Jathy Garcia Enjoys Bringing A Woman’s Perspective To A Male-Dominated Industry
Owner of what she describes as a “plumbing boutique,” Jathy Garcia is shattering glass ceilings as the operator and public face of Hi-Tech Plumbing & Air. Through the family-owned and operated business, Garcia is adding a woman’s perspective to an industry often dominated by men.
“I know people don’t meet many women in this industry, and it has become something that I have a strong passion and love for,” Garcia said.
Garcia was born and raised in South Florida. A resident of the western communities for decades, she has a background in property management and marketing, and transitioned into the plumbing business in 2000 when she and her husband, Abiel Garcia, officially started their own plumbing company.
Garcia’s background in marketing and management, along with her husband’s years of plumbing experience, have allowed their firm to provide reliable and well-rounded plumbing services to clients throughout Palm Beach County.
“Fusing both of our backgrounds together has made us an exceptional team that offers exceptional service to all of our customers,” Garcia said. “My husband is the qualifier of the company, and I’m more of the face of the company. I have my background in marketing and doing the business side of things, and he has the expertise of knowing how to do the work and overseeing the technicians. We’ve always been a team.”
As a woman in a trade profession, Garcia not only has managed to become a self-sufficient employer, but also has been able to incorporate unique business qualities into a field that oftentimes lacks the structure and organization of a non-trade profession.
For starters, Garcia has emphasized, more than anything, gaining and maintaining the trust of her clients. Hiring trustworthy employees has become a top priority for Garcia, and something that she feels has shaped her business to be successful in the industry.
“We live in an era where we always wonder who is coming into our houses,” she said. “We have amazing software, [through] which our customers actually get a picture and a bio of the technician before they even arrive. Little details mean a lot. We background screen all of our guys and do drug tests like all other companies.”
Having the right personality when talking to clients is another expectation of Garcia’s employees. She requires that her employees be personable and educative when explaining plumbing and AC issues and solutions.
“We go the extra mile. Our guys actually have to pass a personality test. Again, to meet with the criteria of this being a woman-operated business, I want them to understand that they need to have the right personality. It’s all about teamwork and educating the consumers,” Garcia said.
Garcia also guarantees that plumbers and AC technicians will always be respectful of all clients’ homes.
“People think of plumbers, and they think of dirty guys who just come into your house, but we are all about cleanliness,” she said. “As a woman, I value being clean. So, our guys are always in uniform, they wear shoe coverings to go into people’s homes, and we have special mats that they put down to protect coverings — just things that I feel a woman thinks about more.”
Garcia explained that ensuring technicians are trustworthy, have the right personalities to work with people and are respectful of people’s homes are some of the qualities that she, as a woman, has brought to the trade business.
“I always have the mindset of ‘what would I expect,’ so we try to portray that with every customer. We treat others as we want to be treated,” Garcia said.
Hi-Tech Plumbing & Air ultimately runs on the foundation of teamwork. Garcia’s purpose, for the last 18 years, has been to ensure that her team provides the best services possible. “We wouldn’t be here almost 20 years later if it wasn’t for the team that we have,” Garcia said.
Garcia naturally stands out in the world of plumbing and air-conditioning services, but she also has uniquely incorporated a new important mission into her company: encouraging clients to make environmentally conscious plumbing and air-conditioning choices.
“We have been coaching our customers on the money-saving fixtures and equipment available,” she said. “For instance, changing toilets that waste eight gallons of water per flush for new toilets that will do a one-gallon flush.”
Garcia and her husband incorporated the air-conditioning services to their business — originally known as Hi-Tech Plumbing — in 2015, as they are hoping to provide people with all-inclusive services that often times go hand-in-hand.
For Garcia, her hard work and dedication truly pays off when she is part of helping clients deal with the unwanted problems of broken AC units or leaking pipelines.
“If we are going to do something, we’re going to do it 100 percent,” she said. “We only think about our AC or plumbing when it’s broken, so it’s all about seeing the smile on their faces when they know their plumbing is back to normal or that their AC is finally kicking in.”
Hi-Tech Plumbing & Air offers services throughout Palm Beach County, with a concentration in the western communities, for residential and commercial properties. For more information, call (561) 790-6966 or visit www.hi-techplumbingandair.com.
