Hot water is glorious
We’re happy to report that as of Friday at approximately 5:04 pm, the installation of our new water heater was complete. You can see it in all of its AquaHut glory in the photo. Sure, it has the looks that only a home owner that lived a week without hot water could love, but it does the trick. It also gives our unusually large heat pump some company.
Our rejoicing was brought to an abrupt, albeit temporary, halt on Saturday morning, however, when we awoke to no hot water. The tip of the gas supply line that feeds the pilot light became blocked overnight, cutting off the gas to the burner. Hence, no hot water. After a call to the plumber’s 24-hour line and a visit from yet another plumber, we were back in business. Happy showers and baths for all… at least those in our immediate family.
A couple thoughts on the customer experience we just went through. (Being a marketer, I can’t help but think about these things.) The lead plumber I worked with really knew his stuff, had great communication skills and patiently answered all my questions. I could tell, though, that all of his knowledge was focused on the process of plumbing (which is good, if you’re a plumber) and not on the products he was recommending to be installed. For example, all he could tell me about the water heater was that it was a 50 gallon gas water heater made by State. He didn’t could answer questions about “first hour rate” (the amount of hot water that can be supplied in 1 hour), recovery rates, specific sizing questions, etc. I was a bit disappointed in this part of the experience… I didn’t want a pushy saleman, but a little sales like info would have been good. Despite this, right as I was handing him the check, he made a classic salesman move. He said, “oh, and if you find that the hot water takes a little longer to get to the fixture than you like, we can install a recirculating pump for about $xxx.” Already planting the seed for the next sale… kudos to him.
2 comments March 4, 2007 at 04:54pm Jordan