TRMC Continues to Change Local Medicine
July 17, 2018
Business First Bank Focuses on Service Excellence and Banking Experience
July 17, 2018
– THREE GENERATIONS RUNNING
BY HOWARD J. CASTAY JR.
We take our air conditioner for granted in Louisiana … until it’s broken, at least.
In those odd occasions when the cold air stops blowing and the brutal summer heat starts to sneak into the comforts of our home, locals know they have no reason to fear because Nick’s Refrigeration is here to help get things working again.
Open for more than 70 years, the local business takes pride in keeping customers comfortable from the ever-changing elements in our unpredictable climate.
Nick’s Refrigeration is family-owned, now encompassing multiple generations of the Edrington family. They all have a common goal — to keep you comfortable in your own home.
“We do not only provide warmth in the winter and calling in the summer, but (we) offer the comfort of peace of mind,” Nick’s Refrigeration’s mission statement reads. “The comfort of knowing that when a customer needs us, we are here.”
That they are.
The business started in 1947 when Nick Edrington Jr., fresh out of the United States Navy, was home and looking for a career.
Edrington Jr., was 26 at the time, and he decided to start Nick’s Refrigeration Service Inc. His plan was to sell customers a brand-new invention at that time: refrigerators.
The big, mammoth machines were space and expensive. Many locally couldn’t afford them outright. But Edrington didn’t want his customers to go without, so he improvised, creating a unique system for customers to pay off their machines.
“To keep the refrigerators running and their food cold, customers inserted coins into the boxes, which Mr. Nick would periodically stop by to empty,” the company’s website reads.
That dedication to the customer has withstood the test of time for Nick’s — a staple which has allowed the business to continue forward, now seven decades strong.
The business evolved and Nick Edrington Jr. grew the company beyond refrigerators and into air conditioners, selling General Electric window units and central air conditioners when they were introduced onto the market.
Air conditioning now makes up the majority of Nick’s Refrigeration’s business, as the company offers indoor units, outdoor units, furnaces, ductless systems, thermostats and add-on components.
Service after the sale is also important to Nick’s — a company which takes pride in making relationships that last with customers.
Nick’s Refrigeration provides preventative maintenance, emergency breakdown service and 24/7 repair on any make and model.
If you did business with another company in the past, no worry, because those 24/7 repairs apply to ALL customers and units — even units Nick’s didn’t install.
The company also does home evaluations for comfort, safety, health and efficiency and examines construction comfort design and duct design, among a long list of other services.
“Today, we have over 1,000 maintenance orders,” said Nick Edrington IV, who followed in his grandfather’s footsteps in the local business. “That’s not counting new sales, as well as replacements.”
Family is important to Nick’s Refrigeration, which has now seen three generation of “Nick’s” have a hand in the local business. The company has been run for more than 30 years by Nick Edrington III and Phyllis Bruce, two children of the original Mr. Nick.
The third generation is comprised in part by Nick IV, who, like his grandfather, comes from a military background, before joining the business.
He said he remembers being in Iraq on a hot summer day — a time when he realized that it was time to trade one form of heat for another — an attic.
“I called my dad up and said, ‘Hey, remember when? Well, I’m ready to come home to Thibodaux, join the business and get to work. … And here we are today,” said Edrington IV, who works with his wife Mary by his side to keep the family’s legacy alive.
Nick’s Refrigeration is located at 308 Hickory Street in Thibodaux. Normal business hours apply, but the family said it takes pride in being there when the unexpected strikes. An emergency number is available at (985) 859-4402 where customers can call if they’re in a pinch.
“We never want anyone to be in a bind,” Edrington IV said. “We’re always there to help out.” •
——
Casey Gisclair contributed to this story.
