by Bob Houchin
An Alberta homeowner using The Gentlemen Plumbers for the first time may be downright shocked when peeking outside a front window to sneak a glance at the service vehicle pulling up to the home. Hopping out of the truck with a smile on his face and a bounce in his step will be a technician wearing an oxford, button-up shirt and navy khakis. Most surprising of all, a tie will be hanging neatly from his neck.
“I always hated how plumbers were always so grubby, dirty, and nasty,” The Gentlemen Plumbers’ Owner Brham Trim uttered with disgust. “I wanted to create a different perception of what a plumber was. We’re professionals, and we’re proud of what we do.”
The day Brham opened business in 2001 and ran its first call, he wore a uniform and tie. “Some of my guys are ecstatic to wear the tie. They understand the importance of it. Other guys will ask, ‘Do I have to wear it?’ Once they go on that first call and see how people treat them, they’re more than happy to wear it,” Brham explained. “If you look like a million bucks, you’ll get treated like a million bucks. The tie is just one of the things that makes us different.”
To say The Gentlemen Plumbers is a bit different from the average contactor would be an understatement. It’s grown to a multi-million-dollar operation, generating a strong profit with offices in Calgary, Edmonton, and Red Deer. It also services the smaller cities of Medicine Hat and Lethbridge. “We cover a pretty good chunk of Alberta,” Brham said with a smile.
The Calgary location was The Gentlemen Plumbers’ first, and it’s where Brham can be found today. However, the building the company now calls home looks much different than its first. “We just acquired it not too long ago. We’re having it wrapped like our vehicles. [The wrap company] is about 60 percent done—the cold weather put the project on hold for the time being. Inside, we set it up to fit the guys. We have an arcade, ping-pong, massage chairs, and a pop machine,” Brham said proudly.
“We wanted to create an area where the guys can come before or after work to shoot the breeze with each other or me. That’s how you get to know the guys, understand what makes them tick, see what motivates them,” he continued. “A lot of the time, money motivates, but what are they going to do with that money? Maybe you find out a guy likes to travel. So, you can say to him, ‘Hey, that Italy trip is looking really close!’ That type of personal stuff matters to them.”
“[The new building] also really helps when someone comes in for an interview. They walk in and go, ‘Wow! I want to work here.’ You almost don’t have to sell the job. People want to come to a workplace that’s big, bright, clean, and looks really cool.”
Finding more and more employees for the Calgary office and each of The Gentlemen Plumbers’ other branches will be critical. Brham has some aggressive growth goals. “In the next 10 years, I see world domination,” he said and then laughed.
“So often, people look for the magic bullet in business. There’s no one thing. It’s a bunch of things put together. It’s having technicians who are great technicians and people. It’s being different by wearing the ties. It’s having a constant advertising strategy. It’s getting the word out that this is a great place to work—a professional place to work,” Brham stressed. “All of those things set us apart and have been the reason for our success. It doesn’t happen by accident.”
Brham Ditches Dentistry for The Gentlemen Plumbers
An 18-year-old Brham Trim, freshly graduated from high school, would be shocked to see himself more than 20 years later. That young man didn’t want a life in the plumbing industry. Brham desired a future where he’d be wearing a lab coat with latex gloves protecting his hands and a surgical mask covering his mouth.
“My dad was a plumber. My grandpa was a plumber. I said I’d never be a plumber, mainly because I think I was out running with my dad, working, and not getting paid, while my friends were sleeping or playing,” Brham said and chuckled. “I was going to school to be a dentist. That was the plan. I got a couple of years into it when I realized it wasn’t what I wanted to do with the rest of my life.”
Unsure of his next move, Brham turned to a familiar, trusted voice for advice. “I was chatting with my dad [about what I should do] and he said, ‘Why don’t you start a plumbing company?’ I thought about it. I mean, I was young, and if it didn’t work, I could do something else. I was just recently married, so I went home to talk to my wife,” Brham explained.
“My dad has always had that entrepreneurial spirit. In fact, I got the idea to wear the ties from him. Back in the 80s, when he had his business, his guys wore ties,” he continued. “Growing up around someone like my dad, I don’t think I realized until now the example he set for me. I’ve always looked up to him. So, I took his advice and started up.”
The Gentleman Plumbers would not be the company’s initial name; instead Brham called it Action Auger with the tagline, “The Gentlemen Plumbers.” “I wanted a name that began with the letter A because back then the phone book was so important. You wanted to be first. I also had this vision that I was going to change the world. You would hear people say, I need to get it ‘roto-rooter’ed out.’ I hoped one day people would say action augur’ed,” he said, then laughed.
“Finally, in 2008, we decided to drop the Action Auger and became The Gentlemen Plumbers—it’s such a better name. No one knows what an auger is. People would phone us, and we’d answer, ‘Action Auger, how can we make you smile?’ They’d respond, ‘I’m sorry. I’m looking for the guys with ties.’ We’d have to say, ‘Well, that’s us! The Gentlemen Plumbers!’ They’d say, ‘Why didn’t you say so?’” Brham explained and laughed once more.
23-Year-Old Brham Joins PSI
The promise and excitement of a new business faded within 12, fast months for Brham. By 2002, Action Auger was hemorrhaging money. Wholesalers refused to give him any more parts, as he had not been able to pay his bills. Almost as if it were meant to be, Brham pulled a postcard out of his mailbox from Plumbers’ Success International [PSI] promoting an upcoming Profit Day seminar.
“The postcard asked, ‘Are you having problems paying your bills? Would you like more time?’ I’m reading it going, ‘Ugh, yes and yes.’ Looking back, I was probably two months from closing my doors at the time,” Brham reflected honestly. “Something needed to change. I said to myself, ‘I’m going to go and at least listen to what they have to say.’”
Brham asked his father to attend the Profit Day seminar with him. All the information shared resonated with the young business owner. He remembered being eager to join. Then, after lunch, Brham discovered the investment required to join PSI. It was far more than he had.
“As I got up to leave, my dad grabbed me and said, ‘Brham, they’re offering a 100 percent money-back guarantee after three months. If it doesn’t work, you’ll get your money back.’ I told him, ‘I don’t have the money.’ My dad then said, ‘I have a credit card with a high enough limit that I never use. Use it. You’ll pay me the interest on it, and if it works, great. If it doesn’t work, you’ll get your money back and only owe me the interest.’ So, that’s what I did. I jumped two feet first. I was just 23 years old at the time,” Brham said and then chuckled to himself a bit. “Before I knew it, I was going to my first Expo. Back then, we called them Summits.”
From $13,000 to $30,000 a Month
The excitement Brham once enjoyed when launching Action Augur had been rekindled. He attended his first PSI conference with an open mind and a positive attitude. “I sat in those sessions and just took so many notes,” Brham recalled. “I knew right away what I wanted to change and work on when I got back.”
When Brham returned to Calgary, he kept up the momentum gained from Summit. In those days, before everything was online, PSI provided new members with large binders, exceeding 1,000 total pages of content, at the event to mail home. When the hefty box landed on Brham’s doorstep, he tore it open and fervently read every page. “I read everything I could in a day or two,” he explained. “I wanted to learn and implement as much as I possibly could to make things better.”
Brham points to three critical changes that put Action Auger on the right path. “First, we had a pretty good image already with the ties. But I needed to tweak it a bit more,” Brham said. “We immediately added floor-savers, carpets, and those types of things.”
The next, and biggest, adjustment would involve a dramatic bump in pricing. Brham had been failing because he was priced to fail. “At the time, we were doing time and material at $70 an hour. I switched to [PSI’s] StraightForward Pricing® model of $150 an hour,” Brham shared.
“I remember going on my first call with the book. I was skeptical. I thought for sure I was going to get chucked out of the house. It was for a clean-out of a kitchen sink. It was a level four, which was, I think, $230 at the time. The homeowner said, ‘No problem. Where do I sign?’ I was floored! Before, I would have gotten $105 for that job.”
The last of the significant, early changes Brham put into place involved improving how he answered the phone. “We started answering it the right way,” Brham said. “It’s amazing how you find a lot more business. You’re not struggling for calls like you once were.”
“Those changes made a huge difference,” Brham reiterated. “Before, we were probably averaging on a month-to-month basis about $13,000 in revenue. The first month after just doing those three things, we jumped to $30,000 a month. I was blown away. I said to myself, ‘This does work.’ Ever since that moment, we’ve kept building and building and building.”
Full-Time Recruiter Helps Add Top Talent
Emboldened by what he had learned and the results it generated, Brham set forth with an aggressive growth plan. By 2003, he opened an office in Edmonton. By 2005, the company had a presence in Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, and Red Deer. “I started to advertise in those markets, and thanks to technology, I felt like I could keep a handle of everything,” Brham said. “Really, as it does now, success comes down to finding the right people. That’s what I did in those early days.”
Talent acquisition remains one of Brham’s biggest tasks as a business owner, these many years later. Just as it’s become increasingly difficult for everyone else in the trades, Brham has encountered his share of frustrations with finding technicians. “We hire more green people than the competition because of the training we have in place, but we’re not opposed to hiring the right journeyman. They have to be teachable. The perfect tech is the one who’s been in the industry maybe one to three years and has a bit of a foundation, but is still moldable,” Brham detailed.
Ultimately, a work history in the trades takes a backseat to the right personality and strong communication skills. “We’re always looking for someone with a good attitude, someone who’s a team player,” Brham explained. “It’s also important how they present themselves. This person is going to be in front of your customer for one, two, maybe three hours. Do I like him? What’s the impression he gives? That’s the impression your customers will have.”
Brham has found a few types of people who’ve performed well at The Gentlemen Plumbers. “Farm kids know how to work hard. People who’ve worked for family members usually know how to deal with a boss who’s straightforward, and they’re more appreciative of the work environment here. Also, we’ve had success with mature individuals who maybe got a late start in life, but they want a career now. They tend to be very loyal,” he said.
Recruiting top talent to The Gentlemen Plumbers hasn’t been nearly as difficult the last few years. “Well, at an Expo, I heard [SGI member and part-owner] Gus Antos say he’d hired a recruiter. He then said anyone doing over two million should consider it. That was a ‘wow’ moment for me,” Brham admitted. “We were well past that mark. So, I went back home and immediately found someone.”
That someone is Phillip Cicek. Phillip manages all the recruiting for each of The Gentlemen Plumbers location. He posts job-board ads, does phone interviews, and even handles the first in-person interview. If a candidate passes those steps, only then will he or she meet with a manager to make a final decision. “Phillip has been spot-on,” Brham raved. “We’re finding better talent. We’re definitely bringing in good, quality people.”
“It’s really made life for my managers much easier. I believe in spending 33 percent of your time recruiting, 33 percent training, and 33 percent managing—as SGI teaches. But [having Phillip], has taken a lot off their plates. My managers have more time to focus on growing the business and doing the work they want to do.”
Trainee to Tech in Two to Six Months
Roughly one-third of The Gentlemen Plumbers’ trucks have an apprentice onboard. While, Brham will hire anyone who fits the company’s profile, he believes passionately in the necessity of taking quality people and sculpting them into his vision of a service tech. That sculpting process takes time—but has been proven worth the effort.
“[In Canada,] you need to be indentured first. When we bring somebody on, we’ll indenture them right away. We don’t wait like a lot of other companies. If you’re getting into a trade, you’re serious about a career, so we’re going to believe in you,” Brham said.
A new technician’s first two days will be spent in the office going through The Gentlemen Plumbers’ company manual, taking care of various HR tasks, and training. “Already we go over with them our presentation and what the expectations are when they are with a customer,” Brham shared. “We’ll expose them to how to present a furnace, bring up BioSmart. The bulk of that time is spent talking about giving proper service, so the customer is happy at the end. They’ll really learn the details of communicating options and building value.”
Following those initial two days, green technicians will spend almost all their time riding-along with experienced technicians. “I like to rotate them, so they learn the good from each of the guys,” Brham said. “Doing ride-alongs is valuable for the trainer, too, because it’s a refresher for him. We sit down with our trainers all the time and say, ‘This is what we want you to go over with your [green] guy today.’ We also expect the green tech to critique his trainer, too. We want them to get better together.”
For green technicians to graduate into their own trucks, Brham expects them to be proficient in three core areas. “They have to learn the technical side. They have to learn the customer-service side. And they have to learn our systems and procedures,” Brham said. “For example, we’re 100-percent paperless. Being able to use our iPads is critical, because that’s how we get our daily reports.”
“We’ll sit down with the [green] technician’s trainers. We’ll sit down with the tech, too. We’ll go through a checklist: Are you able to run the drain-cleaning machine? Are you capable of doing this and that? They must be able to explain the technique or theory behind each,” Brham continued. “We need to have everything checked before we put [a new guy] in his own truck.”
The onboarding process, even for a green technician, typically takes between two and six months. “How long it takes depends totally upon the tech. When they get their own truck, we only put them on basic calls, mostly drain cleaning,” Brham explained. “We want them to have success. As they build their confidence and show that they’re capable of doing more, you can see them actually having fun. They enjoy going on calls. That’s when you know you have them.”
Daily Training Makes the Difference
The Gentlemen Plumbers manufactures technicians so quickly and efficiently thanks to its detailed onboarding program, as well as the talents and attention of trainers during ride-alongs. However, that time in the truck is not the only training performed. The entire company meets almost every single morning for an hour, beginning at 7 am.
Brham split the company into two divisions, one north and one south. Each division has an operations manager responsible for that portion of the business, and each division has its own morning training. Techs based in service areas outside of Calgary or Edmonton Skype into those two conferences every day. No one is left behind.
“I expect [my operations managers] to spend one to two hours every day preparing for the next day’s morning training,” Brham said vehemently. “I don’t want them just coming in and shooting the breeze. Our techs are expected to deliver value, and I expect the same from my managers. When a training is prepared, you can tell, and so can the guys. They have no problem being there.”
Even with prepared content, each training meeting begins with the same question: Did anybody come across anything yesterday they want to talk about? “Sometimes that takes the whole meeting. One guy runs into a problem, and everyone begins chiming in. I believe it helps lift everybody up to a higher level with all that experience in the room. Everyone is learning very quickly,” Brham said.
Assuming the initial question does not cannibalize the rest of the training, the manager will reveal the topic he would like to discuss and share his insights. The topics usually focus on trends they’re noticing in the daily numbers. “If BioSmarts are down or reviews are down, we’ll talk about it. We explain why something’s important. Then, again, our guys will share their experiences with the others. They’ll stand up and role-play. We do whatever it takes to get better.”
“Something we’ve really begun to focus on lately is telling the guys why we do something this way or that way. You can tell them to do this or do that, but until they know the why—the benefit to the customer and them—it won’t sink in. When they get the why, you see their growth and performance improve.”
Results Driven by Accountability
Finding daily training topics may seem like a chore, but Brham explained the subject matter typically reveals itself. Both of his operations managers are closely watching the tickets as they come back to the offices. They’re looking at as many calls as they can. “Our computer software sends them an email instantly on a dispatch and travel,” Brham said. “They’ll phone that tech right away and go over the call to see why we didn’t do any work.”
The managers also periodically check-in with their technicians each day, regardless of a call’s outcome. “It lets the guys know that we’re watching,” Brham said and laughed. “They’ll say, ‘I just submitted my invoice five minutes ago. How do you know what happened?’ If they know somebody is watching, it reminds them to stay on top of their game. What gets reported gets results.”
Results are reported at The Gentlemen Plumbers for all to see. Scoreboards hang high in each location. “Scoreboard results show us if our guys are doing what we’re asking. If the numbers aren’t there, it’s clear they’re not demonstrating value,” Brham said. “We go over the Scoreboard once a week in front of everybody. Their Scoreboard results keep them accountable to us, as well as their peers. We know the guys talk about it. You can hear them, ‘I beat you this week!’”
Brham and his managers never want to make their techs feel like they’re working alone on an island. They support the techs by having regular one-on-ones with them in the morning before their first calls. “Our managers meet with a tech every morning for about 30 minutes. So, each tech meets with his manager about twice a month. We have standards we expect them to meet, and we have these meetings to help them achieve those standards and the goals they’ve set. Here’s time where we can help. We’re always trying to help them improve,” Brham said.
“The one-on-ones, they’re easy to fall behind on when you get busy. When we fall behind on them, the guys don’t produce as much. We see it in the numbers. The time in the morning with them is valuable,” he added.
If a technician really shows signs of struggling, managers will take the time to ride-along with him. “Guys get tight on ride-alongs. They do the presentation like they think you want to see it. The managers try to get across to them: I want to see how you do it. That way, I can point out things for you to improve upon. Be natural,” Brham stated. “It is interesting…the great technicians are the ones who follow the tried-and-true, proven system. They don’t put a spin on it. They have the best numbers and get paid the best.”
Learning to Let Go
Many lessons have been learned by Brham since he opened in 2001. Success in business demands continual re-education and evolution. Maybe his most important and hardest lesson learned didn’t occur until 2011. The Gentlemen Plumbers seemingly hit a growth ceiling. Making matters even more difficult, Brham hit a personal wall, as well. He had been spending the last eight years driving from location to location, managing the team, and diligently working to drive results.
“I was probably driving close to 1,500 kilometers, or about 800 miles, a week just doing the circuit, going from location to location. I loved sitting down with the guys and helping them, but I did not like the travel,” Brham said honestly. “It got to be too much.”
Brham realized he would need to delegate at least some of his responsibilities. The individual whom he felt he could trust to shoulder some of the load was Trevor Greenwood. He came to The Gentlemen Plumbers as a 23-year-old journeyman plumber. He quickly established himself as one of Brham’s best. Brham felt Trevor had the traits to succeed as the company’s operations manager for its northern division.
“Trevor was, what I call, a professional plumber—not just a repair plumber. He was a truly great residential-service technician. Today, he is a superb manager,” Brham raved. “But it took a couple of times for him to get established. I know we were both frustrated, but that was my fault. I didn’t provide him with the training he needed. Finally, I eased Trevor into it, instead of dumping everything on him. I made it a true learning experience.”
Brham detailed Trevor’s training process: “We sat down, and I walked him through all the different responsibilities and what the expectations were. Really, I laid it out, day-by-day, hour-by-hour what he should be doing. I also gave him an education on the numbers side of the business. I showed him the cost of doing business, so he had an appreciation for what truly is happening.”
Trevor’s training continued for an extended period. “He’s in the Edmonton office. I would go up there for a couple of days to work with him. Really, it was like an office ride-along—I’d shadow him. Trevor really is a fast learner. Once I provided direction, he grasped it quickly and made it work. He still called and emailed me a lot at first. And I’d help him through situations, like what to do when someone quits and doesn’t give notice. But in no time, he owned that office. Now, it’s our fastest-growing location; it’s a credit to him.”
Trevor’s success made it easier for Brham to eventually relinquish control of The Gentlemen Plumbers’ southern division a few years later. “As you grow, you get busier. You need to continue to hand off control,” Brham explained. He elevated Kale Trim to be the operations manager of the south.
“Kale was one of our first employees. We were both in the trucks, always bouncing ideas off each other. He was pretty much our main tech, making things work. He’s a really smart individual, especially technically,” Brham said. “Like Trevor, we decided to bring him into the office to work with the guys. I trained him just like I trained Trevor. Now, he does a great job of keeping us going and hitting numbers.”
“It’s a learning process for guys coming in from the field, going into management. It takes time to understand what it takes to be a good manager. They like being in the truck and working with customers. Now, you have to teach them the numbers component, the management component, and you also need to teach them what it means to be a great leader. You have to know how to motivate your guys, so they’ll follow you,” Brham continued.
“I’m fortunate to have a fantastic management team. It’s not just Trevor and Kale,” Brham made a point to add. John Murphy and Patricia Olenick help ensure the call center runs smoothly. Rodrigo Hernandez manages finance, and George Ouimet handles marketing. This collective group has steered The Gentlemen Plumbers toward considerable, consistent growth the last six years.
“My biggest challenge, still to this day, is letting go and letting other people do it. When you have a team like I have, they’ve taught me that it’s beneficial to get out of the way,” Brham said. “To grow your business, you need to let go. You’re always going to be better off with multiple, talented, smart individuals running an operation, versus you taking it all on yourself.”
Professional Company People Have Come to Know & Trust
Ask Brham about the future of The Gentlemen Plumbers and his eyes light up. “I had a [fellow SGI member at Expo] ask me if I was thinking of selling. No way. I’m a young man. I enjoy what I’m doing. I love seeing it grow and grow,” Brham said passionately. “I think we have a lot still to accomplish.”
The next goal on Brham’s horizon is $10 Million in revenue. He believes it can be done relatively soon. He is certainly in a much better position today, as a business owner, manager, and leader, to push The Gentlemen Plumbers to that target.
“From the onset, I’ve always had the mindset of go big or go
home. I suppose I got that from my dad. He was always aggressive about growing
and growing. To think of some of the things I did in the early days, to get the
other locations started. I certainly wouldn’t recommend it to others. At one
point, I was spending $7,000 a month on Yellow Page advertising and we were
doing $13,000 a month,” Brham reflected and laughed. “I believed if you built
it, they would come. But I didn’t know my numbers back then. I didn’t think
about that type of stuff back then. Now, we do.”
Brham absolutely is much wiser these days, and he has a strong foundation to
build upon The Gentlemen Plumbers success: Not only has tech training
progressed and improved, the call center expertly handles and disseminates
calls, and a few years ago, Brham invested in his own internal marketing team. “They
manage our SEO, PPC, social media, and content creation,” he explained. “Radio
is probably our biggest driver. We’ve run ads on 19 stations, and it gets a
strong response. That’s what I enjoy managing.”
When taking into context a better field team, a superior office team, and a highly refined marketing strategy and tactics, Brham has been able to drive down the company’s initial, outlandish marketing spend in those early days to a reasonable 7 to 8 percent.
“Not that long ago, we were spending 13 percent. Now, it’s almost half that because we are delivering an even better product. So much of our business is return business. We have very loyal clients. Thanks to them, those marketing dollars we used to spend now go to our bottom line. I call it a snowball effect,” Brham said. “The better your bottom line, the more you can obviously grow.”
“Every day we strive to deliver value, value, value. Our customers know we answer our phones, are on time, have great techs who do great work and are happy to answer all their questions, and we stand behind what we do. So, our customers understand why we’re more expensive—because it’s worth it to them to have a professional plumber in their home,” he continued passionately.
“I always say it: It drives me crazy this perception that exists about plumbers, that we’re dirty. We’ve worked hard to be more than that. It’s why we have the ties, it’s why we work so hard to have the best people. I believe we’re a professional company that people have come to know and trust. That will serve us well as we grow into the future.”