(lively rock music)
-: Hello, and welcome back to "The Sharpest Tool".
This is Josh Smith, your host,
where we take the sting out of marketing.
With everything that we're bringing to the table,
I'm always amped up
when we have a phenomenal guest in the booth.
And today, I have Howie Metz of Quality First
based out of Denver, Colorado
in the booth with us today to talk about some stuff.
Howie, welcome.
-: Thank you, great to be here!
-: How are you enjoying California so far?
-: It's everything the commercial say it is.
(Josh laughs) It's my first time ever here
and it's gorgeous.
-: Awesome!
Well, why don't you give the listeners
a little bit of insight into you, your business,
and where you're at in your business journey?
-: Well, my business is a home service/commercial repair,
plumbing, heating, and air-conditioning company.
We started in 2008 out of my house,
and my wife and I decided that we were gonna bring a product
that's typically predatory and make it family-run,
family-based, family values, and not scare people
into doing things that they don't need to do.
And that was basically the foundation of what we started.
And in the 10 1/2 years now that we've been in business,
it's infectious what we started.
So it's pretty awesome.
What a great ride.
-: That's incredible.
How did you get into the trade?
You've been in it for about 10 1/2 years.
What were you doing before you started the business?
-: In 1985, I was in Brooklyn, New York,
and had some family pass away,
and my brother lived in Denver, he's a bit older than me,
and he started a drain cleaning company.
I went to work for him and I was really bad at it.
(Josh laughs)
It was comical how bad I was.
But then after a few months, I got it.
It started clicking in.
I enjoyed it.
Then, I started learning the plumbing trade.
I earned my master plumber's license.
So I went from drain cleaning to plumbing repair,
and we grew his business to be sizeable,
and he taught me some of the values that we exercise today.
-: Yeah.
What prompted you to start Quality First 10 1/2 years ago?
-: Well, my brother and I had a little bit of a falling out,
and I, being a tradesman, needed a job,
so I figured I'd start one up and we had the house.
I just went and bought a truck.
We spent all of our savings.
The thing about what really catapulted us
was I developed a lot of relationships over time.
-: Oh, okay.
-: And many of those relationship-based clients followed me,
and they just shot us forward,
and we still do business with them today.
-: That's incredible.
-: It's a really great story, and it's not just about money,
it's about solving their problem,
not selling them things that they don't necessarily need,
giving them options,
but looking out for their best interest first
instead of my own,
and that really set us apart.
-: What's your favorite part about running the business
the way that you've grown it and developed it?
-: That's an easy one.
All of my employees, we have 36 employees right now,
and we're built on a foundation of trust and integrity.
But above all else, I help them make their dreams come true.
And in turn, they help me make mine come true.
It's a very cool circle.
-: That's incredible. -: The way it works out.
It's always family first.
-: Yeah.
Where do those core values,
how did you come to develop those?
Did you grow up with those?
Or were those things instilled later in life?
-: Well, they were instilled a little bit later in life
but it's the way that Laurie, my wife,
and I raised our children.
My son is 26 years old, part of the business
and he opens the door for his mother.
It's the little stuff
because we pay attention to the details
because we go out of our way
to be nice and do the right thing.
-: I wanna dive into your business name: Quality First.
There's so much wrapped around that.
What made you decide to use that business name?
And what does that mean to you?
-: A lot of the people that I know in the business.
I mean, it's a big little community
as far as the plumbing business goes.
And what we found was
just punch out as many calls as you possibly can in a day,
clear the board so you can go home,
and what lacked in that equation is quality.
When my wife and I were sitting around
discussing what we were gonna call our company,
what's our baby gonna be named kind of theme.
When you have a baby, I have three,
you put a lot of thought into the name,
and we said Quality First
because it's the most important aspect of what we do,
and quality lasts.
And so it all just came together,
so Quality First Plumbing because quality lasts
and it just stuck and it works today.
-: Yeah.
In growing the business the way that you did,
I'm sure there were a lot of challenges
with actually maintaining that Quality First focus
'cause you're scaling,
you're bringing new people into the business,
what was one of the biggest challenges
that you had to get over and how'd you overcome it?
-: Well, like a lot of tradesmen who start a company,
what they do is they are the company
and the product they leave behind
is a product of their best self.
And when we recruit people and bring them in,
they have to demonstrate their abilities to us.
Even if you're with us for seven years,
one guy just celebrated seven years with our company,
we go and we check 'em, we do spot checks,
but every single call we complete,
we call the customer
and we make sure that they're 100% happy.
We actually are soliciting complaints
'cause most people who have a problem won't complain.
But if am gonna ask you and if there's an issue,
a lot of times, we'll go out and look at what we left behind
because they have to do the job as good as I would
and all of my guys do a better job than me.
-: That's awesome.
Would you say that maintaining the consistency across
all the tax as you bring on new taxes,
probably one of the biggest challenges?
-: It is the biggest challenge.
Someplace that has a set off procedures
in the way that they do or deliver their product
from start to finish, we're human,
and there's going to be something missed.
And we're not perfect.
We strive to be.
It is a relentless pursuit, to coin a phrase,
but we do the best we can
to remain as consistent as we can all the time.
-: What is the quality aspect into your customers
based on the feedback that you got?
-: They know that we triple check everything that we do.
We ask them while we're on site
if they're happy with the results we provided.
We keep them informed during the process.
It's kinda different than what you would typically expect
out of a service provider.
-: That's a big differentiator for you, I'm sure.
-: It's a big differentiator
'cause the guys are not rushed
like a lot of my competition, I can't say most.
But a lot of my competition,
they get in, get it done, get out.
-: What are some of the things that you do
in order to really keep up with the changing landscape?
The marketing landscape's constantly changing,
the home services world is changing, probably,
it looks a lot different
than it did 10 years ago when you started,
how do you keep up with all of that?
-: We keep in front of everything
from best practices in terms of new tools,
new methods of joining pipe.
As simple as that may sound, it's always evolving.
But we completely embrace technology.
We take pictures before, during, and after
so there's no question.
If a customer may have forgotten
something they said on the phone
when they were booking the call,
they have the capability of listening to that call
on the job site
and just using technology to everyone's advantage
makes us do a better job, a longer-lasting job,
and there's complete accountability.
Nothing is invisible.
-: We've talked a lot about tax.
I know that from my experience
with some home service professionals I'm talking with,
and this is one of the biggest challenges today,
getting the right people on the bus, as it were,
how do you go about
finding the right people for your business?
-: Well, it starts out with what seems to be
a very ridiculously easy process.
When we get somebody to respond to our recruiting ad
or we talk to somebody at a supply house
or however it may be, we require three things,
and everyone in my company can recite those three things.
You need to be on time,
which any more is becoming a novelty
rather than when I was growing up,
it was expected five minutes early was on time.
But being on time, being sober,
and also giving 100% of your best self,
and what that means is it may not be the same
as someone else's 100%,
but I just need you to give 100% of your best self.
And if you can do that consistently,
you'll have a future with our company,
because this isn't just a stop along the way.
We want this to be a career.
We have families who have recruited family
because they really enjoy where they work.
And that's the environment
that we try to embrace every single day.
-: What would you say your tax say about Quality First
in terms of the ones who have been around for a while,
what are the things about the business
that stand out most to the tax?
-: The thing that stands out probably the most
is our sense of family and our family values.
We have some younger people with younger families
and I expect with some of the guys and gals in the office,
when their kid has a recital or something,
don't ask me if you can go,
just let me know when it is
so I know you're gonna be there.
I didn't enjoy that kinda thing.
I missed out on a lot of stuff
because you only get to go through this once.
I get to live it now through my grandchildren
but I see the reaction that our people have
when, yeah, Howie wants me to go and see my kid get a medal.
One of my directors just yesterday,
his son won an award at school,
and he sent a text to everyone in the company
and the responses he got, "Congratulations, Kayden!"
and he showed it to his son and his son got a shiver.
It's not just about turning a wrench, fixing a leak,
unplugging the sewer.
It's about what's really important
and that's the family time.
-: How do you maintain that?
And I presume that that aspect is key
and instrumental to actually retaining tax.
We talk about hiring tax, that's one aspect of it,
but the other half of that is how do you retain them,
keep them engaged with the business operations?
I'm sure that culture plays a factor in it.
And is there anything else you do
to maintain that engagement?
-: Well, Josh, that's another really easy question.
Thanks for keeping these easy.
-: Yeah! (laughs)
-: My company is not developed based on my recipe.
My company is based on the ingredients
that each individual puts into--
-: Love that! -: The soup that we make,
and being heard is important,
affecting change when change is necessary.
And when people play a part in that,
they actually feel like they're part.
As corny as it sounds, it's a team.
-: Absolutely.
-: And everybody's opinion matters.
It's not to say I promise whatever your idea is
I'm gonna put in place,
and we don't run it by vote.
But man, if you've got a good idea, tell me about it.
Let's put it in place and everybody wins.
-: What would you say is the biggest challenge today
that you're facing as a business owner in the trade?
-: The biggest challenge is finding people
who actually still have a work ethic.
Again, being on time.
I don't hire what we call affectionately in the trades
buts and trucks.
-: Yeah. (laughs) -: We don't.
I could probably be a 50 or 75-truck operation,
but then I'm gonna lack quality, I'm gonna lack consistency.
There's a lot of people we don't hire,
and they wanna come to work for us
but some people just don't cut the mustard
and we'd look for that diamond.
-: Yeah, and that takes a lot of time,
and investment of resources, and waiting,
and patience in order to make that happen.
-: That's right, it's all of that.
-: I think if you're building a sustainable business,
that's somethings that's vital
is making sure that the culture's retained,
and that's one of the biggest challenges
as you scale and you grow
is making sure the culture is consistent.
-: That's right.
And I will never sacrifice my culture for a buck.
I won't. -: Absolutely.
So what tools in your business arsenal
have you really found to be most influential
in business growth?
-: The sense of relationship.
Doing the right thing when no one's looking is a big one.
It remains a challenge
and it will be a challenge for a long time
because kids are groomed, go to college, get a degree,
and then hope you're gonna use that degree.
When we are approached,
I go to high schools and I talk to kids,
and if you're good with your hands,
this may be a viable alternative for you,
whether it be a plumber or a heating guy or an electrician.
The trades are suffering
because the population of experienced people is dwindling.
That's the single biggest challenge.
I hope I answered your question the right way
but it will remain a challenge for a while.
-: Is there any challenge or experience that you went through
throughout the course of the past 10 1/2 years
that sticks out in your mind as like, you know what,
this was one of the toughest things
I've ever had to go through,
but on the backend of that,
you learned something really valuable from it.
What would that be and what was your takeaway?
-: I'm a very trusting person.
I trust almost everyone unless I have a reason not to.
And much to my detriment,
yeah, I had a guy who took advantage of my trust
and it cost tens of thousands of dollars in theft,
but it was caught, we licked our wounds, we moved on.
But what I learned from another person in the trades
and some of the groups that I'm in is trust but verify.
And that's the practice that we have now
'cause we just have to.
-: Yeah, no question.
That's crazy.
If you had one piece of advice
that you could give somebody who is listening
who's trying to grow their business, what would it be?
-: Well, the first thing you have to do
is you have to have a mission.
You have to understand the why of what you're doing.
-: Oh, yeah.
-: This is not just a living.
And it is that,
it provides food and all of that for families
but you've gotta have another thing.
For example, I always wanted
to be able to give to charities.
-: Oh, yeah.
-: That one near and dear to me.
-: I love that.
-: And I support three of them on a very regular basis.
And the sense of giving back,
just the feeling that you get, I swear it's a high,
'cause you are doing good for other people.
And we don't broadcast it, we don't do it for recognition.
We do it because it's the right thing to do
and it really resonates within our company.
If we get somebody that's down on their luck
and their furnace goes out,
I'll get guys volunteer to go and do it,
and I might even get the supply house
to donate all or part of the equipment,
and we'll go make them whole
and they're warm and fuzzy, and they cry,
and that feels good.
But it's about the why.
And a lot of people pass that by
when they start their business
because it's just about the money.
But it isn't.
It's much bigger than that.
-: What would you say your why is, Howie?
-: My why is my family.
That's without question.
My family wants for nothing
and they are as giving as my wife and I have always been.
So we really passed on a pretty good legacy.
We don't try to pull things over.
Everything's not always a win.
I don't wanna come across
like everything is peaches and cream
and unicorns and all that, it's not.
But we have a very specific common goal
and that's to satisfy the needs of our customers
and make them our biggest fans
so that they refer friends and family to us
so we can display the same integrity to them.
There's the why.
It's not just unplugging the toilet,
it's not just fixing a thermostat,
it's not just that.
That's how we generate revenue
but it's what you do with it after that
that contributes to my why.
-: Yeah, that is so overlooked so often in business
and I think we're seeing a bit of a movement.
You see this with all the professional speakers
and the positive thinking stuff
that's coming out and surfacing,
and people are thirsting for it almost
but they don't know how to put it into words,
and so I think you did that so succinctly
because it is about that.
There's gotta be something deeper driving
'cause money only satiates for a certain period of time
and then you get to a point
where it no longer is a motivator.
-: That's right.
Money expires but integrity doesn't ever, until you die.
But every company meeting,
I had one guy come up to me
and say it's kind of like a ra-ra,
but my company meetings start,
the room is 63 degrees,
everybody is awake at 7:30 in the morning,
and they walk into the room with AC/DC on
or something like that just to get 'em rushing,
just to get 'em going,
and then we start out with a motivational video
that someone in the company told me about.
And we play that video
and I get to look and watch the faces of engagement.
And then, you've gotta go into a positive meeting
with that positive push.
-: I love that.
-: And it really does affect everyone,
and that's probably the best day of the month for us
when we're all together.
-: What do you think is the motivating factor or catalyst
when it comes to the millennial generation?
The younger generation, when they get in the trades,
what is it that drives them?
-: When we do the interview process,
we ask all of the direct questions that you would expect,
but then we throw curve balls.
If you were a car, what kinda car would you be?
(Josh laughs)
We ask questions like that
to try and get them comfortable and think out of the box.
I personally love the millennial generation
because they are so far-advanced in technology
and I love it.
My parents used to have to ask me
how to work the VCR if you even know what that is.
-: Oh yeah, I know. (laughs)
-: It just means that it goes back to programming that thing
so you can record a show,
to today, the computer you have in front of you
used to have to occupy an entire room for its memory.
-: Absolutely.
-: And embracing all of that technology
and showing these millennials these tools that we use
to help them be better at their job.
We love having millennials come in the office.
We just do.
-: That's awesome.
Well, Howie, this has been awesome.
Tying this up with a bow,
is there anything in closing you wanna give our listeners,
business owners listening?
-: Well, I really appreciate
the opportunity to explore Scorpion.
I just wanna say Scorpion has been instrumental
in the growth of our home services side
because we were focused a lot on commercial,
multifamily and that kinda thing,
but because the home service business
has proven itself to be very predatory and we're not,
Scorpion has just exploded our residential service
where we used to be 90% commercial and 10% residential.
Now, we're about 60% commercial and 40% residential
and growing everyday.
-: Wow!
-: And I attribute a lot of that
to the relationship that I have with Scorpion.
You have a set budget and you don't spend it.
It's not just there and just pull it out of the pot
but it works for us.
And I've been through several,
and my relationship here has just been incredible.
I wanna thank you guys for helping us get to the next level.
-: Absolutely.
I mean, it's what we're here for,
and working with business owners like yourself,
this is exactly why we do what we do,
and coming to the office every single day
is providing value and helping you succeed.
-: When you walk into an office like this
and you make eye contact with somebody
and they say hello, and they smile,
and knowing that that's the kind of business
that I'm involved with, you can't help but win.
It's pretty awesome.
-: I'm kinda curious to dive into this
'cause I sense a bit of tension towards marketing companies
that you've probably dealt with in the past.
With the ones that you've worked with
that have been instrumental
in not just the business growth from a production standpoint
but the ones that have been earning of your trust,
trust and integrity are a massive component
to how you operate, what is it about,
whether it's Scorpion or the other businesses
that you've had to work with in the past
that have made that impact,
what should business owners look for
in those types of companies?
-: The first thing you do is you open the checkbook
and you go and you trust.
I don't have to seek out
verification of that trust with Scorpion.
Monthly, I get a report.
At least monthly, I speak to my account manager.
Monthly, we make tweaks, we change this, we change that,
but I'm not an internet marketing guru.
I am a great plumber.
I wanna be a great businessman
and that's what I wanna work on.
And I found an expert
that not only does what they say they're gonna do
but they prove it.
I was dealing with other companies
where I felt that the numbers were being manipulated
because the numbers they were showing me
versus what we were doing in business didn't match up.
And now, there's 100% transparency, 100% accountability,
and it's just a pleasure doing business
with people like that.
-: Yeah, absolutely. -: It just is.
And that's the experience
that I want my customers to have with us.
-: Absolutely.
-: And I don't deserve anything less than that.
Yeah, I think that's what I'm getting with Scorpion.
Google is the company that makes the user experience
for searching for things on the internet pleasurable,
and your relationship there
just brings the whole thing together.
-: Awesome.
-: It's just worked out really great.
-: Well, that makes me happy to hear (laughs) that,
especially working with the team that I do internally.
That's all I could ever hope to hear.
Of course, I'm glad to hear
that the relationship is how it is.
-: It's almost three years old to the day.
-: That's incredible
-: And it's getting better and better.
-: I love it.
Well, Howie, thank you so much
for taking the time. -: Thank you, Josh.
-: Stepping into the booth.
We'll have to have you back again.
-: This was a blast.
-: Yeah, it's always fun in here. (laughs)
-: It is, good time.
-: And for everybody listening,
definitely hit that subscribe button
wherever you might be listening at.
You can listen for more updates
of "The Sharpest Tool" every Tuesday.
Once again, my name's Josh Smith and until next time.
We'll see you then.
(energetic rock music)