The Electrical Pros, Inc. CEO John Vardanyan.

At a small-lot tract project, The Electrical Pros, Inc. team install a handhole.

John Vardanyan was in college studying electrical engineering and working for his father’s construction company when his dad’s favorite saying became his own personal mantra: “Keep your customer happy now,” his dad would say, “and you’ll make up for any loss later.”

Pretty simple words; but John proceeded to build his career on them, and since 2013, when he founded The Electrical Pros, Inc. (The Pros), followed by The Fire Sprinkler Pros division—his employees have embodied them. What the customer wants, The Pros makes happen. Talk to John for any length of time and colorful examples spill out. Let other companies lose precious early hours or days with estimates and paperwork, he says. When the issue is urgent, The Pros acts first to restore power, fix the sprinkler system, contact the inspectors, secure the equipment, replace the parts, etc.

And the joy is not just that no two days are alike, John says, but that the often highly creative solutions—and the exceptional response time—forge lasting bonds. “A building manager called us recently to replace light fixtures in their parking lot for a big event the next day,” he recalls. “Most companies would charge just to come out for an estimate. Before any work, most companies submit the numbers and wait for approvals.”

While those things matter, John says matter-of-factly, so does the customer’s short-fuse deadline.

“When we arrived at the parking lot,” he says, “we got the part numbers and called our supplier.” Perfect, except in this case the manufacturer had updated the parts. Now the fixtures the customer wanted were obsolete. When five out of his lights mismatched with the remaining three, the customer was not happy.

In a beat, the team called the manufacturer again to quickly buy and install three more new fixtures. “Now all eight look alike,” John said. “For no additional charge.”

A bystander hearing the “no additional charge” might say The Pros took a hit on that transaction. John would say The Pros secured a customer for life.

He’d also say that customers are one part of a three-way commitment. The Pros’ 15 specialists—11 electrical technicians and four fire-sprinkler technicians—all know the best solutions are only as good as the mutual respect they rely on with suppliers and equipment sources, with facilities managers who form the bulk of their clientele, and internally, with each other.

Not Just the Right Way, But Right Away

Not long ago, John says, a facility manager called about a fire-sprinkler pipe leaking over expensive medical equipment. The building manager’s first emergency call went to a large company that plugged the break for a robust charge and left. When the plug failed to hold, the manager hastily asked around and learned about The Pros.

“We were there that day and within two hours, after regular business hours, had a supplier on the line,” John says. The supplier opened the doors and supplied The Pros with the parts. “Before the next shift showed up in the morning,” John says, “the break was history.”

It’s not uncommon for new customers to find The Pros that way—after they’ve exhausted their more well-known choices. Through word-of-mouth, a frustrated manager will learn of a small group that does the job not just the right way, but right away. John describes the singlemindedness that fuels that reputation: “If we run into a roadblock, we push through it. No waiting, not even for paperwork, because customer satisfaction is the point.”

Yes, comparatively, the team is small, but that’s where comparisons end, John says. The company is headquartered in Sun Valley, California, but its services reach from Northern California to Santa Barbara or San Diego, more than 200 miles from The Pros’ home base, because customers are willing to pay for the quality.

Serve Your Customers

If respect among suppliers and others enables The Pros to cross certain lines, customers value how The Pros’ technicians stay inside the lines on budgets, timetables and professional parameters.

One client underscores this point.

Two years ago, Leonard Matyas joined Natrol LLC, a manufacturer of vitamins, minerals and supplements, as Director of Logistics over 250,000 square feet of plant space. When he inherited John and his team for the skills that exceed internal maintenance, he checked into their credentials, pricing and competitive responses.

“I wish all my vendors were like them,” Leonard concluded. “John works well with my maintenance manager and supervisor. He does not manage from an ivory tower. At the beginning of the job, the middle of the job, the end of the job, he’s there—hands-on, helping with the machinery that puts out our product. His people are extremely polite, extremely professional, available 24/7. They follow the protocol required. Most important, we get quality from what they do.”

Learn from Each Other

The Pros work well for others, John explains, because they learn well from one another, particularly across generations. Twenty years ago, a work order was a paper document and purchase orders were faxes. As new technologies took schedules and recordkeeping online, younger technicians adapted easily but seasoned technicians were slowed by the changes. The solution was to team old and young—one side rich in experience, one side savvy with technology. Like all good relationships, both sides learn from and teach the other.

“It sets us apart,” John says of the internal partnerships. “Older technicians diagnose and troubleshoot quicker; they’re more hands-on and innovative on the fly. Younger technicians can research quickly to read or watch instructions, but they learn the real skills on the job, under the masters.” The result is the perfect technician, John says. “Both partners know when to use which method and how technology can work for them.”

‘Give Us One Try’

To property managers, facility managers, retail storeowners—to the small general contractors—John’s simple message is, “Give us one try.”

John declares decisively that the 15-member family at The Electrical Pros and The Fire Sprinkler Pros prove daily that problem-solving, speed and ingenuity come first—that they exemplify a small company’s ability to get materials in the night, reach an inspector, track down a supplier, etc. “We give the best service we can and take care of the little stuff without charging for it,” John says. “We’re not working on commission. Our goal, whatever it takes, is to please our customers and to keep them.”