Home Services Success Stories

Service Fit For Royalty, Culture Built For Tomorrow

• Peakzi • Season 1 • Episode 11

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Peakzi Podcast: A lot of contractors talk about great service; Jim Prescott built the systems to make it real. From a father-son journey that started in 1997 to a modern operation with standardized trucks, clear communication, and an Uber-style technician tracker, Castle Electric in Norwood, MA shows what “service fit for royalty” looks like when it’s more than a tagline. We dig into the moments that shaped their philosophy, including a winter emergency where two licensed techs spent a Sunday restoring power for a family on the brink of frozen pipes—and why that memory still drives how the team shows up today.

We walk through the culture that makes excellence repeatable: weekly training blocks for both technical and interpersonal skills, rigorous hiring and vetting, and a process that ensures crew A and crew B deliver the same experience. Jim explains how small touches become trust multipliers—drop cloths, bios with photos texted before arrival, live ETAs, and a dedicated runner who keeps techs on site instead of chasing parts. It’s a service blueprint any home services leader can steal: respect the home, reduce friction, and set expectations early.

We also explore how AI is rewriting local search and demand planning. With Peakzi, Castle uses real-time insights to target campaigns around the services homeowners actively seek that month, while improving visibility across emerging AI search engines like ChatGPT and Gemini. The result is smarter marketing, stronger results, and less guesswork—without sacrificing the family-run feel that built the brand. Jim closes with the company’s community roots, from Habitat for Humanity to helping customers through financial strain, and a clear vision for paced growth that protects quality. Subscribe, share with a fellow home services pro, and leave a review with your favorite “above and beyond” service story.

Powered by: www.peakzi.me

Learn more at: https://www.castleelectric.biz/

Peakzi Podcast: Home Services Success Stories

Julian Placino:

Welcome to the Home Services Success Stories podcast powered by Peakzi, the number one AI platform for growing your home services business. And on the show today, we have Jim Prescott, who is the VP at Castle Electric. Jim, welcome to the show. How are you? I'm great. Thank you for having me. Looking forward to it. Absolutely, absolutely. So, Jim, let's kind of jump into the story. I know that Castle was founded in 1997. So, give us a bit of a sense of the founding story of why your father, Jim, also Jim, founded the business.

Jim Prescott:

So it was funny. This Castle was actually my dad's third business that he ran. Um, he ran a couple other electrical companies previously with various partners over the years. And uh the ultimate goal, obviously, was that uh the whole American dream of being able to run his own business, do his own thing. And he uh he'll he'll tell you to this day that he learned from the school of hard knocks. He was that technician that had that entrepreneurial seizure that wanted to go out and kind of do his own thing. And he went through the ups and downs over the years, learned a lot, um, got kicked around a lot. But uh he he built a really, really good client base over the years. And eventually Castle, he had actually partnered with a plumbing company, and they were back then they were working for Sears, doing a lot of appliance wiring and even appliance installation, and um led to eventually creating Castle Electric as it was. He ended up acquiring the business from the plumber and taking it over himself. And back then, I'd say I was in my my early teenage years, was back when he took it over completely. And that's when Castle Electric really became founded. And that was about 9090, 1997 when he truly formed Castle Electric.

Julian Placino:

Interesting. You mentioned your dad started other businesses before Castle. What were some of those? Were they all home services or different kinds? What was that?

Speaker 1:

Well, they were all electrical services, but they were at one point he ran a company, it was called Prescott Electric. Um, and back when you're smaller, you don't have your master license, you have to operate underneath your your name. You can't uh operate under a different type of name, it's just the way the licensing works in the state. And he so he started that out and he was on his own and then decided to partner up with somebody. And eventually that partnership ended, and so they disbanded that business, and he kind of went through a couple ups and downs with it until he decided to form Castle with that plumber, and then eventually bought him out, and Castle became all just solely his. That was kind of where it all all began.

Julian Placino:

That's how it all started. I love all entrepreneurial stories. So well, well, Jim, you grew you literally grew up in the business, were in it since starting, I think, 14 years old. So, what's it like seeing your dad build the business, growing up into it, and ultimately you are gonna be the future of it. So, what are your thoughts on that?

Speaker 1:

It's pretty interesting because I I ended up uh coming up in it just for a summer job, just to make some money. I was never really fully interested in doing it when I was younger, and it was a great way to make money. And I found myself enjoying it as I went through it. And I eventually decided to go to college and I went to Suffolk University here in Boston, and I actually ended up getting my degree in entrepreneurship. And while I was at Suffolk, everything I was learning, I was applying to my experience growing up in the business. So eventually I realized that as I went through the program and I learned more about it and I kind of grew a bit, I realized it was kind of what I wanted to do was to get into a business and really kind of be a part of it. And then when I came out of school, I ended up getting my licenses. I got my journeyman license, and then I got my master license so that when my dad does decide to retire, I was ready to step in and take over.

Julian Placino:

Interesting. Okay. So well, how did your dad feel whenever you finally said, Hey, dad, I think this is the thing that I want to do. I curious what was that dad would look like?

Speaker 1:

Um, it I still remember it. We actually went out to dinner at a restaurant while I was still living in the city. And he asked, Is like, what do you want to do when you get out of school when you wrap up school 100%? Are you interested in coming into the business? And and at that time, I I wasn't really a hundred percent sure what I wanted to do, but that was that was kind of it seemed like the path of least resistance at the time, to be perfectly honest. It was it was a career, and I knew coming out of it that I would always have my degree from college and I would have a technical trade as well. So that was kind of my thinking at the time that I would have both. And I'm like, okay, well, I'll have a technical trade and then I'll also have the business degree. So I'll always, no matter whatever happens, I'll always have something to fall back on. And that was kind of the way I leaned. And then as soon as I told him, I he was he was obviously very excited, and um, he didn't necessarily, he was just, he seemed just excited to get rolling with the whole thing. And um over time we realized that we actually complemented each other very, very nicely. Our two different backgrounds and educations were very, very different. He was more that the general technician and the electrician, and he was very, very good in running the business and in building the larger projects. And then me coming from the business background, I really enjoyed the business end and software and and all of that into things. And the two of us together actually created a really, really good team.

Julian Placino:

Interesting. So there's kind of a strategic element that's you and your dad more of the tactical, kind of hands-on the uh what's called the the art of the business, right? So interesting. So there's kind of a uh like a prodigal son kind of moment, right? It was it was something. Find your journey and kind of like uh what was interesting is the things that you really found interesting about the schooling was actually right underneath your nose in the business, and you're able to come back and bring that there. So I think that's a really uh really cool story. So um I know one of one of the mottos of Castle is service fit for royalty. What exactly does that mean? And how is that implemented throughout the business and how you deal with customers?

Speaker 1:

It's funny because we're we're always looking to add in that little touch of excellence throughout the entire process. And that is sometimes just taking a little extra time to lay out plastic and drop cloths in a room where just taking a little extra time to go a little above and beyond for clients where they wouldn't expect it. Um, making the process from start to finish as easy as possible for our clients. Our goal is really when you when you lean into our brand as cheesy as it is, it's fun. I I love our branding because of that, is that we are really the knights coming out to protect your your castle. We want to come out and protect the king and queen. We want to go out and we want to provide the level of service that a king and queen would expect. And again, like I said, it sounds cheesy, but it's it's a lot of fun. Um, and we want to go out and we want to give people that white glove service that they just have grown to not expect from contractors, I hate to say it. And we we really try to take things from start to finish and make it as simple, as transparent, and really as complete as possible for clients.

Julian Placino:

I love that. You know, it might sound a little cheeky, but it's it fits, it makes sense, and people will remember that. And I think that's that's really cool. Um, so I know the customer service is number one. Do you any stories that come to mind that you could share of how Castle's overdelivered and really made a customer happy with the work?

Speaker 1:

It's it's pretty funny. There's there's a lot of stories where we've been able to really kind of surpass people's expectations. And honestly, by far, it's one of my two favorite things about running the business. And it's when you can really surpass a customer's expectations. One that stands out, and this was back when I was still I was a journeyman at the time, um, but I was working, I was working in the field still. I wasn't in more of a managerial role. And there was a family that had had a bad storm and lost their power, and I believe it was on a Friday night and or a Saturday, I forget exactly when it was, but it basically led to the point where this family had no power. It was winter, they needed heat, and their pipes were gonna freeze. And it ended up being me and Mike, who's now our install manager, took our Sunday and we went out and we were able to get these people's power back up and running, the two of us, which typically you don't have two licensed guys working together. It's a little unusual. You'd have a licensed guy and an apprentice, but we both took our Sundays and they we were able to really spend the full day, and it was it wasn't a simple service, it was a it was a more difficult job, something that normally takes about two days. And the two of us spent probably 10, 11 hours there that day and just busted our butts. And we got it up and running. And I literally, the the homeowner was in tears after we turned their power back on. We came upstairs and the woman was in the living room crying, and I was like, what's wrong? And she's like, nothing. I she's like, the power's back on. And I didn't realize how nervous she was about the pipes freezing in the home. And sometimes you forget when you go into people's homes, the level of anxiety they have having people working in their home. It's such an invasive thing to have somebody in your personal space working. And so many people don't necessarily understand that. Many contractors can take that for granted, knowing that it's just what we do every day and they're used to it, but we never take that lightly. They're letting people, they're letting us literally come into their castle where they live and they raise their families and they create their memories. And we have to come in and make holes and run wires and make a mess and try to put it all back together for them. And um, I still actually I have a bottle of makers mark whiskey that I don't really drink whiskey, but they gave me that as a present when we were done. And Mike too. And I don't think his is, I think he drank his long ago, but but as a thank you. And I still keep that bottle there to this day just to remind me of that that situation and how grateful those people were. And I think that's that's one of the situations that really stands out to me.

Julian Placino:

That's a great story because number one, you came in and you lived your moniker, and you came in there and you were the knight in shining armor, right? And you don't feel how emotional this business can be. And you know, do you can you can tell by how she reacted and she was in tears? Um, and also that you are it was a basic need that you help them get back up and running. It's it's a person's house, you know what I mean? So um, I think that's a really great story. So you sp you you touched a little bit about the culture. How many employees now at Castle? Uh, we have 17. 17. Okay, okay. So so how do you sort of build culture? How do you inspire culture and make sure that you know your level of quality and excellence is not just one person, but all? What does that look like?

Speaker 1:

Um, number one, it's a constant learning environment for all. I think that's the biggest thing is that we're always trying to learn. And when I say that, I'm not just talking about technicians. I'm talking about everyone in the business. My dad, myself, um, all of my service technicians, all of my install technicians, my CSRs here in the office, um, all of my people that work in warehouse and running materials and things like that. We have consistent training here every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday morning where we take the first hour of the day and we work with team members. And we're constantly, whether it be working on interpersonal skills or working on technical skills or product knowledge, there is just so much constantly trained uh changing in this trade that those few hours in the morning is nowhere near enough to stay up to speed. And then all of our techs have to, as a licensed electrician, you have to do continuing education every three years. Um, and that's 21 hours, but it's still, it's just it's not enough to stay on top of things. So we constantly push continual uh education and development for all of us, and we're all learning together. And as that's been developing, it's it's elevating the business. And it's been one of the biggest learning curves and one of the biggest things that I learned over the last four or five years is that if you continually push everybody to learn, not only are they going to learn and develop, but so are you. And then they're able to serve all your clients better and at that much of a higher level. And it's it's been a complete game changer for us. And that that really is one of the biggest drivers of our culture of this business. Um, and then we also try to do some fun stuff too, like holiday parties and we've done paintball outings as a team. We've done fishing trips and uh we try to get people uh away uh together away from the office as well and have some fun and just try to create uh a as much of a laid-back atmosphere while still being productive.

Julian Placino:

So it sounds like a continuous learning and development culture, always to upskill and to teach the latest innovations at the same time, you know, um having some fun and creating some fellowship and being able to develop some personal relationships. Uh, because you definitely want to go to bat for someone much more in the field whenever you're friends with them, right? So I think that's cool. Yes, 100%. So, so it's a super competitive industry that you were in. And I'm speaking to the choir here, right? So, so what do you think Castle does uniquely different to stand out amongst the competition?

Speaker 1:

I think we do all the little things that they all add up. Like we we have all of my technicians that I hire, they go through a pretty strict vetting process prior to us hiring. Um, there we first start with a um obviously reviewing applications and they go through a background check, make sure that they're they don't have any criminal backgrounds or anything like that that that where we're going into people's homes. You have to do that. Um, we also we drug test all of our employees to make sure they're not doing any illegal drugs. Um, and that's just the start to make sure, okay, now you're qualified for us to train. Then once we get them inside, we train all of our service techs and install techs on our Castle Electric's process on how to get jobs complete and how to communicate and present options. And when you hire Castle Electric, whether you get crew A or crew B, you're gonna get the same experience. It doesn't matter which technician that you're gonna get because they've all been trained in the same way. And I think that's one of the key things. And we try to set up all of our trucks the same way, we try to make it a uniform experience so that if you have one person out, you're gonna get the same experience as if you had someone else out, and which is it's not necessarily the easiest thing to do because so many people have different skill sets, and we also try to match the right technician to the right job because certain technicians are better at certain things, and that's okay because, like I said, they're always training and always learning, and whenever we can, we try to have one technician learn from another technician, and like I said, that culture drives that. And because of all of that, it ends up creating such a wonderful end result for our clients because they're following the process that has been developed through trial and error since 1997, and before that with the previous businesses, and we're constantly investing in the proper tools, the proper materials, the right trucks. Guys show up in uniform, ready to go, wearing cast electric colors. When we when we just um when we dispatch to a client's home, they get a text message with a bio telling them about the technician that's coming out to their home and a photo. So you literally know who is coming out to your home, and they show up in a cast electric shirt in a cast electric wrapped vehicle, and you actually have a little link that you can follow, and it's like Uber. So you can follow your technician to your house. So as they're coming, you know exactly when they're gonna show up. Um, and I believe they actually just added arrival notifications. So when they show up, they actually shoot you a quick text and say, Hey, your tech is here. So just like Uber. So it's it's pretty cool. Uh we try to do all of those little touches, and then I think the last point I'm gonna make on this before going too too long-winded on it is our you're not just getting the technician and the crew that come out to do the work, you're getting the entire team behind them. So you're getting we have three girls here in the office. So we have two CSRs and Tracy, our office manager. You're getting an office manager, Corey, and a runner, Isa, who will deliver materials to the job sites if needed. So when the guys are on site working, they don't need to run out to Home Depot to get a part that they need. They are able to either go to the truck or our runner brings it to them. That way they can focus on getting the work done at your home or your business. And we can worry about bringing those and keep them moving and just keeps them that a little bit more productive. That just means we're getting your job done that day, maybe an hour or two quicker. But that could be the difference between having to come back and set up another day or getting it done that day. So there's a lot of little touches along the way, which again, we we always refer back to those little touches of excellence. And I think that's that's a big uh big driver there.

Julian Placino:

There was a lot that I picked up there. So the first thing I heard was it comes down to the hiring profile. You spend a lot in terms of vetting. It's so much easier to build culture once you hire the right person. The second was a proven method. You've been around since 97. There's a way of doing business that you've worked out the kinks of that's proprietary to Castle. Um, and then also it sounds like you will tailor fit a project based on your individual team's strength. So there's kind of a, you're always putting your best foot forward aspect. Um, and then also the technology that you mentioned um in terms of setting expectations for the customer, how they're going to um how they're gonna be received. So all that, all that's great. And then lastly, the team. And it seems like you've engineered your process so that if you need a part, you can kind of do it just in time to make sure that pro that that service job is done right then and there. So I think those are really good points. Um, we're here on the topic right now in terms of tech. So this show is powered by Peakzi. So what has been your experience with Peakzi? How has it helped your business?

Speaker 1:

Peakzi has it's it's funny because when I when we first learned about Peakzi, I was uh it's AI was still a new thing to me, and um, I was still a little unsure about what it would do for us. And I think first and foremost, they have automatically helped us rank better online. First and that's that that was like the first tangible result when we first started going. And then over time, they've been constantly developing their product, and it's they just keep adding more value to it as we go. And we're starting to realize like we're getting more and more and more value for our money as time goes because they're just adding more and more value to the product. They're able to find things online and show us more insights into the industry than we've ever had before. And I'm I'm very, very excited to see where it goes and as how much um I guess they they continue to help us rank and continue to help us look in deep into the industry and all the different demand trends. Um, we can literally take the data from Peakzi and target different marketing campaigns because we know the demand for a specific service is high that month. That's the type of thing that we never could have done before. Now you can make assumptions just based on experience, but with with Peakzi, you're you're looking at the real data showing like this is in demand this month, like this is really happening right now. And if you go out and go after it, you're gonna have success. And that's that's the difference, is they really help to target you as well in what you're what you're going after. And there's there's so much more to it than that, but that's just the first couple of things I can think of top of mind.

Julian Placino:

That is very powerful. How would you describe to another home services business owner what Peakzi is?

Speaker 1:

Uh Peakzi is an AI tool that helps you to gain insights into the industry, the demand, the market. Um, and they also help you to get out in front of the AI search engines um and really help you to continue to improve your website and your presence so that as people start to search for services via Gemini and Chat GPT and not so much Google search anymore, you're still going to be relevant. And if you're not working with a partner like Peakzi, you're gonna fall behind.

Julian Placino:

I think that is a great explanation, and then I'll put a button on that. So well, Jim, just the Couple more questions here for you. I know that community service has always been a big part to you personally, as well as the brand of Castle. So share some thoughts about that.

Speaker 1:

It I I really it makes such a big difference to me because I grew up being in a situation where I got to experience giving back a little bit. I was taught when I was younger, when I was actually in my church youth group, when I was probably about a teenager, I had the amazing experience of getting to go and do Habitat for Humanity a few times. And we traveled to different states and different parts of the country. And we went down south a couple of times. I think Kentucky was one of the trips. And actually, it's been a while. I forget where we went now. But I do remember the experiences and absolutely vividly where we were building homes in neighborhoods for habitat. And I got to experience some of the other trades. I got to put siding on people's homes. I got to do roofing. And um, it was really, it was quite the experience and getting to meet the people that were getting the homes and seeing how their lives were changing because of the things that we were doing. Um, that was one of the best experiences that I ever had. Combination between giving back and then also getting to be around construction and learn more about it. Because again, I was a teenager then. I didn't know I wanted to be in the industry and um getting to have that experience at a young age. It's always been something that's been important to me. And we've had opportunities over the years where people have been in tough financial situations and we've been able to come in and help them and work with them and um where I think a lot of other people would have walked away, we've been able to kind of make it work for people, and that's been um one of the true real real joys of what we get to do. And again, seeing when you're able to help people out and um get them into a better situation, it makes a big difference, makes a big deal. And again, you you realize that through what you do every day you're able to help people. That's uh it's it's a big deal.

Julian Placino:

Yeah. Well, Jim, this has been really awesome getting to know your story, the brand, your connection to the business. So close us out. What's the vision for the business? How do folks connect with you? I'll give you the final word.

Speaker 1:

Um, ultimately, uh, we're still looking to continue to grow our team to be able to serve as many people at the highest level possible. Um, we don't want to rush things. We want to continue to maintain the level of quality and service that we have now. Um, and I think that's the biggest challenge is as you continue to grow a business, you want to still have that family feel, that family-run uh mentality. And um again, it's it's what what we're built on. And it's it's built into the core values of our business, into our mission. And uh we really, really want to drive that family-run local feel, no matter what size we grow to over the years. And um, if people are looking to get service, they just have to reach out to our office through. We have many channels. We have a chat on our website they can reach out through. Um, they can shoot us a text message or call us at 781-762-9891. Um, that that is also listed on our website. And uh they can they can get a hold of us 24-7. We have an answering service when we're not here. And if there's ever an emergency, um, they'll reach out to us after hours and we're able to come out and help people out. Um, and again, we're we try to make it as easy as possible. And people can actually book appointments right through our website as well. If they don't want to call in on the phone, they can go right online and book an appointment for either an estimate appointment, which we offer both free estimate appointments where we come out and there's no charge and we'll give people an estimate on the spot, or we can have a service technician come out. Um, and that's usually where we're coming out to actually do some work on the spot. So uh whatever works better for clients, we're we're here to help.

Julian Placino:

That sounds great, Jim. And we'll make sure to have all your contact information in the show notes as well. So, this has been a real uh pleasure to get to know you, to get to know the business. So thanks so much for being on the show, Jim.

Speaker 1:

Thanks, Julian. Appreciate it.

Julian Placino:

Well, everyone, thanks for tuning in for today's episode, and we'll see you next time on the Home Services Success Stories podcast, powered by Peakzi, the number one AI platform for growing your home services business.