dean’s List and all these first-class honours, but I can’t help the people around me. I cannot help the people beside me.”<\/p>\n
Oof.<\/p>\n
Watching his dad come home exhausted eventually helped Jiahao decide whose legacy he wanted to help build.<\/p>\n
“I feel that if I were to help someone build their legacy, then I’m just…” he said, trailing off.<\/p>\n
“Every day I come back, I see how tired my dad is. Why not I help my dad build his legacy?” Jiahao added.<\/p>\n
One of his contributions has been something Dad presumably didn’t have during his earlier years in the trade: Social media. Specifically, TikTok.<\/p>\n
According to Jiahao, the business previously relied heavily on word of mouth and his father’s existing customers.<\/p>\n
Then increasingly cheap aircon-servicing offers started appearing in the market.<\/p>\n
“There are a lot of people putting out S$10 aircon servicing and stuff,” he said.<\/p>\n
Their existing customers started asking an obvious question.<\/p>\n
“Why is your servicing this price, but other people can do S$10?” Jiahao shared.<\/p>\n
That was what prompted him to start making TikTok videos via @wishyouhaolife.<\/p>\n
Interestingly, Jiahao says the initial aim wasn’t even to attract more customers.<\/p>\n
“It wasn’t a way to get clients, just to raise awareness of what good aircon servicing is, like legit, good aircon servicing,” he explained.<\/p>\n
The videos ended up changing their customer base significantly anyway.<\/p>\n
Jiahao also has thoughts about what Singaporeans are spending on their aircons.<\/p>\n
One common misconception, he says, is that everyone needs a chemical wash or to have their gas pressure checked every time their aircon is serviced.<\/p>\n
“Actually, what you all need is just proper basic aircon servicing,” he said.<\/p>\n
In the episode, Jiahao is seen removing the blower from an aircon unit and laying out the components so the customer can see what’s being cleaned.<\/p>\n
Of course, there are some tricks of the trade he isn’t giving away.<\/p>\n
“How we clean the coil, right, is actually a trade secret,” he said.<\/p>\n
Servicing aircons, growing Dad’s business on TikTok and working as a life insurance adviser, guess “Blue-Collar Insurance Guy” really is the most accurate job title for him after all.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n