A Lesson From An Emergency Plumber

Hello, What can I do for you?
True story.

Last winter one of my employees moves from a high-rise condo in the city to a log home in the country. A beautiful home with a learning curve. It has a septic system. A high pressure water well. A basement full of strange tanks and levers.

Keep reading. The story has a twist.

One day she hires a plumber. He installs a rough-in for a future laundry room. When the job is done, she pays him in cash. But, at 8 p.m. she hears water gushing in the basement.The basement is filling with water – fast.

She turns the “water shut off valve” but the water keeps coming in. She calls her Plumber’s 24-hour emergency service line. It’s only an answering service. No plumbers are available until tomorrow.

Next, she “Googles 24-hour, emergency plumbing.” Three local companies come up. Two don’t answer. And the 3rd just says he doesn’t do emergency calls.

She remembers Ron, from Culligan Water. He tested her water quality and told her to call if she needs anything. “Call me even if you want to know where to get the best steak, etc.” And, so she did. Late Friday night, right in the middle of Leaf’s game, Ron takes her call. He walks her through the process of stopping the water flowing into her basement.
Ron said, “I’m here to help you”, and he meant it.

My employee ends her story with: “That’s how you are Jason. You’re like Ron. You say you are there to help and you are. That’s how you are with your mother-in-law, your clients, your kids…It’s nice.”

I secretly liked her compliment because it’s who I most want to be: A great friend. Someone you can count on. So, stay with me, there is more.

Last Friday night, a client calls. She hopes to book us for a job the next morning! I was slammed with work (thank goodness) and my teams were fully booked. Also, this job was “small” and “not what we usually do.”

But she was in a bind, and likely under great pressure to deliver so we went to work to help her. It turns out, we could fit her in. It wasn’t a money-making job.

It was a job to help a client who – by hiring us in the past – had already helped us.

I’ll end with this note and a comment for you.

Being a friend when times are great is easy. You need a friend most when times are challenging.

Now you know that I mean it when I ask: What do you need? How can I help? Keep my contact info handy. I am looking forward to that call.