How to Hire a Plumbing Technician When You Can't Find Good Ones

“How do I hire a plumbing technician when there are no good ones out there?”

That's the question every service plumbing owner ends up asking sooner or later. Chris Fresh — The Plumbing Sales Coach — tackles it head-on in Episode 296 of The Fresh Approach, and his answer is the one most owners don't want to hear.

The reflex story: “It's the labor market. Nobody wants to work. Good plumbers don't exist anymore.”

If you've said any of that in the past year, you're not alone. It's one of the most common complaints Chris hears from service plumbing owners. And it's also almost always wrong. The real problem isn't a labor shortage. It's not that good plumbers have disappeared. The problem is that your company isn't attractive enough for them to want to work there. That's actually good news, because it means the solution is entirely within your control.

How to Hire a Plumbing Technician: Stop Competing Against Yourself

Here's the uncomfortable truth: if you're struggling to attract good plumbing employees, it's not because they don't exist. It's because your company is competing against five other plumbing companies in your area, and candidates are choosing them instead.

Chris uses a direct analogy: would you drive past five restaurants to go to a sixth one that's the same or worse? Of course not. So why would a skilled plumber drive past five other companies to work for yours?

The answer is: they won't. Not unless you're significantly better.

“I'm not gonna drive past five companies to come work for your company that's like or worse than the other five companies I just drove past. You're gonna have to be better.”

This reframe is critical because it shifts the question from “does the market have talent?” to “is our service plumbing company positioned to attract talent?” That's a question you can actually answer with action. The plumbing companies consistently attracting top technicians aren't doing anything magical. They're being intentional about three things: their culture, their brand, and their leadership presence.

Culture Eats Everything Else for Breakfast

The foundation of attracting great plumbing employees is building a culture worth wanting to be part of. Culture isn't built in a mission statement or a company handbook. It's built in the daily interactions, the way problems are handled, and whether people feel respected and valued.

Chris identifies three “cancers” that kill company culture — and they're worth examining in your own service plumbing business:

• Selfishness. Leaders prioritizing their own interests over the team's. People feel used, not invested in.
• “Me” mentalities. Individuals focused only on their own performance. Team fragmentation, no collaboration.
• “The old place did it this way.” Constantly comparing to previous employers. Signals that your way isn't good enough.

Each of these poisons a workplace from the inside out. A candidate can sense these issues from a mile away — either from talking to current employees or from how they're treated during the interview process.

The opposite of these cancers is what Chris calls an equal exchange relationship. You're not asking people to work for you. You're building an environment where they can achieve their vision, their mission, and their goals in life — and in return, they help you achieve yours.

“How can you create an environment where there's an equal exchange, where you can help them achieve their vision, their mission, their goals in life, and they can help you achieve your vision, your mission, your goals in life? And it's a relationship, not just a tyranny.”

This isn't soft leadership. It's actually harder than the old command-and-control approach because it requires you to understand what each person on your team actually wants — and then figure out how to align that with what your service plumbing business needs.

Your Brand Is Your Front Door

Culture is internal. Brand is external. And your brand is what tells potential plumbing employees whether they even want to walk through your front door.

Here's where most plumbing companies miss the mark: they show their employees dirty, tired, and exhausted. They post photos of messy job sites. They showcase the grind without showcasing the pride.

Candidates don't want to see that. They want to see:

• Employees having a good time
• Employees enjoying their day
• Clean, professional work
• Clean, professional shops
• A place that will make them better

This isn't fake branding or pretending the job isn't hard. It's about showing the best version of what working at your service plumbing company looks like. That's what attracts people who want to be part of something professional and well-run.

Your social media, your van wraps, your website, your Google reviews — all of these are recruiting tools whether you treat them that way or not. If a potential plumbing technician sees a company that looks disorganized, unprofessional, or unhappy, they're going to assume that's what it's like to work there. And they'll keep looking.

“Make sure that you are presenting and showcasing something that they want to work at, something they want to work for, somewhere they want to be.”

The Lakers Principle: Invest in Your People

Chris uses an interesting sports analogy: the Los Angeles Lakers organization is known for investing heavily in their players' long-term success. They're not just buying talent for a single season. They're building a legacy.

This matters because when a superstar player is choosing where to play, they ask themselves: “If I sign with this organization, will they invest in me?” The Lakers have a reputation for saying yes. So top talent wants to play there.

The same principle applies to plumbing. If you want to figure out how to hire a plumbing technician who's actually great, build a reputation as an organization that invests in people's growth — not just extracts labor from them.

This might mean:

• Training and skill development opportunities
• Clear paths for advancement
• Competitive pay and benefits
• Flexibility and respect for personal goals
• Genuine care for their development as professionals

It doesn't have to be expensive. It has to be genuine. People can tell the difference between a plumbing company that sees them as a resource to be used and one that sees them as a person to be developed.

Accountability and Standards Create Respect

Here's a counterintuitive point: plumbing employees want to work for leaders who hold a standard. Not leaders who are nice. Leaders who are clear about what excellence looks like and who care enough to maintain that standard.

When you hold people accountable, you're actually showing them respect. You're saying: “I believe you're capable of this. I'm not going to let you settle for less. I care about your growth.”

The opposite — letting things slide, avoiding hard conversations, accepting mediocrity — isn't kindness. It's disrespect. It signals that you don't believe in them or that you don't care enough to help them improve.

The best plumbing teams work for leaders who have a clear standard, a proven process, and the courage to hold the line. That's what creates a culture where people want to show up and do their best work.

The Word-of-Mouth Effect

Here's what happens when you get culture, brand, and leadership right: word of mouth takes over.

Current plumbing employees start telling their friends, “You should work here.” Customers start leaving reviews that mention how professional and respectful the team is. People in the industry start hearing about your service plumbing company as a place where good people work.

This is the most powerful recruiting tool you have. It's also the hardest to fake. You can't buy word of mouth. You have to earn it by actually being the kind of company people want to talk about.

“I promise that will generate a word-of-mouth referral that will start attracting other people to wanna work with and for you and that company, and with and for the other people at that company.”

The Path Forward

Hiring great plumbing technicians is one piece of a bigger machine. For the full picture on growing a service plumbing business — from training every seat in the company to building systems that hold under pressure — see our complete guide on how to grow a plumbing business the service-first way.

If you want help installing the culture, brand, and leadership systems that turn your company into the one good technicians want to drive past five others to work for, our owner coaching program walks owners through it step by step.

Key Takeaways from Episode 296

The “no good plumbing employees” narrative is a leadership problem, not a market problem. Good people exist. They're choosing other companies because those companies are more attractive.

Culture is built in daily interactions, not mission statements. Remove the cancers (selfishness, “me” mentalities, constant comparisons). Build equal exchange relationships where people can achieve their goals while helping you achieve yours.

Your brand is your recruiting tool. Show the professional, proud version of your service plumbing company. Let candidates see what it's like to be part of something well-run and respected.

Invest in people like the Lakers invest in players. Build a reputation as an organization that develops talent, not just extracts it. Top people want to work for organizations that believe in them.

Hold a clear standard and maintain it. Accountability and high expectations create respect and attract people who want to do excellent work. Letting things slide attracts people who don't care.

Word of mouth is your best recruiting tool. Get the first four things right, and your current team will recruit for you.

The “no good plumbing technicians out there” story is comfortable because it puts the problem outside of you. But the owners who've actually solved how to hire a plumbing technician aren't waiting for the market to change — they're changing the company candidates walk into. Build the company. The good people will follow.

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