Why Should You Offer Customers Pipe Rehabilitation?

The author makes the case for giving clients a pipe rehab option, even if regular drain cleaning jobs for those clients are providing a lot of stable work

Why Should You Offer Customers Pipe Rehabilitation?

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“I bought a jetter several years ago and it’s the only tool I need to keep sewers flowing. I think that the money these guys charge to line or pipe burst old sewers is just a waste of money. I charge a flat rate of $350 to open a sewer line and run about 10 jobs per day. I make a good living doing it, and my customers save a lot of money over having their sewer lines ‘rehabilitated.’ Why would I ever need to push lining or pipe bursting that costs thousands?”

Certainly a jetter is a great tool for opening a line as well as cleaning the line. Most of our customers have jetting equipment. Many contractors choose a path they know and follow that path because they understand it and know it, but competition can often change plans.

If you’ve been serving a customer for years and an ongoing root problem keeps expanding (as it does with roots that grow larger and larger over the years), customers begin to think about alternatives to having their roots removed periodically – especially if the frequency is accelerating. Most people know how their sewer was originally installed by digging a trench and laying a new sewer line and they dread the thought of the mess of redoing that process. They do start looking at costs and begin comparing the expense of fixing the problem to the inconvenience of having you show up more often to clean the line.

When a competitor offers a non-invasive method to give them a new sewer without digging up the yard, their ears perk up and they listen. With a new alternative they go through the same process of comparing its costs versus the continuing cycle of sewer backups and cleanup.

If you’ve lost some of your customers to competitors offering pipe rehab as a more permanent solution to continued sewer backups, eventually you will lose your revenue base and will need to replace it. The reason you need to look at and offer alternatives to drain cleaning is to maintain your customer base and grow your business.

About the Author

John Heisler is the owner of Pipe Lining Supply and Quik-Lining Systems. He has more than 20 years of experience in the CIPP lining industry and 40-plus years in the underground construction industry.



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