I had been out running some errands when I returned home and was immediately overwhelmed by three forces of nature: My daughter, my wife and raw sewage. Two were in a panic and the other was advancing on all fronts.
We needed a plumber - like yesterday. It was 4:30 p.m. and we had to be somewhere by 7:00 p.m. We didn't have time to phone friends for referrals. Rosemary got on the computer and came up with three choices. She explained our predicament to the first contractor that she called. She ended up speaking to the owner, who when hearing our story, said he would come out himself.
Flashback to earlier in the day. Rosemary and I met Donna Cutting for coffee to talk about her book The Celebrity Experience. Ironically, Donna spoke about the superb customer service exploits of a Boston plumber who she profiled in the book. She said this guy's technicians wore shoe covers and laid out a red carpet at the customer's front door...
At 5:15 p.m. that day I answer our front door. There stands Chuck, owner of Chuck's Plumbing. Chuck introduced himself, handed me his business card and laid down a red carpet. Chuck was wearing shoe covers.
Chuck repaired the problem and cleaned up in time for us to make our 7:00 p.m. engagement.
Discovering Chuck was like finding a needle in a hay stack. Getting him to our house within an hour was no less spectacular. That he was clean, courteous and knowledgeable was almost too much to believe.
Hopefully this message will spare you from the anxiety that grips one around the neck and chokes one's airways when trying to find a competent plumber in Tampa. Hopefully our good fortune will be yours too.
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