Slovenly attire. Beat-up truck. Tools kept together by duct tape. Working in unsanitary conditions. And that plumber’s butt crack. These negative images, unfortunately, still pervade many minds in the public of who plumbers are and what they do.
This month’s cover story on page 30 highlights efforts made by national groups, as well as individual contractors, to change that perception of the dirty, unkempt plumber to the professional plumber that is today’s reality. OK, yes, some plumbers and heating technicians still embody that stereotype. But those are the exception to the rule.