By Becky Rolland, Public Relations Specialist

Based in the greater Los Angeles area, Pipe King Plumbing, is a full service plumbing and drain cleaning business, family owned and operated by Sam and John Manikyan since 1993. In the beginning, there was only Sam and John Manikyan, each with their own service vehicle doing their own jobs in a given day.  As their company grew, they added a dispatcher and another service technician. As Sam Manikyan described, "Our business was growing, but slowly, that's why we looked into franchising."

The Manikyans investigated Roto-Rooter and Mr. Rooter franchises before they met Donald MacDonald, CEO of Acorp and ROOTER-MAN at the 2000 Pumper and Cleaner Environmental Expo. "The first thing that caught my eye was the company logo, then after my brother and I met Donald, I knew this was it, Sam Manikyan said.

In June, the Manikyans called Donald MacDonald and by his suggestion, flew down to the ROOTER-MAN Corporate Office in Billerica, Massachusetts. The Manikyans were very impressed with the support system for the franchisees already in place, such as the Key to Success Series Manuals including training for dispatch, telephone, operators, and servicemen, and general business advice on everything from marketing to managing personnel.  "Basically, I did my research, and the more I found out about ROOTER-MAN, the more I liked," said Sam Manikyan, "that's why when we went to see Donald, we were ready to sign."

So why did the Manikyans join the ROOTER-MAN team? As Sam Manikyan explained, "We trusted the ROOTER-MAN name and we were ready for our business to grow." And grow it did! Once their contract was signed and they had completed the two-day training session, the Manikyans used the ROOTER-MAN promotional package such as newspaper and yellow page advertisements, along with their FREE LISTING on www.rooterman.com to announce that they joined the ROOTER-MAN team.

After the amount of calls received on a given day more than tripled, the Manikyans expanded their services to include a unique trenchless pipe replacement method which replaces the old pipes with new, using a sophisticated technology, lower cost, and reduced clean up.  This method is explained in detail on their free webpage link www.rootermanla.com.

"Business continues to skyrocket every month; the past years just don't compare. I have added two more vans since I joined with ROOTER-MAN and I plan to add two more in the next few months," Sam Manikyan said.