John Haughwout markets his Free Flow Plumbing company with the same elan he brings to a door when answering a service call. That is, there are plays on words on his website and quips in conversation with customers. The Solon, Ohio, business owner is a people person and his marketing reflects that focus.
A favorite treat customers receive every year is a wry Christmas card. One year it featured the Haughwout family — mother, father, daughter and son — dressed in festive holiday garb and standing around a toilet with a tinsel Christmas decoration sprouting from the bowl. They were flush with holiday spirit!
Haughwout tells with glee of the time he returned to a customer’s home to fix a new plumbing issue. He was delighted to spot on the home's refrigerator the Free Flow Christmas card sent months prior. The card was the solitary decoration. “It was the only thing on the refrigerator door and I thought that was great,” Haughwout says.
Then there was the time Haughwout and his wife attended the Blossom Time parade in nearby Chagrin Falls, Ohio, one part of an annual community celebration that includes a carnival and food stands. “All these trucks were passing by with bales of hay and people on them. It struck me that this was a great opportunity to make a parade float that people would remember.”
The following year, the Free Flow Plumbing parade entry was a memorable part of the parade. Behind his “beautiful truck,” Haughwout pulled a long flatbed trailer featuring two winged pipe wrenches — one pink — seemingly suspended in the air with his wife and daughter each flying one. Parade viewers undoubtedly had never before seen anything like it.
Bottom line: Free Flow Plumbing is a business. Haughwout isn’t a carnival barker or a clown. The credo that really counts for the company is its pledge to arrive as quickly as possible after a customer calls and to do a first-rate job fixing a problem. Some random examples of numerous online reviews suggest the owner has his priorities straight:
Reads one: “Everything went fine. The most intelligent and capable plumber I’ve ever met. I’d recommend him highly.”
And a second: “John and his crew are real artists. Their work is superior, and they are really pleasant to work with. I’m so glad I found them.”
Read more about Free Flow Plumbing in the December 2024 issue of Plumber magazine.
