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WORKING AT ABC PLUMBING
& ROOTER
By Sherri L. Stephenson,
Business/Operations Coordinator
You hear a lot about 'corporate
culture' and the way big business
operates. The benefits of working for
an industry leader usually can’t
be matched. The worldwide name recognition
of Motorola or Intel is priceless. It
is assumed that the employees are well
taken care of, the list of perks goes
on and on, and there is a general sense
of security in the fact the company is
a ''mover and shaker.'
However, you can easily get lost and become
just a payroll number to everyone above
your immediate supervisor.
Then you hear about
small business, Mom and Pop establishments
whose primary goal is to offer a community
their very best product or service. Usually
the names of these establishments don’t
make it further than the neighboring towns,
but that’s OK; their local
reputation is more priceless to them than
any amount of worldwide recognition. Their
employees are focused more on customer
service. They are known well and cared
for by their employers.
We at ABC Plumbing
and Rooter Co., Inc. are very fortunate
to work for a company that is a perfect
blend of these two types of companies.
We are blessed to be treated like stockholders
and family members at the same time. Every
February, we are treated to a wonderful
banquet at a local resort. This isn’t
just for the heck of it, though. This
annual banquet gives the Executive Team
the opportunity to remind us of our goals
for the previous year, share with us that
we once again exceeded all our goals and
announce the goals for the coming year.
Granted, some of the speeches can get
a little dry, especially for those of
us who are more technically-inclined than
financially-inclined, but where else will
you find everyone on the totem pole invited
to share in the information given at this
function? This gives all of us a sense
of responsibility. We are all aware of
where we are, where we are going and what
we need to do to get there.
Every Friday
morning is our Technical Meeting. Topics
include introduction of the latest advances
in our industry and how we can implement
them to better serve our customers, a
review of parts and warranties and a review
of challenging jobs we have completed,
sharing the information with all technicians
for their future reference. A portion
of our meeting is devoted to Safety, with
a different topic each week. We want our
technicians to be safe in the field and
want to make sure they have all the information
they need to stay that way. We close each
meeting with a speech by Dr. Kellner about
everything from personal finances to trivia
to “word of the week”. There
is always a message, no matter how it
is presented, about you and how you can
enrich your personal life. I have worked
in the corporate world all of my adult
life and this is the first company I have
worked for that truly understands the
correlation between an employee’s
personal life and their performance at
work, and takes steps above and beyond
the typical EAP to improve both.
We have
been honored by local organizations for
our business acumen and ethics. We were
awarded the 2006 Small Business of the
Year by the Chandler Chamber of Commerce
and recently received the distinction
of being a finalist in our category (1-10
employees) for the 2007 BBB Business Ethics
Award for the Northern/Central Arizona
Better Business Bureau. I believe there
were over 15,000 companies in our category
alone up for this honor. We are one of
three finalists.
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In order to give us the
opportunity to interact socially, we
have a weekly bowling league, picnics
and barbeques throughout the summer,
and of course we host an annual Christmas
Party.
We have provided
free plumbing repairs for under-privileged
customers whose living conditions were
unhealthy and unsanitary, but who did
not have the funds to cover the work.
On a few occasions this even involved
re-piping the entire home. How could
you not be proud to be part of an organization
who gives so much back to the community?
Our company’s motto
is “Where Integrity Isn’t
Watered Down”. The leadership
of the company not only walks the walk
during business hours, but in their
personal lives as well. They expect
no less from us and rightly so.
This social interaction
reinforces the feeling of family we
all have, both for management and for
each other. A poll of our employees
showed a common theme – sense
of family. It is obvious that Bill
Chiusano, General Manager and Dr.Rudolf
Kellner, Director, have taken each
one of us into their hearts. Each business
decision that is pondered, discussed
and made is done so with the thought
that these decisions will affect each
of us and our families, not just the
company’s bottom line. Additionally,
these two men are intelligent, hard-working
and fun to be around. They don’t
hesitate to share their knowledge with
any of us, whether Bill is explaining
plumbing and customer service in the
field or Dr. Kellner is explaining
the intricacies of a financially sound
company with an eye on growth. In our
eyes, we could not have lucked into
a better company with the mentoring
program they have formulated. We could
take the knowledge they give us elsewhere,
but they make it unthinkable that we
would ever leave. They inspire dedication.
Our employees have tenures ranging
from 8 years to a few months and I
can honestly say that we are all here
for the long haul.
So there you have it.
ABC Plumbing and
Rooter Co., Inc. is a small company
with a big heart, ethics, honor, integrity,
a large devoted customer base and proud
employees who love coming to work every
day. We know we work
for a “mover and shaker” and
that there is no limit to where the
company will go as long as we are a
family that continues to work together.
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