Former postal worker Gavin Dimmock has taken on the Drain Doctor Crawley and Gatwick franchise. Dimmock (pictured top with his partner Keeley Head) bought his Drain Doctor franchise, which provides a plumbing and drainage service to residents, on the recommendation of his friend who owns the London South West Drain Doctor territory.
Dimmock decided to explore a career in plumbing and drainage because working as a Postman and Manager for the Royal Mail was not something he wanted to continue. He said: “I could see the lack of ambition in the people around me and decided that I didn’t want to be there doing the same old thing every day when I was 40.
“I had been at the Royal Mail for five years when I decided it was time for a change.”
Dimmock left the Royal Mail and got a job with a loft company. “I worked for a loft company for a couple of years doing plumbing installations.
“Then I joined a large plumbing and drainage company but quickly realised I wasn’t going to get the kind of independence I was looking for. I wanted to start my own business. I had been looking around for a year when my friend Aaron told me about Drain Doctor. I met Franchise Sales Director Jan Mitman and the rest is history.
“The business is not about sitting in the office waiting for the phone to ring,” he continued. “It is important to market properly. By working hard – and by following the Drain Doctor system that is there to help – success will follow, but it doesn’t happen overnight.
“Some franchise companies promise the earth and suggest that they will do everything for a new franchise owner and then don’t deliver.
“It was a relief that Drain Doctor didn’t give me a lot of false promises. From the start they said that a lot of what is required to succeed is down to me. But they offer great support and I am not on my own.
“Drain Doctor has a proven system. It offers a recession-proof opportunity where I can be an independent operator running my own business but with all the back-up that comes with being part of a large national organisation. I aim to give businesses and householders in Crawley and Gatwick the ‘dazzling’ level of service in plumbing and drainage, which Drain Doctor provides across the rest of the country.
“Our customers get fixed-price, no obligation quotes, a complete guarantee on all our work, and a full 24 hour per day seven days per week service, with no call out charges – so people pay the same price for work at any time of day or night. What’s more, we turn up at the agreed time!”
Dimmock, who will be helped initially by his partner Keeley Head, will start with one van. He recognises that his franchise area is too big for a one man band though and plans to expand, adding more vans and technicians to his business as soon as possible.
Published: 16 November 2010
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