How Luxe Plumbing Used Podium to Stay Responsive Without Adding Staff

For Hector Trejo, owner of Luxe Plumbing, the challenge wasn’t managing a large team, it was managing everything himself. As a two-year-old business focused primarily on new construction and remodel projects, Luxe Plumbing was beginning to expand into service work. But as a small operation with just Hector and one employee, more of the day started shifting toward customer calls, scheduling, and coordination instead of completing jobs.

Before Podium, Hector managed incoming calls and customer requests directly from his personal phone while balancing active work in the field. He wanted a more scalable way to support customers without constantly interrupting jobs to answer calls.

The Challenge

Before Podium, customer communication and scheduling relied heavily on manual effort.

Customer intake fell entirely on the owner 
As the owner and primary technician, Hector handled every incoming customer conversation himself while also completing work in the field. Without a dedicated process for intake, staying responsive depended on whether he could stop what he was doing and answer the phone.

“It was just me on the phone. I would just be riding around, doing work, and just try to find where I left my phone.”

Customer calls interrupted field work and after-hours time
Customer calls didn’t stop when jobs started or when the day ended. Incoming requests interrupted field work and created pressure to stay available after hours, making it difficult to separate customer communication from the rest of the business.

“I used to get calls like 6:00 or 8:00 at night."

Managing service growth created new operational demands
As the company expanded into service work, Hector had to manage more customer calls, scheduling, quoting, and coordination than he previously handled. He wanted a simpler way to manage growing service demand without adding more coordination work.

The Day-to-Day Impact of Podium for Luxe Plumbing:

The Solution

With Podium, Luxe Plumbing introduced Podium Phones, an AI Employee, and field service management tools to create a more consistent customer experience without adding overhead.

Instead of stopping work to answer every call, customer communication continues even while Hector is in the field, giving him more time to stay focused on completing jobs.

Customer calls are answered while work continues 
With Podium, customers receive responses even while work is happening in the field. Now there’s no need to stop work to ensure leads get a quick follow-up because the AI Employee helps handle incoming customer conversations.

“[Podium offers] a better flow. I know I don’t have to rush and look for my phone. I know the AI Employee will answer the call.”

More prepared customer follow-up
Customer information and call summaries are captured automatically in Podium, giving Hector the context he needs to respond quickly and prepare for upcoming appointments.

“I feel like I have an edge because I get their name, their address, and everything else I need. And I can see it all in Podium.”

Faster payments and improved cash flow
Compared with previous workflows, Podium shortened payment timelines and helped reduce the wait between completing work and getting paid, often by the same day or next day.

“It’s nice that we get paid way faster than what Jobber offered. With Podium we get paid the same day or the next day.”

More time to focus on current job
Instead of stopping throughout the day to manage calls and scheduling, Hector has gained more time to prepare for jobs and stay productive in the field. That means spending more time completing work and less time juggling customer communication and administrative tasks.

“[Podium] just frees up my time. It’s a great relief that I’m able to continue my work.”

After-hours call coverage 
Instead of staying available into the evening, now Hector can log off knowing that calls and scheduling continue, even after hours.

“I can just come home at 5:00 to relax and know the calls are covered.”