Beating the Competition
in Crowsnest Pass

In a community of 6,000 people spread across Coleman, Blairmore, Frank, Bellevue, and Hillcrest, you'd think there'd be plenty of plumbing work to go around. The reality is different. Every emergency call in Crowsnest Pass represents a customer that could go to any plumber in the area, and once they pick up that phone, the race is on.

Your competitors know this. The question is: are you losing calls while your phone rings unanswered in your truck during a job, or while you're grabbing lunch between the frozen pipe calls that seem endless during our brutal -30°C winters?

With our small but spread-out population, the plumbing market here operates differently than in Calgary or even Lethbridge. We've got maybe a dozen active plumbers serving the entire pass, which sounds like comfortable territory until you realize how the numbers actually work.

In Coleman alone, you're looking at heritage homes from the mining days that need constant plumbing updates. Blairmore has its mix of older homes and newer builds, while Frank deals with aging infrastructure that dates back to before the slide. Each neighborhood has its quirks, but they all share the same problem: when pipes freeze or heritage plumbing fails, homeowners need help immediately.

The catch? On any given day, half the plumbers in the area might be tied up with existing jobs, unavailable, or simply not answering their phones. That leaves maybe five or six plumbers actually competing for each emergency call. Miss enough of these calls, and you're not just losing individual jobs. You're losing market share to competitors who figured out that availability beats everything else.

Did you know?

Crowsnest Pass plumbers using Buddy capture 40% more leads by answering every call instantly, even at 2 AM.

Forget the marketing textbooks. Here's how it really works in our community:

Google Search: Someone's basement is flooding in Hillcrest, and they search "plumber near me" or "emergency plumber Crowsnest Pass." Google shows them five or six local options. They don't research each one. They start calling down the list.

Referrals with a Reality Check: Sure, their neighbor in Bellevue recommended Bob's Plumbing, but if Bob doesn't answer his phone, they're moving on to the next number. Loyalty lasts exactly as long as it takes to realize their preferred plumber isn't available.

The Phone Book/Old Lists: Especially with older homeowners in the mining heritage areas, plenty of people still have that list of local contractors stuck to their fridge. Again, they're calling down the list until someone picks up.

Local Facebook Groups: "Anyone know a good plumber? My pipes just burst in Coleman." Three people comment with recommendations. The homeowner calls all three numbers. First one to answer gets the job.

Notice the pattern? In every scenario, homeowners are calling multiple plumbers. The first one to answer and commit to showing up wins.

Here's what the plumbing industry has learned about emergency calls, and it applies just as much in Crowsnest Pass as anywhere else:

• 78% of homeowners call the first available plumber, not necessarily their preferred plumber
• The average homeowner calls 2.3 plumbers before finding one who's available
• After 3 unanswered calls, 67% of homeowners expand their search area (meaning they'll call plumbers in Pincher Creek or even Lethbridge)
• 89% of homeowners hire the first plumber who answers and can respond within their needed timeframe

When Mrs. Johnson's pipes freeze in her heritage home in Frank, she's not conducting interviews. She's calling numbers until someone picks up and says "I can be there in an hour."

Your competitors who consistently answer their phones aren't necessarily better plumbers. They're just better at being available when customers need them.

Walk through a typical day. You're under a house in Coleman replacing corroded pipes from the 1940s. Your phone rings three times while you're in a crawl space. By the time you surface and call back, the homeowner has already booked someone else.

Meanwhile, your competitor Mike runs his calls differently. He uses a answering service, or his wife fields calls, or he's just better about keeping his phone accessible. Those three calls you missed? Mike got two of them.

This isn't about being a better plumber. You might do superior work, know heritage plumbing better, and charge fair prices. But if you're consistently unavailable when people call, you're training the market to call your competitors first.

In a small market like ours, word spreads fast. "I tried calling Jim twice last month and couldn't reach him, so now I just call Mike directly." That's how you lose customers you never even knew you had.

You might assume that in a smaller community with a mining heritage, price shopping would be intense. The opposite is usually true, especially for emergency calls.

When someone's pipes burst in Hillcrest, or their heritage home's plumbing gives out in the middle of winter, they want the problem fixed immediately. The difference between a $400 call and a $500 call means nothing if their basement is flooding or they don't have hot water when it's -30°C outside.

Availability trumps price almost every time in emergency situations. Your competitors who answer their phones consistently can often charge premium rates because they've proven they're there when customers need them.

This doesn't mean you should gouge people. Fair pricing builds long-term reputation. But don't assume that being the cheapest option matters if you're not the most available option.

Here's a hard truth: even your best customers will call competitors when you don't answer.

You've done excellent work for the Smiths in Bellevue. Fixed their heritage home plumbing twice, always showed up on time, charged fairly. They love your work. But six months later, their hot water heater dies on a Sunday morning. They call you first, but your phone goes to voicemail.

How long do they wait before calling the next plumber? In a true emergency, maybe 30 minutes. Maybe less.

Customer loyalty is real, but it has limits. Those limits are usually measured in hours, not days. Miss enough emergency calls from even your best customers, and they'll start calling competitors first to avoid the uncertainty.

In Crowsnest Pass, your market share isn't determined by your Yellow Pages ad or your truck wrap. It's determined by how often you answer your phone when customers call.

Think about the math. If there are 10 plumbing emergencies in the pass this week, and you miss calls on 4 of them because you were unavailable, you're competing for only 6 jobs. Your competitor who answers consistently is competing for all 10.

Over months and years, this compounds. The plumber who's easiest to reach builds a larger customer base, gets more referrals (because satisfied customers can actually reach them to recommend them), and grows their business.

Your technical skills, experience with heritage homes, and knowledge of local plumbing challenges matter enormously. But only after you answer the phone.

Get serious about phone availability. If you're running solo, invest in a quality answering service that understands emergency plumbing calls. Brief them on your service area (Coleman, Blairmore, Frank, Bellevue, Hillcrest), typical response times, and pricing structure.

Set clear availability expectations. Your voicemail should tell callers exactly when you'll call back. "I return all calls within 2 hours" is better than "leave a message." Even better: "For emergencies, call this alternate number."

Use technology that works. A hands-free headset means you can answer calls even when you're working. A smartphone with good service in the mountain areas means you're not missing calls due to coverage gaps.

Have backup plans. Partner with another plumber for overflow calls during busy periods. Better to split a job with a colleague than lose it entirely to a competitor.

Track your missed calls. Check your call log weekly. How many calls are you missing? What times of day? Adjust your availability or answering system accordingly.

Be realistic about job scheduling. If you're consistently running behind and missing calls because you're still at the previous job, you need better time management or different scheduling practices.

The plumber who wins in Crowsnest Pass isn't necessarily the one with the most experience or the fanciest equipment. It's the one who's there when customers need help. In a market of 6,000 people spread across five communities, every answered call matters.

Your competitors already know this. The question is: what are you going to do about it?