Drain Doctor congratulates Dwyer Owens on international franchise award

CEO and chair of The Dwyer Group Dina Dwyer-Owens has been presented with a Crystal Compass Award at the International Franchise Association‘s annual convention in Las Vegas.

Dina has been honoured for her extraordinary leadership by the  Association’s Women’s Franchise Committee.

As sister company to Mr Rooter in the US (part of the Dwyer Group) everyone at Drain Doctor in the UK would like to congratulate Dina on her achievement.

For the full story visit http://www.franchiseworks.com/franchise_news_story.aspx?nid=1007

Dentures and jewellery on Mr Rooter’s ‘roll of honour’

We reported recently on the success of Mr Rooter (our sister company in the USA) in recovering an expensive wedding ring that had been flushed down the toilet. See the related story below.

It seems that the wedding ring is not the only valuable that Mr Rooter’s plumbers have rescued from drains over the past year. Everything from pets and earings to keys – and a set of dentures –  have been recovered from a watery (or worse) end.

The full ‘roll of honour’ of Mr Rooter’s top ten recoveries in 2010 is listed on the Mrs Rooter blog here.

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Drain unblocker Drain Doctor encourages aspiring young chefs

Jan Mitman (centre) is pictured with fellow judge Ann Brewster with, from the left, winner Kelsie Gough, Annie Pitts, Scott Hunter, Monica Watts and Robin Foster.

Drain Doctor Plumbing has sponsored a competition organised by the Huntingdonshire Rotary Club to find its Young Chef of the Year.

Students from Hinchingbrooke and St Peter’s Schools in Huntingdon showed off their culinary skills to competition judges Jan Mitman, franchise sales director at Drain Doctor, and Ann Brewster.

The five teenage contestants were asked to prepare a healthy and economical meal in 90 minutes, which were then subjected to a taste test by the judges. Jan Mitman said: “The standard of cooking was high and we were impressed with the dishes that were prepared. Although they were simple ones they were very tasty. Finding the eventual winner proved to be no easy task.

“Drain Doctor is delighted to continue to be involved in this event. With so many celebrity chefs in the public eye cooking is becoming very popular. Students see what can be achieved and want to prepare more than just fast food. We are pleased to be able to help them realise their ambitions.”

First place went to St Peter’s School student Kelsie Gough, who now goes forward to compete at district level against students from Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire and Lincolnshire. The district winner moves on to compete in the national finals, the winner of which will be crowned as one of the best aspiring chefs in the country.

Jan Mitman added: “Last year the national competition was judged by Jamie Oliver who is always full of encouragement for young newcomers to cooking. Part of the Drain Doctor ethos is to work hard and aim high and that is the message that this competition gets across.

“Congratulations to Kelsie who has progressed to the district competition and has something higher to aim for.  I wish her and the other students well for the future as they progress.”

Involvement in the competition highlights Drain Doctor’s services to the catering industry. The company offers a national grease trap cleaning and replacement service to hotels, bars, pubs and restaurants across the UK. Not only that, Drain Doctor’s products include a specialist drain unblocking enzyme which delivers a sustainable alternative to traditional chemical cleaning products.

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Seek and you shall find – drain unblocker finds lost ring

Last year we reported that the Drain Doctor franchise covering Suffolk saved the day for one lucky customer who had lost a set of car keys down their toilet shortly before leaving home to catch a holiday flight. The Drain Doctor technician arrived on the scene within 20 minutes, rescued the keys and the customer was able to leave in time to catch their flight.

Now, Drain Doctor’s sister company in the US – Mr Rooter – has come to the rescue of a housewife in distress who had lost a precious $10,000 wedding ring down the toilet. We came across this story in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11049/1126198-54.stm

This is just one more example of the dazzling levels of service that Mr Rooter and Drain Doctor customers have come to expect – on both sides of the Atlantic.

Bankers seeking plumbing jobs?

I know things are tough in the world of merchant banking (some bonuses have been cut below the million pound mark, I hear) but when I saw the headline ‘J P Morgan pushes for plumbing jobs’ I thought Drain Doctor had an unlikely new competitor.

It turns out to have nothing to do with real plumbing – more about “the humdrum business of cash management and trade finance for multinationals”.

I bet it is still less useful than real plumbing. And much better paid.

How did we let the world get into this topsy-turvy mess?

Drain Doctor franchisees get snapping – you could win a camera

The latest entry in the Drain Doctor Get Snapping! photo competition for Drain Doctopr franchisees proves that Drain Doctor technicians can get just about anywhere to get the job done.

Middlesbrough Drain Doctor James Stairmand had to negotiate this steep slope to get a drain unblocking job completed. Thank goodness for four-wheel drive.

We like to shout about the successes of franchisees on this blog but we can’t do that if you don’t tell us about them. If you haven’t got time to tell us about your success stories, just show us – like James.

Every picture tells a story. And sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words. So why not get snapping and enter our photo competition. The franchisee who submits the best photo will win a digital camera, so he or she can take even better photos in future!

The best photos we receive could be used to illustrate Drain Doctor training manuals. They might even get into trade magazines or the newspapers if they are used to illustrate a press release. 

Email your entries to johnh@smye-holland.com

The deadline is approaching fast so get snapping.

What is an ‘electron plumber’?

I met someone at the weekend who described himself as an ‘electron plumber’. I thought I knew a bit about plumbing but this was a phrase that I hadn’t heard before.

In the plumbing business we connect pipes to make sure water goes where it is supposed to go, doesn’t leak, and that different water flows (waste and drinking water, for example) don’t mix.

An electron plumber apparently does much the same thing with wires and electron flows. He or she connects computer networks and similar things to ensure that data can go where it is supposed to go without leaking and without getting mixed with other data streams.

I would previously have described such people as ‘electricians’ or maybe ‘computer technicians’. I have to confess that ‘electron plumber’ sounds much better and, once you are familiar with the term, it is a pretty neat description of what they do.

What has this to do with Drain Doctor? Absolutely nothing. And that’s the point.

If you have a water leak, call Drain Doctor (0800 70 71 72 or www.draindoctor.co.uk) for a plumber.

If you have an electron leak – well, I don’t know who you call for an electron plumber. But definitely not Drain Doctor.

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Ask more dumb questions – make fewer dumb mistakes

This item on the blog of our US sister company Mr Rooter caught my eye.

“Asking dumb questions is easier than correcting dumb mistakes” writes Mary Kennedy Thompson, President of Mr. Rooter Corporation.

It makes a good ‘sound bite’ – not least because it is true. All of us are often too concerned about looking stupid to ask the questions we should ask.

At Drain Doctor we try to make all our communications simple and straight-forward. We try to avoid using jargon and explain to customers clearly what we are doing and why. But if you did not understand our explanation about what we are planning to do to your plumbing – ask us to explain it again.

We don’t expect you to be a plumbing expert. It is part of our job to explain things in a simple, non-technical manner.

That way, you can decide whether you want a job done or not, knowing exactly what is involved and what it will cost before we start work.

Convention time is nearly here

Image via Wikipedia

It’s the time of year again when everyone at Drain Doctor’s thoughts are turning to the forthcoming convention.

The annual convention is organised by Drain Doctor for its franchisees. The long weekend of business presentations and social events will this year be held on 4-7 March at the Crown Plaza in the historic Belgian city of Bruges.  Senior Drain Doctor managers from head office will give presentations on various aspects of franchise management. The presentations will stress that Drain Doctor is in a people business which requires passionate leadership in developing the Drain Doctor business and meeting the demanding standards which the company has set. 

Other speakers will include Mary Kennedy-Thompson, president of Mr Rooter – Drain Doctor’s equivalent in the USA – and Drain Doctor chairman Freddie Mitman who will outline growth prospects for the company throughout 2011 and beyond.

As usual, a number of franchisees will be presented with awards during a gala evening to recognise their hard work and commitment throughout the year. Award categories will include Most Progressive Franchise, Franchise of the Year, Trailblazer Award, Golden Service Award, Phoenix Award and the PR Award.

Good luck to all the nominees and we look forward to seeing you all there.

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