Celebrating Plumbers Who Went the Extra Mile

We know that plumbers complete great feats every day. Each customer and each job is incredibly important and we honor the work that they do on a daily basis. We wanted to find a way to gather some great stories to share that highlight plumbers going the extra mile.

Our Rheem^® Full-Throttle Champions each have inspirational stories that go above and beyond in their own way. To celebrate these heroes, each of our Full-Throttle Champions had an opportunity to have a personal video call with NASCAR driver Christopher Bell, driver of the #20 Rheem Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing. Read on to learn more about how each plumber went above and beyond to take care of their customer.

What Is a Full-Throttle Champion?

Plumbing professionals strive to provide excellent customer service every day. A Full-Throttle Champion is a service professional hero who:

• Helps & Serves Others – Full-Throttle Champions act for the benefit of others. As an expert, customers rely their plumber to help them make the right decision.
• Give Their All – Full-Throttle Champions work hard and go the extra mile. They might even work late nights and on holidays or in the extreme heat and the freezing cold – there is a job to do and they step up to the challenge.
• Believe in Doing Things Right – It’s not just about the paycheck, it’s about knowing they provided the best service to their customer.
• Love NASCAR – The roar of the engines and the waving of the checker flags, Full-Throttle Champions have their heart in the race!

Full-Throttle Champion: Jay Webber, Tri-Star Mechanical, Colorado Springs, CO

A few years ago, a customer had a water heating emergency with a running temperature & pressure relief valve. Their basement was flooding and they called Jay for a second opinion. The first plumber they called had said they would need a new water heater and boiler adding up to $14,000. Jay took a look and saw that replacing the water pressure regulator was all they needed. Instead of $14,000, Jay was able to fix the problem for just a few hundred dollars and their temperature & pressure relief valve stayed closed. With the money they saved, his customers were able to start their dream business, a cat rescue and adoption center, and they called Jay to work on the plumbing. His high ethical standards created a long-term customer.

Full-Throttle Champion: Victor Bachman, Mike Bachman Plumbing, North Ogden, UT

Victor installed a soaker tub, bathroom fixtures and a 50-gallon Rheem water heater for a customer. Later that day, he got a panicked call from the customer’s daughter. Her mother was stuck in the tub and she didn’t want to call emergency workers. She had flipped the drain lever and had created a vacuum effect, suctioning her to the bottom of the tub! Victor’s creative thinking and ingenuity allowed him to break the vacuum and free her from the tub. He saved his customer from a scary, and maybe a little embarrassing, situation.

Full-Throttle Champion: Chad Roylance, Mike Bachman Plumbing, North Ogden, UT

Chad was looking to do a good deed for someone in his community, so he began asking his customers if they knew of any veterans in need of plumbing work. He heard about an 84-year-old vet who had served four years active duty and six years in the reserves around the time of the Korean War. His water heater was only working sporadically, so he often had no hot water in his mobile home. Chad gave this customer a new water heater, installed, for free. And as a bonus he got to hear several stories about the customer’s time serving the country.

Full-Throttle Champion: Devin Fairchild, Summers Plumbing Heating and Cooling, Daleville, IN

Running into a weekend without hot water is the worst. Devin helped a customer at 6 p.m. on a Friday with a water leak. Rather than selling her a new water heater, he saw that it was still under warranty but it was only six days from expiring. He was able to replace the water heater for free and only charged his customer for labor. Devin takes pride in helping his customers even if he doesn’t make as much money on that job.

Everyday Heroes

We never get tired of hearing stories about plumbers stepping up to help their customers in thoughtful and generous ways. We hope you will agree. Watch the videos below to see how the calls went!