Plumbing

The leading Pacific Northwest plumbing and electrical provider partners with the Tacoma Rainiers to recognize another slate of outstanding veterans and active service members

Harts Services, a top-rated Pacific Northwest plumbing and electrical company founded in 2013, is proud to look back on another season honoring area veterans and active service members through the Harts Hometown Heroes program in partnership with the Tacoma Rainiers, the AAA affiliate of the Seattle Mariners.

Harts Services recognized seven Hometown Heroes during the Rainiers’ 2023 season for their commitment and sacrifice. Each Hometown Hero enjoys a Rainiers game with friends and family from the exclusive Commencement Bank Summit Club courtesy of Harts Services and is introduced to fans from the Cheney Stadium field between innings.

Harts Services also donated $4,300 to the Wounded Warrior Project at the end of the season — $100 for every Rainiers home win in 2023.

“We have many service members and veterans in the area, and we’re proud to be able to give something back to them,” said Richard Hart, co-owner of Harts Services. “The Hometown Heroes program is our way of saying thanks to some of the outstanding members of our community who have sacrificed on our behalf. Without their service, we wouldn’t be able to enjoy the freedoms we have.”

Between May and September, Harts recognized the following Hometown Heroes:

• Karin Harnishfeger: After joining the U.S. Navy in 1995, the first Harts Hometown Hero of 2023 was stationed in Kuwait, Japan and Spain as well as multiple locations in the United States during her career. Harnishfeger retired in 2017 as an E8 senior chief.
• Matthew Westberry: Staff Sgt. Matthew Westberry’s 13 years in the U.S. Marine Corps included deployment in Operation Enduring Freedom.
• Jacob Sullivan: U.S. Air Force Sgt. Jacob Sullivan is currently stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. He has been stationed around the United States and Italy during his 14 years of active duty, including deployment in support of Operation Inherent Resolve.
• Amanda Stambach: Lt. Col. Amanda Stambach is a veteran of combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Currently stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, she will retire from the Army in January after 24 years of service.
• Steve Hice: Steve Hice joined the U.S. Army on his 18^th birthday and was stationed in Germany when the Berlin Wall fell and was later deployed for Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm. He’s been a train conductor in Tacoma for the last 31 years.
• Selena Coppa: Sgt. Selena Coppa served eight years in Army intelligence and security command, including deployment in Iraq, before retiring.
• Wesley Howard: Wesley Howard served multiple deployments as an aviation electrician on U.S. Navy aircraft carriers during his eight years of service (2000-2008).

Harts Services provides critical plumbing services, including emergency plumbing, bath and kitchen plumbing, water lines, water heater repair and installation, sewer line repair and installation, trenchless sewer repair, drain clearing, sump pump repair and installation, and more. Harts Services also offers top-notch electrical services, including breakers, circuits, outlets, lighting, EV charge stations, generators, and more. For more information, call (253) 470-8766 or visit www.hartsservices.com.

It’s safe to say that plumbing services will forever be in demand. It’s not a skill that is easily acquired and while many households might be able to resolve basic plumbing problems, it’s not always that simple.

However, despite it being a much-needed service, there are a lot of plumbing companies out there, meaning you’re in tough competition with both old and new businesses. These businesses might be doing a lot to acquire customers you’re after.

With that being said, here are some helpful tips to be one of the best plumbing companies in your area.

Build a website for online users to find you

Not all plumbers or plumbing businesses will bother getting a website, especially those who have been long-established and therefore don’t feel they need one.

However, with the digital world forever growing and transforming the way many choose to spend their money, it’s worthwhile to invest your time and effort into creating a website – even if it’s a basic one!

Building a website enables online users to find those, who might live locally and be in need of your services. It’s one of the first things that many people do when it comes to finding plumbers and other handy-type services in the area. If your business doesn’t exist online, then how do you expect new customers to find you?

While you might have committed customers now, they might not always be available.

Go above and beyond for current customers

When it comes to your plumbing business, focus on going above and beyond for your current customers. These, after all, are your bread and butter of business. They really are the individuals who are propping up your business all year round and most importantly, when times get tough.

With that being said, find ways to always provide more value and satisfaction for current customers. What could you offer as a reward for their loyalty? Perhaps a discount every so often that they can use on a bill from you. It’s these little treats and discounts that can often encourage your long-term customers to remain for years to come.

For newer customers, showing this attitude of going above and beyond, will also make a big difference to their viewpoint of the business and hopefully, they’ll find themselves coming back again and again for your services in particular.

Advertise locally and encourage word-of-mouth

With plumbing services, unless you’re a big company that’s got goals to go national or international, you may be relying on those who live locally for the business. Advertising locally is therefore an important part of running a successful plumbing business.

At the same time, you want to try and encourage word-of-mouth. Being chatty with your customers and ensuring they recommend you to anyone in the local area that they might know, is a good sign-off to have with every customer you have. 

You may start to find you get more queries for new customers as a result and a demand for local work that has come from personal recommendations.

Make use of digital marketing 

Digital marketing is something to be aware of when it comes to advertising your business. While you might not be the best at social media and the digital world as a plumber, there are certain companies out there that will be able to assist in your advertising needs online.

With digital marketing, it’s worth investing a bit of your money into marketing online. From paid advertisements that target local customers to building up a social profile on one of the many social media platforms, there are some great opportunities to be found with digital marketing.

A bit of digital marketing here and there can certainly help to build your business and attract customers from further afield. It’s something that might also open up opportunities for business expansion beyond your local area.

Hire the right plumbers for the business

Plumbers are an important hire to make when it comes to your business. The plumbers you have who are going out and representing your business need to be the creme de la creme of the plumbing world.

Hiring the right plumbers is crucial because every one of them will contribute positively – or negatively to the business reputation. Be selective with plumbers that you bring into the business and only do so when you feel confident that they’re the right fit.

It’s always useful to have plumbers who you can train from a young age or at least have come into the business with plenty of experience. That way, it can save a lot of time and effort on your part stressing about whether they’re the right fit.

Provide additional training to improve skillset

While it does require effort to train your staff, it’s always good to be able to provide additional training where possible. Improving your team’s skillset is always worthwhile, especially when it comes to more complex jobs and those individual jobs that they might not have experienced prior.

Think about what training might be available for you to make use of and to utilize in order to create a team that’s talented and knowledgeable for all plumbing needs.

Keep an eye on what your competitors are up to

Finally, when it comes to building a successful business of any kind, it’s always good to take a look at what your competitors are up to. After all, they might be doing something that you’ve missed or could do better.

For plumbing companies, they all offer the same service, which means finding ways in which your own business might be able to stand out. Consider what you might want to do or introduce in order to stand out from your competition and effectively steal prospective customers from those other businesses.

Being the best plumbing company in your area is a title that you should be keen to earn. Use these tips to help become one of the best, as well as have a reputation that only benefits the business over time.

Irvine, Calif. — Navien has started shipping the new NHW-A non-condensing tankless water heater. NHW-A is available in two configurations: NHW-AI for interior installations and NHW-AE for exterior installations. Both the NHW-AI and NHW-AE are offered in 160,000 BTU/h, 180,000 BTU/h and 199,900 BTU/h sizes in either natural gas or liquid propane fuel operation.

NHW-A is the first and only non-condensing tankless water heater to feature the patented ComfortFlow^® recirculation pump and buffer tank originally introduced in the NPE-A condensing tankless water heater in 2012. ComfortFlow helps eliminate the “cold water sandwich” effect and resolves the issue of low flow rates found in other tankless water heaters.

ComfortFlow also reduces the wait time for hot water by allowing internal or external recirculation without the need for external parts or controls. Users can program recirculation timing for either always-on, a set weekly schedule using the remote controller, or use the intelligent setting that learns the user’s hot water patterns and automatically adjusts the recirculation schedule to match.

“NHW-A with ComfortFlow brings high-efficiency water heating with built-in recirculation to more customers,” said Chia Lin, Water Heater Product Manager at Navien. “In the past, customers who were restricted to non-condensing products had to purchase expensive external pumps along with their tankless water heaters to achieve what the NHW-A now offers already built into the unit.”

Like the NPN, Navien’s first non-condensing product, the NHW-A utilizes the proprietary NaviTech^® stainless steel heat exchanger and burner for extreme durability and low NOx emissions. The NHW-A will also utilize the 3-inch by 5-inch NaviVent^® concentric venting materials that were originally launched with the NPN.

For more information about the NHW-A or any of Navien’s products, visit navieninc.com.

San Antonio — During a formal signing ceremony at their co-located 19^th Annual Meeting and 94^th annual Education and Business Conference in San Antonio, Texas, the American Rainwater Catchment Systems Association (ARCSA) officially joined the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO^®). ARCSA will be renamed “ARCSA International,” allowing the organization to maintain its identity while becoming a discrete business unit of The IAPMO Group.

 In June, ARCSA’s Board of Directors and membership voted in favor of joining The IAPMO Group, with the co-located annual events providing an ideal backdrop for the finalization.

Formed by the merger of two Texas-based professional rainwater catchment associations—the American Rainwater Catchment Systems Association and the Texas Rainwater Catchment Systems Association—with the mission to “provide resources and information on rainwater and stormwater collection to promote the advancement of rainwater conservation and to work with government at all levels in promoting rainwater and stormwater management,” ARCSA in 2016 was reorganized as a 501(c6) organization and the original ARCSA became the ARCSA Foundation, a 501(c3) organization.

“We believe IAPMO’s sharp focus on water conservation and water security will enable ARCSA to advance the cause of rainwater harvesting on the national and international stages more effectively,” said ARCSA President Roman Feher. “We came here a lone wolf and now we’re part of the wolfpack.”

Founded in Los Angeles in 1926, the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO) has grown to be recognized the world over for its Uniform Codes. Through its various business units, The IAPMO Group participates worldwide in product testing and certification, codes and standards development, management systems certification, and education, training and personnel certification.

“IAPMO and ARCSA have long worked toward common objectives from unique positions in the water conservation industry,” said IAPMO CEO Dave Viola. “Consolidating our work makes both organizations far more capable stewards of this vital natural resource and the means to capture and utilize it safely.”

In 2012, IAPMO and ARCSA signed a memorandum of understanding to “enhance the wellbeing of people everywhere through the provision of safe, efficient, and affordable rainwater harvesting and plumbing systems and equipment.” The product of this cooperation, ASSE/ARCSA/IAPMO/ANSI Series 21000 was first published as an American National Standard in 2017 to address the increasing number of residential, commercial, and industrial rainwater and stormwater systems being installed nationwide. Updated in 2022, Series 21000 establishes best practices and uniform minimum requirements for qualified designers, installers, and inspectors of viable alternative water systems utilizing captured rainwater or stormwater.