We often get asked to do commercial work, even from our homeowner clients who ha
ve an office or business. We have to politely decline because we’re committed to specializing in residential owner occupied homes. Our philosophy is that it’s hard for us to be everything to everybody. We would greatly prefer to put all of our focus and effort into our specialization so that we can be as great as we can possibly be.
Commercial and residential clients are very different, and they simply have contrasting needs. Commercial clients are much more centered around price and they don’t really need to know the details. Homeowners, on the other hand, are very concerned about the longevity of their investment, the details of exactly what is going on, and whether or not the work will be harmful to the family in any way. These are two very different mindsets, and as the technicians go into the home, they have to be aware of how to act. It’s very hard for one person to act completely differently in both a commercial and residential setting (especially at a high level).
Commercial clients are also frequently hierarchy-based, and we very well might not be talking with the owner of the building. If we’re talking with an agent or manager, they would have very little decision making power. This brings an efficiency issue into the picture that we would have to deal with. If we went to a restaurant and the owner wasn’t there, we would have to come back later. We would make the trip out there and diagnose the issue, but then the decision maker wouldn’t be there to give the go-ahead.
It’s not that residential is inherently better than commercial (or vice-versa), but it’s just hard for a plumbing company to be great at both areas. Our company procedures are to come into the home, make sure the client is comfortable with us being in their personal space, make sure that they understand exactly what’s going on, explain why the issue is happening, and discuss what the options are to resolve the issue over the long term. That’s very much what a homeowner is looking for, whereas a manager of a business might have very different priorities because they don’t have any ownership stake.
The procedures that we follow don’t align with the priorities of a commercial client, so therefore we choose to put all our effort into serving homeowners. If you’re a homeowner who is looking for residential plumbing help, reach out to the team at Wisler Plumbing by contacting us online or giving us a call at 540-483-9382.
