Business Spotlight: Glanz/Buffat Plumbing, Heating and Cooling
Writer / Christy Heitger-Ewing
Photography Provided
A century ago, the business world ran a little differently. When Christian Glanz, the original owner of Glanz Heating & Cooling, first started his plumbing business in the spring of 1923, he rode a trolley downtown doing jobs, carrying his tool bag with him. Some of his customers paid him in pies and other baked goods, rather than money.
Glanz lived to be over 90 years old, working at his company up until the day he died, although his son and two daughters ran the day-to-day business operations for many years prior to his passing.
Buffat Services, a certified HVAC contractor, started around the same time, in 1925.
Fifteen years ago the two companies merged, moved to Jeffersontown, and became Glanz/Buffat Plumbing, Heating and Cooling.
That name means everything because people know and appreciate the history, says Keith Steinmetz, who co-owns the company with Jason Logsdon. The two men began working together at Glanz in 1996, and when the opportunity arose for them to purchase it, they jumped at the chance.
When Steinmetz first started at Glanz, there were a loyal group of guys who had been working there for 25 to 30 years.
They retained their employees, says Steinmetz, whose father and grandfather are also plumbers. Logsdon started out in vocational school, learning about sheet metal and evolving into an HVAC service technician.
As of March the company has been around for 100 years. Steinmetz firmly believes the reason the business has lasted for so long is its continued dedication to people. That dedication has never wavered, even as the business has changed hands.
Weve been around this long because people know they can trust us, Steinmetz says. People tell us that we were recommended to them because were honest, we stand behind what we do and we are fairly priced.
He freely admits that they are not the cheapest in town, but they are fair, reliable and trustworthy, which is why they have roughly 6,000 customers in their customer base and average five new customers per week just from word of mouth.
If we give you an estimate and then later find that we missed something, we wont charge you extra, he says. We eat that cost. Thats why we have a good reputation.
They work on many brands of equipment and plumbing, offer 24-hour emergency service, and stand by their one-year labor warranty on anything they do. Furthermore, if you call and leave a message, theyll promptly respond. That may sound like a simple service, but Steinmetz says its amazing how often he hears customers complain that they had a company out to do some work, and now that theyre having issues, no one from that company will return their calls.
A warranty is only as good as the piece of paper its written on if you dont stand behind it, Steinmetz says. If we screw up, were quick to say, Well take care of it at no cost to you. We havent made it 100 years without that philosophy.
Glanz/Buffat Plumbing, Heating and Cooling is located at 3406 College Drive in Louisville, KY. For more information call 502-423-8080 or visit them online at glanz-buffatphc.com.
