TOLEDO, OHIO — Corey Burnett, owner of Lee’s Plumbing here, is now owner of the ninth Mr. Waterheater franchise. Burnett is joined in the business with his partner J.R. Peterson.
“Now that we are the local Mr. Waterheater, we can benefit from their branding, marketing and support that is provided by Mr. Waterheater,” said Burnett.
Burnett became aware of the Mr. Waterheater franchise opportunity from an ad in Contractor magazine and he started the franchise investigation process.
“The more that I investigated Mr. Waterheater it became obvious that this is a great way for me to take my plumbing business to the next level,” said Burnett. “Much of my business was residential construction, and that has been very slow. People are staying in their homes longer and it’s just a matter of time when the water heater will need replaced.”
Burnett’s first plumbing experience was helping in his father’s plumbing business when he was 15 years old. After graduating from Ohio University and a short career in the corporate world, Burnett decided to follow in his father’s footsteps and start his own plumbing business.
“My father is a plumber and I helped in the business when I was growing up,” said Burnett. “I guess I had to work for a corporation to realize the satisfaction you get from owning and operating your own business.”
Burnett expects an overwhelming response from customers to not only the jingle, but to the discount pricing for water heaters. Burnett cited the volume buying that Mr. Waterheater does with the manufacturer to pass the savings on to the customer. He added that most water heaters should be replaced the same day.
Burnett likes that water heater replacement is a niche business.
“Many plumbers would rather not do water heater replacement work because the job is not big enough and refer the job to Mr. Waterheater,” explained Burnett. "Plumbers don’t usually stock water heaters because they take up a lot of room. Getting the water heater to the home takes time, but our warehouse if full of water heaters and our Mr. Waterheater truck is loaded with water heaters ready to be installed.”