As the year comes to a close, we take a look at some of the most popular stories on www.plumbermag.com. If you missed any of these, now is your chance to catch up.
10. Proactive Water Heater Upgrades That Will Earn Customers’ Loyalty
The next time you install or repair a water heater, look for additional recommendations you can make to customers that will increase the performance and safety of their unit. This article provided some ideas.
9. Plumber Uses Unique Direct Mail Tactic to Gain New Customers
When Lucas Elsing first started his plumbing business, he wanted to attack a target market of home-remodeling contractors. As this article explains, to stand out from competitors, he devised a unique approach for pitching his services that involved unusual items — mannequin feet.
8. Plumbing Myths That Persist Among Your Customers
We’ve come a long way since the introduction of indoor plumbing, but myths about it abound to this day. This article looked at some common myths that plumbing contractors can — and should — help dispel for their customers.
7. Do You Charge Enough For Your Services?
If you get complaints about pricing, don’t automatically assume it means customers want you to go as cheap as possible. The author of this article shared a story that provides some lessons on the matter.
6. Recruiting Women to the Plumbing Industry
Courtney Wilkinson, vice president of Benjamin Franklin Plumbing of Arlington in Texas, found her way to plumbing because it was the family business. She says she was lucky that her father made a concerted effort at educating her on all aspects of plumbing. But not everyone has that good fortune, and historically the industry has been less accessible to women. This article looked at how Wilkinson is trying to do her part to change that.
5. Texas Works to Recover From Plumbing Crisis
Atypical winter weather hit the state of Texas hard in February, cutting off power and heat to millions of people, which then took the form of an influx of plumbing problems, like frozen pipes, in the aftermath. A shortage of plumbers and materials made recovery particularly challenging.
4. Questions to Consider Before Purchasing Diagnostic Tools
Diagnostic equipment adds a valuable service to your offerings, but it’s important to do your research ahead of time so that you get exactly what you need. This article covered some questions you should be asking yourself before committing to a purchase.
3. Factors to Consider Before Upsizing Pipe
Contractors sometimes overdesign or overbuild things just to make sure there won’t be any problems with performance. Not necessarily a bad approach — and definitely better than doing the opposite — but sometimes it’s unnecessary and can waste money. This article looked at one such example — the oftentimes automatic move of upsizing when swapping out copper pipe for PEX.
2. Charging Call-Out Fees For Providing Estimates
Some customers won’t budge from their expectation that estimates should be provided for free, but you should never be afraid about properly valuing your time. That’s the viewpoint that this article argued for.
1. How to Avoid Common Shower Installation Mistakes
When it comes to shower installation and waterproofing, taking shortcuts can lead to disastrous results. The most-read article of the year covered tips on what to do, as well as what not to do, so that your customers don’t experience major problems down the line.
