Yesterday I went on site to watch one of our team skillfully drive a 5 tonne excavator.
Big boys playing with big toys.
The job of a plumber isn’t just the typical stereotype of a bloke with his hands stuck down a toilet….even the equipment and technology used these days is a far cry from that image.
This week we are performing a dig up to rectify a boundary trap that has collapsed. The boundary trap is made of old earthenware and is approximately 3M deep.
Safety first. Safety equipment is used to ensure our team and the community are kept safe.
But yesterday didn’t just happen by fluke or luck. There has been days of frustration due to broken promises, lies and plenty of disappointment.
This led us to re-adjust our thinking, change the way we look at situations and find a solution to bring the very best service to our clients and keep scheduling and quality control in house.
Not all companies actually perform the works they have quoted. Sub-contracting work out is common place in the construction industry and truth be told, not all companies have the knowledge, expertise, resources and infrastructure to perform bigger jobs like the one we are performing in-house.
There was a time earlier this year that we requested a job to be sub-contracted out to a contractor we had a previous relationship with and knew that the final product was going to meet our high quality standards. We had spent lots of time with the customer, quoted the works and won the job. Next step was to lock down the sub-contractor to begin works, something that is out of our control regarding their availability and timeframe.
We eventually locked the contractor down to a day and time and notified our client.
That day and time came and went…no sign of the contractor and although we had attempted several times to make contact – nothing. we got crickets.
Eventually we received a text notifying from the contractor letting us know that due to personal reasons he would not be undertaking any more work and closing his business down. We had lots of little lies from this contractor before, but none so bold.
Communication and integrity are two of our core and they had both been compromised.
We then contacted our network and was connected to another plumber who we spoke to. We told him the job is his he just need to re-quote it and turn up. I think he actually did a site visit, but no quote and no communication. Again disappointment. This is how tradespeople get a bad reputation for not turning up or not sending the quote through. The most simplest thing to do is just turn up – on time would be better. This is something we have been doing for nearly 15 years.
The customer we had made promises to is a very good customer and we always fulfil on our promises. So we told her that we would sort it out.
We went about and figured it out. Safety equipment. Excavation. Resources. Time. Manpower. We got the job done and it was perfect. Their home was left as though we were never there. A very proud moment for us as we came together, worked as a team and got the job done. We learnt lessons along the way and admittedly did not make any money on the job, but great lessons lead to a better service for our customers in the future.
A few weeks passed and we were driving along the road when we pulled up at a set of red traffic lights. Next to our car on our left was a truck with two guys in it that belonged to the contractor whose business was apparently closing down. So we rolled down our window and asked if “Bob” was working and the business was still up and running. To which we received the answer of “yeah of course”.
So, “Bob” we want to thank you. Thank you for providing us with the opportunity to step up and grow our business by offering our customers great service with full control of quality in-house and prompt scheduling without the need to coordinate and rely on a sub-contractor.
By keeping drainage works in house it allows us to provide our customers with a full end-to-end service. We keep drainage machines, high pressure water jetters and drainage cameras in our vehicles and are ready for all your blocked drain, collapsed sewers, stormwater repairs and replacements and have the ability to re-line patches of drains as well.
Be careful when engaging a company to undertake major works like this. Here are 5 things to keep in mind:
- Is the company you have engaged undertaking the works?
- How will quality control be handled if they are not?
- Is everything included in the quotation ie excavation, safety, reinstate of concrete?
- Is the company fully licensed and insured?
- How long has the company been operating for – will they answer their phone when something goes wrong?
Our team have a combined 35+ years of experience in all areas of drain repairs and replacements and customers have the benefit of not waiting weeks to get their problems fixed.
We can also put you in touch with our happy customers who have drainage works completed for peace of mind. We conduct these major works for residential, light commercial and body corporate clients.
