This past year saw many great companies and individuals profiled and discussed in each month’s issue of Cleaner. Enjoy the following insightful business advice from 2019.

“One of the reasons I decided to keep fewer technicians is because it’s easier to manage the technicians, and it’s easier to manage all the expenses. It’s not necessarily by having more technicians that you’re making more money.”

— Ray Ramirez, owner of General Plumbing and Rooter in Antioch, California

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“You definitely need to have a niche — your bread and butter — but you have to be able to diversify and do more than just one thing or you can’t make it in this world.”

— Chris Carlin, owner of C. Carlin Plumbing in Erie, Pennsylvania

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“Our customer support separates us from the competition. We always make sure a task is totally explained, step by step. We give them options, always — there being no end-all solution to a problem. We make sure a customer is comfortable with what is going on and what is being done and why.”

— Marc Watson, co-owner (along with father Jim Watson) of Royal Flush Plumbing in Seekonk, Massachusetts

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“We learned about what’s good business and not good business. One thing that really stuck with us is goal setting. We began to set 90-day goals; annual goals; three-, five- and 10-year goals. The goals keep us on track.”

— Gerard “Jerry” Robinson, part owner of Treasure Valley Plumbing and Drain Service in Fruitland, Idaho

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“I learned from a business consultant that group interviews allow you to see different things, like how applicants interact with their fellow applicants. It helps us spot people who want to work and will go the extra mile for our customers, as well as understand their values.”
— Jessie Cannizzaro, owner of Milestone Plumbing (along with minority owner Adam Curtis) in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin

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“I find attitude and character are more important than anything else. I can teach plumbing. I can’t teach work ethic and character. I’m looking for green guys who are wanting to get into the field and have a good work history and good character and good attitude.”

— Lance Smith, owner of L.D. Smith Plumbing in Indianapolis

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“Our company is like a wagon wheel, and our customers are the center hub. The spokes represent all the services those customers need. We are constantly examining all of those spokes and thinking about what we can add to make it easier for customers in terms of service and technology — give them maximum results with minimal effort on their part. Our motto is complete solutions. We want to surround customers with all the services they need to get their jobs done — take the headaches off their plates and manage them for them. ... Companies that fail to invest in new technologies and equipment, as well as their people, eventually get left behind. We have a desire to grow, and in order to grow, we have to be willing to invest in new technologies and people. You can’t have just one or the other — it has to be both.”

— Chris Biellier, vice president of environmental and strategic partnerships for Seneca Cos., the parent company of Seneca Waste Solutions, in Des Moines, Iowa

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“It all starts with employees. As (billionaire businessman) Richard Branson once said, worry about your employees first, because if you take care of your employees, they’ll take good care of your customers.”

— John Remstedt, owner (along with wife, Pam Remstedt) of Grease Masters in St. Charles, Missouri

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“Frequently there’s a cheap way and there’s the right way. We’re going to go ahead and tell the customer that. We’re going to be very open and honest — let the customer decide, and let our competitor try to do it. Then if they look bad, we look all that much better because we warned the customer on the front end. ... When you’re promising [customers] things that you don’t know you can deliver, you create unhappy customers. A lot of people do that because there’s money to be made. On the flip side, from a culture standpoint, if you’re going to send your field guys out there to do a job that’s impossible, they won’t like you very much.”

— Robert Kalbach III, owner of Utility Services Group in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania