Archive for Home Safety – Page 3

We Know Those Necessary Permits Can Be a Pain

Most cities have required permits for years on things like water heater, gas line, water and sewer installations. They vary slightly from city to city, but we take care of that for you and obtain the necessary permit for your job.

We know that it’s difficult for you to take time from work to be home for the work to be done, and then you have to be available to see it through the permit process. We try to make it as easy as possible!

Truth be told however, they really are an important part of ensuring that the work you have done is up to code. It’s a protection from many things. It protects you from having work that is not safe and up to code and it protects us because we are required to take out the proper permits by the State of Texas or be subject to large fines or even losing our license to work.

For instance, you need to have a plumbing license to do certain types of work. Often handymen are hired for those jobs because they are lower-priced, but you have to consider the trade-offs. The licenses and insurance, even the continuing education, all cost money, and a licensed plumber has to offset those fees. By comparison, those illegally doing that work without the proper licensing can cause you to be unarmed if the work goes haywire. Where’s the insurance to kick in when damage to a person or property is due to an illegally non-permitted job?

Those permits can’t be taken out by just anybody. We have to show that we are a licensed and insured plumbing company, and on file with the city. A homeowner can do work themselves if they live in the home where the work is to be done, but a hired contractor who knows what they’re doing is the safer bet, and they must have necessary permits.

We wanted you to know why we take those steps. They truly are for your protection, so we wanted you to know that we feel your pain! Even so, we’ll always do our best to err on the side of right. It’s ultimately in your best interest.

Customer Safety – How Do You Know it’s Us?

When you’re having an emergency, you wait and look … and look … and drive yourself crazy looking for your plumber to pull up to your house. There is NEVER any plumber ANYWHERE that can be there fast enough for a customer’s emergency! In that case, you’re plenty aware of who is knocking at your door. But what if you are simply having routine maintenance done, or a less urgent situation? We all know it’s very easy to be distracted in the home and not really think about who is at your door. If you are already one of our valuable customers, you know us all by name. But if you are a new customer, how can you be sure it is our company at your door?

First of all, look out a near window to see if our clearly marked company vans are outside where you can see them. If you can’t see the truck, ask through the door, “Who is it?”  It is possible that while you were looking out the window our man may have walked back to the truck for something, or stepped far enough away from the door that he didn’t hear you. Our men wear shirts with “Gary’s Quality Plumbing” clearly marked on the back, and their names are on the front. If you don’t see those words, you’re not dealing with Gary’s Quality Plumbing, and you need to make an excuse to get back behind the door and lock it until you can find out if who you’re dealing with is legitimate.

Our goal is to provide you excellent products and service, safely. We want to encourage our customers to be aware of who is at their door, and to call our company to speak with Dorothy or Debi if you have any doubts whatsoever. We do our best to be easily identified by our customers, and value their safety at all times.