O'Connell Plumbing, Inc. Company Profile

here's something many California consumers don't know about the plumbing industry: as long as they're working for a licensed company, the plumbers themselves don't need to be individually licensed or trained, so some companies send out poorly-qualified plumbers to the customer's home. How can consumers guarantee that the one who shows up at their home is any good? Ed O'Connell, a licensed, union plumber who co-owns O'Connell Plumbing in Fairfax, CA says he has the solution, "You don't want to play Yellow Pages roulette, because those other companies can send anyone, and you just won't know who's in your home."

Higher Standards Than Required By Law

"At O'Connell plumbing, we have the highest standards for the plumbers who work here," explained owner Ed O'Connell. "They get continuous training in a special apprenticeship program that we've created. All of my guys who go out on service calls have a minimum of 3 years of plumbing experience. I insist on it. We train them in plumbing techniques and how to communicate properly, take care of customers right, and how to keep everything clean. Our plumbers are as careful as they are skilled, so when we send someone to you, we send a fully-trained plumbing technician—not a handyman. We make sure we provide such excellent service that we'll be your plumbers for life."

Highly Recommended by My Mother

O'Connell Plumbing's logo is a drawing of Ed's mother, Elsie, sitting in a rocking chair and knitting. The accompanying motto is "Highly Recommended by My Mother." This trademark was created by Ed and Elsie over 25 years ago—and it's now a recognizable Marin County trademark that has come to symbolize a good company and one that's fun to work with. Elsie wanted Ed to treat his customers like neighbors (because she recommended so many of her neighbors to Ed)—and he's followed this philosophy ever since. Ed has lived in Marin County for over 50 years, and he cares about his community.

Ed's partner, Rebecca, started with the company about 15 years ago and is now President, which technically makes the company woman-owned. Rebecca comes from a professional business background and her caring influence is easily seen in how customers are so well treated. She's especially sensitive to concerns women can have when they need a plumber to visit.

So it seems that given a choice between gambling on an unproven plumber with an unknown skill level in your home, and choosing woman-owned O'Connell Plumbing where all plumbing technicians have mandatory ongoing training and proven field skills of three years or more, that the smart money is to choose the one highly recommended by Mother...O'Connell Plumbing Company in Marin County.

---Karla Rutherford
Staff Writer
The Prime Buyer's Report