How to Find the Best Commercial Plumber for Your Business
- By: Amer ZaghloulehUncategorizedComment: 0
Unless you work in a plumbing company, plumbing won’t be the first thing you associate with business success.
However, all it takes is a sudden pipe burst or even minor flooding to ruin a business day and incur considerable unexpected expenses. At that point, finding a good commercial emergency plumber will be the most important move a company could make.
But it isn’t always easy to find the right commercial plumbing service. There are many companies on the market offering their services, and most of them seem great on paper.
Fortunately, you can get the best commercial plumber out there with a bit of due diligence. This article will explain what to look for in plumbing services, how to check their background, and which questions to ask once you call your candidates.
Where to Look for Professional Commercial Plumber Services?
The internet will be the most obvious starting point for your search. If your device or computer has location enabled, all you’ll need to do is type in “commercial plumbing services near me,” and you’ll likely get plenty of results.
Yet, an online keyword search won’t always be your best bet. After all, you won’t have an easy time discerning the most favorable option out of all results you get. Word of mouth and genuine reviews will often lead to the ideal service to fit your needs.
To that end, it would be best to turn to colleagues and friends first. Ask around to see if someone you know has a positive experience with a commercial plumber. You might get some firsthand recommendations that will immediately narrow your search.
If that doesn’t bring you to the solution, it might be worth it to check out forums and online reviews. People tell others about their experiences all the time in the digital age. The information you could get by reading honest reviews can bypass any biased opinion pieces or paid advertisements disguised as reviews.
Once you go through all of the resources, you shouldn’t end your search on a single company that seems the best. Instead, the proper way to go about it would be to pick several candidates and reach out to each one.
Since we’re talking about commercial emergency plumbing, it might seem counter-intuitive to take your time choosing the most appropriate service. But if you pick a service in a hurry, that might cause more problems than it will solve.
An unreliable commercial plumbing service could lack the necessary equipment or know-how to resolve the issue. A plethora of complications might also arise concerning insurance and bonding. Or, the service could simply do a poor job of installing or repairing the plumbing.
Taking the time to find the best commercial plumbing companies will more likely end up saving you additional time and money.
What to Look For in a Commercial Plumbing Service?
The most important trait that a good service will have is reliability. But there’s plenty to unpack when talking about that crucial feature.
Reliable commercial plumber services means that whoever you call will know what they’re doing and how to do it right. In other words, they’ll need to have ample experience, be properly equipped for the job, and approach the project with a professional attitude.
Firstly, the commercial plumber you choose has to be experienced with commercial projects. A great residential plumber might know all of the ins and outs of pipework, but they won’t be equipped to tackle the specialized challenges of plumbing commercial buildings.
In particular, every commercial entity must be compliant with certain building codes and standards. A plumbing job done by someone who isn’t familiar with these codes can result in penalties and fines if it turns out the completed project doesn’t meet the requirements.
Furthermore, the lines, pipes, drains, and appliances won’t be the same in residential and commercial systems. These differences will likely put residential plumbers at an impasse, while commercial plumber services will be right at home.
Secondly, professional commercial plumbing companies will most often be able to handle repairs as well as installations. More than that, they’ll know how to do their job quickly and dependably.
This can be a critical factor, especially with emergency commercial plumbing. After all, you’ll need some time to find the right service. Once you do, you’ll want them to come and fix the problem as soon as possible.
In terms of repairs and installation, it would be best to find a company that does both with the same level of expertise. That way, whatever service you need will be available at a moment’s notice.
Besides being reliable, it will be paramount that your plumber is properly insured and certified. The certification is there to assure you that you’re dealing with genuine professionals. Certificates are issued by the state and can serve almost as a guarantee that the company is qualified to handle commercial plumbing projects.
Insurance will mean that any damages or injuries that occur during the project won’t present an additional cost to you. If you decide to deal with an uninsured commercial plumber, you’re essentially agreeing to pay for someone else’s mistakes.
You can find out if your service of choice satisfies all these requirements by reading their customer reviews, talking to other people who’ve dealt with the service before, or, possibly best of all, by asking the plumbers themselves.
Crucial Questions to Ask Your Commercial Plumber
Once you’ve narrowed down the list of companies, you can start conducting interviews with each of them. Your main focus should be on the following questions:
What Is Their Experience in Commercial Plumbing?
The best question to start with would be how long the company has been in business. Commercial plumbing services need to be efficient and successful to stay afloat. If you find a service that’s been around for years, chances are their track record is pretty good.
What Kind of Licensing and Insurance Do They Have?
A professional service should be able to offer proof of certification. They should also tell you about their insurance policy and what kind of losses it covers.
While this is an important question, you might not even have to ask. Many plumbing professionals will show their licensing and insurance right away. Having those essentials in place is immediate proof of reliability, and experienced plumbing companies are well aware of that.
Does the Company Provide a Warranty?
If you’re dealing with a bona fide Santa Cruz commercial plumbing company, they’ll probably tell you about the guarantee provided for each project. However, you might need to ask further questions about the details of the company’s warranty policy.
Before the work even starts, you should know whether the warranty extends to the whole project or is applicable only to certain elements. And, of course, if you find out that the company isn’t willing to stand behind their work, they’re likely not the ideal choice.
Which Subcontractors Do They Employ?
It’s no secret that a commercial plumbing company can use various subcontractors and suppliers. In fact, if a company isn’t willing to reveal who they’re working with, that might be an immediate cause for concern.
Knowing about the commercial plumber’s subcontractors will give you a better idea of the overall quality of work. Once you know which products and tools the company is using, you’ll be able to do a quick check and find out if you’re getting the best of the best or a mediocre service.
Can the Company Provide References?
By now, you’ve likely gone over all of the reviews and customer testimonials you could find online. While your research may have given you some indications about the company’s work ethics and performance, it wouldn’t hurt to get some references from the plumbers themselves.
It’s entirely possible that you won’t find out anything new from the references the company provides. However, the question will serve as a test of sorts.
Firstly, if the plumber isn’t willing to share references, it might indicate they have something to hide. Whether or not that’s the case, refusing to give references won’t instill confidence in the service.
Secondly, you might get a clue about the company’s professional integrity. You’ll most likely be able to spot if they’re giving you only polished, stellar reviews or if the feedback is genuine.
Do They Handle Maintenance?
In commercial plumbing, repairs and installation aren’t the only important services that a company can provide. Regular maintenance is the third piece of the puzzle.
If you often need plumbing repairs, maintenance will play a crucial role. Rather than finding a different plumber for every job, it would be much more convenient if you could get all of the needed services from one source.
Of course, if the company you’re considering is excellent in every other regard, not doing maintenance shouldn’t be a deal-breaker. But it might tip the scales if you’re choosing between two companies of similar quality.
What’s the Fee for Their Estimate?
Whether you’re planning an extensive project or have an emergency, commercial plumbers will first need to come to your location, perform an inspection, and give you an estimate. This preliminary service will often come with a certain fee.
You should find out what that fee is to be prepared for the eventual expense. This knowledge will come in handy particularly if you intend on getting estimates from multiple companies. Also, you might find that some plumbers don’t charge for the estimate at all, either as regular practice or as a part of a promotion.
Does the Company Charge by Hour?
Commercial plumbers will usually charge for their services either by hour or by project. If it’s the latter, you could get an all-inclusive price for the entire job. However, an hourly rate might be the better option for smaller jobs.
Naturally, not all companies will work at the same rate. Knowing precisely how they’ll charge will allow you to weigh your options more precisely.
Is there a Concise Project Timeline?
You would, of course, like to know how long a repair would take if you called a regular plumber. Commercial plumbing is much the same.
The last thing you want is to sign a contract with a plumbing company only to get stuck in a project that never seems to get finished. Plus, without a set timeline, you won’t be able to do anything else on location until the plumbing job is done.
Fortunately, you can avoid the additional stress by asking the plumbing company about their time schedule. Knowing what the timeline is will help you adjust your schedule accordingly. Also, you’ll get an even better idea of what the company is like based on the projected time it takes them to complete the project.
Should You Expect Any Daily Inconveniences?
You can’t expect to conduct business as usual with an ongoing plumbing project. Still, certain business operations can continue simultaneously with the plumber’s work.
If the project will disrupt those operations, you should know about it from the start. That way you can still get the plumbing in order while maintaining some level of efficiency.
The Benefits of Hiring a Good Commercial Plumbing Company
When you find the right company to take care of your commercial plumbing, you can expect several benefits:
- Proper experience, supplies, and tools for the job
- Flawless work safety
- Insured and licensed service
- Efficient work without wasting time
- A more affordable solution in the long run
Everything listed above is more than enough to justify the effort and time you’ll spend searching for the right service. The bottom line is, you’ll find that your due diligence and patience will pay off considerably.
Finding the best commercial plumbing company will undoubtedly be worth it, but finding it as soon as possible would be even better.
Fortunately, there’s a way for you to do just that right now. Visit the Anytime Plumbing website to see what a professional plumbing service looks like. And if you’re in the Santa Cruz area, you can schedule a service immediately and put an end to the lengthy search.
