Service Ride Along With Tony Dilonardo
Welcome back to the Service Ride Along Blog Series! This blog highlights our experienced Service Technicians as they travel around the state of Connecticut and Westchester County, New York. Traveling with them allows me to get a firsthand look at the services they provide, and how they manage to maintain dry basements for thousands of customers across the area.
For today’s ride along, I will be joining Service Technician Tony Dilonardo. A valuable member of our team, Tony has been serving Connecticut Basement Systems customers with quality service for well over a decade.
I head down and find him in his truck. Before we leave, he makes a few phone calls. As a Senior Service Technician, he must help to get the entire team organized in the morning, communicating with other Service Technicians to ensure that every appointment is completed on time.
Once his calls are squared away, Tony types the address of our first stop into his GPS and we hit the road for the day. Both of our stops today are in Hamden, CT. Tony is very friendly and easy to talk to, so I learn a lot about him as we ride along. In his free time Tony enjoys hiking, spending time with his family, and regularly performs as a drummer in several different musical groups.
Born and raised in Waterbury, Tony has been with Connecticut Basement Systems for about 13 years, and now lives in Wolcott, CT. He has seen the company grow from having only 5 service technicians when he started, to having about 15 service technicians today. Tony tells me that during his days on the road, he enjoys being on the move and having the constant opportunity to meet new people. More than anything, however, he relishes the challenge of the job. Whenever things do not go according to plan, Tony can quickly adjust and problem-solve on the fly. For Tony, the satisfaction of solving a complex problem and seeing it make homeowners happy is the most rewarding part of his job.
It isn’t long before such a situation presents itself as Tony and I arrive at our first stop of the day. This home recently had a WaterGuard drainage system installed because it was experiencing frequent water leaks in the basement. This solved most of the homeowner’s problems, but it turns out that a crack in the wall is still letting in some unwanted moisture (which is a common occurrence), so Tony has been called in to find a solution.
Tony has met the homeowner several times before, so we head downstairs after a quick greeting and get to work. Tony examines the crack, which is well over a foot long, and thinks over some potential solutions. He appears to come to a decision and takes some quick measurements of the damaged wall, then returns to his truck for supplies. When he returns, he brings a large rectangular panel of our patented BrightWall vapor barrier with him. BrightWall is the perfect solution for this situation. As a vapor barrier, it will help to keep the floors dry and prevent moisture and humidity from entering the basement. Tony simply attaches the BrightWall to the original wall, and when moisture creeps in through the cracks, the BrightWall directs it down into the WaterGuard drainage system below. The homeowner was surprised at how quickly Tony was able to solve the problem and was very confident that she would not have to deal with bothersome water leaks in her basement any longer.
Tony quickly walks the homeowner through some paperwork, and we hit the road again for our second stop. When we arrive, the friendly homeowner shows us to the basement, where her sump pump and dehumidifier are waiting to be serviced. We enter the basement and Tony knows that the dehumidifier is not working properly before we can even see it around the corner. As we approach the appliances, Tony explains to me that this dehumidifier – the SaniDry XP – is an old SaniDry model that Connecticut Basement Systems no longer offers. He checks the unit and finds that the refrigeration in the SaniDry is no longer working properly.
As a result, Tony must discuss some options with the homeowner. He explains to her that she can choose to repair her current dehumidifier, or she can upgrade to our newest and most effective model, the SaniDry Sedona. Tony doesn’t pressure her, but carefully explains the costs and benefits of each option. When he is done, the homeowner thinks for a moment before deciding to upgrade and purchase a SaniDry Sedona for her home. As a result, Tony was able to retrieve a brand new SaniDry Sedona from his truck and install it immediately – plus the homeowner received a 5% discount for upgrading during her appointment.
The homeowner’s sump pump was working just fine, so we began to pack up our things after Tony finished installing the new dehumidifier. Tony still has a few appointments left on his docket for the day, but my ride along is coming to an end for this week. It was a pleasure to join Tony this week, with Service Technicians like him running appointments every day, it is easy to see why our service department is so effective.
