There’s a reason plumbers make upwards of $78,000 a year. It is one of the most physically demanding trade jobs around. In the words of an actual plumber, “You work long hours, often times under a tight schedule and respond to emergency calls at inconvenient hours. It is very physically draining as I’ve spent days on end digging by hand to lay pipe in 110-degree weather. I’ve crawled on my stomach through thick sewage under houses. I’ve been soaked with sewage and restaurant grease. Had full toilets with all their business flushed on me. Jackhammered for 8 hours straight without stopping. Crawled on my stomach through attics with 16 inches of clearance to re-pipe a house in 160-degree conditions for hours. You name it, it has happened to me.”
Wow, that does not sound like any kind of fun! And there’s more these craftsmen go through. So, it makes sense they should not only be compensated monetarily. They should be provided with the right kind of t-shirt that will make their job easier and ease the stress of customers.
The Physical Nature of the Job:
You just read about some of the requirements the plumbing industry entails. If your employee is dealing with 160-degree temps, he should have access to a performance wicking custom t-shirt. If you aren’t familiar with performance wicking garments, they are designed, as you might expect, for performance: running, hiking, outdoor activities. Not solely for outdoor wear, performance wicking shirts have two roles to cover. The first is quickly moving wicking, aka sweat, to the fabric’s outer surface. The second is drying quickly so the sweat is not trapped and doesn’t saturate the fabric. What transpires is that your employees are more comfortable because their bodies can maintain and regulate temperature efficiently. It creates a layer of protection, so the fabric touching their skin has a dry, non-sticky feel. These types of printed t-shirts will aid plumbers to feel at least a little more relaxed when performing the job.
The Nastiness of Plumbing:
The quote from a real plumber earlier mentioned that he has had to crawl through sewage…yuck! He has had industrial toilets flush all over him. These highly skilled tradesmen are also exposed to nasty chemicals, asbestos and more. Think about being surrounded by chemicals while sweating. Those chemicals could easily slip into the open pores of the perspiring plumber. What would that result be like? Performance wicking custom t-shirts force the sweat out, away from the body. The shirt doesn’t remain soaked, preventing it from trapping chemicals and the like inside near the plumber’s open pores. Sounds a little bit safer, right? As a business owner, you’ll spend about $5-$7 extra bucks for this type of t-shirt. If you want to save a little on that, you can go with a DryBlend shirt that’s made of cotton and polyester for around $2 more. It is also a wicking type of t-shirt. A little extra dough could be the thing that not only keeps your employees safe—it can also keep you safe from potentially paying for worker’s comp. And let’s be honest, the last thing you want is to face a lawsuit.
Stress on the Customer:
Imagine being a person who has a busy day at work coming up. That person has to be on their A-game the following morning. All of a sudden, a clang and the ensuing whoosh of what sounds like rushing water coming from another room at 3am. This potential disaster can be alarming and stressful. The customer calls your company and your employee shows up 45 minutes later. What can a seemingly simple custom t-shirt do to immediately alleviate some of that stress without the plumber even so much as opening his toolbox? If that printed shirt is a nice shade of blue, it can induce a calm. Why? When things begin to agitate people, they want to see that person who can help has a cool and collected persona, that things will be okay. The blue hue is associated with calmness. It gives people a sense that the person they called to deal with an emergency won’t freak out at the first sign of trouble.
The plumber quoted earlier in this article affirms this thought of keeping the customer calm. He says, “When it comes to emergencies, maintaining composure when disaster strikes is absolutely essential for plumbers. You’ll need to remain calm and professional, even when everyone else is in full panic mode.”
Your plumbers bust their tail for you. The work environment is physically and mentally demanding. They work long hours. Their days are packed with many clients who want fast results. They must work swiftly to meet deadlines. They work in scorching temperatures as well as icy ones. Sometimes they’re battling for space against other tradesmen doing other things in the same house at the same time. They carry bathtubs into homes. They are often hunched over. They crawl in cramped spaces, carrying heavy accessories. We empathize with what their days and nights are filled with. One thing we can’t help with is pants, and the stereotypical “plumber’s crack.” But we can provide you with comfortable, smart, purposeful shirts. Custom t-shirts that will let your employees know you are thinking about them.
