May 2019 Metropolitan Washington Association of Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors
Newsleak MWPHCC Monthly T4 Training and Dinner Meeting Information...last one of the season
Thursday, May 2, 2019 Holiday Inn of College Park 10000 Baltimore Avenue College Park, MD 20740 6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
May T4 Training: Sponsors: Ferguson and General Wire
Complimentary full course dinner included Prizes and give-a-ways included
Topic: Drain Cleaning Learning Modules and troubleshooting along with introduction to new tools and machines during a Vendor Blender Networking Session.
REGISTER HERE FOR THIS TRAINING AND DINNER MEETING
Monthly Meeting Schedule 4:30 Board Meeting
6:00 - T-4 Training 7:30 - Dinner and
ABOUT US:
General Meeting Inside this issue: May Mtg. Information
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Washington Gas: Empower Maryland
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Golf Tournament 2019
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Establishing Customer Service Culture
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Legislative Conference
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National Standard Plumbing Code Updates
10
Leadership Freak: Avoiding Distraction
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The Metropolitan Washington Association of Plumbing- Heating-Cooling Contractors (MWPHCC) was founded in 1873 and represents approximately 40 companies and their employees. We place a strong emphasis on training and social networking and we are always focused on ways to make your business more profitable. Our chapter also places importance on giving back to the community through community service and promotion of the industry. Our chapter meets monthly, usually the first Thursday of the month in College Park, MD We provide a free training at 6:00 pm, followed by our General Meeting and complimentary dinner. www.mwphcc.org
METROPOLITAN WASHINGTON ASSOCIATION OF PLUMBING-HEATING-COOLING CONTRACTORS Founded in 1873
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WASHINGTON GAS & EMPOWER MARYLAND NETWORK
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Click here to register!
This will be our last Golf Outing at Glenn Dale Golf Course! They will be closing the course September 1st to make way for a housing development.
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MWPHCC Annual Golf Tournament Friday, August 23, 2019 Glenn Dale Golf Club $500.00 foursome $125.00 individual
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10 Things You Must Know to Establish and Preserve Your Customer Service Culture By: Colin Shaw
Published April 11, 2019
Defining and managing your customer service culture is a significant issue for many organizations. Today we share some important considerations for establishing your customer service culture as well as the best practices of the leading customer service organizations.
revenue generators. Suttle suggests walking through your company as if you were a new hire. Consider what in your employee experience would make you want to get up in the morning and come
We shouldn’t see employees as simply Page 5
1. Acknowledge what works. Too often we don't celebrate successes. However, finding ways to draw attention to the positive goes a long way to motivate teams. 2. Communicate. Communication is critical for achieving both personal and sales goals. Many leaders are, conflictaverse. They see a problem, and know it has to be fixed, but it's uncomfortable. However, leadership should address it anyway to move forward.
We spoke with Marilyn Suttle, a conference speaker, and three-time bestselling author and coach. Suttle says defining and becoming a guardian of your customer service culture is essential for your organization’s leadership. Your mission, vision, and values define your customer culture, but your day-today actions provide it. Essential Considerations for Your Customer Service Culture We think that customer service is all about the customers, but it is really about the employees, since what happens on the inside of a company, will eventually show up on the “outside.”
ership did. Here are the top ten.
to work—and what makes you want to pull the covers up over your head again instead! The Top 10 Best Practices of the Leading Service Organizations Suttle undertook a two-year study of the best companies that excelled at customer service. She researched and interviewed what these companies’ lead-
3. Define expectations and establish accountability. Let people know what you want from a leadership perspective and measure the results. Hold each other and your teams to a standard. 4. Define and improve your responsiveness. Suttle spent six months with a global leadership team. She suggested they improve their responsiveness. . For example, with email she suggested (Continued
on
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At Ferguson, nobody expects more from us than we do. And why should they? We’re the ones who set the bar. Who expect more than the industry standard. From the warehouse to the job site, whatever it takes, we’ll take you there. Put us to work for you. Visit Ferguson.com. Ferguson proudly stocks
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2019 Legislative Conference Come Tell YOUR Story We're going to advocate on issues that directly impact your business – like unfair utility competition and infrastructure spending – but we can't do it effectively without your voice! We need you at the PHCC Legislative Conference, May 7-8 on Capitol Hill. Just confirmed: At the issues briefing on May 7th, you'll have the opportunity to hear political insights from award-winning Journalist Carl Cannon, Washington Bureau Chief of RealClearPolitics and Executive Editor of RealClear Media Group. And at the legislative breakfast on May 8th, you'll learn about the latest developments in Congress from invited guest speakers, including Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX). Don't miss this prime opportunity to experience how you can help take our advocacy efforts to the next level!
May 7—8, 2019 Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill 400 New Jersey Ave NW Washington DC 20001-2002
LEARN MORE Page 7
Your Best Chance to Meet Directly with Decision Makers!
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10 Things You Must Know to Establish and Preserve Your Customer Service Culture Continued from p. 5
they respond immediately with an acknowledgment of the receipt of the inquiry and a message that informs the customer you are working on it. Even better if you can tell them when you will get back to them. 5. Remove “moments of irritation.” Irritating parts of your experience leave a lasting negative impression of your company. For example, can a customer go to your website and find your phone number, or do they have to hunt for it? Make it easy, fast, and convenient for customers to interact with you in every area. 6. Set positive subconscious clues. Suttle says one company had a voice mail message that said the person was “continuously checking messages throughout the day.” It assured her that the person would hear her message soon and would get back to her in a reasonable amount of time. Page 8
7. Reinforce continuously. Too often, a customer culture is designed and implemented, but then, over time, the standards slip. Reinforcing these concepts is easy to do and there are many ways to do it. For example, you could give a “shout out” to the driver that came in early to ensure an order got out to a customer. 8. Incorporate customer service wins into established parts of the employee’s experience. From the daily huddle to the weekly team meeting, add a point where the employees share a moment where they put the customer first. It sends the message of what you expect, and it also allows everyone on the team to learn from one another’s successes. 9. Recruit the right kinds of employees. People who have a strong work ethic like to work around others who share similar characteristics. Have your high performers recommend people when
you are hiring.
10. Listen before you fix. In customer service, customers want to know they were heard. Suttle advises that you let them finish venting before you jump in and fix the problem. When they feel listened to, the customer is more likely to hear your solutions. You can have the best strategy and it won’t work if you have the wrong culture. The reason your customer experience is the way it is stems from the culture you have. It is up to you to ensure you have the type of culture that will allow your team to deliver the experience you worked so hard to design and implement—and keep it going.
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National Standard Plumbing Code Public Hearing Set for July 11, 2019 The International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO) encourages all members and industry representatives to review the Proposed Code Changes for the 2021 National Standard Plumbing Code (NSPC) and attend the NSPC public hearing, scheduled for July 11, 2019, in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Changes approved at the July hearing will appear in the 2021 NSPC. The NSPC Committee reviews the code annually and updates it on a three-year cycle. The proposed changes to the 2021 NSPC will be available to the public for viewing and downloading after April 15 at www.iapmo.org/NSPC. For more information, please contact the IAPMO NSPC staff at nspc@iapmo.org.
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HOW TO AVOID DISTRACTION AND FOCUS ON REAL ISSUES By: Dan Rockwell, The Leadership Freak Blog, April 15, 2019
Mary* approached, after a recent presentation and said, “I wanted to hear more about dealing with your inner critic.” She could have said: • You should talk more about managing your inner critic. • Why didn’t you give more information about managing your inner critic? • You didn’t spend enough time on managing a loud inner critic. Defensive: “YOU should,” and, “Why didn’t YOU,” invite self-protective responses. Defensiveness distracts from real Self protection issues. becomes Self-protection becomes explanaexplanation tion and accusaand accusation. tions. Critics explain why you’re
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wrong. You explain why you’re right. Self-protection leads to selfjustification. Conversation stalls. Courage to say, “I”: Mary didn’t play the “Woe is me,” card. She didn’t blame me for her frustration. Mary said, “I wanted to hear more about dealing with the inner critic.” The use of “I” made all the difference. Vulnerability: Opens hearts. Enables connection Empowers exploration. Focuses conversation on forward movement. Mary explained that she beats herself up after she makes a mistake. “It can go on for a couple weeks.” (During the presentation she heard me say, “I have a loud inner-critic that’s whispering, ‘Loser,’ in my ear.” I form a
“L” with my finger and thumb and hold it to my forehead.) I responded to Mary, “I know what you mean. It’s like circling a black hole.” 5 ways to open hears: Approach issues with forwardfacing compassion and curiosity. Adopt a shoulder-to-shoulder style. We’re in this together. Avoid a know-it-all attitude. Practice transparency regarding your weaknesses. Advance the agenda in ways that leverage each other’s strengths more than pointing out each other’s weaknesses.
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Thanks to our Newsleak Advertisers Cummins Wagner Co. Inc
N.H. Yates
Contact: Jamey Gray 10901 Pump House Road Annapolis JCT, MD 20701 Phone: (301) 953-9370 Email: JGray@cummins-wagner.com Website: www.cummins-wagner.com
Contact: Gary Markle 117-C Church Lane Cockeysville, MD 21030 Phone: (410) 667-6300 Email: gpmarkle@nhyates.com Website: www.nhyates.com
D&B Distributing, Inc.
ROI Marketing
Contact: Roy Bremerman III Sharron Bremerman 2301 Perkins Place Silver Spring, MD 20910 Phone: (301) 565-2222 Email: sharron@jetglaswaterheaters.com Website: www.jetglaswaterheaters.com
Ferguson Enterprises, Inc.
Contact: Steve Kidwell 733 Generals Hwy Millersville, MD 21108 Phone: (800) 441- 8188 Email: skidwell@roimkt.com Website: www.roimkt.com
Taze & Hewitt, A Division of Chesapeake Systems
Contact: Carl Anderson 11730 Baltimore Avenue Beltsville, MD 20705 Phone: (240) 264-3600 Email: carl.anderson@ferguson.com Website: www.ferguson.com
Contact: Dick Rhodes 7400 Coca-Cola Drive Hanover, MD 20701 Phone: (443) 561-1600 Email: drhodes@tazeandhewit.com Website: www.tazeandhewitt.com
Harry Eklof & Associates, Inc.
Thos. Somerville
Contact: John Lang 3401 Pennsy Drive Landover, MD 20785 Phone: (301) 386-5064 Email: jlang@harryeklof.com
H.M. Sweeny, Co., Inc. Contact: Steve Ratsch 8373 Ardwick Ardmore Road Landover, MD 20785 Phone: (301) 322-9100/410 960-4206 Email: hvacwholesaler@aol.com Website: www.hmsweeny.com
Contact: Gary Lower Dan Kelly 6250 Chillum Place, NW Washington, DC 20011 Phone: (240) 619-1644 Email Gary. Lower@tsomerville.com Website: www.tsomerville.com
Washington Winnelson Company Contact: Steve Erickson 3333 Pennsy Drive Hyattsville, MD 20785 Phone: (301) 386-7771 Email: serickson@winnelson.com Website: www.washingtonwinnelson.com
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO ADVERTISE IN OUR MONTHLY NEWSLETTER, PLEASE CONTACT SUE THOMPSON AT SUE@MWPHCC.ORG Page 12
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President Fred Werth, Owner Kensington Plbg
301-864-1117 mystical.plumber@comcast.net 1st Vice President Bill Warshauer, Owner United Service Specialists 301 924 3500 bill@calluss.com 2nd Vice President Charlie Perkins, Owner Beltsville Heating & AC 301-937-6700 cperkbhac@hotmail.com Secretary Steve Heidler, Owner Heidler Plumbing 410.268.7191 steveh@heidlerplumbing.com
Treasurer Glenn King , G.R. King Plbg 301-982-5373 grkingplumbing@comcast.net Sergeant at Arms Charlie Perkins, Beltsville Heating & AC 301-937-6700 cperkbhac@hotmail.com MWPHCC Auxiliary Marcia Shapiro, President 301-475-6760
Carl Anderson 240-264-3600 John Davis 240-375-1161 Chris Erdle 301-490-9500 Luella Greene-Miles 703-750-4476 Jamey Gray 301-953-9370 Gary Markle 202-421-6195 Dick Rhodes 443-561-1692 Otto Seidel 202-397-7000 Laura Warshauer 301-924-3500
Past President Al Luke, Owner Jiffy Plumbing & Heating Phone: 301-277-9111 allanluke9111@gmail.com Executive Director
Susan Thompson (301) 278.2962
We’re on the web! Visit us at www.mwphcc.org
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Board of Directors
To Contact the National PHCC Office 1-800-533-7694 or on the web at www.phccweb.org