Wisler Plumbing and Air

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Why We Believe in Providing Upfront Information

Plumbing

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” Our technicians will give you options and recommendations with a straight forward price.”

 

Why do we believe in providing all the information we can to our clients upfront?  So our customers can make the best possible decision. Our clients generally know next to nothing about plumbing or HVAC systems or how to diagnose potential issues, so there’s a lot of anxiety in the decision process. When a client has problems with their system, a few thoughts usually pop into mind right away:

 

How much is this going to cost!?

Is someone going to take advantage of me?

Can I trust this particular service provider?

From our perspective, we think we can overcome those concerns by making sure we’re thorough with the diagnosis. It’s not just a matter of carefully checking all the important points, but also communicating those points to a client so they can walk through with us and see exactly how we got to our conclusion. Without that all-important review of options and the reasons for recommendations, the question of whether or not they’re being taken advantage of isn’t answered.

Sometimes it’s easy for service providers (who work with plumbing or HVAC systems every day) to tell a homeowner that it’s in their best interest to replace a component, but  the homeowner wonders how they get to that conclusion, and does the homeowner have other options? I think it’s important to discuss the considerations between replacement and repair with the customer and provide them with enough useful information to make a final choice. Although we may ask a lot of questions, we might not be asking the right question. That might lead us to make assumptions about the client’s needs, or base our recommendation on something that will happen for them in the future. At the end of the day, the homeowner should make the best informed decision for their home—the decision really needs to stand in their control.

Buyer’s remorse is a real thing (even with plumbing). People often wish they had made a different decision, because they wish had known more details. This type of regret is based on not having enough information to make the best choice. We definitely want to prevent our clients from experiencing buyer’s remorse. When someone calls our company, before our technician goes to their home we do our best to be upfront about our fees and what they can expect out of a service visit. Once there, we want our service personnel to  diagnose the problem by going through a checklist of items, and explaining what’s going to happen in a little more detail so they know what to expect depending on the type of visit.

 

The technician walks the customer through the diagnosis and explains how they came to their conclusion. Then they write up about three to four different options with various price points and warranties (if applicable) for the client to choose from. The customer gets to make the best decision for their home. From there, we’ll keep them informed with details about how work is progressing and what equipment has been put in. Customers are active participants in the whole process so they understand exactly what’s going on in their home.

If you want an upfront and transparent team to guide you through resolving plumbing or HVAC issues, reach out to us today. Request an appointment, contact us, or give us a call at 540-483-9382.

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We’ve been learning quite a few business lessons during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Some of us have found ourselves in a less than favorable position, where it has become necessary to make strategic adjustments and become a little more fluid. Leaders, business owners, and people in general should look for the silver lining in situations like these. We can ask ourselves, “what can this teach me,” or “how can I become better?” There’s just a lot to think about now that everything has changed so quickly.

What we consider ‘normal’ is just so fragile.

What we know today could be completely different tomorrow or next week. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. So when we make our plans, we have to stay fluid and be able to adjust to a rapidly changing reality. I mentioned to our team how one of the strengths of a small business is the ability to adapt and stay fluid. Well, there’s no better time than now to put our adaptability to the test.

That brings me to something I realized about teams like ours: success is really only possible through a group of people. It can be so challenging if you’re by yourself or you don’t have anyone to help get through a rough time. For us, the sheer number of team members who stepped up and said, yes, we know what we need to do and we’re here to serve.

Sometimes you just don’t know what to do.

I look back to when the news broke about the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of us were trying to figure out what we were supposed to do next. There were even some people questioning whether any of this was real. Although we may not know what each new week will hold, I think it’s important to do the right thing. We all have the ability to help someone—it’s just a matter of figuring out how. It is important that we don’t confine ourselves (or limit our ability to help someone else) unless it’s absolutely necessary. During a crisis, we might get into survival mode, which usually doesn’t make room for helping others. We learned that there were many people who needed our help, and they were thankful that our team was able to assist wherever possible.

Even during times when there’s not much pressure, it’s a good idea to make sure we’re in a place where we do not become trapped.

That might mean running a lean business, being very conscious about sustainability, and being very careful about the risks taken. Just like that, those risks could turn upside down and really end up costing us dearly.   It is always good to make a contingency plan just in case. We did this before the pandemic, but we wish that maybe we would have done a little bit more.

Distance isn’t always the best solution.

There’s been talk about moving everything to an internet-based solution, but we feel that people still need people. As easy as it might seem to move all our interactions online—especially when we have the technology for videoconferencing and messaging—there’s still just something about personal face-to-face interaction that’s irreplaceable. I hope we can get back to that because it’s often much more meaningful than a phone call or a zoom meeting.

If you have any plumbing or HVAC related questions, request an appointment, contact us, or give us a call at 540-483-9382.

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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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