20
EVENTS AND EXHIBITIONS
Plumblink
VIP day a hit
Last year’s annual Plumblink VIP day was a huge success,
with families from across the spectrum of plumbing taking
time out to enjoy the stands and the entertainment.
By Warren Robertson
Now in its seventh year, the Plumblink VIP family
fun day was set to attract more than 5 000
visitors, making it the most popular fun day yet.
Stalls were set up, the potjie fires were roaring, and
the beer was already flowing at 9:00 as plumbers
and their families made their way down the stairs at
Midrand High School, the venue for this year’s event.
According to the regional manager for Gauteng/
Inland, Gareth Vermaak, word had been spreading
among the community for some time and he was
expecting the attendance to smash the 3 500-person
record of the previous year.
“At the first one we had fewer than 100 people …
It’s really gaining momentum. I think people are
telling each other it was a really lekker day, good
for networking, and that the kids also had a great
time,” he says.
The day has become an important one for Plumblink,
who explains that the people who attend are
extremely important to their business, but not always
the easiest to meet face-to-face.
“We have a few different types of customers. With the
big corporates or banks, they have a fixed location,
they are there all the time. It’s easy to see them. Call
them up and make a meeting. The customers we
are targeting on a day like today is the smaller, more
February 2019 Volume 24 I Number 12
individual kind of business who is no less important,”
explains Vermaak. “What you find is these guys
are usually a one-man, two-man, maybe ten-man-
and-a-few-bakkies kind of operation. They focus
on maintenance plumbing and their trucks are their
offices. They work all over and, because of the highly
competitive environment they operate in, they don’t
want to talk about their customers, or who they are
working with, so if you want to actually sit down and
have a meeting, it’s almost impossible.”
Fortunately, Plumblink discovered that these kinds
of plumbers also had a keen interest in their
industry, and when they were relaxing, liked to
spend time with their families, and so the idea for a
VIP family fun day was born.
“It’s a brilliant opportunity to get all these guys
together; it’s a great atmosphere and we really connect
and bond here. You can have a real conversation with
someone and get to know them at something like this.
It builds loyalty, not only from them to us, but also from
us to them. We want our customers to succeed. We
have met their families, we know their kids and their
wives, we want to do whatever we can to help them
make the most of their businesses,” says Vermaak,
saying that he feels as if Plumblink is developing a
family of plumbers who help each other. The plumbers
help Plumblink by explaining what makes things easier
for the smaller plumbing business and how to shape
their business to better aid everyone involved.
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