Giving Back Big

A California franchise chips in for its home community while also supporting other business owners in the corporate network
Giving Back Big

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It may seem unusual for a commercial fisherman and a stay-at-home mom to turn their lives upside down to start a plumbing and drain-cleaning business, but that’s exactly what Frank and Michelle Aliotti did in 2001. Ten years later, they are the CEO and CFO of a $1.6 million Mr. Rooter franchise in Santa Cruz, Calif.

While serving customers is their number one priority, it is the company’s emphasis on charity that sets it apart from other plumbers. This charitable philosophy not only helps support the community but also strengthens relationships with customers and staff.

 

Humble beginnings

Although they had no background in plumbing, Frank and Michelle knew they needed to make a change. “As a commercial fisherman, I was spending a lot of time away from my wife and children,” says Frank. “My brother-in-law started a Mr. Rooter franchise 7 years earlier. When I looked at his lifestyle – spending time at home with his family and being able to take an occasional vacation – I knew there was a better way to provide for my family.”

He started as a laborer and then worked as a technician for his brother-in-law’s operation. For several years, he learned the residential plumbing trade by getting his hands dirty. Then he and Michelle built their own Mr. Rooter franchise in Santa Cruz.

“Neither of us had any experience owning a business, but we knew we wanted something different for our family,” Michelle says. “We jokingly say we had an entrepreneurial seizure.”

The Aliottis were high school sweethearts and have now been together for 28 years. They have two children and live in a small community near Santa Cruz. Before they joined the Mr. Rooter family of franchisees, their lives were somewhat restricted to their town.

“Our lives were small. We had a small-town mentality,” Frank says. “But joining Mr. Rooter opened our eyes to the world. Now we’ve met many people and seen a lot of the world through annual Mr. Rooter conferences. Plus, we have achieved the level of “Top Gun” because we are in the top 10 percent for overall franchise performance. As Top Guns, we attend annual leadership summits in places like Costa Rica and Puerto Rico.”

The Aliottis are close friends with other Mr. Rooter franchise owners and see them socially as well as professionally. “This business brought us our best friends,” Michelle says.

When ramping up their business in 2001, the Aliottis had difficulty finding and keeping employees. People were hesitant to trust a new company with no established reputation, so to start, Frank was a technician, and Michelle answered the phones, and they both did the marketing. The many resources available through Mr. Rooter corporate and other franchisees helped to unload some of the burden.

Today, Mr. Rooter in Santa Cruz has 15 employees, most of whom have been on board for at least five years. The company maintains a family atmosphere – Michelle’s brother, Scott Richards, is operational field manager who has been with the company for eight years.

But the family mentality is about more than helping out relatives. Having family members involved in the business is an investment in employee longevity and dependability.

“Family always has your back,” Michelle says. “They care so much about the company and they want to see it succeed. They take it very personally and always have the company’s best interests at heart. In the end, we all want to see everyone be successful.”

 

Charitable philosophy

The Aliottis’ concern for people goes beyond their own office doors. At a 2009 conference of The Dwyer Group, parent company of Mr. Rooter, the Aliottis saw a presentation about Mr. Electric’s sponsorship of Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC). This inspired Michelle to contact the president of Mr. Rooter about getting involved, too. If each franchise made a contribution, she says, the result would make a big difference.

“Michelle insisted that we step up and embrace RMHC in a big way,” says Mary Thompson, president of Mr. Rooter Plumbing. “The Aliottis used their energy and leadership to bring this great program into place. They led a committee in creating the communications to other franchisees about how to participate in helping local RMHCs. Then they put their money where their mouth is and donated more than $5,000 to their local RMHC.”

Through the Aliottis’ initiative, The Dwyer Group is now a national sponsor for RMHC.

This charitable spirit is reflected in the franchise’s everyday activities. For example, Mr. Rooter in Santa Cruz partners with Mr. Rooter in Monterey to cook dinners for families at a Ronald McDonald House through a program called Meals for Munchkins. Also, Michelle is the Mr. Rooter representative of The Dwyer Group’s Partnership Team, supporting RMHC. Their objective is to provide leadership in creating ideas and resources to help motivate franchisees to develop meaningful relationships with their local RMHC chapter and houses.

In addition, Michelle volunteers at the front desk of a nearby Ronald McDonald House.

“Mr. Rooter makes it possible for me to spend part of a work day giving back to the community,” she says. “It’s a great feeling.” The company’s charitable philosophy has helped create a feeling of pride and unity among the team. Employees and their families have collected wish list items for Ronald McDonald Houses. Even customers have made donations when they heard about the initiative.

 

Supporting others

The Mr. Rooter family finds ways to extend charitable support within its own organization as well, and here again, the Aliottis pitch in. The Zees for Zees Fund provides financial aid to new franchisees to travel to Mr. Rooter conferences. The conferences allow people to network with other franchisees, solve problems and get ideas that can help their businesses. Last year, 250 franchisees raised more than $44,000 to help 25 people get to the annual convention.

The franchisees had their own creative ideas on how to raise funds. “In one silent auction, people bid on the chance to have the Mr. Rooter president come to their location and barbeque for the team,” Michelle says. “That kind of involvement really got people pumped up to contribute to the fund.”

 

Underground specialty

To differentiate itself from seven other large plumbing companies in the Santa Cruz area (population 264,000), Mr. Rooter specializes in underground work with facilities such as sewer laterals, water mains and storm drains. “We aren’t afraid to take on projects that other plumbers may not want to bid on,” Frank says.

The company uses the Perma-Liner cured-in-place lining system for up to 6-inch pipe. For pipe bursting, Mr. Rooter uses a TRIC Tools 30-ton unit, also for pipe up to six inches. The business is split: about three-quarters residential and one-quarter light commercial. The customer base is 75 percent repeat business, with an average of 200 calls per month.

The company runs a seven-truck operation with six technicians and four laborers. Each truck carries a Scooter video inspection system, Gorlitz mini hydro scrubber, and Gorlitz cable machines. The fleet also includes a US Jetting trailer-mounted waterjetter, a Big Tex hydraulic dump trailer, an L45 Kubota backhoe on a trailer, and a Sullair diesel air compressor for operating the jackhammer.

 

Tough projects

Last year, a project at Cabrillo College in Aptos, Calif., was particularly challenging due to badly decomposed pipe. The team kept digging 10-foot sections until they found a section of pipe that was in good shape to attach to and blow Perma-Liner into it. They installed approximately 70 feet of Perma-Liner. For the remainder of the job, the team used the pipe bursting method, using a TRIC Tools system to install 4-inch polyethylene pipe. In all, the project involved digging a trench 11 feet deep and 60 feet long.

A job at the Department of Justice crime lab in Santa Cruz called for a new sewer line through the building, tied into bathrooms and multiple drains in the laboratory. To prevent contamination of the crime lab, technicians had to create a dust-proof room around the work areas. “That job took a lot of planning beforehand, but it went very smoothly and took less than two weeks to complete,” Frank says.

To new companies just starting a Mr. Rooter business, Frank Aliotti’s recommendation is simple: Never give up. “Really get to know other franchisees because they hold a wealth of information,” he says. “Everyone is willing to provide advice, invite you to their shops and tell you what works for them. The Mr. Rooter franchise is the reason we have been so successful. It’s a good life and a great business.”



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