Prepare to be amazed when entering The Plumbing Place showroom.  It is like entering a wonderland.  I was thrilled to meet Owner John Smithman who took me on a tour of The Plumbing Place with its stunning selections of beautiful products for the construction or remodeling of your kitchen or bathroom.  They also showcase a vast selection of door and cabinet hardware. John told me the story of The Plumbing Place as well as the story behind many of their products.  Here is a conversation I had with him.

 

 

The Plumbing Place was founded in 1986 by Annamary Kennell, who with her husband John Kennell, owners of Kennell Plumbing decided to open the showroom to provide plumbing products to plumbers, builders and homeowners in the Sarasota/Bradenton area.  Following a 25 year banking career, I purchased the company in 2001.  I always had a strong desire to work in a field where I could put my knowledge of building products to good use, so when this opportunity arose, I jumped in.  In 2006 I purchased the shopping center we are located in and remodeled it, creating The Design Center of Sarasota – an enclave of individually owned and managed companies who share a common theme of luxury home products.

 

 

I was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, but spent most of my youth in McLean, Virginia, a suburb of Washington D.C.  I graduated from Virginia Tech in 1976, and began my banking career in the Washington area.  In 1979 I relocated to Sarasota, Florida and worked for several local and national banks until 2001.

 

 

My father was my mentor all of my life.  In his position as executive vice president for the National Association of Homebuilders, he had vast experience in the residential homebuilding industry.  As a result, his knowledge of that industry, and his personal ability to build and create almost anything with his own hands rubbed off on me.  That made the prospect of working at a company like The Plumbing Place where I could build displays, create interesting vignettes, and dismantle plumbing, hardware and other products to understand how they worked and how they could be repaired or improved, very appealing to me.  In addition, I have always worked in a sales environment in all of the positions I have held.  I firmly believe that sales ability can always be honed and improved, but one is born either with or without the ability to sell, or lead salespeople.  The transition to lead a very competent and experienced sales team at TPP was very natural.

 

 

I have held several positions in my banking career, and they all had some connection with selling.  While at Barnett Bank I learned how to truly service a customer and create relationships for life.  Customers still to this day talk about Barnett’s philosophy and practice of this concept.  This is a concept that I not only brought with me to TPP, but it is the cornerstone of our mission here.  A company like TPP must have great products and competitive prices, but without the passion to serve the customer better than your competitors, there’s just no special reason to do business here.  Customer Service is not just a phrase to throw around like a tag line on your advertisements or business cards – it is a state of mind.  We practice this, and perform above and beyond our customers’ expectations every day, which is what has made us successful for over 38 years.

 

 

One visit to our showroom and you will see that we work very hard to offer the latest, most fashionable and highest quality products in the Decorative Plumbing and Hardware industry.  Displays are continually changed to reflect what’s newest in the industry.  There isn’t a week that goes by that our showroom hasn’t changed in some way.  This is very important.  But with the competition for business from internet sites such as Amazon, I have learned that our showroom must be much more than simply a display of nice products.  We work very hard to create the customer experience – offering the customer the ability to actually try out a jetted tub, or play with a working model of the latest kitchen sink, providing real touch and feel to the shopping experience.  That’s something that no website can provide.  Another very important difference at TPP is how we assist our customers.  Frequently a customer will enter the showroom with a product that is not operating properly.  One way of dealing with this customer is to sell them a new product.  However, we prefer to explain to customers that the quality of the products that we sell should provide reliable service for many years – hopefully for life.  So if a customer who purchased a faucet from us is having an issue with it, the first thing we try to do is to troubleshoot the problem and either repair it or replace it no-charge under the manufacturer’s warranty.  Sure, this may cost us a sale now, but in the long run our customers know that we’re here for them, as we have been for 38 years.  We see this philosophy as an investment in a future sale and the creation of a relationship with a very happy, loyal customer.  We deal with faucets, tubs, toilets, sinks, furniture, cabinet hardware, door hardware, lighting and many more products, and understand and stand behind all of them.  We make house calls when necessary to determine customers’ needs and desires, and to make recommendations for them.

 

 

I have been married to Holly for 37 years.  We have two children.  Matt, a graduate of the University of Florida is a civil engineer working in Ketchum, Idaho.  Paige obtained her master’s degree from University of Central Florida and is an elementary school teacher in Denver, Colorado.  My hobbies include golf, boating, fishing and landscaping (yes, I do all of my own yardwork and love it!)  I am active in the Sarasota/Manatee Building Industry Association, the Sarasota Chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) and the Interior Design Society (IDS).  I also served for 13 years on the board of directors of the Easter Seals Society. The Plumbing Place supports many charitable organizations through contributions and event sponsorships.

 

Whether or not you are looking for decorative plumbing or hardware, it is well worth your time to stop in The Plumbing Place showroom and get to know them.  They are located at 5678 Fruitville Road, Sarasota.  You can call them at 941-378-5678 or visit them online at www.theplumbingplace.com.