I just couldn’t not write about this. My English teacher would kill me for using the double negative…but anyway. Those of you who read my eerily clairvoyant post “How Not to be a Desperate Housewife” know that I am married to someone who THINKS he is a plumber. Unfortunately for my husband, his name is Joe.
I’ve Got a Shirt for That
Our marketing director is great at zingy one-liners. (He came up with the one above.) I like ‘em, too, and I’m always saying “I should put that on a shirt!” Yesterday, I was thinking back to my husband Joe’s “plumbing incident” and that I needed to get him a shirt that says “I’m Joe the Plumber.” Now that we know that the famous Joe is not actually a licensed plumber, it would be even funnier!
The story is this: Last September we moved into our very first home of our own. My husband Joe likes to tinker and he noticed that the faucet was dripping. Unbeknownst to me, Joe was having a problem removing the drippy spigot. He just kept buying wrenches until he got one big enough to do the job, or so he thought.
Upon awakening from a nap and trying to wash my hands, I discovered that our water was turned off. I went outside to find my dear husband standing in the yard with a wrench the size of my leg in one hand and the spigot in the other. The pipe was broken off at the BRICK WALL, necessitating the water remaining turned off. This was a Sunday, so I had to call an actual plumber and pay him double time to put a HOLE IN THE WALL to reach the pipe, cut it off and replace the spigot.
When a customer sent in a “Joe the Plumber” logo this morning, I had to tell my story to the rest of my co-workers, who said that my shirts actually need to say:
“I’m Joe (who thinks he is, but isn’t) the Plumber” and
“I’m married to Joe (who thinks he is but isn’t) the Plumber”
As we would say in the South, “I love my husband, plumbing skills notwithstanding, bless his heart.” If you can laugh together, you can stay married for a long time.
Get Your Own Shirt
This whole Joe the Plumber story makes me think of two things:
1) Queensboro’s four piece minimum and free setup* for digital printing makes it fun, easy and affordable to put funny sayings on a few shirts for you and your friends to wear. You don’t have to buy mass-produced funny shirts, which immediately become un-funny because everybody has one.
2) REAL plumbers are highly skilled tradesmen and women that are 100% necessary to the functioning of virtually every home and business. Additionally, many plumbers, electricians, masons and other tradesmen are small, sometimes one person businesses. Whether you make $47K or $250K with your small business, wearing your own logo shirts out to calls will make your business stand out. Wearing your own logo makes you look professional and serious about your business. And if this is your only source of income, I’m sure you are.
*Please see the post “Logo Love” for information about free setup. If your file type is large enough, setup is free. Send your logo for evaluation and we’ll tell you if we need a larger file type.
In the competitive business environment of today, absolutely everything you do helps to differentiate you from your competitors, and what sets you apart can work in or against your favor. It is like rally scoring in Queensboro’s volleyball games. No matter who serves, a point is scored. If the ball hits the sand on your side, the other team gets a point. Nothing is neutral anymore. The lack of a strong logo employed to communicate your brand will lower your visibility as much as using your logo strategically will raise your visibility. On Long Island, there are lots of pool servicing companies—at least 160 came up in a quick online yellow pages search. If my relatives wear custom logo apparel to meet with clients and provide services, they will immediately project a more professional image and inspire confidence in their customers. It is a business move that doesn’t cost much but can yield great results, fast.
