Hey Plumbers, Be the Doctor!
Happy Monday everyone!
I was surfing the web this weekend and found a great article about professionalism in the plumbing and service industry. It really spoke to the change McAdams Plumbing is trying to create in the service industry.
Licensed plumbers are experts in their field and their purpose is to protect the health and safety of the nation. That’s a pretty important task when you think about it.
So why is it plumbing is often a looked down upon as a lower class career field?
My guess is because so many “hack” plumbers started throwing stickers on their truck or van, offering cheap, unlicensed, lazy service to the good people of the world, and those people then began to think that is what you should expect from a plumber.
Well I would strongly disagree. From a plumber you should expect an educated craftsman, who can understand and empathize with your situation, is properly licensed and insured, and repairs your home in a way that ensures you and your family are safe and protected from things like sewage contamination, scalding water, gas leaks, and water related disasters.
Those are the ONLY kind of plumbers McAdams Plumbing employs. Plumbers that work more like doctors than anything else.
So now that I’m off my podium I’ll let you get to the article written by Max Rohr, who is a LEED Green Associate and BPI Building Analyst. He is the current Chairman of the Radiant Professionals Alliance Education Committee and an outside salesman for Shamrock Sales Inc.
Click here to read the original article in its entirety.
Be the Doctor
Max Rohr 06-10-2014
Why is it that doctors are admirable professionals? What doctors do is commit themselves to education and strive to understand the newest tools and techniques. They use their skills to keep us safe and healthy.
Why aren’t heating professionals and plumbers treated like doctors? Some are, most aren’t. The contractors who are treated like doctors are treated that way because they take pride in the work they do and communicate the value of their craft. Plumbers and heating contractors who can explain how they are they are going to use their expert knowledge to keep you safe from scalding water, flooding, mold, carbon monoxide poisoning, combustible gas, electrocution, and water heater rocket takeoffs, while keeping you comfortable should have the same confidence as an OR doctor. Providing all of these safeties while also saving energy is a admirably complex.
In Germany, you have to be a master plumber to start a plumbing company. With a higher bar for entry, German plumbers have a higher level of respect. In the USA, we don’t have the same certification process to enter the trades. What you can do is search out manufacture and industry association training to improve your pedigree. If you hand a customer presentation binder with photos of a few meticulously crafted installations and a list of accreditations and certifications you have, you will help demonstrate your pedigree.
Plumbers and doctors both provide valuable services by keeping people safe and healthy. Without plumbing, doctors would be fighting all day to fight back basic waterborne diseases. For so long, plumbers have been seen as a few steps down the totem pole from doctors, and that shouldn’t be the case.
I am honored to be a part of the Radiant Professionals Alliance. The Board I get to work with is made up of some of the smartest minds in the business who are dedicated to making you smarter, better, and more efficient. I encourage you to make RPA online classes and trade show seminars part of your education portfolio.
Put on a white coat, throw your combustion analyzer around your neck like a stethoscope, and go be the doctor!
Rohr, Max. “Be the Doctor.” Weblog post. Mechanical Hub Blog. Accessed 22 Jun. 2014. Web. 10 Jun. 2014. http://mechanical-hub.com/be-the-doctor.