Calling a plumber can give you a “wait” problem. You wait while they put your call on hold. Or you wait for them call you back after you've left a message. Or you wait and wait for them to show up. Or they leave to find a part, and you wait for them to return and finish the job.

Every company gets very busy at times, of course. But if a company consistently makes you wait, it is an indication that either (a) they do not understand the importance of courtesy, or, (b) their business is so poorly managed that they cannot keep up with the work, or, (c) they accept more work than they can really handle because they don't like to say “No” to anyone.

. Here are several ways that we practice “wait reduction.”

When you call ClearView Plumbing, you get a live human being, not a machine. During regular business hours, ClearView Plumbing & Heating has friendly employees who answer the phone in person and are trained to answer some of your immediate questions and get you the help you need as soon as possible.

After hours, our answering service answers the phone—again, in person. If you have an emergency, they will immediately page one of our ClearView plumbing technicians on call.

ClearView Plumbing & Heating has initiated a Never Wait, Never Late plan, which works like this. You can give us your work phone number or your cell phone number, and we'll call you when we're on our way to your home. That way you can leave work (or whatever else you're doing) and meet us at your home. It minimizes your down time.

ClearView Plumbing & Heating is committed to showing up on time, within the agreed upon appointment window. We know your time is important.

Of course, there will always be times when everyone is swamped with calls and there are just not enough technicians to handle all the work right away. In times like these, we'll do our best to tell you what is going on and when you can realistically expect to see a technician in your home.

Here's another communication problem. A technician comes to your home and fixes your problem. A few months later, the same problem happens again and a different technician comes to your home. This technician explains that there is actually a better way to fix this problem. He explains that the better way costs a little more, but if the previous technician had used it, the problem would not have recurred. The first technician thought he was saving you money by fixing your problem the cheaper way—but he never explained the other option!

The problem is, some technicians don't see the forest for the trees. Take the example of a leaky pipe. A pipe leak can be caused by several things, from a poor connection to excessive water pressure. However, if a technician simply fixes the connection and doesn't determine if the root of the problem is excessive water pressure, then the same problem will probably occur again at some point. Fixing the leaky pipe didn't solve the problem, even though it needed to be done.

At ClearView Plumbing & Heating we avoid these kinds of problems by training our technicians to always provide options on every problem. When you get all of the options on the table, you know the technician is using his expertise to see the whole problem rather than just a part of it—and to helping you get the best solution for your money.