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The other day, my husband and I ventured over to our local hardware store to purchase a Big Green Egg grill and smoker. You see, it was a deal between the two of us: Last year, I got my bucket list Italian vacation and this year, he gets his smoker.

Plumbers, like most technical people, value their technical skills above all else. Consumers, who have little ability to discern good plumbing from poor or average work, tend to judge plumbers based on their soft skills. Ignoring the soft skills is like ignoring half of a repair. Here is a 10-point soft skills checklist for your team.

Chances are if you’re reading this, you may be a seasoned master plumber and/or pipefitter.

When Lenny Siers retired from active military duty in 1995, he decided to open his own residential home services company in Niceville, Florida. Siers’ background was heavy in air conditioning and heating and he saw an opportunity; however he had no experience as a businessman.

Last fall, a generous plumbing contractor in Las Vegas allowed me to park a trailer-load of four-wheelers in his backyard. It was an incredible backyard. I’ll be happy to tell you his name, but I’m about to tell you about his son.

When I say “the lack of training and systems can be disastrous,” it might sound a bit dramatic to you. I can assure you, however, that the quality of your training and systems can truly make or break your business, your reputation, the level of service you offer, safety on the job and your overall profitability.

In the residential plumbing service business, we tend to be closed-minded, only focusing on what the customers called us out to their homes for.

Have you ever learned something the hard way and then found yourself thinking, “Gee, I wish someone had told me that!” As the years pass, we all learn, or should learn, a few new things.

To Kyle Lessard, owner of Las Vegas-based Eternal Plumbing Solutions, the business is more than just a plumbing company; it is a service company focused on the customers’ experience.

CK Mechanical currently has more than 20 employees, between the office staff, master plumbers, journeymen and apprentices.