34 TECHNICAL
Michele Selolo, operations manager at The Lady Group, was drawn to the industry when she realised the tangible difference that plumbing makes in people’ s daily lives. She is a qualified electrician as well as an LPG gas installer. She has been involved in the industry for six years, starting out as an apprentice, then becoming The Electric Lady, to now being operations manager for the three companies – The Electric, Plumbing and Gas Lady, which is mostly for the existing plumbing customer base. protecting homes, ensuring comfort, preserving valuable resources and providing peace of mind. I believe that customers use service providers that they know, like and trust. If you have your customer’ s interest at heart it becomes easy to serve them with proper solutions.
Supplied by Michele Selolo
By Michele Selolo
The Lady Group The Lady Group started with The Plumbing Lady in 2007, serving residential customers in Pretoria. This has over the years, on request of customers, developed into providing additional home maintenance and installation services. Now there are two additional services being offered by qualified and licenced artisans in the electrical and gas fields – The Electric Lady and The Gas Lady. The businesses are recognised for – and continue to improve on – their reputation for professionalism, quality workmanship, and exceptional customer service.
The business was founded by Ronelle Pagel, a plumber who had the vision of creating opportunities for women in the trades. She has personally, with the help of a trusted plumber, physically done all the plumbing work needed by homeowners and businesses for more than 15 years. She is a real inspiration for all of us that are now part of the company.
Our team consists of 15 staff members and we have five operational teams for the three services offered, i. e. plumbing, electrical and gas. The main characteristic of the business is that all of our services are performed, but not exclusively, by licenced female artisans( men play a very important role!). We also act as a host employer for both plumbing and electrical apprentices at various colleges.
Our services range from emergency repairs and routine maintenance to new installations and compliance inspections. Energy-efficient solutions, the installation of back up water tanks, and the warmwater solutions for households are popular solutions for customers in the frequent disruptive infrastructure environment facing our cities and towns.
What attracted Michele to the industry Maintenance services are essential, and I was drawn to an environment where operational excellence, customer service and technical expertise come together to solve real problems. The added opportunity to support and empower women artisans made the industry especially meaningful to me.
My philosophy is that plumbing, and other trade services, are about more than pipes and fittings or electric wiring – it is about
The best part of my job is seeing the impact our team has on customers and on the women who work within our organisation. Whether it is solving a customer ' s urgent problem, mentoring
Michele Selolo, operations manager, The Lady Group.
team members or helping create career opportunities for women in the trades, it is rewarding to be part of an organisation that combines business success with meaningful social impact.
Working with Ariston The Lady Group has been working with Ariston for many years and has come to value the relationship as one built on quality, reliability and mutual support. As a service business, we rely on products that perform consistently, and Ariston has proven to be a trusted partner in that regard. The call centre at Ariston is, for us, of great help as many customers often require information regarding Ariston products, including information on warranties of water heaters, and Ariston’ s quick and helpful assistance in this regard is outstanding.
What stands out most is the combination of product quality, innovation and customer support. I recently attended an IOPSA plumber’ s evening where Ariston displayed a range of Wi-Fi-connected products. This type of development and innovation by Ariston makes it easy for us to confidently offer our customers products that are aligned to the most recent technological developments. Furthermore, Ariston is great at supporting installers and contractors, and this demonstrates that they value long-term partnerships.
Ariston is a respected manufacturer, and this helps us deliver dependable solutions to customers. Reliable products reduce callbacks, improve customer satisfaction, and allow our technicians to focus on providing quality workmanship. Ariston products are always in stock, and if need be, can be sourced and delivered easily. Their technical support, in our experience, is above and beyond the industry standard. PA
The ladies’ myAriston Rewards Our own reward programme has run for many years, and we use the rewards to treat ourselves by arranging special occasions for our teams or simply buying gifts for customers or staff on special occasions. This is a great programme and certainly helps in choosing the right product at the wholesaler.
www. plumbingafrica. co. za @ plumbingonline @ plumbingonline @ PlumbingAfricaOnline August 2026 Volume 32 I Number 06