Shop stories
Published stories from the trade press, matched to the problems on our Best practices page.
Real contractors, written up by the trade press. Each one is summarized in our own words, with a link to the original story. We add new ones as they are published.
multi-brand plumbing, HVAC and electrical company
What they did: Merged five brands' customer service teams into one team that can answer for any brand, stretched coverage to seven days without adding staff, and coaches with call transcripts and role-play.
What happened: Booking rate rose from 35% to 41%, missed calls fell from 10% to 4%, and abandoned calls fell from 12% to 4%.
Read the storyname not published
What they did: Skipped ads and reached out personally to its own past customers.
What happened: $135,000 in booked work in five days from about 250 contacts.
Read the storyname not published
What they did: Narrowed its reactivation list to customers served in the last three years instead of mailing everyone.
What happened: A 35% higher response rate on its campaigns.
Read the storyThe best practices for customers who never hear from you again
St. Louis, Missouri
What they did: Books maintenance agreement visits into the spring and fall windows, leaving room for two or three emergency calls a day.
What happened: The slow in-between seasons are planned work instead of empty slots.
Read the storySt. Louis, Missouri
What they did: Treats maintenance agreements as the work that fills spring and fall, at four or five maintenance visits per tech per day.
What happened: About 250 agreements keep one technician busy for the slow 22 weeks of the year.
Read the storyFerndale, Washington
What they did: Built its own 15-week technician school with classroom, lab and field time, and takes six students per class.
What happened: Nearly 40 graduates, retention above 90%, every graduate passing the NATE and EPA exams, and warranty callbacks reportedly cut in half.
Read the storymulti-state home services company
What they did: Pays helpers from day one while it trains HVAC helpers into installers and plumbing helpers into plumbers, with on-the-job assignments.
What happened: People who went through its longest-running program leave at a rate 2.5 times lower than techs who didn't.
Read the storyMadison County, Georgia
What they did: Partnered with the local high school's construction teacher in 2019, hires students as paid trainees and pairs them with senior techs as mentors.
What happened: The average tech age fell to 26, and a student hired at 17 is now, at 24, the company's top technician.
Read the storyLynchburg and South Boston, Virginia
What they did: Spent a year hiring, training and building processes, and put a trusted leader over the call center.
What happened: The company's vice president took a July 4th weekend off in peak season and the calls were handled without her. She notes it took more than one false start with hiring to get there.
Read the storyPhiladelphia area
What they did: After about 25 years, the owner sold to a private equity-backed buyer, but first decided what he would not give up: his sales team and the commission plan they had worked under for two decades.
What happened: The deal closed in July 2024. He still runs the company, and says the culture held. His advice: talk to owners the buyer already acquired before you sign.
Read the storyThe PACE Brief: the number, the play and the rule changes for your trade, plus a free Scorecard that shows your three biggest leaks. Free, and one click to leave.