Hot side and cold side

Definition

The trade's split between cooking equipment and refrigeration, sold and serviced by different people.

Why It Matters

The two halves share a customer and almost nothing else. They come from different manufacturers, carry different margins, fail in different ways and are fixed by technicians with different training, so a dealer strong on one and weak on the other is really half a business in the customer's eyes. Ask for revenue, margin and service capability on each side separately, and find out which side the departing owner personally sold, because that is the half that will need replacing first.