John Henry’s Plumbing, Heating & Air – Create The Perfect Home Environment
John Henry’s is a locally owned and operated full-service plumbing, heating, and air conditioning company with a strong commitment to customer service and a motto of “Quality at a Reasonable Cost.”
Give our readers a brief synopsis of what your company does. – Today the majority of our business is service calls and replacing HVAC equipment, but we have many different offerings within our specialty areas. We take our job of protecting the health and safety of our community very seriously, and the comfort of our clients year-round is also a priority. John Henry’s is a Trane Comfort Specialist and Lennox Premier dealer.
How long have you been in Lincoln? – Owners Deb and John Henry (Jack) Zohner started John Henry’s in 1996 with one service truck. Now in 2018, John Henrys has a team of 75 employees.
What do you think makes you different from other companies similar to yours? – The difference is in the quality of the John Henry’s team. We hire for attitude and train for skill. Our interview process includes a survey to check for seven personality traits so we get the right person in the right position. A strong team is willing to work closely together to provide excellent quality service and constantly improve. Although we’re very proud of how far we’ve come, we’re more focused on driving each other to always push forward to that next level of success.
What do you like about doing business in Lincoln? – Much of Lincoln’s community came from small communities across Nebraska. It’s close-knit with strong values that match the ones we have at John Henry’s. Those similar qualities make doing business easier.
What kind of community organizations/groups are you involved with? – We are involved in many organizations within our community in various ways, mainly with contributing to the continued progress in our industry, supporting small business, and giving back. Through the years, John Henry (Jack) Zohner has been involved in 15 local professional organizations and a member of seven boards. Some of the those include the Better Business Bureau, Lincoln Chamber of Commerce, Lincoln Independent Business Association, Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors Association (PHCC of Nebraska), Lincoln Heating and Air Conditioning Association, Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC Cornhusker Chapter), National Institute for the Uniform Licensing of Power Engineers (NIULPE), and the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE).
Do you have a business philosophy or mission statement? – We have a Mission Statement that is good, but our Vision Statement describes John Henry’s even better: “We will be respected and feared by continuously raising the bar of excellence for our industry peers.” That’s truly John Henry’s.
What do you see happening with the business in the next five years? – Our business will continue to change and improve at an even faster pace. Competition will drive those changes. Uber and Amazon are great examples of how quickly things can change. The plumbing and HVAC business is also facing external challenges which we look forward to meeting and overcoming.
What is one of the biggest challenges that your company has faced? – The biggest challenge John Henry’s has faced is encouraging people with great attitudes to join the John Henry’s team. Once they walk through our front door it gets easier. They see the team has a lot of fun and work closely together. They realize the trades pay well and can provide fun challenges. There are new things to learn every day.
What has been your most important achievement as a business? – Saving lives. Yes, really! As just one example, our customers were sick and though they had the flu, come to find out it was carbon monoxide poisoning – and they were already exhibiting about 50 different symptoms at the point we made contact. We’ve also improved the health of our community by providing equipment that improves the quality of indoor air and drinking water, which results in our customers living longer, happier and more productive lives. For us, that’s quite an achievement.
What was the biggest turning point in your business? – Receiving awards and recognition for team accomplishments are always big ones, as they actually push us to work harder and do even better. John Henry’s has received two Better Business Bureau Ambassador of Integrity certificates, two Better Business Bureau Integrity Awards, numerous Lincoln Journal Star awards including People’s Choice and Best Place to Work, the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce Green Business of the Year, Angie’s Super Service Awards, Centurion Awards, LIBA Business Owner of the Year…basically every award possible for us. It’s important to us to prove we are deserving of these awards and each one drives us to work towards the next.
What is the most unique or interesting thing about your business that most people don’t know? – Our LINKS program was developed at John Henry’s and is an incredible team building program. When someone on our team goes that extra mile while doing their job they are “written up” on a LINKS form that is posted for all to see. The LINKS program allows everyone on our team to look for the good in others at all times. Our LINKS board gets hundreds of LINKS each year. During our holiday party each January, some of the LINKS are read, then cash awards are given out after drawings to reward some of those who received and gave LINKS. It’s an exciting team building experience.
What is one goal for your business that you have yet to accomplish? – An ongoing company goal is improving the perception of the plumbing and HVAC trades by being exceptionally professional in everything we do. Visitors to our building are surprised to find we are incredibly organized. Our Learning Center is an impressive meeting room. The John Henry’s Diner is a fun area for the team to get together for company lunches. Our trucks look as good on the inside as they do on the outside. They are also well organized. The trades are an incredible career when businesses are run efficiently. Our goal is to always bring dignity to the job.
Is there anything else you’d like to add? – We’d just like to take this opportunity to thank our +42,000 customers for their loyalty and support! We are blessed and grateful. It’s wonderful to be a part of a community like Lincoln, Nebraska.
