Latest / The Home Service Heartbeat Podcast / He Started a Plumbing Business With Almost No Money. Here's What He Learned | Drake Todaro of of Calm Waters Plumbing

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He Started a Plumbing Business With Almost No Money. Here's What He Learned | Drake Todaro of of Calm Waters Plumbing · The Home Service Heartbeat Podcast

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Hello, everyone, and welcome to this episode of the Home Service Heartbeat Podcast.
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Joe Cressera, and today we're excited to be joined by Drake Tadero from Calmwaters Plumbing from College Station, Texas.
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_00: Drake, thank you so much for joining us today.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_00: I'm thrilled to have you on our show.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for having me, Joe.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_00: Excited to be here.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I'm excited for you to be here too.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: Uh let's start by just sharing a little bit about how you got started in the service industry and what led you to your leadership role over at Calmwaters Plumbing in College Station, Texas.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_01: So I got into plumbing real quick at 18, and I was working for some decent companies, but I just thought we could bring a better customer experience to the table.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_01: I thought that was something I could provide.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_01: So I gave it a shot, and here we are five years later.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_00: But how long have you been in the plumbing industry for uh Drake?
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: 14 years.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: 14 years?
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: But then there came a time where you said, I'm gonna start my own business.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: What was the uh reason behind that?
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_00: What was the what was the thing, a driving force that said, you know what?
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: I I I think I've done enough working for other people.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_00: I think I'm gonna start something myself here.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_00: What was the uh motivation to do that?
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: What motivated you to do that?
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_01: I just thought I could make something that brought a better customer experience and um also was really good for the technician.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_01: So I wanted to make a really good culture and just create a great technician and customer experience altogether.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_00: Well, that's great.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_00: So, what were the biggest challenges though as you grow?
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, you go from a thing where you start at the company.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_00: Did you start by yourself or did you have uh a lot of money?
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: Was it was a lot of money you could uh put into this, or was it more sweat equity?
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: How did how did you originally grow this thing?
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_00: Would you start by yourself or did you have a lot of employees when you started?
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_01: Yo, I started this company with negative money and uh a standard 94 GMC pickup that broke down on me once a week.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_01: That's what I did.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_00: But uh pickup truck that didn't work very well, and you had your tools, which probably had good tools.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_01: What I didn't have, what I didn't have, I was buying from Home Depot and I was returning right after the job until I could afford to buy them.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_01: That's that's how we were doing it starting out.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_01: It was pretty crazy.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: That's really cool.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_00: Well, tell us about the journey you took, and uh obviously what was what was the biggest challenge you faced while you were growing it?
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_00: Like what what what could what could you say if uh man, I I didn't know that this would be the way a problem when I first run uh got a business like this.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_00: What were some of the challenges that a business like yours faces as you're trying to serve the public out there in College Station, Texas?
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_01: 100%.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I think one of the biggest challenges you know we faced was I would say at first it's recruiting, getting guys to buy into your vision, especially when you may not have a lot to show for it.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_01: So recruiting was was interesting.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_01: Uh building culture, I would say, is another big one.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_01: So that's that was a challenge.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_01: Um you just got to paint the vision for the guys, though, you know, and and believe in it more than than any other person on the planet.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_00: So um it's when did you first hear the word culture?
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_00: Because that is a very popular word in today's uh, you know, the way people talk in the service industry, you know.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: But uh when did that realize that, you know, is is a big is a big picture problem.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_00: Like even when I have an employee, uh they're kind of changing the culture of the company.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_00: They're not uh helping me build something here, they're kind of taking it away.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_00: And uh when did you first realize that word culture was an important word for the company?
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_01: Um I would say it's a mix between my my first mentorship that I had.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_01: It was something that was talked about a lot.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and they would say things and it would make sense about six months later.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_01: And I would just see how you know the right kind of guy really makes a big difference at the company and positive attitude and character is so huge, and it just really infects everything around it.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_01: So we should we strive to go that direction as you know as quick as possible.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: Well, you know, to me, culture means that the company has boundaries that um you perform in a certain way, and the rest of the rest of the employees, not just you, but everybody who works there maintains those boundaries to protect uh the client against employees who are against employees and others who don't do the things that we say we're gonna do.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_00: You know, saying we're gonna do something a certain way and doing it are two different things.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_00: The culture supports it or tears it down in a way.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_00: Does that make sense, Drake?
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_00: So tell me about um, you know, uh, you know, when you do look at something like that, um, what are some of the what are some of the things that are non-negotiables?
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_00: Like if you hire Palm Waters Plumbing, you're always gonna, you're we're designing this company to get to X.
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_00: What would be if I was a client, if I was a client, what are some things that for you and your culture are non-negotiables that you're not gonna, you're not gonna uh you're not gonna go past these boundaries or allow something other than that that are non-negotiable.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_00: What are some non-negotiables you could say are part of the culture?
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so you know, showing up on time, getting the jobs on time, right?
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_01: Um, putting the customer first always.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but one thing I really do when I'm hiring or training, you know, is, you know, would I would I send this technician to my grandmother, you know, is a question I ask.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_01: You know, what would I send her to my grandmother's home, you know, do I trust that guy there?
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_01: That's a big question I ask in the hiring process.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_01: And as I'm training the guy, just kind of looking at that.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_01: But um as far as creating culture amongst the technicians, it's showing up before them.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_01: It's high-fiving guys, it's getting them ready to go.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_01: It's, you know, preaching our values each and every day and just getting that buy-in each and every day from technicians.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_00: That's really great.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_00: Well, tell us about a key moment where you realized this uh strategy and the culture was actually working.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_00: Is there any kind of customers or maybe go back in time?
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_00: It's like, yeah, here's where I had my first customer who came in and told me or who put pulled me off to the side and called me and said, Hey, you know what, Drake?
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_00: I think you might be onto something.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_00: Uh this is actually this is actually a really good experience.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, do you remember the first customer?
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: I think sometimes I remember I remember some people back in my day, they used to have like a dollar bill hanging on the wall.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_00: What's that?
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_00: And it's like that's the first dollar I ever made.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like, man, uh, I didn't I if I only made one dollar in a call, I couldn't couldn't survive.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_00: I said, I don't sure would you pick the one dollar out of all that, or why'd you do that?
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_00: So anyway, but tell us about a story.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe a customer gave me feedback or somebody who came in and said, you know, Drake, I think you're on the right track with this business.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_00: Any stories you could tell us there?
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_01: I've actually had several, you know, uh, customers, you know, reviews.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_01: But as far as in person, you know, I like to go around and check on some of our bigger jobs.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_01: And when a client just I had a customer and she lived a little bit further outside of town, she couldn't get plumbers out.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_01: You know, people wouldn't return our call.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I guess it was a little bit of a drive, but she said, you know, you guys came out here same day, you did the work same day.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_01: I knew the pricing up front.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_01: The technician was respectful and he cleaned up after himself.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_01: My home smelled better when he left.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_01: And she said, I just couldn't even fathom, you know, that that a plumbing experience could be like that.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_01: And that's when I said, okay, you know, we can offer something that maybe most companies don't, and at least in our market.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_01: And it's it's it's awesome.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_00: So so you have like the the people.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_00: So when you see when you get how important is client feedback to knowing you're on track here for you, Drake, what would you say?
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, 100%.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_01: 100%.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_01: Um, because it you don't just want a customer one time, you don't want to market to new customers each and every day.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_01: That that customer retention and getting their positive and negative feedback, one helps you make your business better, and two, lets you know what's working right and what you need to reinforce more.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_01: It's it's huge.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_01: It's everything.
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_00: Well, let's talk a little bit, let's move a little farther down the road here, Drake.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_00: And let's talk about um uh you know what kind of a client?
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_00: You know, there's different kinds of you know, people in the public.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_00: You know, some people are looking to go to Home Depot and buy their own stuff, like you mentioned, and uh just do things themselves.
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_00: There's other people who value a service like yours.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_00: Uh what's what's like if I was a client, how would I know that Calm Waters is going to be a good company for me?
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_00: Because there's some people just looking for the lowest price, some people looking to do it themselves and just get information.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_00: And some people actually want you to do the whole job and uh to do it for them.
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, what what would you say the best kind of client would be for you if you if I it's uh how would I be able to evaluate myself as a client, knowing that if I'm gonna work with Calm Waters, uh I better, I better believe in this when I hire you.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_00: What do you think it would be?
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I'd like to start on that subject by saying, you know, we do offer tiered options to try to fit your budget, right?
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_01: You know, um, and offer payment plans.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_01: So if if payment is an issue, you know, we have ways to to assist you with that.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_01: Always offer options.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_01: But at the same time, an ideal customer for us is someone who sees their home as an investment, um, someone who wants peace of mind, you want it done right the first time, and you want your warranties to actually cover your system, right?
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_01: You want a company that does what they say they're gonna do, be where they're supposed to be, and treat your home respectfully.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_01: Um, someone who wants to know that their kids are around, a guy who's been through background checks, drug tests, all that good stuff, and just feel safe and have a good, peaceful experience.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I noticed that a lot of the uh reviews, as I looked into your uh five-star reviews, you're at 4.9, which is pretty darn high.
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_00: If you don't have at least a couple people who were uh you know disappointed, you gotta at least have one or two, right?
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_00: Because I think if there's no no no bad reviews, you're not getting really honest feedback, right?
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_00: So um tell us about uh the people because I noticed the people are into the reviews.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of times they mention the people in the company and so forth.
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_00: Um so when you hire people, uh when you look at that kind of a thing, what qualities do you look for when you're hiring uh the people to work for Calmwater's bombing?
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, first and foremost, like back to the grandmother question.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_01: You know, will I send this guy my grandmother's house?
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_01: Will I feel comfortable doing that?
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_01: Do I think she's gonna be well taken care of?
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_01: So, first question.
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_01: Second question I ask myself is does the guy have goals?
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_01: Right?
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_01: Is he craving more than what he currently has?
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_01: Does he have a little bit?
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_01: Um, does he want a better life for himself?
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_01: That's a real question, you know, because I don't with the way our culture is, you know, we have a very um we have a culture that really, really um engages high performance and the guys there kind of self-police.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_01: So when we look for guys, we look for guys that are gonna fit that culture, guess you.
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_00: When you say high performance, um that can mean a various, it's a very vague term that could mean a bunch of different things.
• 10:57
  SPEAKER_00: Like he sells a lot of stuff, is high performance, or he performs at a high level when he does the work.
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, tell us um the balance between uh, you know, this you can't be you can't be successful.
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_00: There isn't gonna be a transaction that takes place, um, but there's also a personal relationship you create with customers.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, what's the balance that Calm Waters has in those two kind of categories between the transaction and uh making money from this job or you know, making sure the client and the relationship we forge with the client is good as well there too.
• 11:31
  SPEAKER_00: Tell us about the different uh the balance you put on this thing and is are you willing to invest in the relationship with your clients?
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_00: Tell me about that.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, sir.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_01: So high performance is a very vague term.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_01: You know, we have guys who go in the field and communicate with customers.
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_01: For those guys, we're looking for high-level communicators, guys who are um, you know, really care about building relationships with the customers, figuring out, you know, exactly what they're wanting in their home, doing a full system diagnostic and really just building the relationship with the customers, figuring out what it is they want and building them options, and then um getting, you know, guiding the customer through that process, right?
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_01: We also have guys that are just extremely good plumbers and they do not um maybe they're not the best communicators as far as the front end of the job, but on the back end, you know, performing the work, you know, we look for guys who install everything according to code, right?
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_01: Uh pass inspections first time, right?
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_01: Don't have callbacks, stuff like that.
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_01: So high performance, you know, is a big term, but we look for high performers in the field and high performers as far as relationship building goes and communication goes.
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, the community communication is one of the, I say for every plumber who loses their job because they're not a good worker, there's eight plumber, eight plumbers who lose their job because they can't communicate with the client or co-workers.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_00: Uh it might be that's the truth I believe in.
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_00: How much training?
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_00: Like, do you have to be a finished uh product when you show up at uh Calmwaters as an employee, or do you develop people?
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_00: Tell us about the the the learning curve or what's the what's the uh uh employee experience like?
• 13:07
  SPEAKER_00: Do I just go there and expect to perform?
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_00: Uh bring that with me, or something you help train me on it.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_00: Tell me about how much training do you guys do?
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_01: So we're very diligent on our hiring process.
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_01: If once we've made the hire, you know, we're looking to keep you long term.
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_01: Um but we we do a month of on-the-job training as far as you know, orientation, all that good stuff.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, we put you with several guys, we do ride-alongs with management, right?
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_01: Make sure you're in a good spot before we get you out on the road and get you moving.
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_01: Um, as far as ongoing training goes, we train three days a week.
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_01: So Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, we train for an hour every morning.
• 13:43
  unknown: Right.
• 13:44
  SPEAKER_01: We'll have one day of technical training, two days of communication, relationship building.
• 13:48
  SPEAKER_01: And um, yeah, that's kind of what to expect.
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_01: You know, we have breakfast, we we sit down, we role play, and we we really push, you know, to try to overcome objections and establish the rapport, um, the whole nine.
• 14:03
  SPEAKER_00: Um, what do you think?
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_00: Let's let's let's have some fun now and talk about the future of service in the plumbing industry when it comes to calm waters plumbing and how you fit into the picture there in college station.
• 14:14
  SPEAKER_00: I know college station is a very it's a you know, it's a it's literally uh education is the thing that built that community.
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_00: Uh without without there being a college, it wouldn't be called, it would just be called station, which is a place we I guess we just get off the train, that would be it.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_00: And then what?
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_00: There's nothing here.
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_00: So I think the college part of it's important.
• 14:34
  SPEAKER_00: How important is it that um that you're that the this education is built into the culture, not just of your company, but the community.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_00: How how do the people in that area respond to the fact that this training is an important element uh to your company?
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_00: How's how does that fit into that culture?
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so I'm I'm trying to unpack that, but yeah, so it's it is a huge college town.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_01: We're so thankful for that.
• 14:58
  SPEAKER_01: The university provides a lot of growth.
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I think the culture there highly values education, um, especially from a prestigious you know university such as Texas AM.
• 15:09
  SPEAKER_01: I do think people value the training when you go in the home that you're not practicing at Mrs.
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_01: Jones's home.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_01: You know, you've been here, you've done this before, you feel comfortable before you're even there.
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so I do think the community does value that.
• 15:21
  SPEAKER_01: And I think they do value a technician who comes in who is highly trained, right?
• 15:25
  SPEAKER_01: And who is um not just being thrown to the wolves, you know, to Mrs.
• 15:31
  SPEAKER_01: Jones and the household.
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_00: Like if I were to hire a plumber at so I guess if I add up all those hours, like how many hours a year would you say a plumber at uh at Calmwaters Plumbing puts in?
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, it's hard to add it all up.
• 15:44
  SPEAKER_00: If you want to give me a number, number per week, I guess, would be able to add that time, multiply that times 50, it'd probably give us a good uh number.
• 15:51
  SPEAKER_00: But what do you think?
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_00: How many hours a week do you guys spend on training and coaching too?
• 15:55
  SPEAKER_00: Because coaching is like correcting people through the middle of the day, too.
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_00: If you look at the coaching and the training together, how many how many hours out of the so if probably 50 hours a guy would work there in a week or so?
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, how many hours out of 50 would you say there's gonna be training and coaching to get keep you on track there?
• 16:12
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so training's gonna be three hours a week right now.
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_01: Um, we're trying to get to five days a week, which would be five hours a week.
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_01: Um, coaching, I would say we probably spend about 30 minutes per tech, you know, um a day, you know, between calls, they run two to three calls a day.
• 16:27
  SPEAKER_01: So I'd say you'd probably look at it about five hours.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_00: I guess about 10% of the time is spent uh in coaching and training.
• 16:36
  SPEAKER_00: That's an important that's a very impressive feat.
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_00: Um let's talk about the future though of this of this company in the industry.
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_00: What trends are shaping the future of the home service industry, especially with uh calm waters plumbing, and how are you preparing the team for those trends, Drake?
• 16:55
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so a trend that's been happening for a while is uh people want plumbing right now.
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_01: They don't want to wait for plumbing, right?
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_01: It's been it's been going this way.
• 17:03
  SPEAKER_01: We're in a convenience economy, so getting there very quickly is important.
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_01: Um other trends that we're seeing are people are they're not wanting to pay these huge diagnostic fees and get all these plumbing companies to come in and tell them, hey, it's gonna be this, you know, whatever or nothing, or um we're seeing box stores, you know, getting into more plumbing, right?
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_01: So um as far as preparing for the trend, what we're really doing is we're trying to appeal to the customers who really want to invest in their home.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_01: They want great plumbers, they want it right now, they want a warranty that lasts.
• 17:38
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 17:39
  SPEAKER_01: And I feel like those are there are less companies that perform at that level than there are uh mid-tier and what I would call lower tier levels.
• 17:47
  SPEAKER_01: So we're really trying to appeal to the um, I guess the customers who who don't want the box store service.
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_01: You know, they want a guy in their home that they trust, they want products that are not from Lowe's or Home Depot, they want to know that if I have an issue with this installation that I just invested in my home, that this company is gonna come in and take care of me and they're gonna honor my warranty and do exactly what they said they're gonna do.
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_01: So that's the direction we're pushing, and that's the direction we're heading at this current point in time.
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_00: You know, there's um a movement to have automation and uh artificial intelligence and the rest of it there.
• 18:23
  SPEAKER_00: Uh tell us about uh do you see a day where I think some people are like uh people don't want to talk to a plumber.
• 18:30
  SPEAKER_00: Uh the like and I don't I don't agree with that.
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_00: I I myself believe that there's uh, you know, in there may be a few people who are like, yeah, I just want to go online and buy this.
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_00: I don't want to have to talk to anybody.
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_00: But I do think there's a lot of people who are like, I'm gonna invite this, and maybe not somebody who's single who has an apartment, but if you have a home and you're inviting somebody into your home and you're gonna work with the health and safety of the family and stuff like that, that people are are still more uh part of the solution than AI is when it comes to directly serving the customer.
• 19:02
  SPEAKER_00: Do you think AI is something that serves people or is something that takes the place of the people?
• 19:07
  SPEAKER_00: What do you think on that?
• 19:08
  SPEAKER_00: When it comes to your belief in it, uh Drake, what do you think?
• 19:11
  SPEAKER_00: Uh how does AI fit into the picture?
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_01: I think it serves a few purposes that are very, very helpful.
• 19:17
  SPEAKER_01: Um, we've we've tried to play around with AI on the phones.
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_01: I I could I never got past the point of me testing the bot because I would get so angry talking to the AI on the phone, you know.
• 19:28
  SPEAKER_01: Like I'm like, I'm not putting my customer.
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not putting my customer through this.
• 19:31
  SPEAKER_01: Like it's not happening.
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_01: So as of right now, we've we don't believe in AI on the phones.
• 19:35
  SPEAKER_01: I think people still want to talk to humans.
• 19:37
  SPEAKER_01: There are people who go on scheduling pro and schedule right in right or on your website and they want to schedule that way, that's great.
• 19:44
  SPEAKER_01: But I think I think old school business is gonna get popular alongside AI because I think there are people who are gonna crave that the way business used to be.
• 19:53
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 19:53
  SPEAKER_01: Um, while I do think it is important to implement it to you know save a cost here and there, you know, to bend to like just make your business better and more efficient, sure.
• 20:02
  SPEAKER_01: But I think taking the place of that interaction with the with the plumber.
• 20:06
  SPEAKER_01: I don't necessarily know that's gonna go away in certain markets.
• 20:10
  SPEAKER_01: I really, I really think that's gonna be something that's gonna stay.
• 20:12
  SPEAKER_01: But that's that's my opinion.
• 20:13
  SPEAKER_01: That's that's what I think currently.
• 20:16
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I honestly that's not the kind of world I want to live in.
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_00: Honestly.
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_00: That's like like I I still like just hearing about people and would you you know, asking about hey, hey, did you go to the uh you know the the what do you call it downtown and you go to the fourth of July?
• 20:30
  SPEAKER_00: Did you go go downtown or what you guys do?
• 20:33
  SPEAKER_00: Asking questions about people.
• 20:35
  SPEAKER_00: I I think uh the farther we get away from people, I think the more toxic our society becomes.
• 20:39
  SPEAKER_00: How do you feel about that?
• 20:42
  SPEAKER_01: I I agree 100%.
• 20:44
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I think we it's something I preach to my guys a lot, is there's actually a lot less um, I would say, human conversations in their day-to-day life.
• 20:53
  SPEAKER_01: So one thing we really preach is making a friend, you know, learning about that person, being genuinely interested in the customer you're in front of or the person you're in front of.
• 21:00
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that's something people crave.
• 21:03
  SPEAKER_01: There's a lot of online communication, which is I don't think is very healthy for people.
• 21:08
  SPEAKER_01: So just being able to go in the home and I mean, I tell my guys all the time, like, you're so powerful inside that home.
• 21:14
  SPEAKER_01: Like, you don't know the last time that woman received a compliment, or um, you know, you just don't know what that person's going through.
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_01: But I I just really think uh AI is gonna AI is gonna create some opportunities for people who do and don't pursue it at the same time, is what I think.
• 21:33
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think when I, you know, the funny thing, interesting thing is that when I um when I if I do a search on AI, like say about you know, your company, it's gonna come up with some pretty remarkable things.
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it's it's the interesting thing is that uh it can help us get the data more precisely.
• 21:52
  SPEAKER_00: It bring it brings up you and what you believe in and what the company's achieved, and it kind of uh helps in a way that way.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's I think it is a good tool for the consumer to be more efficient, too.
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_00: Like, how can I find the best plumber in college station?
• 22:07
  SPEAKER_00: You searching and you you come to the your company comes right to the top of the list there.
• 22:12
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, and it's interesting how AI, like, we think it's going to take over, but we don't realize how much support like it does for me too, who's the best sales trainer or service trainer in the country?
• 22:22
  SPEAKER_00: My name always comes in the top five or whatever.
• 22:25
  SPEAKER_00: So it's like, um, I think it's I think it's a great uh tool if we use it the right way to inform clients about the company, right?
• 22:32
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, we're doing this podcast as a way, hopefully, this will be content AI will search and share what you believe in as well.
• 22:38
  SPEAKER_00: There too.
• 22:39
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, uh, how important is it to be transparent with your with the public uh who are in college station and people who would use your company uh to let them know what's going on inside behind the doors over there?
• 22:50
  SPEAKER_00: Uh is that important uh with AI and all the stuff that are digging into the truth?
• 22:56
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, 100%.
• 22:57
  SPEAKER_01: Um, 100%.
• 22:59
  SPEAKER_01: And while AI might you know let people know stuff ahead of time, you know, college station is not a market.
• 23:05
  SPEAKER_01: You can go in and perform a bad service and expect to stay in business.
• 23:08
  SPEAKER_01: It's a very relationship southern uh visit, you know, economy.
• 23:13
  SPEAKER_01: You know, it's what it is.
• 23:14
  SPEAKER_01: So you word of mouth is huge, and AI is just kind of spreading the word of mouth, you know, a little bit more, which is which is kind of cool in a in a good way, too.
• 23:22
  SPEAKER_00: That's uh it is.
• 23:23
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's really good.
• 23:24
  SPEAKER_00: And I think it's uh I think it's it's interesting that all the things that we do to promote ourselves, uh, you know, the the modern uh technology is tuned into that, you know.
• 23:34
  SPEAKER_00: Um tell me about uh this is a good one.
• 23:37
  SPEAKER_00: Let's go back to the past now.
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_00: When it was called todero plumbing and you were starting out.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_00: Uh what advice would you give to your your younger self, Drake, as you were starting out in this industry?
• 23:50
  SPEAKER_00: What would you tell yourself about uh starting a business in this industry if you can go back and give yourself some advice when you were young, Drake Todaro?
• 23:58
  SPEAKER_00: What would you tell yourself when you're just beginning?
• 24:03
  SPEAKER_01: Man, uh to narrow that down to one thing is is pretty much.
• 24:06
  SPEAKER_00: Give us a list.
• 24:08
  SPEAKER_00: You can give us a list, but that's what we're here for, you know.
• 24:11
  SPEAKER_01: Uh when I was starting todero plumbing, uh, one, don't name it todero plumbing.
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_01: No one could no one could pronounce my last name growing up, like in high school.
• 24:18
  SPEAKER_01: Like all the substitute teachers would struggle to pronounce it.
• 24:20
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm just like, you know, let's start a company with my last name.
• 24:24
  SPEAKER_01: So uh probably not doing that one.
• 24:26
  SPEAKER_01: Um I would also say don't don't finance used trucks.
• 24:30
  SPEAKER_01: Uh that's that's a bad move.
• 24:32
  SPEAKER_01: Um and I would say invest very heavily in your people and your culture immediately.
• 24:38
  SPEAKER_01: I would say uh your your your best customers are actually your plumbers.
• 24:42
  SPEAKER_01: They're they're the ones building a lot of those relationships.
• 24:45
  SPEAKER_00: Great.
• 24:46
  SPEAKER_00: So give me this one final question here today before we're gonna wrap this up.
• 24:50
  SPEAKER_00: What what motivates you to get out of bed every morning and hit the ground running and uh and you know spring out of bed to help customers?
• 24:58
  SPEAKER_00: Uh number one, is that the truth?
• 25:00
  SPEAKER_00: Is that is that how you feel about it?
• 25:02
  SPEAKER_00: Like I gotta I gotta get there because people need me.
• 25:04
  SPEAKER_00: Tell me what are some of the things that are reasons why you spring out of bed and get out there and be and be on time and follow all those things you mentioned before.
• 25:14
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 25:15
  SPEAKER_01: So there's multiple reasons I do that for.
• 25:17
  SPEAKER_01: I do that for you know our customers.
• 25:19
  SPEAKER_01: Um one, I I truly believe that they deserve amazing service, and I truly do love and care for a community that I've lived in my entire life and love to serve.
• 25:28
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 25:29
  SPEAKER_01: I also do it for my plumbers and my employees, right?
• 25:32
  SPEAKER_01: They're they're very bought into what we're doing, and you know, I owe them my best self each and every day.
• 25:37
  SPEAKER_01: But I also do it for my family.
• 25:39
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I look at my son every day, tell him, hey, be the best you can be.
• 25:43
  SPEAKER_01: Uh you can be anything you want to be, right?
• 25:45
  SPEAKER_01: And I gotta I gotta hold up the end of that deal too.
• 25:48
  SPEAKER_01: So when he gets older, he says, hey, you know, dad did that was his best, you know, dad, you know, was he was what he wanted to be, you know.
• 25:55
  SPEAKER_01: So there's a lot of layers there, yes, sir.
• 25:58
  SPEAKER_00: What would you say the that's a good question, though, though you kind of bring up a good point.
• 26:03
  SPEAKER_00: Uh there's the balance between our private life and people in that life, which is our family, then there's our sign of semi-public, which is our employees, and then there's the public who were out there meeting every single day and making new friends and creating new relationships there.
• 26:21
  SPEAKER_00: How do you uh balance that three-ring circus of your family, you know, the client, and then, you know, maybe even the higher purpose in your life that you believe in on top of all that?
• 26:32
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, how do you balance that kind of a three-ring circus or do you you have scheduling yourself or somebody walking around remind you that hey, you haven't send your wife uh an anniversary gift or something like that?
• 26:45
  SPEAKER_00: How do you maintain that balance?
• 26:46
  SPEAKER_00: It's tough, isn't it?
• 26:47
  SPEAKER_00: Uh once you're in this kind of thing.
• 26:49
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you gotta you gotta learn not to overcommit to too many things, right?
• 26:53
  SPEAKER_01: Warren Buffett said, you know, uh he said this really cool thing, you know, you you make a list of 20 things you want to do in life, basically narrow it down to five.
• 27:01
  SPEAKER_01: That's all you have time for.
• 27:02
  SPEAKER_01: You have time to be good at five things dad or husband, right?
• 27:06
  SPEAKER_01: Business owner, community involvement with your family.
• 27:09
  SPEAKER_01: You got you got five things that you can really invest your time in and be decent at.
• 27:13
  SPEAKER_01: So I try to just keep everything in that box, right?
• 27:16
  SPEAKER_01: I try not to get away from that.
• 27:18
  SPEAKER_01: But at the same time, as far as managing my time, Joe, you would laugh.
• 27:20
  SPEAKER_01: I have like I use my alarms on my iPhone, just like they just go off all the time with different notifications.
• 27:27
  SPEAKER_01: That's good.
• 27:28
  SPEAKER_00: I do the same thing too.
• 27:29
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like, hey, talk, talk, talk to my wife this afternoon because I'll go right to work in the morning at 7 a.m.
• 27:34
  SPEAKER_00: or 6 a.m.
• 27:35
  SPEAKER_00: even.
• 27:35
  SPEAKER_00: And then it's like, oh yeah, I gotta go upstairs and talk to her, make sure she knows I'm alive, even.
• 27:40
  SPEAKER_00: It's like, and then and then ask about her day too, you know, and uh find out about that.
• 27:45
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, it's important, right?
• 27:46
  SPEAKER_00: Because if you give up that part of your life, um, I think the the clients also wonder, well, if he can't take care of his own family, how's he gonna take care of his customers?
• 27:55
  SPEAKER_00: Does that make sense?
• 27:56
  SPEAKER_00: Does that uh does that draw a line line there too that the customer uh wonders about that too, Drake?
• 28:03
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, I believe it.
• 28:04
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, sir, 100%.
• 28:05
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it's very important to be there for those kids uh in your family.
• 28:08
  SPEAKER_01: Um life is very short.
• 28:09
  SPEAKER_01: We're on a spinning rock and time moves very quickly.
• 28:12
  SPEAKER_01: And uh you got to make sure, you know, while you know, take care of your business, you also gotta take care of your family.
• 28:18
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it's equally as important, if not more, in my opinion.
• 28:21
  SPEAKER_00: So um well, you know, one of the things I believe in is uh like you, I believe we believe in the same thing, which is I am here to personally see to people's satisfaction.
• 28:32
  SPEAKER_00: When I put my self into something, I try to make sure my family gets the best of me, my clients get the best of me, my employees get the best of me as well there too.
• 28:41
  SPEAKER_00: Uh how can people get to know you or get to meet you in college station?
• 28:44
  SPEAKER_00: Is it are you living in ivory tower where you don't talk to people?
• 28:47
  SPEAKER_00: Or how does how accessible is Drake today if uh people just want to say hi and stop by and visit?
• 28:55
  SPEAKER_00: How accessible would that be?
• 28:57
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 28:58
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 28:58
  SPEAKER_01: So um if you want to come by and say hi, our office doors are open Monday through Friday, eight to five.
• 29:04
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I'm I'm back there, right?
• 29:06
  SPEAKER_01: Come and say hi.
• 29:07
  SPEAKER_01: We we welcome customers coming in.
• 29:09
  SPEAKER_01: You know, we have customers walking in all the time for giveaway stuff, picking up stuff.
• 29:13
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so I'm very accessible there, right?
• 29:16
  SPEAKER_01: Uh if you see me out and about in the community with our branded tent, you know, if you see a Calmwaters tent, I'm there.
• 29:21
  SPEAKER_01: So just come up and say hi.
• 29:23
  SPEAKER_00: Well, that's great.
• 29:24
  SPEAKER_00: So uh how can listeners connect with you or possible employees uh learn more about working or partnering with you as well?
• 29:33
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 29:33
  SPEAKER_01: So um listeners want to connect, you can go to Drake Todaro uh on Instagram, Facebook.
• 29:38
  SPEAKER_01: Um, employees, we do have an awesome career page.
• 29:41
  SPEAKER_01: I do call every one of those applicants and um do a zoom interview with each and every one of those people.
• 29:46
  SPEAKER_01: So if you want to talk about coming to work here, um yeah, hop on Careers page on our website and let's get talking.
• 29:52
  SPEAKER_00: So well, that was another great conversation with Drake Tadero from Calmwater Splumbing in College Station, Texas.
• 30:00
  SPEAKER_00: Drake, I really appreciate having you on the show.
• 30:02
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for being here.
• 30:04
  SPEAKER_01: No, thank you, Joe.
• 30:05
  SPEAKER_01: Appreciate it.
• 30:06
  SPEAKER_00: And thank you, everyone, for sticking with us until the end of this podcast.
• 30:09
  SPEAKER_00: If you gained value from today's episode, we'd love for you to leave a rating or review wherever you listen to podcasts.
• 30:16
  SPEAKER_00: And if you know someone in the service industry or anyone looking to scale their career or business, go talk to Drake and he'll uh and then send the episode their way and say, hey, this is a guy who he may bring you to his grandmother's house to get interviewed, just so you know.
• 30:30
  SPEAKER_00: You might you might have to pass the grandmother test.
• 30:33
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I mean, have you really done you should actually try that?
• 30:35
  SPEAKER_00: Like, is your grandmother still is your grandmother still alive?
• 30:38
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, 100%.
• 30:39
  SPEAKER_01: So we send plumbers when she needs plumbing work, she doesn't pay.
• 30:42
  SPEAKER_01: We send plumbers over there.
• 30:43
  SPEAKER_01: If grandma doesn't like them, he doesn't last long.
• 30:45
  SPEAKER_00: So that's her that's her that's her job is to clear out the plumbers who are not up to par.
• 30:50
  SPEAKER_00: I guess, or you know, say, hey honey, I think this one's a good one.
• 30:53
  SPEAKER_00: You should keep uh keep this one, huh?
• 30:56
  SPEAKER_00: That's a good that's a great, that's a great way, you know.
• 30:59
  SPEAKER_00: That is her job, is to make sure that uh if it's if it can't pass the grandmother test, then forget it.
• 31:04
  SPEAKER_00: You're not able to work here.
• 31:05
  SPEAKER_00: Uh thanks everyone for sticking with us at the end of the show.
• 31:08
  SPEAKER_00: If you got value from today's episode, let people know.
• 31:11
  SPEAKER_00: Take one key insight from today, put it in action, let us know how it goes.
• 31:15
  SPEAKER_00: We'd love to hear about your progress.
• 31:16
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks again for joining us, and we'll see you on the next episode of the Home Service Heartbeat Podcast.
• 31:22
  SPEAKER_00: Goodbye, everyone.