2020 Influential Businesswoman Awards

Acquisition International - 2020 Worldwide Finance Awards 25 rofessions can get stuck with bad stereotypes. The winner of the Heating & Plumbing Director of the Year 2020 (Midlands) Lorraine Cooke is striving to turn the stereotypes on their head. It is her mission to change the way that people view plumbers and gas engineers. Too often, she’s had to contend with the opinion that all plumbers and gas engineers are “unreliable, unprofessional, messy, rip-off cowboys.” This is not the case for her engineers. She says that it is her mission to protect her clients from the cowboys. Her company, Gas Assist Heating & Plumbing, serve a community. Many of their clients are elderly or disabled. They are a dementia- friendly team. One of their engineers knows sign language and so they are able to deliver a positive service to people with hearing impairments. A lot of the rough and brusque reputation that the industry has comes from engineers wanting to get in, get the job done, and get out, without the consideration or training to help the clients themselves. Although they are not the cheapest company around, Gas Assist Heating & Plumbing is certainly not the most expensive. The extra cost goes directly into improving the service that they can deliver. When you hire Gas Assist Heating & Plumbing, you get service reminders, fixed appointment times, and open and honest information so that you can make informed decisions. These top-quality service standards are maintained by the director, Lorraine Cooke. She and her husband founded the company in 2017 and have been serving households since. In the beginning, it was just the two of them and a van that, by her own account, wouldn’t have looked out of place on the TV show Only Fools and Horses. Since then, she has built up a fleet of award-winning engineers who are as reliable and efficient as the boilers they install. Lorraine herself has a background in finances and accounting. It means that she entered the plumbing industry with a fresh set of eyes and saw that often, standards were lacking. Having worked in holiday customer service and entertainment, it was shocking to her how uncomfortable and displeased people often were with jobs carried out by other plumbing companies. Her career is founded in maintaining a strong customer experience while balancing figures. Lorraine committed to providing a higher quality service, and now works to build the brand and uphold their standards. It’s not just number crunching in the office, however, Lorraine networks tirelessly and forges partnerships with other companies that are mutually beneficial. You don’t always need a plumber or gas engineer, but when you do, you want it to be from Gas Assist Heating & Plumbing Ltd. Led by their outstanding director, Lorraine Cooke, they are tackling negative stereotypes and delivering an exemplary service. Heating & Plumbing Director of the Year 2020 (Midlands): Lorraine Cooke P The largely male-led industry can be intimidating both for women looking to work in it and for female customers. It’s an issue that Lorraine comes up against quite often, but luckily is in a place to alleviate the issue. Callers looking to book the services of Gas Assist Heating & Plumbing have asked for Lorraine by name in the past, due to her reputation from customer reviews. When asked about this, she said that she thinks it is reassuring for female customers to know that a woman is directing the company. Many have had poor experiences with tradesmen in the past, and Lorraine’s presence gives them confidence that they won’t be patronised by the engineers. This has been especially relevant this year, with many women self-isolating or living alone. Calling a plumber out can be an intimidating experience. Gas Assist Heating & Plumbing’s achievements aren’t just reflected in their customers’ experiences. Lorraine said: “We are the regional winners of the prestigious 2020 Energy Efficiency Awards, rating us as the number one boiler installer in the East Midlands. We also won third place at the 2019 national finals.” She can now also add her personal award as Heating & Plumbing Director of the Year 2020 (Midlands) to the list. She added: “Both of these accolades I am very proud of, but I would say my biggest achievement was during the ‘Beast from the East’ freak weather in 2018. I ensured that everyone who called us was put at ease with constant communication, had an engineer attend, and not one customer was left without heating where other firms had just refused to help.” Gas Assist Heating & Plumbing, with Lorraine as the director, are proving themselves as an example of what all conscientious companies should be striving to be. Company: Gas Assist Heating & Plumbing Ltd Contact: Lorraine Cooke Website: www.gasassist.co.uk