16/12/2003

DUNCAN RETURNS FROM HONG KONG TO DIVE INTO PLUMBING VENTURE

After a career managing major engineering projects in Europe, mainland China and Hong Kong, Duncan M Stirling is aiming to bring unrivalled standards of customer service to the smaller but equally demanding realm of plumbing and drainage repairs.

Duncan has acquired the Bournemouth franchise of national plumbing and drainage company Drain Doctor Plumbing. He is determined to deliver unprecedented standards of service in an industry that has suffered from a negative reputation for decades. And as a sub-aqua enthusiast he is excited about diving into his new venture.

He plans to recruit four skilled technicians to operate from fully equipped vans initially as a first step to building a 10-strong team to serve the Bournemouth area’s 870,000 population.

“I read about Drain Doctor Plumbing in a national newspaper someone sent to me in Hong Kong where I had been working for eight years,” said Duncan, 55. “I was planning to return to the UK and, while I investigated other franchise business opportunities, Drain Doctor Plumbing was far superior to all the others.

“Its policy of providing unprecedented levels of customer service – from the first telephone contact through to guaranteeing all workmanship – is the reason behind its rapid growth over the past 10 years,” he added.

“Unlike most plumbers we don’t impose call-out charges, we don’t charge extra for working unsocial hours and we agree a fixed price quotation with customers before starting work. Our technicians even wear plastic boot covers and use work mats to protect household furnishings.”

In fact, Drain Doctor Plumbing is the first national organisation in its sector to achieve Quality Mark approval under a new government scheme that protects householders from shoddy workmanship by ‘cowboy’ tradesmen.

To become Quality Mark Approved tradesmen must have their technical capability independently evaluated, adhere to a 12-point code of practice, meet statutory health and safety requirements, demonstrate financial stability and have adequate public and employer liability insurance.

Nationally, Drain Doctor Plumbing is a member of the UK Trades Confederation, which operates a customer satisfaction scheme that aims to combat rogue traders, and it is continuing its accreditation programme under the ISO quality standard.

The company was launched in 1994 and now has a network of 74 franchise areas covering 90 per cent of the UK population plus the Republic of Ireland. Drain Doctor Plumbing achieved an award of merit in the 2003 British Franchise Association’s Franchise of the Year competition and more than 99.5 per cent of its customers would recommend its service to other people, according to figures from the independent web-based National Centre of Recommendations.

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04/12/2003

DRAIN DOCTOR KOBUS HITS DAZZLING RECORD ON TRENCHLESS MOLE

Drain Doctor Plumbing’s North Birmingham franchisee Kobus Cilliers maintained his company’s reputation for delivering dazzling service when he set an incredible record of just 59.8 seconds for stripping and re-assembling a newly launched Hammerhead mole device.

Kobus entered the competition on the U Mole display of trenchless installation equipment at the IWEX 2003 exhibition in Birmingham. Visitors were challenged to strip, carry out basic maintenance and re-assemble a Hammerhead 50 mm active head mole – with the fastest time winning a complete kit worth around £1,600.

Facing tough competition from Mike Cooper of Enterprise PLC (1-min 25-secs) on the first day and a competitor from Scottish Water (1-min 10-secs) on the second day, Kobus achieved his unbeatable time after several attempts.

Kobus launched his Drain Doctor Plumbing franchise in North Birmingham last March and already has two fully equipped vans. He provides a full range of plumbing and drainage repairs including CCTV drain surveys and ‘no dig’ drain relining and patch repairs.

Now with a new Hammerhead 50 mm active head mole in his arsenal Kobus plans to expand his services to include renewal of domestic water pipelines.

“I was so impressed with the performance of the Hammerhead mole that I just had to win it,” he said.

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01/12/2003

PLUMBING FIRM FLUSHES OUT UK’s OLDEST LOO

Cambridgeshire couple Geoff and Pam Blackburn found they were sitting on a historic goldmine when their original Edwardian outside toilet was declared the country’s oldest working example of a flush lavatory.

After a nationwide search, 24-hour plumbing company Drain Doctor Plumbing has identified Geoff and Pam’s 1908 loo as a piece of waterworks history and rewarded them with a £100 cheque.

“Friends have often told us to strip it all out,” said Pam at her home in York Road, Chatteris. “But it still works perfectly and now I’m glad we kept it.”

The loo could even be older than the inscription on the cistern, according to Neville Angell, 80, a great grandson of the founder of the plumbing company that installed it. “My great grand-father, Benjamin Angell, started the business in 1837 and my grand-father, Frank Angell, took over in 1903, so the loo could be over 100 years old,” he said.

Drain Doctor Plumbing founder Freddie Mitman launched the nationwide search for the oldest working loo to commemorate his own firm’s tenth anniversary.

“Flush toilets have made an invaluable contribution to civilisation since Thomas Crapper developed his improved version 150 years ago,” said Mr Mitman. “They give years of faithful service and are mostly ignored until something goes wrong. We are commemorating the unflagging service they perform and giving them the recognition they deserve.”

Drain Doctor Plumbing technicians have even discovered toilets fitted with original Thomas Crapper equipment in the Republic of Ireland but Geoff and Pam’s outside loo is the oldest working example that they have found in the UK.

Geoff and Pam bought their 1908 three-bedroom house 30 years ago and kept the original Edwardian toilet, complete with ‘tooth-edged’ wooden door, even though they installed a modern bathroom.

“The cistern is stamped with the trademark of Angell and Sons, Plumbers, Chatteris,” said Geoff, 63, a retired excavator driver. “This toilet is an amazing piece of social history when you think of the generations of people who have passed through its door.”

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