From One Truck To A Trusted Brand In Plumbing

Peakzi Podcast: A garage, one truck, and a simple belief: do right by people. That’s how Ed Turek began in 1986, and that’s still how Turek’s Plumbing in Appleton, WI earns trust today. We sit down with Ed to explore the story behind “terrific people, terrific service,” and how a clear set of values—written by employees—powers hiring, training, and day-to-day decisions. From transparent pricing and warranties to fully stocked trucks and fast fixes, Ed shows how ethics become systems and systems become consistency customers can feel.

We dig into the six values that anchor the culture—support, honesty, commitment, growth, communication, and gratitude—and how they translate into real behaviors like listening well, doing what you say, and teaching what you know. Ed explains the long path from apprenticeship to master plumber, why he leaned on mentors early, and how sharing knowledge turned into the company’s growth engine. He also breaks down the leadership loop that keeps quality high: define the process, run it, learn, improve, repeat. That discipline helped Turek’s scale from one truck to a multi-department operation without losing its personal touch.

Then we turn to technology and data. Ed walks through how Peakzi’s AI insights help the team understand market rankings, uncover blind spots, and spend smarter on marketing. Instead of guessing where to improve, they see where competitors excel and where opportunity hides. With better visibility across search and AI platforms, they double down on what customers value and refine what needs work. The result is a stronger referral engine and a brand reputation built on honesty and reliability from first call to final handshake.

If you care about building a home services business that grows on purpose—not by chance—this conversation offers a practical blueprint: values you can act on, systems that make service repeatable, and data that keeps you honest. Subscribe, share this episode with a fellow home services pro, and leave a review telling us which value you’re committing to this week.

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More info at: https://ai.tureksplumbing.com/

Peakzi Podcast: Home Services Success Stories

Transcript

Welcome And Guest Intro

Julian Placino 0:00

Welcome to the Home Services Success Stories podcast powered by Peakzi, the number one AI platform for growing your home services business. I'm Julian Placino, your host, and we have another great show in store for you today because we have Ed Turek, who is the president and owner at Turek's Plumbing Incorporated. Ed, welcome to the show. How are you?

Speaker 0:21

Thank you, Julian. I am well. Uh doing good.

Starting In 1986 And Early Motivation

Julian Placino 0:24

Well, excited to have you on and to learn about your home services success story. So let's jump in. So, Ed, you launched the business in 1986 out of your garage with one truck. What motivates you to start the business? And what do you remember about those early days?

Speaker 0:43

You know, that's a good question. And I've had to think about it a little bit. I guess I had a vision to do it better. To do it better for our customers, but also do it better for ourselves. Um, I guess, like any young entrepreneur, I knew I could do it better. But what I didn't know was how many different hats I had to wear when I went into business to make that happen. Um it was a challenge, but unfortunately, you learn as you go. And I found that finding the right mentors to help me guide me on that path that truly made a difference to my success.

Apprenticeship Path To Master Plumber

Julian Placino 1:21

Gotcha. You mentioned there were some things that you could do better. What were some of those obvious gaps that you saw that inspired you to start the business and the ones you thought you could close?

Speaker 1:30

Well, really, it was taking care of customers. Uh you know, I I had a I had a good uh contractor as uh my mentor when I started in in regards to understanding and doing the mechanical, the skill level of things, but uh the customer service was lacking. And uh I knew that you know if I could take care of the customers better, you know, I would be okay. And that that that was always been my focus.

Julian Placino 2:05

Interesting. So focusing on the customers and making sure that they were uh well serviced. Now, did you grow up in the trades? Like what was your background? How did you first get exposed to the industry?

Speaker 2:16

Um actually I did not grow up in the trades. Uh I grew up on a small farm and uh was in the excavating landscaping business uh and knew that I needed to have something more challenging for myself than that there. And I was introduced to plumbing through a friend's uh uncle, and he uh gave me some guidance as to what I should be looking for, you know, from a business or a mentor that I should you know get work under, a journeyman plumber, a master plumber. And uh I just took it from there. And once I got my hands, should I say got my hands dirty in the plumbing business, I enjoyed it. I loved it.

Julian Placino 2:57

Interesting. So how long did you work under someone's uh apprenticeship before you went out and started your own business?

Speaker 3:04

In the state of Wisconsin where we're at, uh an apprenticeship program is a five-year program to get your you know get your journeyman's card, and then then you have to uh work another three years in the trades in order to go and try for your master's. If you're successful at getting your master's, then you can go out on your own.

Julian Placino 3:22

So you did the five years and then immediately started the business?

Speaker 3:26

No, no. After another three, I did.

Julian Placino 3:28

After another three, you did. Okay.

Speaker 3:30

It's it's it's an eight-year program in order to go and take get to to make the attempt to get your master's license.

From One Truck To Fifteen

Julian Placino 3:37

Wow. Okay. So so the story goes, you started with one truck. How many trucks do you have now?

Speaker 3:44

Um that's a good question, also. I don't even know. Uh I think with all with the three different departments that we have, uh, we're about uh 12 to 15 trucks.

Service-Driven Purpose

Julian Placino 3:56

Wow, amazing. So, so how how how do you still get excited about the industry, having done this for for four for four decades? Like what are you most passionate about home services and what you do?

Speaker 4:10

Well, I could say determination, but but it's really really being of service. Uh being of service to your employees and to your clients that uh that have needs. Uh for me, just having that inner satisfaction of knowing you're able to help a person out is truly a driving force. Um, whether you're being of service by teaching and helping an employee get ahead in life, or solving a messy issue for a client by giving them a safe, healthy environment to live in. I think that I think the definition of passion is having the enthusiasm for something. When you have enthusiasm, a desire, and the skills for what you do, it's not work you know that you do, but rather it's the enjoyment you get back in what you in what you do.

Defining Terrific People Terrific Service

Julian Placino 5:01

So it sounds like ultimately you get the satisfaction from being of service. And you know, your motto is terrific people, terrific service. And you already started to touch a bit about that, but how does that show up in the day-to-day operation of the business? And what does that mean for your customers?

Speaker 5:18

Um I guess first of all, I want to define what terrific people, terrific service means. It would be something like this. Uh, we have terrific people working for us, and we have terrific terrific people for our clients. By providing terrific environment, uh, culture, and place for our employees to work, and then by providing terrific service and exceeding our clients' expectations, everybody wins. You know, it just is just twofold. It goes hand in hand.

Julian Placino 5:54

So there's a really big aspect in making sure that you take care of people. So so talk to me about culture. What does the word culture mean to you and how do you intentionally develop that uh at Tureks?

Hiring For Cultural Fit

Speaker 6:06

Um Well, I guess wait, let me rephrase what I was gonna say something here, but let me rephrase it. I know that culture builds a I know that culture itself is the basis of the company values that we have. Our values, which are created by employees, are a driving force and the intention behind our culture. You need to have trust, honesty, and clear expectations spelled out in your values. And I feel ours are. Um we've got six values. Uh see if I can I I'm gonna remember them all. Uh being supportive, being honest, having commitment, growth, communication, and gratitude. I got it. I got it. You know, all of those, yeah, like being supportive, you know, the willingness to help the team and the customers for the benefit of all, you know, uh is is the very first one. Uh you have to have willingness. If you if you don't have willingness, well then maybe it's not a good fit for it, you know, for us. Um you know, the honesty side of things, uh just do what you say and say what you do. And that that's pretty simple and straightforward. Um you know, commitment, uh meet the needs of the company by being accountable, most definitely ethical and reliable. Uh growth, uh, being willing to grow, you know, being a being a continuous learner, you know, always looking for new and better ways. And the the biggest challenge that I think a lot of organizations face is communication, and we have that as part of our value, is you know, is listening, understanding, and sharing information, and doing it in a in a meaningful way, knowledgeable and meaningful way. And and really the last one is gratitude, um putting the well-being of the employees and clients at the forefront of everything we do. Uh, it kind of ties in with safety on that regard. That that is the driving force of culture, is you know, taking care of our values. And everybody, you know, if they do that part of it, the culture just flows with it, it just happens.

Julian Placino 8:51

Yeah, I think those are definitely great values and a really high benchmark. So tell us a bit about your hiring process. How do you go about ensuring that you're getting the right people for the culture that match and align with your values?

Speaker 9:06

Um plumbing can and is a dirty business. Just ask any plumber out there. Uh, you know, when a client calls in and they have a messy situation going on, and the point of the call coming in and the CSR and the receptionist taking the call to the point of the technician being on site, resolving the problem and you know, taking care of the client, you know, our staff goes above and beyond to help resolve those problems. Uh, they're all about putting the clients first and taking care of them. And I guess that's what makes each one of our employees great. When we're looking for new employees, our first objective is to, you know, is that they need to be great, a great fit for the culture that we have here. Because in the in the end, working together is what it's all about. There's you know, they have to be open to uh the approach that we're taking. If they like what we're doing, it'll it'll all come together. We'll work together well.

Julian Placino 10:17

Yeah, and you know, there's so much that you can tell about a company by the reviews. And oftentimes in your reviews, your customers talk about the trust, the honesty, the clear expectation. So, how do you go about training your people to fulfill that that high level of service?

Speaker 10:34

Um You know, I guess from the beginning I didn't, and I never will have all the answers. Uh seeking out business mentors and advisors to help me become better wasn't a want, but rather a need. I know I needed the knowledge of people better than myself to succeed. And I guess the first lesson I learned was sharing. By sharing my knowledge and the knowledge I had learned from others, by teaching our staff, this was the number one thing that's helped us grow and succeed as a company. You know, we're we're constantly in a learning mode here. Uh even myself, every day, you know, I get blown away by something that changed, and yeah, and I'm old school, I'll admit it. Technology, you know, is a great thing. And when I find something new, some little secret, some little trick or whatever that uh helps make things easier, it's like it just blows me away. Uh, how things have advanced so much in 40 years.

Julian Placino 11:46

So, what it sounds like ultimately comes down to a sharing culture, sharing best practices and um kind of leading from the front. And that's kind of how you're able to sort of scale that high level of customer service and what your customers talk about their reviews uh throughout their organization.

Speaker 12:00

Yes. Well, and we're fortunate. You know, we're really fortunate that our customers are very willing, you know, uh to share their, you know, their reviews in regards to how we did for them. And, you know, we're human. If we make a mistake, we're right there to fix it, take care of it. And and that gets acknowledged also in the reviews that we as a company stand behind what we do.

Julian Placino 12:25

Yeah, so let's jump into that a bit more. So, you know, Tureks emphasizes peace of mind, and you have very clear upfront pricing, warranties, and of course, fully stocked trucks. So, what decisions did you make early on to prioritize you know trust over short-term gains?

Speaker 12:42

Well, this is easy for me. Uh trust goes back to the golden rule, and I think you know what that is. Treat others as you'd like to be treated. If you have if you have a trustworthy and ethical, if you are trustworthy and ethical, it isn't that what everybody wants. Um everybody wants, needs, and expects and deserves that. So if we prove trust and are ethical, then everything, everything else will take care of itself. That's really the long and short of it. Follow the golden rule.

Leadership Lessons And Consistency

Julian Placino 13:20

Follow the golden rule, stick to your values, just do right by people. I think that's great. So, you know, one of the things is that you know, success isn't lie. You mentioned you you started this with one truck, now you're like 1215. So you've grown um with full operation, office staff, and and specialized technicians, and you've talked a lot about mentors as well. But what are some of the most important leadership lessons you've learned to grow as a home services leader, would you say?

Speaker 13:51

I guess the the the big thing for me is consistency. You know, by having you know, consistency is by providing and having systems in place, you know, for everything we do in business. And from a leadership standpoint, you know, we're always looking to improve our systems and processes because then consistency happens. If we improve our systems and processes, we're gonna be able to take care of the customer consistently from start to finish every time. You know, the the challenge with systems and processes is that businesses and business operations are always evolving and changing. Yeah, so so what does that mean? It means that our systems and that always have to be evolving, changing, improving to mean consistency. It's kind of it's kind of a big circle, that a hamster wheel of run, run, run, and and do it again. Uh you know from a leadership standpoint, uh also being straightforward and fair with the employees. Uh they come to respect that. And uh that that goes a long way. And that's where we we have longevity with our employees because you know we we take care of them uh and they take care of us. That's how it works.

Julian Placino 15:21

Yeah, so her consistency is a really big thing. You talked about the importance of systems and processes, so not kind of haphazardly going about business, but sticking to the proven model that you have. And then also being straightforward with your employees, and kind of like what you said golden rule. Be straightforward with them, they'll be straightforward with you. You treat them well, they treat the customer well. So I think there's a definitely a great trickle trickle effect when it comes to that. So um so as you know, a lot of home services companies, they sort of fail to scale, they fail to grow, but but you have done so. So, with that being said, there's so many other plumbing companies out there. So, what's your your your message to potential customers or even potential employees? Uh, why choose Tureks?

Speaker 16:08

Uh we are true to our model. You know, we Tureks provides honest, ethical, and and terrific service. And uh a major part of our new customers comes from referrals. We have a lot of clients out there that uh you know praise us, and you know honestly, I didn't make up this the the model terrific people, terrific service. I had an office manager that we were brainstorming uh as a management team, and she rattled it off and it clicked, and we all agreed that that's what it had to be. And uh that was probably 25 years ago or so.

Julian Placino 16:58

Oh wow.

Speaker 16:59

So we've been we've been sticking by that from the start from the long for the for the long haul.

What Peakzi Is And Why It Matters

Julian Placino 17:06

Terrific people, terrific service, living out the message, living out the mantra. That's great. So uh so Ed, let's shift gears a bit. So the show, of course, is powered by Peakzi, and you are a Peakzi customer. How would you first describe to other home services leaders what Peakzi is?

Speaker 17:24

Um it's AI moving forward for the future for us. Um, you know, the information that we've been gathering, you know, through our monthly meetings and and tracking uh is helping us move forward in this age of technology. We're uh we're able to hone in and and pinpoint different things that are going on, especially from a marketing standpoint. Uh it's it's made a difference in regards to decisions that we're making on how we're spending our money, where we're spending our money.

Julian Placino 18:10

Okay, and what would you say are some of the most important decisions Peaksy has helped you make?

Data, Rankings, And Finding Gaps

Speaker 18:22

I made a lot of them, I don't know. Um I guess more so they're helping us with uh you know our comp you know how we're faring with our competitors and helping us um see where we can improve, what we can become better at, uh and that in turn helps drive sales and and and drive new customers too. Uh or consistently ranking, you know, in the top five different categories that we're tracking.

Speaker 2 19:03

Nice.

Speaker 19:04

And then we we look into it, we dive into a little bit deeper and say, okay, you know, here's where we're missing the board a little bit, or or maybe it might be a situation where we're uh we're not doing something we should be doing. So um it's just an overall uh 10,000-foot view of what's going on and giving us some direction by you know pinpointing different things that are that we see.

Embracing AI To Grow

Julian Placino 19:33

Gotcha. So uh the the main benefits I've heard so far, of course, is the is AI. So being visible in the way people search through these AI platforms, ChatGPT, GROC, Gemini, et cetera. And also it looks like it's been useful for you to see what gaps you may have, because it has like a market ranking, gives you insights into how you could have stack up against the competition, showing what are what are your opportunities for improvement. I think those are great. Um so so how would you say Peakzi has most helped benefit your business so far? Any interesting outcomes that you're able to report?

Speaker 20:05

Um it it really is. It's using the word you said that the gaps that are there, uh helping us find those gaps. We wouldn't know what we're looking for with our Peakzi. Uh it gives us the opportunity to say, hey, oh, really, I never thought about that. You know, here's what we're doing, uh, or here's what our competition is doing better. So then it's you know it gives us some direction. Uh it's really showing us the gaps that that we're missing otherwise.

Julian Placino 20:36

Okay, great. Anything else you'd like to share about Pixie before we begin to sort of close things out here, Ed.

Speaker 20:45

I guess the only thing I would say is that if you haven't looked at it, look at it. Um you know uh the opportunities are there for you, and if you ignore them, then it's the same thing every day. You're gonna get what you're putting out. But but if you want to grow and and prosper, uh be open to you know the new technology that's coming down the road, especially on the AI side of things.

Legacy And Lasting Reputation

Julian Placino 21:15

I think that's a great message right there. If you want to grow and prosper, you definitely need to take a look at Peakzi. Appreciate that. I think that's a wonderful quote. Uh so Ed, closing things out, when you look ahead, look behind, evaluate like everything that you've done in home services, what kind of legacy do you want to leave behind for your customers, your your people, your your community?

Speaker 21:40

Kind of goes back to what I just said a little bit earlier in regards to you know that if somebody comments in a gathering or something that you know that they've used Tureks, that the honest ethical operation that we're running, you know, shines through for. them not only in the work that we do, you know, the mechanical part of fixing things or whatever, just the from the customer relations standpoint, you know, from start to finish, uh, call taking to the, you know, the technician walking out the door and and the problems resolved, that they remember that we were, again, true to our model of terrific people, terrific service.

Julian Placino 22:25

And I think that's a great place to leave it. Terrific people, terrific service. That's what the brand is all about. So Ed, this has been really great getting to know you. If you would close us out by sharing your website, also your social media. How do folks connect with you and learn more about you and the business?

Speaker 22:42

Well they can find us at on the web at Turksplumbing.com. Uh we have chats, uh email info at turksplumbing.com can you can reach out there. Uh there's so many forms of communication right now, Julian, I I can't answer how many different ways they can get reach us. We're definitely out there.

Julian Placino 23:07

Well I think those are great and we'll make sure to uh to capture all your contact information and to plug it in the show notes. So Ed, this was wonderful getting to know you and thank you so much for sharing your story with us today.

Speaker 23:18

Thank you very much, Julian. I appreciate the time.

Julian Placino 23:21

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