Thursday, February 25, 2010

Noritz vs. Navien; Round 2!

Well, at least I know that SOMEONE is reading some part of this blog!

I received an anonymous comment about the blog I posted (was it only yesterday?!) entitled "Noritz vs. Navien". The commenter was not happy with my blog.

He or she (it was anonymous, after all) told me that, for him (I will make this assumption), the site loaded right away. He also told me that Navien is located very near to us and that we obviously didn't know this (I am paraphrasing).

Let me say that we were not trying to offend, just report an experience that we had. If the person who commented would like to respond... what's the opposite of anonymously?

(I looked it up and the opposite of anonymous is identified.)

Anyway, if you will give me a place where I can e-mail you, or even call you, I will do so, and we can discuss this issue. I was only reporting an experience that we actually had, I was not saying that Navien stinks and Noritz is great.

I appreciate someone telling me what they think, pointing out when they disagree, etc. That's called conversation, and I enjoy it. If you wish to continue the discussion, either through commenting on this blog, or any other method, I would invite that.

I hope this came out friendly and inviting. I was not trying to chastise or insult in any way.

Take care!

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Rebates from the State of California

Splash Plumbing has recently learned that you can now get a rebate from the state of California for installing high-efficiency fixtures in your home.

The rules are strict, and it is for a limited time, but here is the gist of it.

- You have to go to http://www.bewaterwise.com/
- Click on “Rebates” at the top of the page
- Click on “Residential Water Customer Rebates”
- Click on “Qualifying Products” to see a list of products

We have included a link to this page here, for your convenience.

- You have to fill out the proper form
- You have to send in the form, the sales receipt, and a copy of your water bill
- You have to have it postmarked on or before 5/31/10
- Your purchase must have been made between 9/21/09 and 5/31/10

Some of the items that qualify are:
* High-efficiency clothes washers
* High-efficiency toilets
* Weather-based irrigation controllers
* Rotating irrigation sprinkler nozzles
* Synthetic turf

As a plumbing company, we will focus on the toilets.

Click this link to see the 18-page list of qualifying toilet models.

If you wish to buy it yourself, we can install it for you. Or, we can do all the work. Just contact us and we can buy it, bring it to you, and install it!

According to the website, rebates for toilets start at $50.00!

So, the benefits are:
- You save money on having a new toilet installed
- You save money on your water bill
- You have a brand new toilet that looks good and works well
- You have a brand new warranty!

The rebates are first come, first served, so don’t wait too long. As soon as they run out of the money they allocated to this program, they will no longer be paying rebates.

If you need a new toilet, or have any other plumbing needs, contact Splash Plumbing today! We service all of Orange County, 24-hours a day. We handle residential, commercial, industrial, and restaurant plumbing. We say:

"If Water Goes Through It, We Do It!"

888-HEY SPLASH

The Name Game!

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet."

Ah, Shakespeare! You gotta love him! He really summed it up in this line from Romeo and Juliet!

So, why am I quoting Shakespeare? Because AB&R Plumbing is changing to Splash Plumbing!

It's only a name change, though. We still have the same great people, the same excellent service, the same affordable prices. We still offer 24-hour a day service to all of Orange County, CA.

So why did we change our name? AB&R Plumbing stands for Advanced Backflow & Rooting Plumbing. It's long and cumbersome, and it makes people focus on the backflow and rooting part, instead of the plumbing.

With Splash Plumbing, you'll think of plumbing - ALL plumbing - not just one or two things we do, it's a little more catchy, it looks better on our trucks, you'll be able to remember our toll-free number more easily (I can't even remember the one for AB&R!!).

C'mon, if you see a big white truck roll by, with Splash Plumbing on it, and it says
888-HEY-SPLASH
aren't you going to remember that?

And giving someone my e-mail address was terrible with AB&R...
"It's A-B, then spell the word "and", a-n-d, then R, Plumbing, dot com".

Now, with Splash Plumbing, it's, "at Splash Plumb dot com." Easy!

We're still making changes, so the website and this blog will say AB&R for awhile. Soon, though, it will be Splash Plumbing all the way! (And, if you go to http://www.splashplumbing.com/, it will take you to the AB&R website, until we change it!)

So AB&R Plumbing is now Splash Plumbing. Same great people and services, just the name has changed.

Noritz vs. Navien

Hey …. It’s “Dan the Plumber” blogging again!

Here at Splash Plumbing, you know we are fans of Noritz tankless water heaters, and have installed many of their models in Orange County cities like Laguna Beach, Mission Viejo, Newport Beach, and Costa Mesa.

Splash Plumbing is a full service “affordable plumbing” company, and we pride ourselves on keeping up to date on plumbing technology, especially when it comes to tankless water heaters. But, when I received a phone call from a potential client in Laguna Beach, asking for a Navien Tankless Water Heater, I was stumped. I never heard of them... how embarrassing is that?

Here I thought we were one of Orange County's best tankless water heater installers and I did not even know of this manufacturer… What a shot to my ego!

As I spoke with the caller, I explained that we only install Noritz Tankless water heaters and while I was doing so, I looked up Navien Tankless Water Heaters on the internet. Indeed, I did find them at http://www.navienamerica.com/, and thought I could surf their website while talking to the caller… at least that is what I thought (with good intentions).

It literally took 3 minutes to load their HOME PAGE! What do you think I was doing while the remainder of their site was loading? Yeah that’s right, I opened a new tab on my browser and went straight to http://www.noritz.com/ and directed MY NEW CLIENT to do so as well.

The Noritz website loaded in 3.5 seconds, I was able to show my client the model I had picked out for her Laguna Beach home, and an agreement was made!

Well the deal was made, Splash Plumbing has a new client, and there is another Noritz tankless water heater installed in Laguna Beach. Whatever happened to http://www.navienamerica.com/ you ask? Honestly, their website did not fully load and from what I saw, I was not impressed.

Here are the primary reasons why we select Noritz Tankless Water Heaters for all of our clients in Orange County:

- HUGE selection
- Versatile installation
- Availability
- Stainless Steel tankless water heaters
- Direct contact to our manufacturer
- Outstanding customer support
- Gi-nor-mous (yes… it’s a word) showroom for our clients to visit!
- Fast, clean and informative website

There you have it. As far as we are concerned, Navien Tankless Water Heaters still seems to have a lot of work to do in comparison to Noritz Tankless Water Heaters … but then again, that’s only my opinion.

Oh, how is my personal Noritz Tankless Water Heater, that I installed in my Mission Viejo home working? With 4 women in my house, I still have lots of hot water!

Friday, February 19, 2010

“Nowadays, everyone has something to say!”

I overheard this complaint the other day, while drinking my coffee. I was lucky to have the time to sit and listen to the explanation that followed.

To sum it up, apparently, this man’s complaint was that everyone talks, but very few people actually say something! As I thought about it, I realized that it was true.

Everyone you hear, whether on the news, award shows, American Idol, or anyplace where people are saying things live, they all seem to be talking in sound bites. They are all saying something that can be quoted.

When was the last time you saw someone interviewed and they said something that you thought came from the heart?

When was the last time a politician said anything that didn’t sound like a speech writer wrote it?

Most of the people whe see and hear on TV and radio either seem to be attacking justifying or making an excuse. (At least, that's what it seems like to me.)

It’s so hard to listen to people who talk, who aren’t really saying anything.

So, why did I bring this up? I’ll tell you…


On our website, we have a page for “testimonials”. I really like that word, because it has the same derivation as the word “testimony”. It always seemed to me that, when you give a testimonial, you need to tell the truth.

Not very many people go to our website and give us a testimonial, but some do. It’s much more likely that someone will call to tell me if they liked – or disliked – our service, but I have also received e-mails and, once, an actual letter!

So, what are people saying about our service? Here are a few examples:


Our company has depended on the honest diligent work of AB&R Plumbing, Inc. many times over the last 6 years. We find their service to be exact, dependable, and they have always made themselves available to help us when emergencies erupted.I would best describe AB&R Plumbing, Inc. as being of excellent work ethics, knowledgeable and trustworthy

That one is right on our website. Another says:

AB&R Plumbing is phenomenal. After suffering through numerous bad plumbers who performed shoddy work and less-than-perfect repairs, AB&R was a savior. Its plumbers have consistently proven to be skilled, reliable, honest and professional in all aspects of my plumbing issues.
From menial tasks to difficult-to-repair problems, AB&R has always come through for me. Odd as it may seem to be so effusive about a plumbing company, I’m sure I’m not the only super satisfied customer to sing praise. This company deserves all the accolades
.”

Again, this one is on our website.

Some testimonials that are not on our website are:

Just wanted to let you know that Juan M. is the man! He did a fantastic job fixing the plumbing issue on our rental property. Coming out on a holiday and crawling through mud so our tenants could have water was commendable. We really appreciate the fine job he did!”

That was a homeowner in central Orange County. We went out just after midnight on Thanksgiving morning!

Another one that is not yet on our website…

AB&R plumbing was recently referred to me by one of our material vendors. They did an amazing job of installing a Noritz tankless water heater at my Anaheim Hills home. They were friendly, tidy and efficient. I have already referred them to friends for after hours emergencies and they have also been impressed by AB&R’s clean work. We will definitely be using them on our projects in the future.

This one came from a construction company VP.

One of my favorites, that will soon be on our website is:

"I have been in building maintenance for many years and have worked with many plumbing companies. I have found AB&R to truly be the most helpful, responsive and reasonably priced company out there. They listen to me and my needs, they have responded quite well in emergency situations. I have full confidence in their abilities and their professionalism. I won't use anyone else."

Can you tell why this is one of my favorites? This is from the head of maintenance at a retirement community in south Orange County.

So, have people ever said bad things about us? Sometimes, but even when they do, we can usually discuss the situation with them and make them happy. Our philosophy is that it’s all about the relationship. Our customers are a huge part of our business (because, if we didn’t have them, we wouldn’t be in business)!

At AB&R Plumbing, we can handle almost anything that has to do with plumbing. From clogged drains, to leaky pipes, to backflow tests and repairs, to gas leaks, to water heaters… We even install and service softeners and reverse osmosis systems!

We have spent many hours working on our price book, trying to give you the most “bang for your buck”. We didn’t cut quality, just costs!

If you need a plumber, anywhere in Orange County, give us a call today. We will make the right repair, at an affordable price, and you will like our plumbers!