“When I first got to Las Vegas, I had $120 in my pocket. I had no idea where I would be the next day, let alone one day, owning my own business."
But a lot has changed since Scott Root moved to Southern Nevada from his home state of Michigan nearly 20 years ago. He now owns and operates MC Plumbing, a full-service plumbing company for residential and commercial customers throughout the valley. He is doing all this while raising three daughters. But one thing has stayed the same since he came to call Nevada home: the love for his craft.
“I have been a plumber since right out of high school,” said Root. “I knew I wasn’t going to go to college. I was ready to work, and then right after graduation, my friend's dad, who was a plumber, asked me if I wanted to work for him, and I immediately said ‘yes.’ And that's how it started."
After Root moved to Las Vegas, he said he had been working for other plumbing businesses for a while before he bought MC Plumbing in September of 2011. Like other fields, his company has had to weather the storm over the years, including the recent pandemic. But Root said what keeps his customers coming back is the honesty and integrity he brings to the job every day.
“I always say I have the Midwest work ethic that you don’t often find on the west coast,” said Root. "I get up at 4:00 or 4:30 in the morning, go to the gym for a couple of hours and then I get right to work. We are open Monday through Saturday from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. We spend so little on advertising because people just trust us, and they give us referrals."
Word of mouth has been the best calling card for MC Plumbing which, according to Root, has seen more business recently as people are staying home more and noticing when work needs to be done around the house, including plumbing. And now, with summer here, he and his crews are ready for more calls to start coming in.
“It’s that change in temperatures,” said Root. "It could be in the 90s one day and 60s the next day with high winds here in Las Vegas,” said Root. “That’s when the ground starts to shift, and people don’t realize it can break water mains and make it move. That can cause underground slab leaks, and it’s a big thing for us.”
Root said a lot of people don't realize there’s a problem until it’s too late, and they started seeing those high-water bills.
“I would see people panicking and calling us and saying I don’t know what to do,” said Root. “My best advice is to be proactive and try to prevent your pipes from breaking in the first place. And we are always available to come in for a free assessment. And we are honest with people if there’s work that can be done cheaper with a landscaper, for example, we tell them. Not all work has to be done by us.”
Root said the biggest change he’s seen over the years in the plumbing industry is how technology has transformed things such as water heaters. Research shows a traditional tank heater makes up close to 20 percent of your total energy use, but a quality tankless water heater is an estimated 34 percent more efficient than the old tank style.
“I am in the office now most of the time, so my staff knows a lot more about this new technology than I do. But it’s great to see how things have changed. These gadgets weren’t around when I started in the field. The old kind, you just muscle it up and put it in the garage. It’s a lot different now.”
What Root knows won’t be changing anytime soon is his passion for the business and his love for working here in Southern Nevada. He said MC Plumbing is here to stay, and he has this advice for other business owners who, like him, may have landed in this role unexpectedly.
“I wasn’t a businessperson at all. I was just a plumber, but I had this big personality, so I thought I would be a foreman or a boss or something like that,” said Root. “But when you own your own business, it is harder than I thought it would be, definitely more stressful. So, it’s really important to take care of yourself. Take those days off. Give yourself a vacation. And come back with that passion to serve."
