Many business executives say they’re all about customer service. But that isn’t always reflected in their actions. But Western Rooter & Plumbing CEO John Bottala “walks the talk.” He makes sure the California company he leads — serving Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties — embodies a customer satisfaction ethos through and through.

An interaction he had just prior to doing the interview for this article says it all. 

“A customer literally just walked in and gave me a hug and brownies and wine because she had three other companies [at her home] trying to rip her off for a drain blockage repair job. I did the job for $20,000 less than anybody else in the area. It cost $3,800 for us to get her sewer pipe restored and flowing. She was really happy.”

How did Western Rooter & Plumbing manage to charge so much less than the competition?

“The other three quotes that this woman got were from ‘tech lead generations,’ meaning their on-site technician brought in a sales guy to try to sell her everything under the sun,” Bottala says. “In contrast, I just quoted her for the actual work that was needed and nothing more. My technician then exposed the sewer, used a Picote machine to descale it, jetted it out and then put in a new two-way clean-out. The problem was solved for a fair price, and the customer was very satisfied and grateful. That’s just the way we do business at Western Rooter & Plumbing.”

Growing brick by brick

Western Rooter & Plumbing opened its doors in 1981 in Arcadia, California. Mike Glenn established the company as a full-service drain cleaning company. In 2003, Bottala’s father Larry bought a 50% share in Western Rooter and helped it expand into plumbing. They are still working together today as partners.

Bottala joined Western Rooter around 2010-11 and did a little bit of everything, he says.

“I helped out with the jetter, did maintenance and worked around the office. At that time I was at the University of La Verne, getting my degree in internet marketing with a PR emphasis. While there, I had a class assignment to take what I learned in class and implement it in a company. So I implemented my knowledge within Western Rooter, working on our website and improving communications with our customers because that was something that we were not doing effectively.”

At the time, Western Rooter & Plumbing was a small business with only five technicians on staff.

With Bottala’s help and buy-in from the rest of the company, “we worked collectively as a unit and, brick by brick, we grew our business,” he says. 

After college graduation, Bottala worked at Western Rooter, as well as on his own, while obtaining his certifications in the field.

“It was brought to my attention that a lot of the guys within the company wanted me to stay and become their leader,” he says. “So I became CEO, and I’m glad I did, because I love this business.” 

Services galore

As its name suggests, Western Rooter & Plumbing offers a wide range of services to its Southern California clientele. Camera inspections, drain cleaning, jetting and trenchless sewer repair make up half of the company’s service offerings. On the plumbing side, Western Rooter offers commercial and residential plumbing services (including a 24/7 emergency hotline), and water heater installations and repairs. The company also does emergency gas valve shut-off service, garbage disposal/grease trap installations and service, gas leak detection and repair, septic tank pumping and repair, sprinkler system installations and repair, and sump pump installations and repair.

Western Rooter’s equipment lineup includes a Davidson Tank pump truck, six US Jetting jetters, a trailer-mounted JETTERS NORTHWEST Eagle 200 jetter, an array of ENZ, Hydra-Flex Reaper and Warthog nozzles, the entire lineup of Gorlitz sewer cleaning machines, and RIDGID SeeSnake inspection cameras.

“We also have Picote descalers, Renssi drain cleaning machines, Perma-Liner trenchless repair equipment and Milwaukee pro press tools and press technology,” Bottala says.

On the personnel side, Western Rooter & Plumbing has grown from five to 38 technicians.

“We also have about 15 apprentices,” Bottala says. “We have an in-house apprentice program, so we train within. We hold regular training sessions to brief all of our people on new technology, and send the apprentices out with our technicians during the week so they can train to become service techs themselves.”

Customer conscious

Western Rooter & Plumbing is truly committed to customer service. This includes offering fair prices and honest service, and being the kind of company that people will return to again and again.

“I think it starts with answering the phone,” Bottala says. “When you answer the phone, that’s your first interaction with the customer. A lot of people use call centers and AI answering services because it’s more cost-effective. But I believe that when somebody calls your number, your actual people need to answer the phone. When they do so, they can engage with the customer: ‘Hey, Mr. Smith, how are you doing?’ That’s what builds relationships.”

Once the customer has booked a service call, it is vital for the technician to show up on time.

“If you tell the customer from 9 to 11 a.m., you better be there between 9 and 11 a.m.,” Bottala says.

To help manage service calls, Western Rooter & Plumbing uses the Housecall Pro field service management system.

“Housecall Pro is a magnificent customer service platform,” Bottala says. “It has texting, phone calls and emails, and they’ve made it so cost-effective for all tradesmen and home service people to really step up their game.”

Once on site, Western Rooter & Plumbing delivers on its customer service commitment through professional, prompt service from well-dressed and polite technicians driving clean and presentable vehicles.

“We want to be your rooting and plumbing teammate,” Bottala says. “We want to be seen as a reputable and trustworthy company that does not have sales quotas, that you can call and get your line snaked for $150. We want to be good people, serving good people.”

Building a strong team

A belief in customer service means nothing unless it is shared by a company’s employees. Bottala knows this. That’s why Western Rooter & Plumbing treats its people well.

“Retaining good employees is very hard, so you have to motivate them to stay,” Bottala says. “Obviously, paying what people are worth matters. But so does giving them flexibility to be with their family and friends, and to take time off for their kids.”

That said, Western Rooter & Plumbing is still careful with its hiring practices.

“I don’t always take the most talented plumber in the room,” Bottala says. “I take the one with the best attitude who wants to actually learn and be part of the team.” 

Western Rooter & Plumbing has a solid reputation among the local workforce, so much so that Bottala says he doesn’t have to post help wanted ads.

“I actually had two people come in and look for apprenticeship programs because they liked our culture,” Bottala says. “People come to us.”

Bottala says he also believes in leading by example, to motivate employees to do their best.

“Some owners start a business because they personally don’t want to work anymore,” Bottala says. “They want everybody else to do the heavy lifting while they, as owners, collect the profits and do nothing else. At Western Rooter & Plumbing, we don’t work that way. Take me as CEO. I’m boots on the ground. I’m in the office every single day, and I’m working hard. When employees see a leader working hard, I think they tend to hang around more because they feel respected.”

Old-school mentality

In an age where many companies are putting profits over people by overselling to customers while undervaluing staff to cut costs, Western Rooter & Plumbing is keeping it “old-school” — emphasizing fair prices, honest customer service and treating staff as valued employees who deserve good wages.

“The whole thing is that Western Rooter & Plumbing is here to last,” Bottala says. “I’m not here to sell for selling’s sake. I’m here to build a trusted, successful company with lots of repeat business. I’m here to manage a skilled and happy workforce where my service techs are able to buy homes in the area, send their kids to private schools and go on vacations. To me, this is what leading a business is all about.”

At the same time, Bottala says he wants to do whatever he can to keep Western Rooter & Plumbing growing.

“There’s so much technology like Housecall Pro that is allowing us to streamline and tweak our processes to improve our customer service,” he says. “You need to be open-minded about all the changes coming along and embrace the best of them. For instance, years ago we didn’t have sewer liners. They’ve transformed the business, saving customers thousands of dollars by shooting a liner instead of opening up the streets. That’s the kind of change that has kept Western Rooter & Plumbing growing and succeeding. That’s the kind of change I am always on the lookout for, to make things better for our customers, our employees and our company.”