John the Plumber announces some changes

Just over two years ago, local plumbing company, John the Plumber, expanded their services to include septic pumping when they purchased the pump truck formerly owned by Roemer's Septic.

It was a decision that was not made lightly as owner, John Nelson, and his wife, Sarah Rose, didn't want to short change their plumbing customers by over extending themselves into what amounted to another business.

"We were already stressed trying to meet the plumbing needs of our customers but we were also seeing a need for honest and ethical septic pumping services. Then, literally days after Sarah and I put 'septic pumping' on our five year business plan, we were approached with the opportunity to buy Roemer's Septic business. We couldn't pass it up," John said.

During these last two years, John the Plumber Septic pumping has taken care of hundreds of homeowners in Tehachapi, California City, Mojave and Rosamond, but that time has come to an end due to California smog emissions requirements.

"Diesel vehicles 20 years or older need to be retrofitted with a smog control device otherwise they can no longer be driven," John said. "Our truck is running fine but it's just not worth spending over $15,000 on a 20-year-old vehicle."

After a lot of thought and prayer, the husband and wife team have decided to sell the pump truck to a buyer in another state where emissions requirements are not so strict.

"It was a very tough decision," Sarah said. "Getting the business transferred over to us and jumping through all the hoops required by Kern County Environmental Health Services was a lot of work that mostly fell on my shoulders. When I would see our truck driving down the road I felt a sense of pride that I did that! But, financially, it just makes no sense for us to dump that much money into an old truck."

Rather than purchasing another truck, John and Sarah have decided to go back to doing what they do best: plumbing and septic inspections.

"For 18 years, before I ever owned a pump truck, I've been inspecting septic systems for real estate transactions, as well as private parties," John said. "We will continue to do that. Instead of pumping them ourselves, we will 'sub' the pumping out, which is what I did before purchasing the pump truck. We will still do all the inspections, providing pictures before and after pumping and providing certifications."

The business has also decided to expand their hours to include Saturday service.

"We know a lot of people have busy weekday work schedules so they need Saturday appointments. Now that we'll have a bit more time on our hands without the septic pumping portion of the business, we can accommodate those customers," Sarah said. "We are always looking to add good plumbers to our team. If we had a couple more team members we could add Sunday and after hours service. Until then, we are committed to providing the same great service our customers have come to expect, six days a week."