Wisler Plumbing and Air

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Childhood Stories

Plumbing

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My dad started Wisler Plumbing & Air. I can remember what it was like growing up and watching him in the trade. In this industry, you get to meet a lot of interesting people and see all different kinds of homes. I started riding along on service calls at a very young age. (One client told me they remembered how I tried to use a shovel that was twice my size.) My role early on was to be what some people call a ‘gopher’, which is pretty much a helper for my dad. I remember how I couldn’t wait to graduate from that role to actually doing the work. I would no longer have to get the tools or parts and clean up the job while my dad stayed inside the house.

Some service calls were very late at night. Being the small boy that I was, I had fears of things like huge barking dogs, or the dark night as I had to make the trip from someone’s home to the company truck. I’d run as fast as I could to get a tool or part—I’d even try to choose the right door to go from the house to the truck in the most efficient route. The ironic thing is, when I eventually grew up and got old enough to have helpers of my own, I expected them to run to the truck as fast as I did. I’d think to myself, why in the world was it taking so long to get me a tool? It’s funny how things that happen when you’re a child stick with you.

I grew up with two older brothers, one older than me by 5 years and one older by 6 years. As you can imagine, they were very kind to their little brother. They took it upon themselves to teach me all the ways of plumbing. One of the first summers I was out working with my brothers, they educated me about pipe dope, which is the thread sealant we put around pipes. It has a white, melted marshmallow-like appearance, and they convinced me to give it a taste-test. I was destined to find out if it tasted as good as it looked. (It was the nastiest thing ever, of course.) From that moment on, I learned to be judicious about what I should and shouldn’t eat.

I like to reminisce about all these childhood memories. They’ve definitely shaped me into who I am today. My children are still very young—probably no younger than I was when I started riding along with my dad. But the service industry has changed so much that bringing young children on service calls is probably frowned upon. I did take my son to a family member’s house while doing a plumbing project, though, and he was just so eager to help out and learn what I was doing. (I’m sure he got that from me.)

If you want to work with the family-friendly team at Wisler Plumbing & Air, reach out to us today. Request an appointment, contact us, or give us a call at 540-483-9382.

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Right now, we’re really focusing on bringing on apprentices onto our team. We do hire people with no experience in all areas of the field, whether that be water treatment, plumbing, HVAC, HVAC/plumbing installation, or HVAC techs. Although someone might not have any experience or have absolutely no idea what they’re getting into, we can put them through a training program specifically suited for what they’ll be doing. One thing every technician within our company is definitely going to experience is a lot of training. It’s centered around the technical aspects of the job, but it also covers soft skills like how to communicate important details to our clients in an effective manner. The training process will take a different amount of time for everybody, but it generally takes around 6 to 8 months for someone starting at a very low skill level.

 

People coming from factory or assembly line work regularly tell us that they were tired of doing monotonous tasks. Some people just don’t thrive in an environment where they do the same thing over and over, every day. Fortunately, a tech’s day-to-day activities are very diverse. Our technicians visit one or more homes on a daily basis. The job could involve a shower faucet one day, then a toilet or a water heater on the next. The customer’s needs always keep things interesting and fresh.

 

Almost every aspect of a homeowner’s life is tied to relying on working plumbing (like running water, a working toilet, a working kitchen sink, etc.). Sometimes they can be upset about a problem or fearful about what it might cost to have it repaired. When we repair one of those fixtures to make them functional again, or even when we upgrade them to work much better, the job that we’re doing is extremely fulfilling. This is truly a customer service industry, and we sometimes say that we’re here to repair the client. I think we have the opportunity to really impact people and build relationships while we fix their plumbing problem.

 

One of our main values is family. (You can use the word team here whenever it’s in a professional setting). Whenever I think about family, what comes to mind is the people who have my back, those who I can count on, and those who I can be open with. But the idea of family also comes with expectations, tension, challenging times, and tough conversations. Those things exist in healthy families, and they are imperative for growth. I think it is very rewarding to be part of a family/team with all these qualities. If you get stumped on a plumbing problem as a technician, you can call another technician or manager for guidance and support. Our service managers have technical ability because they’ve been in the field themselves. I think that’s what brings the family atmosphere together.

 

For anybody interested in learning more about joining the team at Wisler Plumbing & Air and perhaps becoming an apprentice technician, visit WislerJobs.com. Once you apply online, Maryanne will field the application and start you through our process.

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The structure at our company brings a lot of value to our clients and employees, but sometimes structure can snub out some of the fun. It’s incredibly important for our employees to really enjoy coming to work every single day. That’s why we’ve recently been focusing on cultivating a welcoming and family-friendly culture.

Over the past couple of years, we’ve been taking a short amount of time every morning to have breakfast together during what we call a morning huddle. During some of these huddles we might do trivia or play other short games that only take a few minutes. In one of our recent huddles we played Minute to Win It: Face the Cookie. (The goal is for the player to move a cookie from their forehead to mouth in a minute or less without using their hands.) Sometimes we all need to have these kinds of fun little activities to lighten up the environment. They definitely allow us to build closer relationships with the people we work alongside every day.

 

During our morning huddles we also take time to recognize both professional and personal accomplishments. We like to read out loud any positive feedback a client gives to one of our team members and give them some well-deserved kudos. It’s definitely something that should be shared, because this person worked very hard to serve the client and meet their expectations. Overall, our morning huddles are a lighthearted time we use each day to rally everyone together, have a little bit of fun, and lighten the overall mood.

We do water events in the summer, which gives us a chance to bring family members along to help take part in the fun. We also go to Rail Yard Dawgs hockey games each year (usually in February), which is a really fun time for our organization. The whole family can go watch the game, and we also get to serve the community. Just recently we had a company dinner at Center in the Square in Roanoke. Parents could drop off the kids at the Kids Square to enjoy some fun activities for a few hours. We also had an arcade and pinball for the adults, so this was a very fun event for everyone.

 

Every summer we try to do a cookout with lots of fun food-related things to do. We eat breakfast together and several of our team members make different kinds of dishes that show off their barbecuing and cooking skills. At the end of the day, it’s really about building support and camaraderie with each other. There are times when it’s not always fun, but that’s just real life. Then there are the times when you have to be intentional about making a fun environment to build deeper connections and relationships.

 

There were a few occasions when I’ve had service personnel in my home who were negative from the moment they came in the door. They were complaining and had an unfavorable attitude, which was just not fun for me as a homeowner. The bottom line is, our attitude—whether negative or positive—will carry through to others. We think it makes the most sense to have a solid, happy family who cares about making a positive impact on the people around them.

 

If you’d like to work with the team at Wisler Plumbing & Air, request an appointment, contact us, or give us a call at 540-483-9382.

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Choosing between college and the trades is a very interesting topic, and I want to be very careful to state that one is not necessarily better than the other—there are individuals who are great for both college and the trades. I think the choice greatly depends on someone’s unique circumstances. I’m very thankful for the fact that there are people who go to college, specifically in areas like the healthcare industry. Many of these positions are college-based, and there are some extremely skilled individuals who I’m very thankful for. I definitely do not want to communicate in any way, shape, or form that college isn’t the right path for certain individuals. What I do want to communicate is that there is another option—not everybody has to go to college, and in some cases, looking into the trades is a perfect choice.

 

One of the main factors that makes the trades attractive is the fact that, right now, there’s a significant shortage of tradespeople. Trades or service companies like ours are ready and willing to pay for ‘college’, if you can kind of think about it that way. You can really get the training you need without having to pay for it directly out of your pocket. People have the ability to work full-time and earn a living while learning at the same time. (One area that the trades excel at is on-the-job-training.)

 

There are lots of different situations, and it’s definitely hands-on work, but on-the-job training is an important piece of that whole (again, if I can use this word creatively) ‘college’ of the trades. Going this path will also probably give you the highest and quickest return on investment, whether that’s time or money. College can be a great choice, but it is very expensive. You also have to be extremely thoughtful about making sure the return is going to happen based on the investment of time and money you’ve made. The trades path definitely provides a slightly quicker return combined with a lower investment, sot you can potentially see a higher return on your investment.

 

To learn more, give us a call at 540-483-9382 and ask for Marianne. She will field these types of calls and provide you with more information. You can also visit WislerJobs.com to read more and/or submit a question.

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The Roanoke Rescue Mission’s Story

The most amazing thing about the Roanoke Rescue Mission is its history and how it came to be. The founder, Gus Johnson, actually grew up in Chicago. While suffering from alcoholism, he went to Chicago’s United Mission to get sober and ended up going through a crazy transformation. He soon met the woman he would marry after knowing her for just 8 days.

 

Gus and his wife moved to the Roanoke area specifically to do mission work. When they arrived in 1948 they opened up what is now the Roanoke Rescue Mission. It has been in service and helping the community ever since, and the Johnson family has led the organization up until a couple of years ago.

 

Today, the Roanoke Rescue Mission mainly helps the homeless population by providing meals and emergency shelter, but they also do many other things. They have a free clinic, a drug rehab program, and they offer all kinds of services including training for spiritual growth and employment. They just do a tremendous amount of good for the community.

 

The Rescue Mission is a very sustainable organization with a lot of different avenues to help people. We have been there to help serve meals in the evening, and we plan on continuing to support them in the years to come. If you want to know more about the Rescue Mission, visit their website, where you can find out the organization’s whole story and background. For anyone in the area who wants to visit the mission, head over to 4th Street SE right around the Elm downtown area.

 

For plumbing related questions, contact us online or give us a call at 540-483-9382.

 

 

 

 

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