Customer service goes beyond a 100% satisfaction guarantee. We want our customers to be raving fans!
When parents own a business, children often find themselves starting to work at a very young age. In the construction business, this can mean developing character through tough manual labor at the bottom of the rung. It can also mean perks like playing with real bulldozers or tagging along with your dad’s buddies at lunch, or in the case of William Gagon and his wife, Brielle, we now have a third-generation family assuming the plumbing business. While serving in the Marines, William really came to like plumbing and always had the dream of owning his own business. When the opportunity came about to join the family business, William and Brielle jumped in with both feet and recently assumed the business 100%.
Sandy: Tom, I am delighted you had the opportunity to visit with William and Brielle.
Brielle: We are glad to be here with you, Sandy and Tom, and looking forward to talking!
William: Likewise, we love talking about the family business for sure.
Tom: As I understand it, William, you, and Brielle have taken over and are the new family heir apparent, owners of AZ Super Plumber business from your father and mother.
Sandy: I was so excited to hear about another local story of multi-generational family-owned businesses. Williams and Brielle, both of you are a great example of the next generation stepping up into the trades. That is super cool! You are super plumbers! Tell us a bit of your history with the business. Have you worked in it for long?
William: I started going out on calls with my dad, Bill, when I was about 13. I would learn by his side for several years until I joined the Marines. Brielle and I moved back home to Prescott about seven years ago and we became re-involved with AZ Super Plumber.
Sandy: What type of plumbing work do you do?
William: We do primarily residential service work of all types, from water heater replacement to yard lines and everything connected in between. We also do some remodeling but tend to stay away from new construction.
Tom: William, what motivated you to come on home and get reinvolved?
William: That is an easy question. We missed being home and with family.
Brielle: That is pretty much it. We really wanted to be home.
Sandy: That is so impressive! Not all families in business have that bond. So, you are a third-generation family of super Plumbers.
William: My grandparents, Eileen and Bill Gagnon, started the business and my mom and dad ran it, and now it is our turn. Almost 35 years of a family business.
Tom: Wow, three generations, which is both exceedingly rare and super cool. Some of our readers would like to know what it is about the business that attracted both of you.
William: We wanted to work for ourselves. I am a perfectionist like my grandfather and my dad. Owning our own business affords us the opportunity to have hands-on quality control.
Brielle: And that quality control is not only in the field, but also in the company atmosphere, how our team members work together and most importantly with our customers.
Sandy: Excellent reasons. So now that you two are running AZ Super Plumber, what are some of the challenges you face these days?
Brielle and William (simultaneously): Finding employees!
William: Fewer people are interested in the trades these days, not like the ‘old school’ where you find people to work with who genuinely cared about quality and customer service. We need people who want to maintain and share our commitment to excellence.
Tom: What are you doing to attract those type of team members?
Brielle: Ad campaigns. We partnered with Google. When certain search words are used, we get a hit. That is one way. We also talk to our team members and ask them to keep an eye out for potential team members.
William: We advertise everywhere! Our goal is to have a bunch of applications to choose from so we can attract people who fit our team and culture. The goal is to have a happy team and a happy culture.
Sandy: Tell us more about happy team and happy business culture. I really like that!
William: We focus on high quality work and high-quality customer service. Both of those go hand in hand all our team members get a great deal of personal satisfaction from knowing they are achieving that goal.
Brielle: All our team members go through several training sessions that teach best practices for not simply good, but great customer service. The sole purpose is to train our people to understand how best to communicate with our customers. We use a third-party company, Nexstar, to help us all have the tools necessary to achieve that goal.
William: Customer service goes beyond a 100% satisfaction guarantee. We want our customers to be raving fans!
Sandy: That is so important in our industry and you should take great pride in that.
Tell us about yourselves. I understand you have a couple of kiddos running around. How does all that work with work?
Brielle: We have a daughter who is 4 and a son who is just turning six months old. I try to work from home between naps and bedtime, which helps me be there for the children.
Sandy: What happens when you need to go to the office? How often does that happen?
Brielle: Well the reality is I would like to go in just one day a week but am often called in three or four times a week, at least for a half day. I bring our children with me. Both are accustomed to taking naps at the shop.
Tom: So, if I get this right, you are starting to train the fourth generation?
William: LOL I guess that is right!
Sandy: Do you enjoy working together? Is there a separate list for each of your responsibilities? Brielle, can you do plumbing work? Give us the inside skinny!
Brielle: Well, I know a lot about plumbing. Before kids I would go out on calls with William quite often.
William: Yeah, Brielle is 95 pounds at best ,so lifting a 40-gallon water heater onto its raised platform doesn’t always work out. LOL
Brielle: That is the truth! As for working together though we always start with a plan for the day and beyond. This helps us manage both our personal and professional life. We have a mutual respect for what each of us does and that helps a lot.
William: We really take a very professional approach to work and that helps both reduce and resolve any conflicts. There is never any yelling or screaming. We keep work apart from our family life, which affords us quality time with our kids.
Tom: Now that Bill and Kim are no longer the owners, how are the adjustments going?
William: Well, they are pretending to be retired. Mom comes in from time to time to help in the office and Dad is actually working in the field a few days a week as one of our service guys.
Brielle: They are both on the hunt for new hobbies.
Tom: That is helpful, I am sure. I am most impressed with your attention to quality, both in your work and customer service. Kudos to you both for putting your efforts and dollars into team training as well. That is so important and often a most overlooked process.
Sandy: William, is there a word of wisdom you would pass along to others working in a family business or thinking about it?
William: Just because you think you are right does not mean you are right. Learn to effectively communicate and compromise. A family will never make progress if all you do is disagree. My parents instilled that work philosophy in me big time!
Sandy: It is mega impressive that you both are taking over the family business. It speaks volumes about the next generation moving into the future. Our readers will want to contact you. How best do they do that?
Brielle: Call Daisy at our office at 928-778-7120 and learn more about us on our website, www.azsuperplumber.com or stop by the shop at 501 6th St.
Sandy: Brielle and William, thanks from the bottom of our hearts for stopping in and sharing yourself with our readers. It’s been a real pleasure having you join Tom and me this month.
Until next month – Tom and Sandy signing out. QCBN
By Tom Reilly and Sandy Griffis
Tom Reilly, LEED Accredited Professional, Architect.
Sandy Griffis, Executive Director, Yavapai County Contractors Association. (928) 778-0040
Remember to tune in to YCCA’s Hammer Time every Saturday and Sunday morning 7:00 am on KQNA 1130 am/99.9 fm/95/5fm or the web kqna.com. Listen to Sandy and her wingman Mike talk about the construction industry and meet your local community partners. Hammer Time is a great way to start your weekend.