Latest / The Home Service Heartbeat Podcast / He Bought a Plumbing Company With No Plumbing Experience Then Quadrupled Service Revenue | ft. Kevin Couper of Kyle Plumbing

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He Bought a Plumbing Company With No Plumbing Experience Then Quadrupled Service Revenue | ft. Kevin Couper of Kyle Plumbing · The Home Service Heartbeat Podcast

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_01: Hello, everyone, and welcome to this episode of the Home Service Heartbeat Podcast.
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_01: I'm Joe Cressera, and today I'm excited to be joined by Kevin Cooper from Kyle Plumbing in Deerfield Beach, Florida, whose master level plumbing techs work tirelessly to create safe and sanitary environments for the residential and commercial properties alike in Broward and Palm Beach Counties, Florida.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_01: Kevin, thank you so much for being on the show today.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_01: I appreciate you and uh I'm thrilled to have you on the show.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, Joe, thanks for having me.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_00: I appreciate the invite.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_01: Well, it's my pleasure to meet you, and I'm looking forward to this conversation.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_01: So share a little bit about how you got started in the service industry and with this uh with this company at uh Kyle Plumbing and tell me uh uh how you what led you to your leadership role at Kyle as well.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's a great question.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_00: I have sort of an interesting background.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_00: I was actually in finance for 13 years, right out of college, dealing with wealth management for individuals.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_00: And um I was always an entrepreneurial spirit, but in that world, you have so many regulations and rules you couldn't really tap into that.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: And I ended up having a lot of clients that were business owners of various sorts and always really loved enjoying hearing their stories and working with them.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_00: So I got the itch to look to buy a business, didn't really know which business I was looking for, came across the home services space and thought it was a great opportunity to look at that.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_00: And uh I found Kyle Plumbing in Deerfield Beach.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: I bought it about three years ago on June 6, 2023.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: And what was interesting is it during that process, I learned I had a lot of transferable skills and I needed to find a business that had good key people and processes in place so they can do their thing.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_00: I can run the business and it separates itself.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_00: So even though I didn't have plumbing experience to that point, now I know way more than I did then.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: But uh that's why I felt comfortable buying that business.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_00: The culture was good, and uh I haven't looked back since, so I don't regret that at all.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_00: It's been it's been a it's been a lot of fun.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, definitely.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_01: Um I'm glad that you hey what so welcome to the home service industry, by the way.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_00: And uh thank you.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_01: And so hope hope you're hope you're enjoying it as much as I did for 40 years.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_01: And uh you got a long way to go, but don't worry, I think you're gonna get there, Kevin.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_01: Because it sounds like you're sounds like you're determined, and uh you you know it's not an easy business, and uh something you got your hands full with this thing.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_01: What's the biggest challenge you're facing when you're trying to uh grow this thing and uh and how do how are you overcoming some of those challenges?
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_01: Tell us a little bit about what's it like, you know, if you were the you know consumer of people in Deerfield Beach or Broward in Palm Beach counties.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_01: What would you like them to know about how challenging it is to run a business like this?
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_01: Everybody just thinks it's the guy who runs, goes out there and fixes pipes or clears drains and things like that.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_01: Tell us a little bit about behind the scenes, if they could uh see uh some of the things that you go through.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_01: What would you like them to know about uh some of the challenges you face and how you're overcoming them to help those people?
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: Sure.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: So I think some of the biggest challenges is really stems from culture.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_00: You need to have a good solid team and uh leadership there as well.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_00: It all stems from me and filters down.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_00: So having good quality people in management positions to instill our values and our mission to the technicians and the employees, which ultimately leads to a better experience for the customer.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_00: So that is a lot harder to do than it is to say.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_00: But uh I found that keeping a smaller team building each individual employee and training them properly is paramount because if you can get that done right, the end user customer experience is better.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: On the flip side of that, from the consumer standpoint, um, those things cost money.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: So we have great reviews in three different locations online, 4.7, 4.8 star reviews.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_00: So we make you can't make everyone happy, but to train people and be professional and you know, back office, front office, that stuff costs money.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_00: Materials, when you want to do a quality job for people, sometimes those types of operations end up costing more money.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_00: So sometimes you just have to explain that to customers.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_00: But at the end of the day, having the right people and getting rid of those that are not a good cultural fit quickly is very important and it's just harder said than done.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_01: Well, definitely.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_01: And uh are you finding that we're gonna talk about the people development there?
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, was there any uh key moment where you realize that what you were trying to do is working, that you're getting some traction?
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_01: Any any success stories you could tell us that uh uh some of it does work uh in what you're that you're getting some progress and not perfection, as you could probably imagine, but uh there was some progress.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_01: Tell us about that.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_01: What are the indications of progress?
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_00: Sure.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_00: So uh when I first bought this business, about 70% of the revenue came from construction plumbing.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_00: So new buildings from the ground up, and about 1.3 million in dollars was from service revenue.
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_00: Uh it took me about two years to close down the construction side.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_00: And one key indicator of that was once I instituted some software processes and uh good people in place, we doubled revenue in the first year, and then we doubled that again the second year.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_00: So the service side quadrupled within two years, and the the good reviews just kept coming in.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_00: So when I bought the business, there was like a hundred-ish reviews, I think a 4.5 average rating.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_00: So in seeing the technicians thrive, getting excited with the new processes that I put in place, seeing the customer feedback be good, and to see obviously the business growing from a revenue standpoint, that was a pretty clear, transparent way to say, hey, this is working both internally and externally.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_01: I think I think um, you know, I think it's uh just the understanding the revenue means that people have chosen to uh get more work done.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I want to make sure that if we put that in front of consumers and say, what does that mean when the revenue is higher?
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_01: It means that people are purchasing more of the solution because they're trusting more of the way you do business and the quality and the reliability of the uh solutions you provide.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so tell me a bit about that.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_01: Tell me, is there any kind of uh interesting uh success stories?
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_01: Anything stand out to you that so in the brief amount of time you've been doing this, um uh key customers that have come in and told you you're on the right track.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_01: Can you tell us, share any stories about somebody who uh informed you that you know what, you might be onto something here, uh Kevin?
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_00: Sure.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_00: I'll give you a story that happened today.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and that's happened a handful of times where I spoke to a customer today.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_00: He's looking to buy a new property, and I'm going through some options for the plumbing.
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_00: And this is the second time he's he's used us, he used us about a month ago, and he was asking about me and the company, and he's new down here, but he was impressed with the professionalism of the technician that went out, the back office, having an iPad, discussing solutions, talking to the commercial property manager to make sure that we understood what options we can do in his building.
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_00: And he was just thrilled to tell me that, hey, you got something good going on here.
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_00: I like what you're building.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it was just very professional, not something I'm used to.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_00: And uh he just wanted to tell me that.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_00: And over the years, I've had some customers too just asked to speak to me directly or send an email referencing a custom uh uh technician or just to speak to me to say, hey, you got a really good thing going on here.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_00: And that's just been great when somebody goes out of their way, not just to write a review, but they're actually calling the office to tell me positive news.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_00: I haven't really I haven't seen that before uh until I bought a business.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_00: And it's just really nice when that when that happens.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_01: What are some of the current uh challenges though?
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_01: Uh you know, back in the old days, it would be, you know, a plumber goes out there, fixes the problem, and the consumer trusted the plumber, and the plumber and the consumer just settled, they settled up at the end of the call, and uh that's how things worked, right?
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_01: And I think a lot of consumers think it still works that way, right?
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_01: But what are some of the uh biggest challenges with uh running a uh with all the different technology and things like that, and you know, the how transparent things are.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_01: What are some of the challenges with running a company in uh the plumbing industry today, especially in a place like South Florida with uh such a diverse community and uh diverse not just in um cultures, but also in the uh different ages, age groups, and things like that.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_01: Tell us a little bit about some of the uh challenge that a plumber faces today in this industry, or the biggest threats or challenges in this industry, would you say, uh in today's world?
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_00: Yep.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_00: So a handful of things there.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_00: So when I first bought the business, it was very much an order-taking kind of situation.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_00: Like I have an issue with my toilet, they go in, they fix it, they leave.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_00: What we do now, what I train them to do is be thorough.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_00: It's not upselling.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_00: It's hey, you hired us to do a job, and the plumbing system is it's a whole ecosystem.
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_00: It's all tied together.
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_00: So training the guys to just have that conversation, educate the customer, and using iPads with technology to be able to communicate and present options to customers and just have a better conversation.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_00: Like, here's why I'm I want to go look at your main valve outside, here's why I want to go look at other things, because this could be tied to other things.
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_00: At the end of the day, we are here to fix what you asked.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_00: That's great.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_00: But we also want to be thorough while we're here.
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_00: Because if it's my house and you came in and I thought it was just a toilet, and say there was a faucet or something wrong that I didn't know that you saw and you didn't say anything, I would be a little upset.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_00: So just taking that sometimes customers you know don't want us to look any further, and we're not there to sell you stuff.
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_00: We just want to do a thorough job to make sure that what we recommend is gonna work and point things out if it's gonna be a red flag sooner or later.
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but then on our side of it is training the technicians to do that as well.
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_00: How do how do you build your communication skills to speak to customers, explain in layman's terms what's going on, and explain options to fix their problems?
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_00: And that's been very well received for the most part.
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_00: But sometimes people, you know, they just want, I just want you to fix this.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_00: And that may not be the problem.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_00: They may think it is, but we need to do a little bit more diligence while we're there.
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_00: So uh the iPads though, and and and and presenting better has been working out very well.
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_01: I think you got the um, you know, sometimes the consumers are ahead of us when it comes to technology, and sometimes they're behind us, and you have to figure out which one it is on that, honestly.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_01: But I think if you keep the same uh value system of saying, you know what, we're gonna look at the whole thing uh and the problem, we're gonna give you some more long-term solutions, uh, you know, professional solutions in the middle and some economy solutions that are temporary in the bottom.
• 11:29
  SPEAKER_01: You could pick the one you want.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_01: So we're just gonna make sure we give that choice.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_01: I think that's kind of like the strategy that I think is uh it sounds like you guys are really embracing that strategy.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_01: Um let's talk about the and it sounds like you've already unveiled that the strategy for that strategy of giving people choices rather than just giving them an ultimatum.
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_01: How do you balance though the um when you when you're starting to do all this stuff and you're to find people to do all that stuff?
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, because it's you know it's hard to find plumbers who don't do plumbing, but then you got to have plumbers who know how to talk to people too.
• 12:03
  SPEAKER_01: What's your approach to building and leading uh this team or or how do you find the people uh to work at your place?
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_01: So how does how would we know if the if I was a prospective employee for both the consumer's point of view, like what kind of person works there?
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_01: What's the standard of what you create?
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_01: And if I'm an employee, how would I know if Kyle plumbing was right for me too?
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's that's good uh comment.
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_00: So we pretty much we hire an attitude and we train on skill.
• 12:31
  SPEAKER_00: So if you have a good attitude, we can do a lot of good things with that.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so most uh anyone that we hire that's gonna be in someone's house in their own truck has at least five years of plumbing experience.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_00: So they need to be, you know, they need to have the skill sets, don't get me wrong.
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_00: But if they're the best plumber and they have a bad attitude, that's not gonna work.
• 12:51
  SPEAKER_00: Conversely, if we hire somebody that's got a great attitude and is an apprentice, we can train them on you know the soft skills on communication and also the tech skills.
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_00: So we actually we structure three different types of technicians.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_00: One is a service technician that's in a truck by themselves.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_00: We have eight of them currently.
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_00: Then we have two apprentices, they are good attitudes, they could have zero experience in plumbing, period.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_00: And they we we put them in different trucks with different people so they can learn different skills, different jobs, different ways to communicate to find their own voice.
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_00: And then we have a lot of training behind the scenes that we send different technicians to locally or even, you know, I had four guys the last two days training up in Orlando, for example.
• 13:35
  SPEAKER_00: And then we have two install technicians where they're very technically skilled, they don't necessarily like the communication piece.
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_00: So we we hire people and build around their skill sets, and that just works very well.
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_00: So if somebody brings brings in a bigger size job, we can bring in those install technicians to go help do that.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_00: So it's technically sound and the apprentices are there to learn along the way.
• 13:58
  SPEAKER_00: So we have that three-tiered approach, and it's a very teamwork environment, and that's why I say culture is important because any one of my technicians can call anyone on the team, management, office staff, or field techs, and we're always there to help.
• 14:15
  SPEAKER_00: So that works really well.
• 14:17
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, and that's worked really well in general for getting jobs done quickly on time and uh technically sound so that the plumbing is done right.
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_01: It sounds like the uh training is an element.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_01: How much training does the team do to improve performance uh for the consumers out there in uh Broward and Palm Beach counties?
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_00: So we do training every Tuesday morning from 7:30 to about 8:45.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_00: And that training, uh it's kind of a mix of operational skill sets, depending on if there's a new update to the iPad.
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, we share success stories, uh learning experiences where things may not necessarily have gone right and how we overcame those, uh a bunch of different things, but that's a required training.
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_00: Everyone knows that they need to be there on time, they need to participate.
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_00: And I just found that once a week is is good.
• 15:06
  SPEAKER_00: Two or three times can get a little uh a little much.
• 15:09
  SPEAKER_00: So that's what's that's what's worked for us.
• 15:12
  SPEAKER_00: And in addition, you know, we have quarterly reviews with every single person.
• 15:16
  SPEAKER_00: So not only do we get feedback from other staff, but also one-on-one, we want to make sure that we understand what each person's goals are, what their strengths are, what they need to work on on their weaknesses, and overall, what do they want to do?
• 15:31
  SPEAKER_00: And that's how we identify install techs versus service techs and how we structure training accordingly, depending on what skill sets are needed where, whether it's a group training or a one-on-one training.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_01: How important is the communication with the clients and coworkers?
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_01: How how tightly and closely does the team communicate uh with clients and coworkers?
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_01: I know a lot of technology can help us in that regard.
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, tell us how you're doing that.
• 15:54
  SPEAKER_01: Could you tell us how what a what a consumer could expect in terms of what they are going to get communication-wise?
• 15:59
  SPEAKER_01: It sounds like the team has the training once a week, but there's obviously probably ongoing communication throughout the days.
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_01: Tell us tell the tell the consumers out there in uh in your area about how uh closely the company stays in contact with their people.
• 16:14
  SPEAKER_00: We're in contact nonstop throughout the day.
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_00: Internally, we have Teams, Microsoft Teams.
• 16:19
  SPEAKER_00: It's just an internal chat where we can have one-on-one chats or group chats with everybody.
• 16:24
  SPEAKER_00: We have different channels like permits, customer service, you name it.
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, we have a different WhatsApp group chat with myself as the owner, the service manager, and all the technicians.
• 16:35
  SPEAKER_00: So, and and the warehouse manager.
• 16:37
  SPEAKER_00: So that's day-to-day types of things that are happening in the field.
• 16:40
  SPEAKER_00: Kudos for people that are doing a good job.
• 16:43
  SPEAKER_00: Um, obviously, email and text, but from a customer standpoint, when when we book an appointment, they get an immediate text or email notification that it's booked.
• 16:53
  SPEAKER_00: They get a notification when that technician is dispatched to their home so they can get a sense of or their business, so they can get a sense of when they'll be there.
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_00: They get a message when they arrive.
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_00: And then when they leave, uh either we're talking to them directly or maybe they're not on site, but we're communicating what we saw, what we found, and we're sending estimates or the invoices directly afterwards, and they know exactly how to get in touch with us.
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_00: Then our CSRs are also on top of that too.
• 17:21
  SPEAKER_00: So if there's open estimates questions, they're proactively reaching out, not in a sales Eway, just to say, hey, is there any questions?
• 17:27
  SPEAKER_00: Did we miss anything?
• 17:27
  SPEAKER_00: I want to make sure you got it, didn't go to your spam.
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_00: So internally, you know, with with the employees and with the customers, we try to over-communicate rather than under because it it's just better that way.
• 17:40
  SPEAKER_00: So whether it's a commercial customer or a residential customer, communication is key.
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_00: We want to show up on time.
• 17:46
  SPEAKER_00: If we're running late, the CSRs will give a call in a perfect world to let the customer know.
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_00: Just it's just a polite thing to do.
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_00: So communication is huge from a customer standpoint.
• 17:57
  SPEAKER_00: And honestly, from what we've heard, sometimes that's that's that's plenty.
• 18:01
  SPEAKER_00: Just communicating, showing up, doing what you say you're gonna do versus sometimes we hear horror stories, somebody they're they called a plumber, they didn't show up four times in a row, they can't get anyone to show up on time.
• 18:12
  SPEAKER_00: We're the exact opposite.
• 18:13
  SPEAKER_01: That's great.
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_01: Um, well, sounds like sounds like you're on the right track for sure there, uh, Govin.
• 18:20
  SPEAKER_01: Um, tell us about the leadership.
• 18:22
  SPEAKER_01: Do you think of leadership when you're running a company like this and you're growing a uh dynamic team that is growing?
• 18:28
  SPEAKER_01: That a leader is more of a teacher, a more of a coach, a more of a um, you know, uh therapist sometimes sometimes.
• 18:37
  SPEAKER_01: What's a how do you how do you look at leadership?
• 18:40
  SPEAKER_01: What's your can you give me some of your viewpoints on what it takes to to for leading and the lead, what do you expect of leaders of the company so um both co-workers and consumers can get an idea of what uh you're trying to do with your leadership uh abilities.
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_00: I think the leadership is all of those things and then some.
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_00: So uh I think it's really just practicing what you preach.
• 19:02
  SPEAKER_00: So we talk a lot about respect, communication, customer service, um, and just being a team player and being open-minded.
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_00: And you have to also do that yourself, right?
• 19:15
  SPEAKER_00: So me not knowing anything about plumbing when I bought the business, I was doing ride-alongs.
• 19:19
  SPEAKER_00: I'll go out to a job site and help somebody.
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_00: I will drop off materials or give them a hand if they need something and we're we're booked for the day and they need some help.
• 19:27
  SPEAKER_00: So will my service manager, so will my warehouse manager.
• 19:31
  SPEAKER_00: So instilling that from the top down, I think, and showing the team that you're a hard worker and you're practicing what you preach, that becomes contagious if you have the right people working for you.
• 19:43
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, it's not like you know, me as the owner, uh having my legs up, my my feet up, not paying attention, not being involved.
• 19:50
  SPEAKER_00: I'm very heavily involved.
• 19:52
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, I don't always work at the office, but I'm there every Tuesday, every training, always commenting on everything.
• 19:58
  SPEAKER_00: I I never skip a beat there with with missing that.
• 20:01
  SPEAKER_00: So I think just you know, having those values that whatever whatever you are as an owner, you have instilling those and actually showing up and and proving to people that you actually are putting all of that in one and holding people accountable to make sure that that they follow suit.
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_00: And then it's really you know, you need to pass that down to your managers and your employees.
• 20:23
  SPEAKER_00: That's why I said it's it stays at the top.
• 20:25
  SPEAKER_00: So it and it's making sure that that's consistent and it it lasts a long time because you it's not like once you build it, it's done.
• 20:33
  SPEAKER_00: You have to maintain that.
• 20:35
  SPEAKER_00: It's a very sensitive thing, the cultural aspect.
• 20:39
  SPEAKER_00: And you have to have your finger on the pulse to make sure that everyone's happy, everyone communicates in a different way.
• 20:45
  SPEAKER_00: How do I talk to this person to get this across?
• 20:47
  SPEAKER_00: So having flexibility there uh to speak to all of your employees because they all hear things differently, they communicate differently because they all all have different personalities.
• 20:59
  SPEAKER_01: Uh let's talk about how do you balance the efficiency of, I know a lot of companies and even the consumers get uh bad service because uh when a plumber is on a call, the office is pushing them to get done with this thing to get to the next call.
• 21:15
  SPEAKER_01: So the efficiency of running a business by hey, we got to get going to the next one, uh, and then the plumber's like, hey, I'm still on this one.
• 21:23
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, you know, the can the ability to uh connect with the client and uh the fact that I'm here at this call compared to the efficiency of focusing on getting to the next one.
• 21:35
  SPEAKER_01: Tell us a little bit how you manage that uh situation so the people uh in your community know uh what the priority there is a little bit.
• 21:44
  SPEAKER_01: Can you tell us a little bit what your feelings on that are?
• 21:47
  SPEAKER_00: Sure.
• 21:47
  SPEAKER_00: And that's that's handled a lot by our dispatchers and CSR.
• 21:51
  SPEAKER_00: So we have eight technicians, for example.
• 21:54
  SPEAKER_00: We book four appointments a day, maximum per technician with two hour windows.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: So nine to eleven, eleven to one, one to three, and three to five.
• 22:03
  SPEAKER_00: We found that that's a sweet spot to be effective and efficient to help customers.
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_00: But the the CSR, since they're communicating nonstop with the technicians to make sure that some some technicians are done early, some are running late, some have an emergency now that we have to move those calls that are on their schedule.
• 22:21
  SPEAKER_00: So that's like a chess board that the CSRs are virtually magicians with, where they're constantly in tune with that.
• 22:30
  SPEAKER_00: And it's not like if we have a full board for the day, we're still getting calls, right?
• 22:36
  SPEAKER_00: So they will constantly look at that and move things around.
• 22:39
  SPEAKER_00: So if one technician is running late, we can possibly move that to another technician.
• 22:44
  SPEAKER_00: And some people don't have emergencies, and maybe it's something that's basic.
• 22:47
  SPEAKER_00: And it's just the CSR is calling the customers proactively and letting them know hey, do you mind if we reschedule this?
• 22:52
  SPEAKER_00: We had a few emergencies come up.
• 22:54
  SPEAKER_00: Do you mind if we come tomorrow, Thursday, or Friday?
• 22:57
  SPEAKER_00: And that's an art, it's not an exact science, but it works really, really well.
• 23:02
  SPEAKER_00: And most of the time, customers are very understanding unless we reschedule them a book a bunch of times, which we tend to not do.
• 23:10
  SPEAKER_00: So that's really kudos to them for managing that.
• 23:14
  SPEAKER_00: And then I have the service manager that oversees that as well, in addition to me.
• 23:18
  SPEAKER_00: So if we see something that comes in, we can also override that and make sure that we're handling the more emergency types of situations versus the ones that are not an immediate need right now.
• 23:30
  SPEAKER_00: And just communicating in advance with a customer, as long as we let them know as early as we can, they usually don't mind.
• 23:36
  SPEAKER_00: They appreciate the heads up versus not showing up or showing up late.
• 23:40
  SPEAKER_01: You know, it's it's interesting.
• 23:41
  SPEAKER_01: I think a lot of the customers know that there's a whole team of people and uh a lot of investment in software that to just manage the schedule.
• 23:51
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, like how much, if you look at like I'm just paying this much for uh like this pipe, and it's like, well, no, uh, there's a whole team of people that made sure this is here.
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_01: I think it's important that they know that you know, with a professional company, uh the uh the managing of the schedule and managing of the customer's time, respectability to be respectful of the client's time is uh one of the biggest investments that a company makes uh in uh doing service uh for people.
• 24:21
  SPEAKER_01: I don't think they realize that.
• 24:22
  SPEAKER_01: Uh let's talk about uh something a little more fun than that.
• 24:26
  SPEAKER_01: That's not quite as fun as this next subject, which are which trends are shaping the future in the home service industry, specifically in the uh plumbing industry with new technologies and stuff like that.
• 24:40
  SPEAKER_01: Tell us about what are some of the things that you see uh if you saw a plumbing company 10 years from now, what would we be witnessing or seeing in this industry if you could be a futurist, if you will, as to what do you think a consumer can expect to get uh that would be helping them in the future of uh the plumbing or home service industry?
• 25:01
  SPEAKER_00: Sure.
• 25:02
  SPEAKER_00: So a huge trend I see right now, and we're leaning into it, is AI.
• 25:06
  SPEAKER_00: And I see a lot of companies using AI to use as dispatchers for texting or calling.
• 25:12
  SPEAKER_00: I don't think AI is there yet.
• 25:14
  SPEAKER_00: People like speaking to a human, so we don't use it in that sense, but having AI ingrained in our entire technology stack and system so that we can move faster.
• 25:23
  SPEAKER_00: And I'll give you an example where this helps a lot.
• 25:26
  SPEAKER_00: Um, when a plumber goes out and writes an estimate summary or an invoice summary, they're typing on an iPad or they're typing on a cell phone, they try to do their best, right?
• 25:35
  SPEAKER_00: They're plumbers first and they can communicate well, but then typing everything down, it can be a little bit cumbersome.
• 25:40
  SPEAKER_00: So, what we're building is an AI version of that so they can just speak into it and and it can build a nice, concise description and the estimate summary and the invoice summary.
• 25:51
  SPEAKER_00: And that's where we see some customers get frustrated, like there's not a lot of detail here.
• 25:54
  SPEAKER_00: And then me or my service manager have to call them or break it out.
• 25:57
  SPEAKER_00: So giving them the tools to do that quickly to communicate better rather than typing, you know, three paragraphs on an iPad with spelling errors as an example to do things quick like that, but just integrate AI there to be more efficient on the workflow internally and just staying, and it's important for customers to know that we we are following industry trends and we are implementing things that work.
• 26:22
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I there could be a time where AI does truly take over somebody on the phone and it's it's great, but if if it's not great, we're not gonna do it.
• 26:31
  SPEAKER_00: But from behind the scenes, AI helps a lot of that stuff, even from a research standpoint, being able to research plumbing code if there's a unique situation, it really speeds things up from the back end in a lot of different ways.
• 26:44
  SPEAKER_00: But that was just one example.
• 26:45
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, getting access to the data and the history and uh what what's gonna appeal more to this consumer?
• 26:52
  SPEAKER_01: What do they want?
• 26:52
  SPEAKER_01: I think it's gonna help uh the average plumber because I think most of us are just focused on how to fix the plumbing and drain, not correct.
• 27:00
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, how what what is this client, what would be the most valuable to this client to get a more personal experience?
• 27:06
  SPEAKER_01: I think that's definitely something I see too.
• 27:09
  SPEAKER_01: Um, what keeps you motivated though, Kevin?
• 27:12
  SPEAKER_01: Let's talk about what makes you tick as the owner of this company.
• 27:15
  SPEAKER_01: What part of this work really matters to you?
• 27:18
  SPEAKER_01: And why do you wake up every morning and uh because I know you can't get paid enough money to do this job.
• 27:24
  SPEAKER_01: It's a lot a lot of work, but uh did you think it would be this much work when you first got into it?
• 27:29
  SPEAKER_01: And what makes you get up and uh want to hit the ground running every morning, Kevin?
• 27:33
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I didn't think it would be this much work, but uh I I I'm a builder, I learned that about myself.
• 27:39
  SPEAKER_00: I like to build things.
• 27:40
  SPEAKER_00: So taking a great company into a much better company by implementing technology and training and all these things that we've done, there's an unlimited amount of things to do.
• 27:50
  SPEAKER_00: And it's just a matter of staying focused on what's gonna work, you know, what's gonna have the what's gonna move the needle the most.
• 27:56
  SPEAKER_00: And it's it's been really enlightening to improve my employees' lives when I hear some stories about experiences with other employers in the past and just being able to put the employee first and change their lives for the better, have a good place for them to work.
• 28:11
  SPEAKER_00: So I see them happy, everyone's making money, everyone's just happy working at a place and hopefully they stay here forever, which then translates to obviously customers.
• 28:20
  SPEAKER_00: So to be able to, obviously, to be able to build a good business, you need happy and and uh smart, comp competent employees, but also happy customers.
• 28:30
  SPEAKER_00: So being able to do that effectively is is very good, is is awesome to hear when when you get some good feedback often.
• 28:39
  SPEAKER_00: Um and it's not easy to do that, but it it's nice to see that every day.
• 28:43
  SPEAKER_00: And given the people that we have, we are like a 20-person family at this point.
• 28:48
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, that's what I would say about that.
• 28:52
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I think it sounds like it's uh people more than pipes that get you as a way to say it.
• 28:58
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, people people overpiping is a good great way of putting it there.
• 29:02
  SPEAKER_01: Um, if you could go back and uh, you know, looking at the entire existence of your life, which it sounds like you've got a few a few miles on the tire.
• 29:13
  SPEAKER_01: You're you're the th the treads aren't worn out yet, but you you still got a few miles on the tire there.
• 29:18
  SPEAKER_01: Um, what advice would you go back and give your younger self?
• 29:21
  SPEAKER_01: If you could go back when you were like say 18, 20 years old, what would you what would you what advice would you give yourself, Kevin?
• 29:30
  SPEAKER_00: If I was 18 or 20 years old, um I probably would have jumped into entrepreneurship sooner rather than going into you know a corporate environment, though there was a lot of transferable skills.
• 29:43
  SPEAKER_00: But I I think I don't think I would have done anything differently.
• 29:47
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, it's it's always just working hard, constantly being open-minded, constantly learning, and it nobody can take that away from you.
• 29:53
  SPEAKER_00: So just keep moving forward, keep doing the right thing, and eventually things will will just happen.
• 29:59
  SPEAKER_00: So I mean, if I had to give myself advice when I bought this business, I'd probably say not the construction plumbing side, just not for me.
• 30:06
  SPEAKER_00: But uh, you know, just being open-minded, knowing make sure you get to know people sooner than later.
• 30:14
  SPEAKER_00: Uh that those first impressions are are important, but really truly just being honest and uh curious about people, uh, if I had done that sooner, you just build better relationships and a better understanding rather than things falling through the cracks.
• 30:31
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I think all the opportunities we have to serve is the connections we make with people.
• 30:37
  SPEAKER_01: Like I'm making with you right now.
• 30:38
  SPEAKER_01: I'm really happy to make this connection.
• 30:40
  SPEAKER_01: I really appreciate you uh taking the time to do this interview.
• 30:44
  SPEAKER_01: And definitely I think we're gonna have a really good uh episode that people can learn a lot from here.
• 30:49
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, Kevin, uh just to give everybody a chance to be able to make sure that they can communicate with you.
• 30:56
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, where can listeners connect with you or maybe utilize the services of Kyle Plumbing and uh learn more about working or uh working with your company or being able to purchase from your company?
• 31:10
  SPEAKER_01: Where can people learn about that?
• 31:12
  SPEAKER_00: You can find us at Kyleplumbing.com.
• 31:15
  SPEAKER_00: We're on every social media outlet as well.
• 31:17
  SPEAKER_00: You can search for us, Kyle Plumbing, on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn.
• 31:22
  SPEAKER_00: Uh there you'll find our phone number as well.
• 31:24
  SPEAKER_00: But you can also call us 888-405-0770.
• 31:30
  SPEAKER_01: Well, Kyle, that was another great conversation with our guest, Kyle Cooper.
• 31:35
  SPEAKER_01: We really appreciate you being on our show, Kyle.
• 31:38
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 31:38
  SPEAKER_01: My pleasure.
• 31:39
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks.
• 31:40
  SPEAKER_01: And thank you, everyone, who is sticking with us until the end of this podcast.
• 31:45
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, if you gained value from today's episode, we'd love for you to leave a rating or review wherever you listen to podcasts.
• 31:52
  SPEAKER_01: And if you know someone in the service industry or anyone looking to scale their business or career, send this episode their way.
• 31:59
  SPEAKER_01: You never know.
• 32:00
  SPEAKER_01: Kyle might be looking for another plumber.
• 32:02
  SPEAKER_01: Take one key insight from today, put it into action, and let us know how it goes.
• 32:07
  SPEAKER_01: We'd love to hear about your progress.
• 32:08
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks again, everyone, for joining us.
• 32:11
  SPEAKER_01: And we'll see everyone here who's listening to this podcast on the next episode of the Home Service Heartbeat Podcast.
• 32:18
  SPEAKER_01: Goodbye, everyone.