Growing a Plumbing & HVAC Business to 30 Team Members with Chris Mazinni

When Chris Mazini joined his family’s plumbing business in 2004, appointments were tracked in illegible handwritten calendars and dispatched via truck radios. Today, Aspen Wall Plumbing and Heating is a thriving multi-service operation in Massachusetts.

The Chaos Before the System

“We couldn’t come in Monday morning and open up a book with five people staring at you saying, ‘Hey, what are we doing today?'” Chris recalls. Forgotten appointments and angry customers were the norm.

His father started the company as a traditional plumbing service in Brooklyn, Massachusetts. They later moved to Quincy, added a parts store, and his brother Mike expanded into gas fireplace installations.

The Digital Transformation

Chris implemented Service Titan after trying multiple platforms. The change revolutionized their operations with proper scheduling, customer communication, and job tracking.

Learning from Mistakes

In the early 2000s, they tried new construction projects (20-50 unit developments). Despite the prestige, it was a disaster.

“Everyone likes to stick their chest out and say, ‘Oh, look at me. I’m doing a 50-unit building,'” Chris explains. “It was just terrible work. We just weren’t built for it.”

They returned to residential service work their true strength.

Strategic HVAC Expansion

Instead of growing through large projects, they expanded services by:

• Training existing plumbers for basic HVAC work
• Acquiring a local heat pump company with experienced technicians
• Cross-selling between plumbing and HVAC services

Heat Pump Reality Check

As Massachusetts pushed heat pump adoption with rebates up to $10,000, Aspen Wall became heavily involved in installations. But Chris learned to set realistic expectations:

“Don’t expect to save money on your energy bill, but if you want to save the environment, then consider a heat pump.”

Modern Operations

Marketing mix: Weekly email campaigns, direct mail postcards, 20+ year property management partnerships, and website with AI chatbot but humans still answer phones.

Service contracts: Added maintenance memberships 5 years ago. Key insight: Customer service reps sell them during initial calls, not technicians during service visits.

Team structure: Separate service techs (the “heroes” who fix problems) from comfort advisors who handle complex sales and installations.

Staying Human in a Corporate World

Chris worries about private equity rollups destroying the personal touch in home services. “The common thing we hear about these bigger companies is the pricing and there’s no care anymore.”

Aspen Wall maintains its family business values while embracing modern systems proving that personal service remains a powerful competitive advantage.