When you brand your business with a bright yellow rubber duck in Wisconsin’s Northwoods, it sticks out like a drain cleaner working in a three-piece suit. And that’s exactly why you’ll see the cute little ducks on sleek service vans owned by Frasier’s Plumbing, Heating, Cooling & Electrical in Rhinelander, Wis.
Locals call those vehicles “the duck trucks.”
“There are more than 100 plumbing and heating contractors in our area, so it’s easy to get lost in the crowd,” notes Phil Frasier, whose fourth-generation, family-owned company serves customers within a 60-mile radius of Rhinelander. “Plus, we have a very transient population up here, so new residents don’t always know who to call.”
So when a designer asked Frasier to select graphics for the sides of his company’s aerodynamic Aerocell SRW van bodies, made by Unicell Body Co., he zeroed in on the yellow duck.
People business
“There’s a big push in our industry to market to women and families, so everyone’s putting people on trucks,” Frasier says. “We were ready to use people, just like everyone else, but then decided to try and really brand the company. When that little duck came up, we all said, ‘That’s it. No one’s doing anything like this.’ Putting that duck on the trucks really transformed our business. People around here know the duck trucks more than they know the name of the company.”
To leverage the brand identity, technicians give every residential customer a rubber duck refrigerator magnet and notepad. Technicians also hand out small rubber ducks to children on service calls. A duck mascot represents Frasier’s at parades, home shows and special events.
Moreover, any customer who spends more than $2,000 on a job (about 55 percent of the company work is plumbing and drain cleaning) receives one pound of fresh fudge, adorned with – what else – a yellow rubber duck. And the company’s regional toll-free telephone number is 866-YELLOW DUCK.
Functional, too
The company’s 11 leased vans, built on Ford E-350 chassis (2003, 2005 and 2006 models), are more than rolling billboards. The vans, seven with gasoline engines and four with diesels, also are highly durable with low operating and maintenance costs.
“Around here, the washboard roads and winter weather are really tough on trucks that carry heavy loads,” Frasier says. “Because the van bodies are made of one-piece molded fiberglass with a gel coat, they’re easier to keep clean, and there aren’t any cracks or crevices where mud and salt can collect. Plus we have no rust issues at all. If we have to replace an engine or a transmission, that’s much better than replacing an entire truck every three or four years because the body is worn out.”
The vans also drastically cut fuel costs: They get 13 to 17 miles per gallon, compared to 4 to 6 for the GMC box vans they replaced. “Between reduced maintenance and fuel costs, we save about $75,000 a year,” Frasier says. “With that savings, we’ve already paid off half of the truck leases.”
Lots of space
Frasier technicians enjoy the van’s spacious headroom, translucent ceilings and the adjustable shelving and storage system from Hackney USA. Each truck can hold two RIDGID sectional drain machines (K-1550s and K-50s) from Ridge Tool Co. and carries $10,000 worth of plumbing parts inventory, as well as a water heater. Each van also has space to haul one of two waterjetters (Spartan Tool and Water Cannon).
“Our guys need everything from toilets to water heaters to sewer machines,” Frasier says. “These vans can hold any or all of them, and there’s still plenty of room.” Some 55 percent of the business revolves around plumbing and drain cleaning.
Great customer service has kept the company in business for almost 90 years, but Frasier knows that’s not always enough to make the firm stand out in a crowded field. The bright little rubber duck and those sleek service vans do the rest.
