Community Spotlight: Ben of Campbell Painting Interviews Erik at Yukon Fire

Phone:
(907) 563-3608

Anchorage:
5451 Laona Drive
Anchorage, AK 99518

[Ben Campbell] (0:00): All right, so hello and welcome to today’s Community Spotlight where I introduce local companies I know and trust and introduce them to you. I’m your host, Ben Campbell, and today I’m with my good friend, Erik, at Yukon Fire. So, Erik, how did you get into this business, fire protection business?

[Erik] (0:20): Well, I attended the University of Maryland and I started to get my degree in aeronautical engineering, and then I became a little dissuaded by some of the elements of that degree program and started looking at some other engineering disciplines. And I found fire protection engineering and having a deep-seated interest in protecting lives and property and fire. And they even told me, in order to put out fires, you get to start them, too. So, I was like, that sounded exciting, you know, in a controlled, safe environment. And so that’s really what got me excited about it, and the rest is history, you know. I’ve been doing that degree in fire protection engineering really helped jumpstart the career.

[Ben Campbell] (1:02): Cool. Well, don’t look around my shop, because I’m sure this is not a fire extinguisher. He did hook me up with fire extinguishers. He did. He got to pay. All my vans hooked up with fire extinguishers and the shop. Everything’s up to date. So, yeah, that’s true.

[Erik] (1:16): You’re good. You’re good on coverage.

[Ben Campbell] (1:18): What’s one thing everyone should know about hiring you or using Yukon Fire?

[Erik] (1:23): The one thing you should know when you hire Yukon Fire is that we stand by our word. If we say we’re going to do something, we do it, even if that means we lose money on the deal. Because at the end of the day, if we make a commitment to you, the customer, that is our word, that is gold. And we know that if we don’t meet that commitment, that ripple effect and damage to our reputation would be damaging. Not only that, I feel ethically and morally, you have to do what you say you’re going to do. If it is absolutely impossible to do what we say we’re going to do, then we will call in help or talk with you and talk about what’s realistic, obviously. But that’s why we don’t over-promise and under-deliver. We try to under-promise and over-deliver.

[Ben Campbell] (2:05): Yeah, and this town is way too small. That’s what I always crack up about painters or anyone in the construction industries. When you ghost someone, everyone’s going to find out about how you always just leave someone on a job site or just don’t do what you do. And so, I mean, like he said, you’re only as good as your last job, right?

[Erik] (2:30): Well, we’ve received clients who have been ghosted by other companies. It’s not a good impression and they are ready to switch immediately when they are left with that impression.

[Ben Campbell] (2:40): Okay, so a little bit goes off the other one, but what would you say is unique about Yukon Fire?

[Erik] (2:48): I think the most unique aspect is that when you call, we pick up the phone.

[Ben Campbell] (2:53): Isn’t that crazy?

[Erik] (2:55): We have a great admin staff. We have a four-strong dispatch team, a four-strong accounting team, an amazing administrative team. So, when you call, you get a live person on the phone and we answer your questions quickly or direct you to the person to answer your questions. So, we are not like three or four people in the field constantly able to get back with you in a week. You’ll get your questions answered. We’ll resolve the issue in a timely manner.

[Ben Campbell] (3:20): Fantastic, fantastic. Okay, my favorite one. What is your favorite movie?

[Erik] (3:26): This was a tough one. I’ve been thinking about it while we were answering these other questions. And I would have to say my favorite movie is Kelly’s Heroes.

[Ben Campbell] (3:34): Kelly’s Heroes? I have not seen it.

[Erik] (2:37): You’ve got to see Kelly’s Heroes.

[Ben Campbell] (2:38): Is it older?

[Erik] (2:39): Yeah.

[Ben Campbell] (2:30): When is it from?

[Erik] (2:40): Like 1960-something.

[Ben Campbell] (3:42): Okay.

[Erik] (2:42): Because of World War II.

[Ben Campbell] (2:44): Oh, hell yeah. I love the war movies and everything. Okay. Alright, cool. Alright, Kelly’s Heroes. Watch it. Alright, so what’s the best way for them to reach you or get a quote or make an appointment?

[Erik] (3:57): You can put in an inquiry on our website or you can email us, call us. Any of those methods are effective. You will reach us any of those ways. The email inquiries on our website go directly to our dispatch team. So, they direct it to the appropriate party and they’ll get back to you.

[Ben Campbell] (4:14): What’s the website?

[Erik] (4:16): www.yukonfire.com.

[Ben Campbell] (4:18): Perfect. Alright, everybody. Be fire safe. What does Smokey say? If only you could prevent forest fires. Not the same thing, but it’s due with fire.

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