After losing his HVAC job just days after his honeymoon, this Long Islander hit the streets in a van with a promise: honest service, every time. Decades later, GallettAir Inc. is a family-run powerhouse built on loyalty, legacy and a ringing phone.
Carmine and Janet Galletta had just returned home from a Jamaican honeymoon.
The newlyweds were excited to start their life together.
That’s when Carmine learned he was being laid off from his HVAC job in Commack.
But they had rent to pay.
And at 25, he needed money.
So he got moving.
It was the early 1980s, and nearly every Long Islander cooled their homes with window or wall units. On his drives, Galletta noticed people were quick to toss units to the curb when they stopped working.
“Back in the day, they had the Pennysaver, and I put a reader ad in there, in a tiny box,” he recalled. “I wrote, ‘$29.95 to charge your window units.’”
“Call Carmine,” it read, followed by his home phone number.
He promised his wife he’d do 10 units a day. Soon enough, he was doing 50 to 70 a week.
“It just took off. I bought a van and started going out. My phone rang so much my landlord said he couldn’t take the ringing anymore on the other side of the wall,” he recalled with a laugh.
When word spread that someone in the neighborhood was getting their AC fixed, Galletta would arrive to find 10 units stacked on a picnic table.
He went from making $700 a week at his job to $1,000 a day working for himself.
“And the phone just kept ringing,” he said. “In a year’s time, I moved out of my apartment in Lindenhurst and bought a house in West Babylon.”
Carmine knew he couldn’t build a future on one-off jobs, so he started designing and printing flyers with help from friends and his wife. They distributed the flyers at the condo complexes that were springing up across Long Island.
He offered service contracts — work the installers didn’t want.
The complexes signed on.
Today, many of those same complexes remain loyal customers of GallettAir Inc. Heating & Air Conditioning, now a powerhouse in Long Island’s HVAC industry.
He built the company on a promise: friendly, reliable, honest service. That, and customers who become friends.
And employees who become family.
How to treat people
“Everybody’s like family here,” Carmine often says. “We really are a big family.”
Literally and figuratively.
His son Matthew, 37, a technician, grew up wearing GallettAir hoodies and long-sleeve tees.
“He’s been rolling with me since he was 11 years old in the truck,” Carmine said. “Now, at 67, I’m starting to give up some of my responsibilities.”
His daughter Anna runs the marketing. Her husband Mike, also a tech, met her while working at the company.
Then there are the other in-laws, nephews and cousins. Doing HVAC work is a rite of passage for the Gallettas. Some move on to other careers.
Some stay.
And many others, unrelated by blood, helped build a company that has spanned five decades — too many to name.
“I don’t call people employees, and I don’t ever think of myself as a boss,” Carmine said. “I learned how not to treat people from how I was treated. Back in the ’70s and ’80s, they treated you rough. I know how that feels. I always swore, if I ever went into business for myself, I wouldn’t treat people that way.”
That philosophy extends to customers.
“When our people feel like they’re treated like family, that rolls over into how they treat the customers,” he said. “I consider all of my customers family.”
It’s also what sets GallettAir apart from the growing national service chains.
“At a corporation, you’re just a number,” Carmine said, though, admittedly, he’s been reluctant to knock any competition. But the landscape is changing.
“Here, everyone has a name,” he said.
And if you have an HVAC emergency at 3 a.m., you’ll get a Galletta on the phone.
Giving back
After outgrowing his home office, Carmine moved GallettAir around West Babylon before settling at 860 Little East Neck Road North. The company also acquired an adjacent property, making GallettAir’s buildings well known landmarks on Little East Neck.
The lobby is lined with plaques, press clippings and Little League awards. Carmine coached and sponsored teams for years. He also helped start the West Babylon Chamber of Commerce and used his love of cars to organize car shows and cruise nights.
He served 16 years on the West Babylon school board, including three as president.
Some might call that thankless volunteer work.
Matthew doesn’t.
“When my dad sees something he can improve, like the school district, he’ll help,” he said. “That’s his motivation — making things better, and contributing.
“It’s not about the money. It’s about purpose. And that purpose is helping.”
Staying true
As service companies are snapped up by investors, the Gallettas are doubling down on humanity.
Calls don’t get routed out-of-state or overseas. If you’re in need, you’ll get to know the team — and even have your favorite techs and administrative assistants to talk to.
There are no gimmicky online forms promising instant quotes in exchange for your data to share. Every home and business is different, they emphasize. And so are the heating and cooling solutions.
There are no salespeople either. Just experienced techs offering assessments backed by GallettAir’s reputation.
“I know when we go into a house, what we put in there is going to work,” Carmine said.
“Number one: it’s my last name on that truck, and that means something,” he added. “I take a lot of pride in that. I wanted to give my family a business — a family business — and that’s exactly what we’ve built.
“My father was an aircraft mechanic. We lived a great life. We didn’t have everything we wanted, but we had everything we needed. This business gives us a great lifestyle, and it allows the people who work with us to have that too.
“And I believe in sharing. If we do well, everybody does well.”
Some of those early customers are still on the books — and now their kids and grandkids are, too. They’re not just calling for service anymore, but to say hello, check in on the family and ask if Carmine’s still riding shotgun.
Because in the end, GallettAir didn’t just fix air conditioners.
They built trust, one family at a time.
The third generation of GallettAir Inc. professionals, (L-R) Anthony, Amelia and Lena.
Top: Matthew Galletta, Carmine Galletta and Mike Ronan at GallettAir Inc. in West Babylon. (courtesy photos)
