If you have ever had a plumbing problem (and we all have) you kept an eye open, trained on the driveway, waiting for the appearance of a service truck emblazoned with your plumber’s name and logo. When you saw that truck pull up, you knew your plumbing problem was nearly at an end. Seeing that truck not only meant your plumber had arrived. It also meant he was well stocked with all the tools, replacement parts, fittings, even (if they were called for) water heaters and water closets ready for installation.
No matter how much has to fit in that truck, so much else goes into getting it ready before it can help us to help you.
Recently we added a new service truck to the Ross Plumbing Service Division. Before it became #194, a lot of people had a hand in making it the kind of service truck that would serve both you and us equally well.
The new truck has plenty of space, and it sure is shiny, but it’s not there yet.
The plain, white van above came to us brand new, but it still wasn’t what you, or we, needed. Plumbers need lots of storage space. That’s true of the outside of the truck as much as the inside. Customizing this van with a new pipe rack on top allows the plumbers who fix your plumbing problems to carry more of anything they might need in a job where every day is different.
Service trucks need storage on the outside as well as on the inside. Installing that rack on top insures space for lengths of pipe, for ladders and for other plumber’s essentials while still leaving room on the inside for all the rest your plumber depends on.
Storage solutions on the inside also require customization. Blue bins hold all the different couplings and joints for a variety of applications for all kinds of commonly used piping materials, including copper, PEX, CPVC and PVC. These bins hold all the small things and keep them organized while also maximizing remaining space for all the big things, like those water heaters we’re always installing. The open bins also allow your service tech to see at a glance each morning what he might need to restock from the warehouse in order to get the job done. No customer wants a plumber, no matter how skilled, ever showing up less than fully equipped for the job.
Caption: Although the inside of a truck has to hold lots of big stuff, including water heaters, the majority of what a plumber needs ready access to in the field is small. Being able to find all those small fittings in a hurry is how your plumber gets the job done so quickly.
Although storage solutions are an important, practical matter. Everyone also needs to know that it’s their plumber who is showing up in the driveway. That’s the fun part – getting the truck wrapped. (By the way, hat tip to Sign Wizards. They do great work.)
All that’s missing is the plumber. Here, Truck 194 is ready to go. It has storage inside and out, and no one doubts that it’s a Ross Plumbing truck.
If you’ve seen our service trucks on the road or on the job, you know they are distinct. The shade of teal, the font, definitely the pipework and certainly the dog (our mascot) all serve a purpose. And it’s not just standing out in a crowd of other, heavily decorated, trucks. Every aspect of that design was a conscious choice. When you call us, we want you to know it is us, Ross Plumbing, showing up to help you.
Sometimes in the home services, especially in plumbing, a service truck is called a ‘rolling billboard.” There is another reason to want those trucks to be as distinctive as can be. When one of our service techs is on his or her way to help you, we want other people who might need plumbers to remember us too. We can’t help them through their plumbing problems if they don’t know we are here, able to help.
This may be an old picture of older trucks, but the same rules apply. The person who was watching this driveway, waiting for their plumber, knew it was Ross Plumbing and knew the service techs who arrived had everything they needed to get the job done.
Lots of things go into a service truck, even before it hits the road to your house, but it is all wrapped up in one thing: the concept of service. Everything about a Ross Plumbing service truck is there to serve. These trucks serve you by reliably getting your plumber to the job you need to have done and by carrying all the tools, fixtures, fittings and equipment to you so he can do the job for you. That’s what we are for, and that is why we trust our trucks. They help us do it. These service trucks help us to help you.