Plumbing Job Tips For a Lifetime

They say that if you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life. Enjoying what you do is important but the idea of it never feeling like work is a fallacy--especially if plumbing is your chosen industry.

A good plumbing job may require any number of skills, manual labor, frustrating pipe puzzles, and even the ability to deal with difficult customers.

So, with that said, we are going to discuss a few things to keep in mind when beginning your plumbing career. Keep reading for more information!

Customer Service is Essential

Customer service comes naturally to some and is difficult to master for others.

Customers will inevitably be upset, angry, or scared when it comes to dealing with a plumber.

You are there because there is a problem, and this problem may have already caused damage to their home, as well as it being damaging to their pocketbook.

The best thing that can be done in any intense situation is to do your job while being friendly and helpful. Having a great attitude will go far in retaining customers and getting new ones.

The new ones will definitely come as references from the existing ones because their word of mouth will be, “he was so patient/kind/helpful even when my nerves were shot.” Even when customers are not in anyway stressed, customer service matters. Showing that you care about the job you do, that you stand behind your work, and that you fix any mistakes you make ensures you will be hired for the next job.

Always Remember Your Safety Gear

Plumbing is a dirty job, and not just dirty, but it can be unsanitary and downright dangerous.

Wearing the right protective gear for each job is important to protect yourself from injury and illnesses.

Some examples of protective clothing can include safety glasses, hard hats, gloves, and respirators. The respirators might seem like overkill, but when working with toxic sewage fumes or overwhelming natural gas, you will be thankful for it.

Get On-The-Job Skills With Every Service

Plumbers are required to know many different skills. Many of these are natural physical abilities while many others are learned on the job.

The ability to hold your arm steady to support a pipe or the dexterity in your hands are both natural physical abilities.

Learned skills can include recalling the math needed to fit pipes correctly or tricks of the trade. One such ‘trick’ isn’t so much a trick at all, more like a tip to make plumbing life easier. It is as simple as plunging a sink before removing the trap.

The plunging will move the water and help you make less of a mess. Another tip would be to use your smartphone camera to see into places that are too small or too dark to see. Finally, a favorite tip in the industry is cutting a pipe with a string.

This is not something that can be done extremely fast and accurately, but will get the job done. All you’ve got to do is place a notch in the pipe, wrap the string around it, and then move it back and forth in a sawing motion. Again, it’s not super accurate, smooth, or fast--but it can work when your saw can’t reach an area.