Wisler Plumbing and Air

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How We Coordinate Technicians to Meet Clients’ Needs

Customer Service

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One of the most frustrating things for a homeowner is setting up an appointment for a service person to come to their home and they don’t show up, show up late, or don’t follow directions. We focus on being on time, and we give a two hour window in which we will arrive. We also try to notify people when we’re on our way. I really think meeting our client’s needs comes down to dispatching correctly. It’s important that the people fielding the customers’ requests are well-trained in asking the right questions so we best understand the issue you’re dealing with, how serious it is, and exactly what we need to do. Asking the right questions is vital to making sure someone’s needs are properly met.

Next, we need to make sure we send the right person to your home. We’re very much aware of how the technician we send could make or break the customer’s experience. (Nobody likes it when a technician seems incompetent or when it’s the first time they’ve ever seen the issue.) We assess the task that needs to be done and assign it a skill level. We also assign a skill level to every technician (because everyone is slightly different). Then we try to match up the right technician with the right task to make sure we’re sending a competent person to every home.

A lot of times people think that a company will dispatch its technicians to cover a certain radius. A technician in South Roanoke would just run all the calls in that area for the day, right? Well, not exactly. We do not focus primarily on the location of the call as much as we do the skill level necessary to do the job correctly and meet the customer’s needs. So we may have technicians passing each other by on the way to calls. This is all about making sure the customer has a satisfactory experience.

We make these choices when coordinating our technicians because our time is valuable and our homeowner’s time is valuable. We want to make sure that we’re doing our absolute best. Sometimes we do have to make multiple visits, and sometimes we don’t get everything quite right over the phone. But I’d like to think that the vast majority of the time we’re able to do it well and make sure that the customer’s problem is solved.

If you have any issues with your plumbing or HVAC systems, you can always reach out to the team at Wisler Plumbing. Just contact us today or give us a call at 540-483-9382.

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I don’t think anybody likes negative surprises. Unfortunately, businesses often surprise people by sneaking in fine print with extra fees. So many of us are wary of fine print that it’s not surprising to hear someone say they’ll wait around and see how much higher the invoice will be after all the extra fees are added in. We try to do business differently than that. The price we tell you it’s going to be is the price that you’re going to pay. We trademarked the term Straightforward Pricing because it signifies our strategy of being upfront with clients.

Sometimes companies justify misleading their clients by saying it’s just an expected way of doing business. They view a service charge as something everyone should already know about, and they won’t even mention explicitly. Well, maybe a homeowner doesn’t know they’re going to be charged a service fee because they’ve never had service personnel in their home.

Most of the time it’s already not a good day when you have to call the plumber. There’s a lot of anxiety involved when dealing with an unexpected situation in your home, like a flood, water leak, or even a complete lack of water. Do I have the money to pay for this? Can it get fixed? How long is it going to take? Are they going to do the right job? Am I going to be taken advantage of? So many questions cross a homeowner’s mind during a time like this. Being straightforward with something as important as pricing helps to lower anxiety. When you have a lower anxiety level about your current situation, I think you can make better decisions.

I also think that you can make the right choice when all the options are presented to you, especially when you know you can trust the bottom line. (We believe in giving options to empower the customer to make a decision.) That ties along with another part of what we do with our pricing structure: Straightforward Pricing is a form of task pricing, so we don’t charge by the hour. Instead, we charge by the task or job. Another way to set prices is by using time & material pricing. One of the downfalls of time & material pricing is that homeowners can be penalized if the technician isn’t very good. If the tech wasn’t prepared with the right parts, the homeowner would end up paying extra because the job took longer than necessary. That’s why I think task pricing is much more of a fair approach.

Without Straightforward Pricing or some other form of task pricing, there is no consistency. I think it’s very important for homeowners to feel like they’re not getting charged differently just because of their status, what their home looks like, or because of whichever technician they got on a particular day. I believe in consistency, and all the things we do with Straightforward Pricing helps to build the trust level of the people we serve.

In the trades that we’re in, we strongly believe in the fact that we shouldn’t give a ballpark price over the phone only to go to your home and find out it’s going to be double what we thought. Instead, just reach out to us by calling 540-483-9382 or requesting an appointment online. We can have one of our technicians or reps come to your home, evaluate the situation, and explain exactly what needs to be done. Then we’ll give you options with a Straightforward Price so you can select the best fit for you.

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You know the old adage, there’s more than one way to skin a cat? Everyone has their own way of doing things. When I talk about the Wisler way, I’m not saying it with arrogance, but as a way to describe our approach to getting things done. There are definitely many different perspectives and other successful ways for a business to function. The Wisler way is how I label what I’m about to share—these are some of the main things we’ve found to be helpful to our success.

First of all, we’re selective, meaning we focus on hiring the right people and making sure they’re a really good fit for our organization. More specifically, our organization is shaped by our customers’ needs. Customer feedback is what guides who we are and how we build our culture. Nobody likes the service personnel visiting their home to be rude, unknowledgeable, unable to get the job done right, disrespectful of their property, unable to be upfront, unfriendly, or unpleasant. We key in on these kinds of attributes because we know our customers need personnel who provide a high level of service. We fulfill those needs by by putting a strong focus on who we hire and how we hire. People’s homes are extremely precious—they hold the things that we find most dear, like our children and our parents. Anybody who steps foot in that environment needs to communicate safety, care, and respect. It takes a special person to be able to do that.

Next, we’ve found that people have to be trained, whether it’s from a technical standpoint or a professional standpoint. As we hire someone, we may find that they need training to improve specific skills (e.g., communication or service). Our organization is very much about growth and development, whether it pertains to the overall business or the individual. Someone may have the basic skills necessary to be a service technician or an administrative person within the business, but they can always develop various skills to become even better. That’s a big part of who we are.

Finally, because we fail a good bit, I think we need to focus on getting our work done right. (Perfectionism probably makes me a much harsher critic than most other people.) I do think there is a right and a wrong, and doing the right thing is important. It takes discipline and organization to get a clear view of the work you’ve done and then do the right thing, even if it’s not the easiest or most fun thing to do.

In summary, we focus on hiring the right people with the correct fit, we believe in personal growth and training people to obtain new skills, and we’re about being disciplined to do the right thing no matter what type of task it may be. If you have any questions, contact us today or give us a call at 540-483-9382.

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Plumbing failures are definitely not fun. We depend on our toilets, showers, kitchen sinks, and laundry so much every day, but we tend to take them for granted. It’s complete havoc if they stop working, but it’s probably even more catastrophic if the plumbing in a home ruptures or breaks completely. (Parts of your home are generally made out of materials like wood and paper, and contact with water can lead to mold or other serious issues.) Now that winter is coming up, here are a few easy things you can do to make sure your home is prepared.

An Ounce of Prevention

We see outside hose connections that have frozen and burst more frequently than any other kind of plumbing failure during the wintertime. Generally speaking, what happens is people leave their hoses hooked up to the hose bib. Any water in the hose bib will freeze and expand, causing it to burst. Of course, you can prevent this from ever happening by simply disconnecting the hose. But someone might decide to use the water hose on a day when it’s not very cold (maybe to wash the car). A couple of days later, freezing temperatures come and you realize that the hose is still connected. Just try to be extra diligent throughout the winter to keep those hoses unhooked, because it’s an easy way to prevent major damage. (If you just have a hose bib, you’ll also need to find its shutoff valve and turn it off. For frost-free wall hydrants, on the other hand, you can generally just disconnect the hose.)

Winterize

Some homes have plumbing like an outdoor kitchen or outdoor shower. Maybe it’s a dock down at the lake with freshwater. These fixtures need to be properly winterized—just turning the water off isn’t good enough. The pipe can burst if it hasn’t been drained completely. (Air is sometimes used to blow any water out of the faucet.) Ice makers, refrigerators, or other similar appliances might also be on the outside patio. They need to be blown out so that they don’t freeze.

Close off the Airflow

One area that easily gets skipped over is the crawlspace. When a weeklong cold spell arrives with below-freezing weather and wind, it’s very common for all the plumbing inside a crawlspace to get frozen solid. You can prevent that by simply making sure the crawlspace door and vents are all shut securely. Heat from the house will be able to keep the space conditioned enough that the plumbing won’t freeze.

Check You Insulation

In more rural communities we regularly see wellheads, well houses, and well pits where the insulation was wet, unmaintained, or removed during the summer while maintenance was being performed. You’ll need to check the insulation in all of these areas to make sure it’s properly installed and doing its job.

Don’t Forget the HVAC

People with lake houses often turn the heat down low enough to still keep the space conditioned. In that case, it might be a good idea to make sure the HVAC system is working properly. Otherwise, we do offer a winterization service that’s only a call away. If you have any questions about preparing your home for the upcoming winter, contact us today or give us a call at

540-483-9382.

 

 

 

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There are times when you need to call a plumber and discuss what’s wrong with your plumbing.  That discussion may include terms specific to the plumbing trade and those terms can be confusing if you have never heard them before. The trades use very technical language, and plumbing in particular has a lot of weird names for things. Here are some of the most common terms that you might not already know.

 

Stop valve – You’ll find these under the cabinets or under the toilet. Right where water comes out of the wall or floor, there’s a little valve you can use to turn the water on or off before it gets to the fixture. Anytime someone mentions a ‘stop’, ‘stop valve’, ‘emergency shutoff valve’, or ‘emergency stop’, they are referring to this shutoff valve located right at the fixture.

 

P-trap – This is generally found underneath the sink (kitchen sink, bathroom sink, etc.). It’s the funny looking pipe segment right under the drain. Plumbers will say something like, “I need to take the p-trap off to get the object that got stuck in there.” It gets its name because it looks like a P if you take it apart and stand it up on its end. The p-trap’s job is to hold water in order to prevent sewer gas from coming back into your home.

 

Drain cleaning – This is a term that’s frequently taken for granted. Drain cleaning is not simply unstopping a drain. If you have a stopped-up drain, yes, putting a cable down will unstop it. However, as the name indicates, drain cleaning is where the pipe or drain is actually cleaned. This can be done with a cable or with high-pressure jetting. Remember, when a plumber references drain cleaning, they’re actually referring to something other than just unstopping the drain.

 

Ball valve – A ball valve is generally a shutoff valve. It has a lever, and is frequently found where the main water comes into your home. When someone refers to the ball valve, they may be talking about that main water shutoff—but not necessarily.

 

Gate valve – You can differentiate a gate valve from a ball valve by checking whether it uses a lever or a round handle. A ball valve uses a lever, whereas a gate valve will have a round handle.

 

Fill valve – A fill valve is a component in the back of the toilet tank. The water connects to it, and it’s what fills up the toilet tank so you can flush it.

 

Flapper – Most people probably know what a flapper is, but there are some who don’t. A flapper is a component located in the back of the toilet tank. When you push down on the toilet handle, the flapper lifts up to allow water to flush the toilet. Sometimes you’ll hear a plumber say, “The flapper is leaking,” or “The flapper went bad.” That means the rubber component in the toilet tank needs to be replaced.

 

Wall hydrant, hose bib – These devices are located on the outside of your home (generally speaking), where a hose is attached. A wall hydrant is different from a hose bib, because wall hydrants are designed to be frost-free or freezeproof. In other words, they don’t need to be winterized. Wall hydrants go into the home and the water is shut off, preventing ice that would cause the pipe to burst. Hose bibs are much simpler devices that do need to be winterized.

 

Supply line – A supply line is the water tube that goes from the stop valve at a fixture up to the actual faucet, toilet, or even washing machine. (The lines that go to washing machines are often just called washer hoses.)

 

Cleanout – This is basically an access point to your drains. Sometimes you might see a plug or cap that can be unscrewed somewhere in your basement, or maybe a crawlspace under your sink. The cleanout is used to allow cables or cameras down the drain.

 

Water meter – Normally located on the street, a water meter is what the municipality uses to measure how much water you use during a curtain period of time in order to regulate your water bill.

 

Now that you know these commonly-used plumbing terms, you’ll be able to decipher the Greek language that plumbers use. Hopefully this knowledge comes in handy next time you’re getting service or talking about what’s going on in your home. If you have any questions, contact us or give us a call at 540-483-9382.

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All the Players Involved

There are quite a few influencers who have really left their mark on Wisler Plumbing & Air. I think we have to just start at the beginning, and that means looking at the Wisler Family. My father founded the company and I grew up along with my siblings in the family business. Whether it’s my mom, father, or even my brothers and myself, all of us have definitely left our own unique mark. I sometimes think of Wisler Plumbing & Air as a living organization—it kind of has a personality of its own. Anyone who’s been around long enough for the whole ride can see which areas of the organization have been influenced by the Wisler Family. Of course, I would be foolish not to also give credit to the key players who have been employed here. (Some have moved on to other opportunities and some are still with us.) They’ve definitely had an important influence as well.

Success Group International

In 2001, We joined the Contractor Success Group, which is now commonly known as Success Group International (SGI). SGI has been an influencer in this organization for a very long time. We’ve subscribed to their system and way of thinking, which is really about operational excellence and making sure we serve our customers in the best way our industry has to offer. Members of the group are company owners, and a handful of them have directly influenced Wisler Plumbing & Air. We’ve attached to the ones with common values or a common philosophy and gleaned off of their experiences (and they’ve done the same with us). Success Group International and its associated companies from around the country have influenced us greatly over the last 20 years.

Mentors Throughout Time

Both me and my father have also had several mentors and consulting firms over the years. We were part of an organization called C12, which was led by John Netzel at the time. The group has dissolved, but it has left an influence on our company and guided us through four or five years of business. Carl Nielsen from Nielsen Group in Texas has helped us with our people management and impacted the culture in a special way. He’s worked with us for over 15 years. Wisler Plumbing & Air has a story, and the Wizard of Ads team has helped us to tell that story to the public. They’ve definitely influenced this organization and impacted our growth. More people have become aware of us and appreciate what we stand for and the value we offer our community.

Do You Want to Be Part of the Team?

Quite a few people have been a significant part of who and what we are today. If you have any questions or want to learn more about working with the team at Wisler Plumbing & Air, contact us online or give us a call at 540-483-9382.

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