For long-time and new customers of Olympic Sewer & Drain Cleaning, they may be a bit caught off guard if they see a Jamie Parrish Plumbing vehicle in their driveway.
That’s not a mistake.
The plumbing company founded and run by longtime native Jamie Parrish earlier this year purchased Olympic Sewer & Drain Cleaning from another longtime tradesman, Steve Paulsen.
“I feel real good; they’re all set up for it,” said Paulsen, who started his business in 1989 and is now retiring. “They’re very capable people.”
“We knew each other for a long time,” said Kristal Parrish, who manages the plumbing company’s office. Oftentimes customer who needed septic and drain field services would wind up calling Jamie Parrish’s business and his staff would connect with with Paulsen’s, Kristal said, and vice versa.
Now, calls for Olympic Sewer & Drain Cleaning — the Parrishes are keeping the name, logo and phone number, Kristal said — will be coming to Jamie Parrish Plumbing.
“It was a big decision,” Kristal said. “We’re very fluent in plumbing but this is new. Now we just do it on a much bigger scale.”
Jamie Parrish, a lifelong area resident and tradesman, started his eponymous company in 2013 and offers a number of services from his Carlsborg-centered office: water heater installation repair and replacement; water filtration services such as softeners, whole house filters, and mineral and sediment removal; service repair and installation of toilets, sinks, pressure tanks, faucets and fixtures, garbage disposals, yard hydrants and more; and, drain cleaning, including stoppages in sinks, showers, tub toilets and mainlines.
Now the company will add services provided by Paulsen’s Olympic Sewer & Drain Cleaning for decades, including septic clean-outs, inspections, sewer installation and repair, septic riser installation and more.
“We’re incorporating it into the structure we already have,” Jamie Parrish said.
Paulsen has been busy helping Jamie Parrish staffers get familiar with the accounts and the equipment, Kristal Parrish said.
‘I don’t mind getting dirty’
A Carlsborg native whose parents live in the area, Jamie Parrish said he got started in the plumbing trade working for a wholesale company selling parts and working for plumbers on weekends while pursuing a different career path in classes at nearby Peninsula College.
“I decided to stick with plumbing instead of being an accountant,” Jamie said.
As for the work, he said it’s tough but worthwhile.
“I like helping people and using my hands,” Jamie said. “I don’t mind getting dirty; I’ve always been like that.”
As someone with a few more years in the trade, Paulsen echoed Parrish’s sentiment about the work itself: a bit dirty, but worthwhile.
“You do change your clothes, sometimes two or three times day,” he said. “It’s very rewarding [work]; every job is a challenge. People call you when they have a problem — a sink or drain’s backing up. When you fix it, it feels really good that you helped somebody.”
As an equipment operator installing septic systems, Paulsen got the idea to make a career in the plumbing trade after going on some calls with Roto-Rooter staffers more than three decades ago.
“I decided, ‘I could do that for a living.’”
Now with more than 25 years in the trade, Parrish went on his own about a decade ago and built his business from a one-man show to a company that now has about 10 trucks and three office staffers.
Kristal said the business’ staff has quadrupled in the past five years.
“A lot has to do with Jamie himself,” she said, noting Jamie strives to make customer service the company’s hallmark, along with offering its employees plenty of reasons to stay with the business.
“He was born and raised here. That’s why he named it Jamie Parrish Plumbing; it’s him. He designed a really good business model.”
The plumbing trade has changed over the decades, Jamie said, particularly when it comes to technology. Kristal noted that — particularly since Covid-19 — it’s been harder to please customers.
However, they both note, Jamie’s had a number of great customers in town, many of whom have called on his services for more than two-and-a-half decades.
Now, Jamie Parrish Plumbing has a new set of services to provide. Jamie and Kristal said they haven’t really advertised they bought the company until now.
“There’s going to be a learning curve for the office,” Kristal said.
Paulsen, who lives between Sequim and Port Angeles, said he’s gone on ride-alongs with the Parrishes’ staff for the change-over: “I just tagged along just if they have any questions,” he said.
Paulsen, looking forward to retirement (“doing what old guys do, building bird houses and bat houses”), said he was happy to pass along his business to someone he’s know for 20-plus years.
“They have several plumbers, a working operation and [he] knows how to run a business,” Paulsen said of Parrish.
“I was pleased somebody with integrity and knowledge took it over.”
For more about Jamie Parrish Plumbing and Olympic Sewer & Drain, call 360-504-2347, email to jamieparrishplumbing@gmail.com or visit jamieparrishplumbing.com.
Jamie Parrish Plumbing and
Olympic Sewer & Drain
Location: 110 Village Lane (Carlsborg)
Hours (office): 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Monday-Friday; 24-hour service and repair
On the web: jamieparrishplumbing.com
More info: jamieparrishplumbing@gmail.com, 360-504-2347 (Jamie Parrish Plumbing) or 360-683-9820 (Olympic Sewer & Drain)
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