Christa Limperis is the office manager for Chicago-area S&J Plumbing. That job title comes with a lot of duties.
Her responsibilities include customer service, dispatching, human resources, booking appointments for owner Joe Fuentes, and software applications. Oh, and volunteering company employees for community projects and supporting community programs.
Limperis ended up at S&J Plumbing because she worked with Fuentes at another plumbing house. They kept in touch after leaving that firm. When Fuentes started his plumbing company in Arlington Heights in 2016, she was his second hire.
“She added a tremendous amount of value to our company,” Fuentes says. “When I was a one-man operation, hiring her allowed me to focus more on customers. It allowed me to focus on growing the business and implementing processes for growth.”
The company has grown into a 15-employee plumbing house with plans underway to more than double that in the next few years. While the fast growth taxes the plumbing crews that serve residential customers in suburban Chicago, it also ratchets up the pressure on back-office staff. Fuentes recognizes the connection.
“It was a challenge for me to run a one-man shop,” he says. “Having someone in the office was so important. Without Christa, it would be impossible for the company to grow now. Without someone like her in the office, it would be impossible to get to the next level.”
In other words, behind every good plumber better be a good office manager.
Read more about S&J Plumbing in the May 2024 issue of Cleaner magazine.
