does what is necessary to make the person happy, even if that means a price break or a free service. Jim likes to remind technicians that they are actually working for themselves, using the company name and equipment — and that they can build their own customer base.
Technicians are well rewarded for
good service and customer sales. Each
Monday morning at a team meeting,
technicians turn in their paperwork, and
a review of the past week is conducted.
The meetings give technicians a chance
to raise issues of concern and share
advice and best practices.
On the first Monday of each month, the meeting is held at a local restaurant and includes breakfast. At this meeting, a $200 bonus goes to the technician with the best sales for the month. In addition to the monthly bonus program, the partners have started a yearly contest in which the top technician receives a vacation package.
The technicians’ sense of ownership extends to the service vehicles, which they are expected to keep clean and in good condition. Each service van carries an inventory of about $1,000 in parts and supplies. The vehicles are inspected regularly. “First impressions are everything to us,” says Jim.
A Rooter Man tries to convey that positive impression across a service area that includes Pittsburgh and five surrounding counties. Service technicians communicate using cell phones, but Jim and Wayne are looking into a more sophisticated system.
Step by step
When a customer calls for service, a
real person answers the phone, anytime,
day or night. “We do not use an answering
service,” says Jim. “Our customers
can’t believe when they call at off-hours
that they are talking to someone in the
company.
“One of our office assistants answers the phone at night, or if not her, it will be me. One of our technicians will be on call and will go out for emergencies. We advertise as a 24-hour emergency service.”
Before going on the call, the technician determines how critical the problem is and, if it is not a true emergency, assures the worried caller that someone will be there the next business day. In a true emergency, such as a pipe leak or a dangerously backed up line, the technician goes out immediately. There is an extra charge for emergencies, and technicians receive that money as a bonus.
Service technicians take their vans
home at night and are dispatched each
morning to their routes. The dispatcher
calls each technician with the first job
of the day. After each assignment, the
technicians check in and receive their
next job.
Upon arrival at the customer’s door,
technicians hand the customer a business
card and introduce themselves.
Before entering the home, they put
booties over their work boots. They
diagnose the problem, discuss it with
the customer, and give a quote from
a price book, which is available for
customers to see.
While on the job, technicians offer to
do a free video and a visual inspection for
other problems that may exist.
Depending on what they find, they may
recommend other work and suggest that
the customer have it done on the spot to
save the expense of another call. These
additional sales are considered in the
bonus program. Jim estimates that
additional work is performed on about
30 percent of calls.
Ensuring satisfaction
Upon finishing all work, the technician
leaves a refrigerator magnet with the
company name and phone number. An
office worker follows up with a telephone
call to be sure the customer was fully
satisfied. Any problems a customer may
raise are referred to Jim for his review and
action. Each customer receives a thank you
card that includes a $10 coupon for
the next service call. Coupons are also
included in the company’s telephone
directory ads.
As the company grows, Jim and
Wayne see a need for more supervisory
personnel. They prefer to hire from within
and look to seniority as one of the
deciding factors. It’s a practice designed
to ensure that A Rooter Man Plumbing
builds a reputation for quality that will
endure for years to come.
Toward
the Future
To accommodate the fast-growing
A Rooter Man Plumbing, co-owner
Wayne George recently purchased a
40-acre parcel of land. The plan for the
near future is to construct an office
facility there with a heated garage and
several service bays. The company also
plans to add septic tank pumping to
round out its service offerings.
As for buying more equipment, Wayne and partner Jim English prefer to purchase new, or lease, so that their vehicles and machines are always up to date and reliable.
“We can’t have our equipment
breaking down, because then we lose
our quality of service, and we lose
money,” says Jim. “We consider how
busy we are when talking about a new
purchase. We seem to know when the
time is right."