PRACTICES 33 me how to do an invoice and job cards and other admin . He gave me some money and I have to say , everything ran smoothly until his return . I proved myself and after that he would check in to see how the company was going now and then but otherwise he trusted me to take over and now we have 13 bakkies and a successful business . Thank God for what that man and what he did for me , I will never forget it .
David : That is an amazing story , thanks for sharing . You say plumbing is your main passion in life , what has kept your interest in it after all these years ?
Antony : What I love about plumbing is that it always makes me think . Every time I go to a site I learn something new . When I find something I ’ ve never seen before I can call someone else with more experience and find out the correct way to do it . You have to think , you can ’ t just sit on your brain and hope something will happen . It also makes you learn to cooperate with other people , and you also meet new people all the time .
David : What ’ s a memorable experience from your time as a plumber ?
Antony : I had a job which came through in 2012 where I was working on a clinic , building up the plumbing from scratch . In that area they didn ’ t have sewer lines and instead they had septic tanks . However , these were not the normal type of septic tank , they were huge ! You see , the architect wasn ’ t really sure what he was doing so he gave it to me to sort out . He said that as a plumber I must just find a way to make these things right . [ Laughs ] He said he had a lot on his plate and he was more experienced with rural projects . I couldn ’ t even sleep at night because I was trying to think of how to work around the issues at the site . However , I managed to find a solution and even to this day those septic tanks are still working nicely .
When I do septic tanks for a client , I want it to last for 10-15 years or longer before there is a problem . Only after that will I be sure that I ’ ve done a good job .
David : And what advice would you give to apprentice plumbers out there ?
Antony : Young plumbers must learn to share their knowledge , they must learn to ask questions and not be shy to learn new things . If you ask , people will help you . In this industry people want to help you , they aren ’ t hiding anything . If they can do that , they will go far in this industry . Apprentices must learn to communicate . It ’ s also very important to form a network in your area of other plumbers that you know . Let ’ s say you are doing a job in the middle of the night and suddenly you need a component but all the shops are closed . You can call someone to maybe ask to borrow some 28mm coupling or elbow or copper piping , and they will be able to help you . But if you have no one to ask and you can ’ t complete the job , what will you do ? Leave people without water ? It isn ’ t right . I always tell my guys , “ Don ’ t start a job if it means that those people will be left without water .” If you know that you are starting a job at 3 o ’ clock and you know that you won ’ t be done by 5 o ’ clock , you have done the wrong thing . Don ’ t leave people with no water overnight , rather start the job early the next day . Do the job right , or don ’ t do it at all . PA
“ Don ’ t start a job if it means that those people will be left without water .”
July 2023 Volume 29 I Number 5 www . plumbingafrica . co . za