WORKING AT ABC PLUMBING & ROOTER

Excerpts from the report given
by Sherri L. Stephenson,
Business/Operations Coordinator:

You hear a lot about 'corporate culture' and the way big business operates. The benefits of working for an industry leader usually can’t be matched. The worldwide name recognition of Motorola or Intel is priceless. It is assumed that the employees are well taken care of, the list of perks goes on and on, and there is a general sense of security in the fact the company is a ''mover and shaker.' However, you can easily get lost and become just a payroll number to everyone above your immediate supervisor.

Then you hear about small business, Mom and Pop establishments whose primary goal is to offer a community their very best product or service. Usually the names of these establishments don’t make it further than the neighboring towns, but that’s OK; their local reputation is more priceless to them than any amount of worldwide recognition. Their employees are focused more on customer service. They are known well and cared for by their employers.

We at ABC Plumbing and Rooter Co., Inc. are very fortunate to work for a company that is a perfect blend of these two types of companies. We are blessed to be treated like stockholders and family members at the same time. Every February, we are treated to a wonderful banquet at a local resort. This isn’t just for the heck of it, though. This annual banquet gives the Executive Team the opportunity to remind us of our goals for the previous year, share with us that we once again exceeded all our goals and announce the goals for the coming year. Granted, some of the speeches can get a little dry, especially for those of us who are more technically-inclined than financially-inclined, but where else will you find everyone on the totem pole invited to share in the information given at this function? This gives all of us a sense of responsibility. We are all aware of where we are, where we are going and what we need to do to get there.

Every Friday morning is our Technical Meeting. Topics include introduction of the latest advances in our industry and how we can implement them to better serve our customers, a review of parts and warranties and a review of challenging jobs we have completed, sharing the information with all technicians for their future reference. A portion of our meeting is devoted to Safety, with a different topic each week. We want our technicians to be safe in the field and want to make sure they have all the information they need to stay that way. We close each meeting with a speech... about everything from personal finances to trivia to “word of the week”. There is always a message, no matter how it is presented, about you and how you can enrich your personal life. I have worked in the corporate world all of my adult life and this is the first company I have worked for that truly understands the correlation between an employee’s personal life and their performance at work, and takes steps above and beyond the typical EAP to improve both.

We have been honored by local organizations for our business acumen and ethics. We were awarded the 2006 Small Business of the Year by the Chandler Chamber of Commerce and recently received the distinction of being a finalist in our category (1-10 employees) for the 2007 BBB Business Ethics Award for the Northern/Central Arizona Better Business Bureau. I believe there were over 15,000 companies in our category alone up for this honor. We are one of three finalists.