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7 Facts You Need To Know If You Live In Roanoke

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1. Roanoke is a very historic town.

Roanoke’s history is pretty deeply tied with the railroad, which unfortunately is mostly gone today.

2. Roanoke’s future lies in the medical industry.

Roanoke’s future is based largely in the medical industry. Carilion, Virginia Tech, and Radford work in the Roanoke area and they’ve partnered together to share medical facilities.

3. There’s a lot to do in Roanoke.

There are lots of tourist attractions in the Roanoke area. Just south of Roanoke in Franklin County lies the Booker T. Washington National Monument, right next to Smith Mountain Lake where he grew up. There’s also a 200 ft. land bridge just north of Roanoke called Natural Bridge, which is one of the major attractions on the East Coast. There’s just so much to see and do.

4. Roanoke used to be called The Magic City, but now it’s called The Star City.

Back in its early history, Roanoke was called The Magic City. However, a lot of locals have now adopted the name The Star City because Roanoke’s big landmark is a standing illuminated star. Built in 1949, it’s actually the biggest standing star in the world. (A star in Texas that lies flat on the ground is bigger. However, the one in Roanoke is illuminated and standing up.) You can see the star from 581 as you drive through Roanoke at night. It’s pretty cool to look at it when it’s lit up.

5. Franklin County is right next door to Roanoke.

Franklin County has a colorful history, and has been dubbed the moonshine capital of the world.

6. Roanoke is best known for Virginia’s Blue Ridge.

The Blue Ridge Parkway and the Blue Ridge Mountains come right through Roanoke, and it’s just gorgeous. The trees and the colors in the area make it a great place to live.

7. Lots of people don’t know how big Roanoke is.

The greater Roanoke Valley has a population of approximately 300,000 people. It’s not a huge place, but it’s big enough to have plenty of convenience.

If you have any questions, reach out to the team at Wisler Plumbing & Air today. Contact us or give us a call at 540-483-9382.

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I think understanding a situation is power—the more you know about your home, the more empowered you are to make good decisions. I also encourage homeowners not to just take things at face value. It can be boring when a plumber or HVAC technician comes to your home, especially when you’re very busy. But this is your house we’re talking about here. The technician is working on what’s probably the most valuable thing you own. It’s very important to have as much of an understanding as possible, so don’t be afraid to ask questions. Here are some good starting questions that I’d encourage everyone to think about asking.

 

What caused it to go bad? Take for instance when you hear a plumber say something like, “The flapper is leaking,” “A pipe is leaking,” or “The cartridge is bad.” This is when you’d want to ask how it went bad. You can follow that question up with what will prevent this from happening again?

 

What is the life expectancy? A lot of times we think plumbing is going to last forever, but it just doesn’t. Age can definitely cause things to fail, so understanding the life expectancy—even if it hasn’t failed yet—potentially allows you to plan for a future replacement. How long an item is supposed to last is always good information to know, even if you’re getting something like a brand new water heater put in.

 

Is it installed properly? If a plumber or HVAC tech is checking on something in particular, this is a good question to ask. There’s a right way and a wrong way to install things, and most good technicians take pride in their work. Unfortunately, there are people out there who don’t do very good work. Sometimes homeowners hire incompetent tradesmen. If something is installed improperly, it helps to find out so you can keep an eye on it and prevent potentially catastrophic damage from occurring to your home. Don’t always assume that everything is done properly, even if you just bought a new home.

 

What is my water quality? Specific to plumbing, this is a good question to ask because everything in the plumbing system gets touched by your water. If you have poor water quality, you’re going to cause premature failure to whatever comes into contact with the water (pretty much the entire plumbing system which includes water heaters, pipes and fixtures).

 

(HVAC) What is my air quality? Specific to HVAC, this is a good question to ask because the air that you breathe runs through the HVAC system. Dust, debris, mold, pet dander, etc. can really cause problems with your respiratory system possible causing cold like symptoms and allergic reactions.

 

If these starting questions leave you with even more questions, the team at Wisler Plumbing & Air is here to help. Contact us today or give us a call at 540-483-9382.

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We’re Facing a People Deficit

In any business, they say the hardest challenge is finding good help. The trades are one area where this is most prevalent. It’s relatively well-known that there’s a lack of skilled tradespeople right now. Although there are probably slightly more people now than five years ago, we’re definitely still in a significant deficit. There just hasn’t been an influx of young people for quite some time. The trades are dying skills, there’s plenty of work out there, and there’s a shortage of people able to do that work competently. Our organization is working hard to introduce people to our trade and communicate some of the associated benefits. A college/white collar job isn’t for everybody—those kinds of jobs are needed, but sometimes a person is better suited for a different path.

 

R-22 Is on Its Way Out

There’s a refrigerant that used to be prevalent in the HVAC industry called R-22, which is currently being phased out due to its harmful effects on the ozone and our environment. Although R-22 is quickly becoming obsolete, there are many systems still running on this refrigerant (like old car air conditioners). Because R-22 is becoming expensive and difficult to find, it’s going to be challenging to repair/replace older systems as they fail.

 

Tankless Is on the Way Up

The switch from tank water heaters to tankless water heaters has become a pretty heavy trend over the last several years. We’ve been putting in tankless systems since around 2008, but they’ve steadily been becoming more and more mainstream. They have a track record of dependability after being on the market for all this time, and I think they’re going to continue to be on the upswing when it comes to what kind of water heater people choose for their home.

 

Training & Opportunities Are Available

Right now we’re experiencing a changing job market and a deficit in our trade. People seeking a new opportunity might not even be aware that Wisler Plumbing & Air has several different programs available. By and large, we’re looking for people who don’t have experience—not because we mind hiring an experienced person, but simply because they are so few and far between. We had to create a system around providing training and schooling for people coming into the trade. The good news is that somebody can work full-time, learn the trade, and earn a living at the same time (which might be a better option for someone considering the financial implications of college.)

For anyone interested in working at Wisler Plumbing & Air, the process is simple: visit WislerJobs.com and apply online. Maryanne will receive your application and work with you to figure out the next steps. (She’s usually able to get things going fairly quickly.) For service-related questions, reach out to us online or give us a call at 540-483-9382.

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Wisler Plumbing & Air is a very family-oriented company, and our family is very important to us. I’ve often said that we should treat people the same, no matter what space we’re in—whether that’s at our home or in our business, and whether it’s with a client or with one of our family members. That’s a principle I try to live by: be kind to others no matter who they are and what relationship you have with them.

I try to treat the people that we serve no differently than I would treat my own family. It can be challenging to follow through at times, because we might be so busy that it’s hard to give attention to someone, or because it’s necessary for the business to be profitable and time is money. Although we might not always get it right, we definitely try our best.

For any successful business, I think it’s important that we stay true to our roots. That is, we need to understand where we came from and that our customers are the ones who allow us to stay in business. Therefore, we owe a tremendous amount to the clients who’ve trusted us to work in their home and maintain their systems. We have to make sure we don’t get out of touch with who really keeps us going. My grandmother has given me so much, and my clients have given me a tremendous amount as well. In that respect, they’re one and the same.

If you want to work with the team at Wisler Plumbing & Air, reach out to us today. Contact us online or give us a call at 540-483-9382.

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We all have the usual things that we’re thankful for, so instead of just listing them out I want to share a little bit about why I’m thankful for them.

 

First off, I’m thankful for God—I’m thankful for His grace in my life and in my church family as well. We run a business with a team of employees and lots of customers. The reason I’m thankful for God is because we need some sort of moral compass guiding us to do the right thing and setting the example for how to treat people, whether that’s our clients or our employees. We receive this truth from our background of faith, which comes from an ongoing relationship with a church. It helps in all areas of my life just to make sure that I’m grounded in a moral path.

 

Next, I’m thankful for our community. Our families live in this community and our clients have supported me, my family, and this organization in so many different ways. That includes the service members in military, police officers, and all other public service officials. We live in an outstanding community and we greatly appreciate our clients in the area we serve. They’ve been kind and loyal to us, so we definitely give them our gratitude.

 

We have an awesome team within our organization, so I’m thankful for each and every team member, their contributions, and how well they serve the clients that make up our community. But sometimes we forget to mention the families who sometimes might miss our team members and would want them at home while they’re out serving the community. Those families make sacrifices for our team members, and we’re definitely thankful for their support.

 

Thanks, Dad. You’re a big part of who we are—in terms of this organization and with me and my background. When someone asks why I say, “Thanks, Dad,” The most obvious thing is that he raised me, gave me the opportunity within his business, and taught me a trade. But I would really be doing a disservice if I didn’t bring both of my parents into this. I learned a lot from both of them, obtained had a lot of opportunities from both of them, and they have done very well as parents.

 

Even though these might be some of the usual things we’re thankful for, I hope you have a little bit more insight as to why they mean so much to me.

 

To reach out to the team at Wisler Plumbing and Air, contact us online or give us a call at 540-483-9382.

 

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1. Customer Feedback

Businesses simply would not be in business if it wasn’t for the customers. There are other important functions of a business, of course, but customer feedback lets you know exactly what the satisfaction level is. There’s no better way to grow your business than through word of mouth, which is why feedback is such an important consideration—not just for any service company—but for any business in general.

2. Team Members

You can’t accomplish much without having good team members. These are the people in front of clients, creating satisfaction. A solid team starts with making sure that you’re recruiting and hiring top-quality individuals, so that you’ll have a team that is able to provide a high level of service to satisfied clients.

3. Training and Development

Once you’ve built a great team, you’ll have to focus on training and development of those team members. This is very important because if we’re not growing, we’re probably slipping and declining.

4. Profit

If you run a for-profit company, you have to make a profit to sustain the business. Therefore, the pricing (and cost) structures of the company are very important. You shouldn’t just guess at how much something should cost—you should instead know exactly what your costs are and set the price of your product or service accordingly. By basing your price upon what your costs are and how much of a margin you need to run a sustainable business, you will be able to provide for your employees and be there for your clients.

5. Managing Costs

From a management standpoint, you must make sure that you’re properly managing the cost of materials and labor that you’re paying your employees. These are the two biggest ongoing expenditures of any business (especially in our industry). Make sure you are being efficient from a labor standpoint, and also make sure you’re managing and negotiating the material costs to keep within your pricing structure so you can sustain into the future.

If you have any plumbing related questions, you can always reach out to the team at Wisler Plumbing and Air by contacting us online or giving us a call at 540-483-9382.

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