Sprinkler Blowouts for Friday, October 19, 2018 Plus Other News

Jesse and Justin did an awesome job yesterday busting out sprinkler blowouts in the Boise 83706 completing 41 of the 48 we had as of yesterday morning.  We did pick up 3 more requests today by our sign-up form, so now we have 10 left in the 83706.  I will finish those up tomorrow while Jesse works in the Boise  83713.  At the time of this writing we have 69 blowouts to do in the 83713, which we should be able to knock out in two days with two rigs if we concentrated entirely on the area, but neither Jesse nor Justin will be available this Saturday, and since I will be working part of the day in the 83706, we will probably only finish two thirds of them by Saturday night.  No worries, though, there is still plenty of time to get blowouts finished.  Ground temperature was 58 degrees this morning when I checked.

Phone Calls

Our voicemail is full, and for good reason.  Unfortunately, we just don’t have time to deal personally with customers until we get to your property.  Imagine getting 1,000 + phone calls which last 5 minutes each.  That’s 5,000 minutes or just a little over 83 hours on the phone.  How many sprinkler blowouts do you think would not get done during that 83 hours?  About 250 – 300.  Would you want to be one of the 250 that didn’t get serviced because I was on the phone?  We aren’t anti-social, we are just trying to get a lot of jobs done as quickly and efficiently as possible.  If we hired someone to answer the phone, we would just be telling them personally that they have to sign up at our website because we take online signups only.  So I put together an auto-text when someone calls directing them to our sign-up sheet.  More needed automation to streamline our efficiency.

Cancelations

We have received about 80 cancelations so far, but still getting 50+ new requests a day.  Most common reason for cancelling? It’s really cold at night, and dropping to freezing they say.  I’ve been doing sprinkler blowouts the last few 12 days in a T-shirt, so not quite sure where this cold weather is they’re talking about.  Cancellations must be coming from those that aren’t from around here.  I was at a wedding a few weeks ago in Stanley where it was about 40 degrees, and I saw guests at the wedding from California wearing parkas.  I guess it is a matter of perception.  I started sweating just thinking about wearing a parka……

Truth is, and I have said this HUNDREDS of times over the years, a sprinkler system isn’t going to instantly freeze and disintegrate the second it hits 32 degrees.  The ground is still warm, and will remain that way for quite some time, especially with the really warm days we are having.  Last year I took a ground temperature reading in the shade when it was 23 degrees outside, and the ground reading was 36. Poly pipe, that is in most sprinkler systems now can go quite some time without damage, even into mid-December and January.  I have done sprinkler blowouts when it was 13 degrees outside.  My machine was having a harder time at that temperature than the sprinkler system was.  Even systems comprised of PVC pipe can go into late December without issue as long as there isn’t a quick temperature dropping deep freeze.  We have also posted and written on our website how to protect your system while you wait.

If you want to cancel, no hard feelings.  It actually opens up space to accommodate all the new requests that come in.  Just make sure you use the cancelation link in your confirmation email so you aren’t charged as stated in our terms of service.

The Wait

Yep, there is a wait in getting service.  It isn’t like ordering a pizza on a weeknight and waiting 45 minutes and dinner is served.  This is sprinkler blowout season where there are nearly 250,000 homes, businesses, restaurants, etc. in Ada and Canyon county that need blown out, and only a handful of qualified technicians to do the job.  Using the pizza analogy, imagine HAVING to have a pizza, and 250,000 people ordering pizza delivery over a 5-6 week period.  Count the number of pizza establishments and  delivery drivers there are to deliver these pizzas.  How long do you think it would take to get your pizza?  Sure, some will get their’s right away, while others will be waiting a LONG time.  Ever tried to order pizza on a Friday or Saturday night, or during a big sporting event?  They get backed up quick.  Now translate that to sprinkler blowouts. What if it was the BEST pizza place in the Treasure Valley, and there were only 3, 4, or 5 locations?

Sprinkler blowouts is a very lucrative business. We did $40,000 gross in blowouts in 2017, and expect $60,000 this year, and $75,000 in 2019, and in a 6-7 week period.  Since it is so lucrative, several have jumped on the blowout bandwagon and got hold of a compressor, put up signs on telephone poles and raked in $5,000 in a few weeks and then disappeared – never to be heard from again.  I lost count how many customers contact us every year to fix an issue caused by a previous blowout and they can’t find the person who did it.  All technicians should be licensed to run a business in Idaho.  Ask to see their license, or what company they represent and check their license.  I would love to see sprinkler blowout technicians be certified just as they are for backflow testing.  I am a licensed backflow tester.

Bottom line, be patient.  We will get to you; we always do.  Our long list of regular customers know and accept this, and have for a number of years as we keep growing.  Why are we growing so quickly?  Partly because of the growth of the area, but also because we are good at our job, are #1 in Google for sprinkler blowouts, and we get tons of referrals every year from long-time customers; some we have had since 1997.

You think it is bad now, wait another year.  Over 5,000 building permits were issued in Ada county so far in 2018………