I just relocated to Sparks and on my first day here I rented a home with a wall furnace and tried turning on the heat at around 4pm wanting the house to be warm when my boyfriend arrived in town with our belongings. The heater, which I had been assured would work great, did not kick on. I had no idea what to do, seeing as I am more accustomed to propane heat. I called my dad and he tried to walk me through it but since he was not there in person it just wasn't working. He told me to call a plumber and have them come out and light the pilot for me because he knew I was terrified of accidentally blowing up the house somehow. Because I was new in town and had no friends to ask, I had to rely on the luck of the draw in the yellow pages. I flipped through a few ads but they all looked too corporate or shady. I am not usually swayed by fancy full-page ads, but the ad for Paschall Plumbing caught my eye due to the fact that it said they had been in business for 30 years. I figured that alone says something about the integrity of the business. I called the number and a man named Bruce answered the phone. I explained to him that I had just rented a house and didn't know how to light the pilot light. He started to ask me some questions about the furnace and then asked if he could call me back in a minute because one of his guys was dealing with a situation he had to help him with. I figured he just wanted to get off the phone and didn't have any intention of calling me back, especially not in a literal minute. I told him that would be fine and hung up the phone. About two minutes later my phone rang and it was Bruce from Paschall Plumbing! I was taken aback that he actually followed through but that prompt return of a call did not compare to what he did next. Bruce asked me if I was looking at the heater. He asked if I saw a copper wire and explained how I would need to follow that up to the pilot area and light it with a long match or something comparable. He, in detail, described what I needed to do and asked if I understood. He told me what setting the switch needed to be on and explained how it all worked. He walked me through it, the entire time treating me like nobody had ever had the problem before and not at all sounding jaded or condescending about the operation. The entire time he had a pleasant tone and professional approach. He, without looking at the furnace, was able to get me to the point where I was totally comfortable with lighting the pilot. Once I had it lit, he celebrated with me by encouraging my confidence with what he had just helped me with. At this point Bruce had spent about fifteen minutes with me on the phone! I heard the heater kick on and we rejoiced! Before getting off the phone he made it clear that I could call him back if I had any questions. He explained a little more about how the heater and sensors work. He gave me a comprehensive explanation about the intricacies of the heater and how to solve a few other problems I might encounter with it in the future, all of which were delivered in very clear, simple and understandable terms that someone like me could understand. I hung up the phone feeling like I had just done business with a very competent and caring company. However, my time with Bruce did not end there.
As it turns out, later that day I encountered some more problems with the heater. It was after 5pm at that point so I called the number for Paschall Plumbing again and heard their recording that even though it was after hours you could still reach a technician for any type of problem, not only emergencies. I decided that I didn't want to bother any one at home so I left a message that I would like assistance the next day and went and bought a space heater. That night when my landlord called to see how the rental was working out I explained to her the heater problem. She ultimately said her husband would fix it in the morning. I told her that if he couldn't fix it that I had just done business with someone I felt was extremely fair and honest--Paschall Plumbing. Bruce called me back the next morning at 7:30 am, prompt as all heck and explained that he was totally willing to walk me through it on the phone again and that, if need be, he could get one of his guys to my house within an hour or two. I let him know that my landlord was going to take care of it. I thanked him for all he had done for me and guaranteed him that I would spread the word to anyone who ever mentioned a heat, cooling or plumbing problem to me, that his company was extraordinary and provided me honest help free of charge!
This experience totally changed my opinion on the plumbing profession. I was given tons of free, helpful advice. Bruce's knowledge, combined with his humanistic ways are invaluable. He runs a company how people did in the past--with reliability, honesty and concern for the customer, not a desire for money or greed to make a quick buck. Awesome job! read more