search
cart
facebook instagram twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
  • NEWS
  • PRODUCTS
  • CONTRACTORS
    • BATH & KITCHEN PRO
    • BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
    • HIGH EFFICIENCY HOMES
    • TECHNOLOGY
    • WATER TREATMENT
    • PMC COLUMNS
      • Dave Yates: Contractor’s Corner
      • John Siegenthaler: Hydronics Workshop
      • Kenny Chapman: The Blue Collar Coach
      • Matt Michel: Service Plumbing Pros
      • Scott Secor: Heating Perceptions
  • ENGINEERS
    • CONTINUING EDUCATION
    • DECARBONIZATION | ELECTRIFICATION
    • FIRE PROTECTION
    • GEOTHERMAL | SOLAR THERMAL
    • PIPING | PLUMBING | PVF
    • PME COLUMNS
      • Christoph Lohr: Strategic Plumbing Insights
      • David Dexter: Plumbing Talking Points
      • James Dipping: Engineer Viewpoints
      • John Seigenthaler: Renewable Heating Design
      • Lowell Manalo: Plumbing Essentials
      • Misty Guard: Guard on Compliance
  • RADIANT & HYDRONICS
    • RADIANT COMFORT REPORT
    • THE GLITCH & THE FIX
  • INSIGHTS
    • CODES
    • GREEN PLUMBING & MECHANICAL
    • PROJECT PROFILES
    • COLUMNS
      • Codes Corner
      • Natalie Forster: Editorial Opinion
      • Guest Editorial
    • SPONSOR INSIGHTS
  • MEDIA
    • PODCASTS
    • VIDEOS
    • WEBINARS
  • RESOURCES
    • INDUSTRY CALENDAR
    • DIRECTORIES
    • EBOOKS
    • PM BOOKSTORE
    • CE CENTER
    • MARKET RESEARCH
    • CLASSIFIEDS
  • EMAGAZINE
    • EMAGAZINE
    • ARCHIVE ISSUES
    • CONTACT
    • ADVERTISE
    • PME EMAGAZINE ARCHIVES
  • SIGN UP!
Columns

A Plumbing Christmas Present

By Julius Ballanco P.E., CPD
December 1, 2010
Offer your customers some practical gift ideas this year.

Faucet photo courtesy of Moen.


When my father was still alive, he often gave his children, including their spouses, a plumbing fixture, or appliance, for Christmas. He knew what we needed, knew what was popular, and he added that to his Christmas gift list. His plumbing gifts were always a big hit.

I remember the year when he gave my wife and I a pull-out spray kitchen faucet. These faucets were new, and while I loved them, it seemed impractical to buy since we had a perfectly good kitchen faucet. However, when it was given to us, it became a luxury gift that we loved. Every faucet we have owned since then has been a pull-out spray faucet.

My father had a good idea that his profession provided many unique gift-giving opportunities. I stole the concept from my father a few years ago, giving my wife a new garbage disposal. She loved it. Plus, when she used it every day, she thought of me. At least that’s what I like to think. When that disposal died, we received a gift of a new disposal. Again, she loves it, more than the last one.

While it is great for those of us in the profession to give the gift of plumbing, we forget about the opportunities available for our customers to give the gift of plumbing. How many of you thought about presenting to your customers a “Christmas Special” on plumbing fixtures or appliances?

Let me be sexist for a bit and address the dilemma facing many husbands this time of year. They want to buy their wives a gift she will always remember, but they don’t know where to begin. Yeah, perfume is great, so are the other romantic items, but to give a practical item that is used all the time really goes a long way. Those practical items include plumbing fixtures and appliances.

You need to market this idea to the husbands on your customer list. Send them a Santa’s helper note listing the specials you have. Have them buy the installation, then provide them with a gift-wrapped fixture or appliance that they want installed. It will fit well under the Christmas tree.

Kitchen Gift List

Industry marketing trends show the interest women and wives have regarding certain plumbing fixtures and appliances. Before presenting these items to you, I went to the most important research assistant I have, my lovely wife. She has approved every one of these plumbing gift ideas. If you run into her, she will even give you a better sales job than I will.

Let me start in the kitchen. A new kitchen faucet is the first item on the list. But not just any kitchen faucet, make it a pull-out spray, fancy kitchen faucet. Or even better, an automatic pull-out spray kitchen faucet. Every manufacturer provides you with wonderful upscale models of pull-out faucets. A husband can never go wrong with a brand-new kitchen faucet. Especially if you include installation!

How about a new garbage disposal? Perhaps a first-time garbage disposal installation. They are real easy to sell. Today, not only are they convenient, they are also very green. The modern-day garbage disposal can grind up anything. Forget about those restrictions against fibrous foods or bones; today’s units swallow them all. How many husbands even know that?

The next appliance would be an instant hot water dispenser. You talk about a plumbing appliance that women love, this has to be at the top of the list. Tea at the flick of a wrist. Oatmeal instantly before your eyes. A cup of soup, anytime you want it. Stuffing, couscous and rice made very easy. The list goes on and on. The beauty is that a woman will find more uses than a man ever dreamed of.

The final kitchen item you can suggest is one of the newer 12-inch-deep kitchen sinks. If you have any customers that are foodies, they will love the deep sink. Gourmet home chefs hate little kitchen sinks. When they find out they can have a deeper sink, they are in heaven. As strange as it may seem, plumbing salespeople try to talk people out of having a deep sink. They give the excuse that it will cause back pain.

Having a 12-inch-deep sink myself, I can tell you it is a wonderful addition to our kitchen. All my big pots and pans are now easier to clean, and my back doesn’t hurt. A deep sink is the biggest ticket item in the kitchen, but for the gourmet chefs of the world, it is worth the price. It would make a wonderful plumbing Christmas gift.

Gifts For The Bathroom

Another area where a husband can be a hero with a plumbing Christmas gift is in the bathroom. A new “green” water closet flushing 1.28 gallons or less sells well for those who are environmentally aware. Whoever thought a water closet would make a great Christmas present? However, it does. It flushes well and saves water, the environment and the world. How can you go wrong?

While you are at it, throw in a water-conserving rainfall showerhead. Every woman I have spoken to loves the shower pattern from these showerheads.

If you think you have run out of time, think again. According to national surveys, husbands typically wait until the week before Christmas to buy the big-ticket items for their wives. So, get cracking and offer them options for some plumbing Christmas presents. At the same time, the additional business will be a nice Christmas present for yourself.

I wish all of you a Happy Chanukah, Merry Christmas and prosperous New Year.

Links

  • Contact Plumbing & Mechanical

Share This Story

Looking for a reprint of this article?
From high-res PDFs to custom plaques, order your copy today!

Ballancojuliusvwhite 200

Julius Ballanco, P.E., CPD, F-ASPE, is president of J.B. Engineering and Code Consulting, P.C. in Munster, Ind. He can be reached at by email at jbengineer@aol.com.

Recommended Content

JOIN TODAY
to unlock your recommendations.

Already have an account? Sign In

  • Worker using the Milwaukee Tool SWITCH PACK drain cleaner

    Pipeline profits: Drain cleaning, pipe inspection create opportunities

    Drain cleaning and inspection services offer lucrative...
    Green Plumbing and Mechanical
    By: Nicole Krawcke
  • Uponor employee, Arturo Moreno

    The reinvestment in American manufacturing and training

    Plumbing & Mechanical Chief Editor Nicole Krawcke and...
    Plumbing News
    By: Nicole Krawcke and Natalie Forster
  • March 2024 Women in Plumbing hero image of woman engineer overlayed by circle of hexagon shapes with numbers from 1 to 10

    Celebrating 10 Influential Women in the Plumbing Industry

    Celebrating Women's History Month and Women in...
    Plumbing News
    By: Nicole Krawcke
Subscribe For Free!
  • eNewsletters
  • Online Registration
  • Subscription Customer Service
  • eMagazine
  • Manage My Preferences

More Videos

Sponsored Content

Sponsored Content is a special paid section where industry companies provide high quality, objective, non-commercial content around topics of interest to the Plumbing & Mechanical audience. All Sponsored Content is supplied by the advertising company and any opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily reflect the views of Plumbing & Mechanical or its parent company, BNP Media. Interested in participating in our Sponsored Content section? Contact your local rep!

close
  • J.J. Keller CMV vehicles on road
    Sponsored byJ. J. Keller & Associates, Inc.

    The dash cam game-changer for small business safety

Popular Stories

Underfloor heating installation with drain sewer hole in bathroom close up on water floor heating.

Using hydronics to leverage time-of-use electrical rates

Watts Nexa mobile image

Behind the Wall: Where smart plumbing gets smarter

Six tankless water heaters that feed the nutraceutical manufacturer’s operations.

How to deliver large volumes of hot water quickly and intermittently

PMCE Home-X April 29 Free Webinar: From Legacy to Leadership: Preparing Your Home Services Business for the Next Generation

Events

November 13, 2024

Future Proofing MEP: Navigating the 2026 High Efficiency Water Heating Standards

Join our deep dive into DOE’s new standards so you can future-proof your MEP practice.

EARN: 0.1 ASPE CEU; 1 AIA LU/HSW; 0.1 IACET CEU*; 1 PDH

View All Submit An Event

Poll

Will business be up or down in 2025?

Do you anticipate business in 2025 to be up or down in comparison to 2024?
View Results Poll Archive

Products

The Water Came To A Stop

The Water Came To A Stop

See More Products

Download the FREE Water Conservation, Quality & Safety eBook: Plumbing Trends Increasing Safe Water Availability

Related Articles

  • Plumbing Ghost of Christmas Past

    See More
  • Julius Ballanco

    Have a Merry, No-Lead Christmas

    See More
  • A Really Big Show

    See More

Related Products

See More Products
  • M:\General Shared\__AEC Store Katie Z\AEC Store\Images\Plumbing\new sites\lessons_learned_in_the_boil.gif

    Lessons Learned in a Boiler Room: A common sense approach to servicing and installing commercial boilers

  • Whitepaper-Social-Media-3.gif

    Optimizing Social Media from a B2B Perspective

  • the water book.jpeg

    The Water Came To A Stop

See More Products
×

Keep your content unclogged with our newsletters!

Stay in the know on the latest plumbing & piping industry trends.

JOIN TODAY!
  • RESOURCES
    • Advertise
    • Contact Us
    • Directories
    • Store
    • Want More
    • Supply House Times
  • SIGN UP TODAY
    • Create Account
    • eMagazine
    • eNewsletter
    • Customer Service
    • Manage Preferences
  • SERVICES
    • Marketing Services
    • Reprints
    • Market Research
    • List Rental
    • Survey/Respondent Access
  • STAY CONNECTED
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • YouTube
    • X (Twitter)
  • PRIVACY
    • PRIVACY POLICY
    • TERMS & CONDITIONS
    • DO NOT SELL MY PERSONAL INFORMATION
    • PRIVACY REQUEST
    • ACCESSIBILITY

Copyright ©2025. All Rights Reserved BNP Media.

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing