Question 1

How long has Harold been at Hofmeister Plumbing?

Accepted Answer

Harold is the second-generation owner of H. Hofmeister & Co. Inc. The business was founded in Westwood, NJ in 1966 at 115 Bergenline Avenue — the same address the company still operates from today. Harold leads day-to-day operations, picks up the phone, and is regularly on jobsites alongside the rest of the team.

Question 2

What licenses does Harold hold?

Accepted Answer

Harold and the company hold both required New Jersey licenses to do plumbing and HVAC work in the state: New Jersey Master Plumbing License #10625 and New Jersey HVAC Contractor License #19HC002574. Both licenses are issued and regulated by the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs. We carry these dual licenses so customers can have a single contractor handle plumbing, heating, AC, and water-heater work without having to coordinate multiple trades.

Question 3

Why does Harold still answer the phone himself?

Accepted Answer

Because it's a family business, not a call center. When a Bergen County homeowner is dealing with a no-heat call in January or a basement flood at 9 PM, talking to someone who can actually dispatch a truck — not a script — gets the problem fixed faster. Harold and the office team know the technicians, the neighborhoods, and the housing stock. That's a service decision, not a staffing one.

Question 4

What does Harold personally handle on jobs?

Accepted Answer

On larger jobs — boiler installations, oil-to-gas conversions, full repipes, complex diagnostic calls — Harold is typically on-site doing the assessment and walking the customer through the scope before any work starts. On routine repairs, the senior technicians (Jesus, Shawn, Robert) handle the day-to-day work and Harold stays available for escalations and quality checks. Many of our long-term customers ask for Harold by name on follow-up calls.

Question 5

What's Harold's view on repair vs replacement?

Accepted Answer

We always quote both options when the math makes sense to. For boilers, water heaters, and AC condensers, the honest cutoff is usually: if the repair is more than half the cost of replacement and the unit is past 75% of its expected service life, replacement is the better long-term call. But we don't push replacements when a repair will buy a homeowner another five or seven years on a unit that's been maintained well. That approach is part of why we still see customers we first worked with in the 1990s.

Question 6

Does Harold serve customers in Spanish?

Accepted Answer

Yes — our team is bilingual in English and Spanish. Nancy in the office and several of our technicians speak Spanish fluently, so we can take service calls, walk through estimates, and explain repair scopes in either language. That coverage matters in Bergen County, where many of the towns we serve have meaningful Spanish-speaking populations.

Question 7

How does Harold approach pricing?

Accepted Answer

Flat-rate quotes, presented before any work begins. Customers see the full scope and the price in writing, sign off, and then the work starts — no surprise change orders, no time-and-materials gotchas at the end. Estimates are free. For emergency dispatch outside business hours, the after-hours fee is disclosed up front during the dispatch call so the customer can decide.

Harold Hofmeister

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