Brothers Plumbing, Heating & Electric

Based in Thornton, Colorado, and serving the Denver metropolitan area, Brothers Plumbing, Heating & Electric has long held a reputation for quality, service and integrity and business. The award-winning contractor serves the repair and maintenance needs of residential customers throughout the region — roughly a 30-mile radius from the company’s headquarters.

The second-generation family business is operated by Lynn Tomasek, who took the reins of the operation in January 2015 and currently serves as the company’s general manager. “My father, Marvin Kansteiner, and my uncle originally founded Brothers in 1980,” recalls Tomasek. “After a few years in business, my uncle decided he wanted to do new construction and my father wanted to stick to service, repair and maintenance.”

While the original brothers went their separate ways, Brothers Plumbing has continued a tradition of quality service. The company’s suite of capabilities include retrofit installation of existing units, as well as HVAC, plumbing and electric service, remodeling, drain cleaning and more. “We strive to serve as a one-stop shop for our customers,” Tomasek notes.

A tradition of quality

Brothers Plumbing operates primarily in the residential market, although Lynn notes that her team takes on a number of commercial jobs yearly as well. For customers, inviting a contractor into the home can be an exercise in trust. That makes it all the more critical for the Brothers Plumbing team to provide personal, professional service.

With service technicians in and out of homes so frequently, Tomasek says having the right people on the Brothers Plumbing team is extremely important. “We drug test and background check; there are a lot of restrictions on anyone who walks in the door here,” she explains. “We want good people in our customers’ homes. Finding top-quality people with a good personality is key. A technician can have the skills, but if they don’t know how to approach a customer, then there’s a problem. There’s a lot that goes into finding a person who’s right for this job.”

Tomasek takes great pride in her team, despite a continuously challenging labor market. But at Brothers Plumbing, people tend to stick around. The business has many longtime employees and management strives to give these skilled technicians everything they need to work efficiently in the field.

With approximately 30 trucks running at any given time, Brothers offers wide coverage of the greater Denver metro area and efficient same-day service. “We’re open seven days a week with no overtime charges,” says Tomasek. “We even have seven or eight trucks making calls on Sundays, because we understand that when systems break down, no one wants to wait a day or two.”

Tomasek refers to Brothers’ trucks as warehouses on wheels; each is well-equipped to deliver same-day service. “We don’t charge our customers to order or get parts, because we have them on-hand,” she explains. “We offer a line of water heaters, drain-cleaning equipment, air conditioning units and high-performing toilets. Our goal is to service or replace whatever a client needs on the spot and if there’s something we don’t have on-hand, we’ll go get it with no extra charges, because no one wants to wait to have their heat or hot water running.”

Technology is critical in maintaining schedules and keeping in step with customer needs. “Our technicians in the field have iPads, so all of our invoices are digital through SWRemote and the information goes into our database as soon as the job is done,” Tomasek explains. “If someone has a question, it’s much easier to access the information quickly.”

A win-win philosophy

Repeat business has long been a staple of the company’s success. That means customers must have a memorable experience — for the right reasons. Reliant on short-lived projects, the timeframe to make a good impression is small. “We just get to work and take care of our customers,” says Tomasek. “We let them know we’re here to help and make it a positive, memorable experience. People need heat and hot water; the key is to make sure they’re coming back to us and not someone else.”

Tomasek adds that Brothers Plumbing adheres to a “win-win philosophy.” With employees, customers and strategic partners, satisfaction is key to continued growth and maintaining a reputation for integrity. “It has to be a win for employees, clients and our business,” she elaborates. “We really look at it as happy employees, happy clients, and happy business. We focus on culture internally to make that happen, including incentives and recognitions for our employees. “

Looking ahead, Tomasek and her team continue to make changes both in policy and practice to serve their mission. “Technology is changing and we have to keep up with it,” she says. “We’ve done some analysis of what these changes bring to the table and while these investments come with an upfront cost, such as the iPads we’ve been using for the last three years, we have to make that commitment and find the best way to implement these changes.”

Shifts in electrical code and home performance requirements are also critical points of interest to the business. Brothers Plumbing offers a unique Home Care Club membership program to customers that keeps equipment up-to-par in energy performance and helps reduce costly repairs down the line.

Because of the company’s perpetual commitment to serving customers, Brothers Plumbing has become a household name in Denver and its surrounding suburbs. In 2015, the team was recognized by the Northglenn-Thornton Sentinel with a Readers Choice Award for its outstanding service.

As Tomasek and her colleagues continue to build the business sustainably and cater to customers, Brothers Plumbing, Heating & Electric remains the local go-to contractor for plumbing and mechanical services.