Bailey's Blog Archives - Baileys Chimney Cleaning Service Santa Fe NM & Taos New Mexico

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In the market for a wood stove? Get one that is over 75% efficient, like a KUMA. Why? Because you get a 26% tax credit on the full price of the stove, the installation, and the venting system!

Kuma Stoves
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Santa Fe 505-988-2771 / Taos 575-770-7769
Mailing Address
1470 Paseo Del Pueblo Norte (Unit #2)
El Prado, NM 87529

baileyschimney@gmail.com

If we don’t pick up right away, send a text for the quickest response. We do our best to answer the phone when it rings, but if we can’t pick up we check our voicemail at least once a day.

Los Alamos customers, please call the Santa Fe office.
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Coming soon (next week) RETIREMENT BENEFITS for all the colleagues at Bailey’s Chimney! So excited about our new Simple IRA plan.
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baileyschimney@gmail.com

If we don’t pick up right away, send a text for the quickest response. We do our best to answer the phone when it rings, but if we can’t pick up we check our voicemail at least once a day.

Los Alamos customers, please call the Santa Fe office.
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Positive: Professionalism, Punctuality, Quality, Responsiveness
In early November Bailey's sent J.D. and Luke to clean and inspect my fireplace and clothes dryer vent. The work was completed quickly and competently, and I was impressed that the crew took extra precautions to keep my house clean. During his chimney inspection, J.D. noticed that mortar was missing between some flue tiles, and he showed me photographs he had taken of some of the problem areas. He explained that the spaces between the tiles could permit smoke and creosote to escape the flue, which could greatly increase the risk of a chimney fire. J.D. recommended removing the flue tiles and relining the chimney with a stainless steel liner to correct this problem. I agreed to make these repairs, and Chris, Izzy, and Luke came to my home a couple of weeks later to make the repairs. I had a lot of anxiety about this work, because I'm 74, so I'm in a demographic group that is targeted by unscrupulous people who pray on older adults ("you need a new roof, new chimney, new x, y, & z"...all at outrageous prices). So I had a lot of questions before and during the repair. I was impressed that everyone I spoke to at Bailey's, both the crew and the office staff, were completely willing to answer my questions to my satisfaction, even providing additional information that helped me understand what would be done, how it would be done, and why it was necessary. During the repairs the crew was always willing to let me look over their shoulder as they worked, and they helped me inspect the fireplace (from the bottom and the top) before, during, and after the work had been done. I watched as they began removing the flue tiles, and I could see for myself that smoke really had been deposited on the cinder blocks that contain the flue. In other words, the gaps between the flue tiles really had allowed smoke to escape., so the potential for a flue fire was real. After the repairs were completed, I saw for myself that as a result of the new, smooth flue liner, the "parging", and the other work that was completed, my chimney's interior was much smoother. This is important because it reduces turbulence in the flue gases (smoke, etc), and so my fireplace should "draw" better, leading to easier ignition, fewer maintenance issus, and better overall performance. The best part of this experience was Bailey's staff, all of whom were friendly, respectful, courteous, and competent. I have never had better repair/service people in my home than Chris, Izzy, J.D. and Luke. I wouldn't be able to think of a complaint or criticism even if you paid me. I won't pretend that these repairs were cheap. But the work took nearly two full days, and I'm sleeping better because...based on my own observations of the work that was done...I'm sure a chimney fire is now extremely unlikely. I recommend Bailey's Chimney services without reservation, and I will continue to use them to clean and maintain my fireplace and dryer vent.

Response from the owner:
Thank you for your detailed and thorough review. We really appreciate you taking the time to describe the process of a chimney restoration from your perspective. It's really helpful to us and also to our current and prospective clients.
I can't tell you how grateful I am that you've taken the time to write this.
Warm Regards,
Justin Bailey
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baileyschimney@gmail.com

If we don’t pick up right away, send a text for the quickest response. We do our best to answer the phone when it rings, but if we can’t pick up we check our voicemail at least once a day.

Los Alamos customers, please call the Santa Fe office.
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Folks, please dispose of your fireplace/wood stove ashes in a metal bucket with a tight fitting lid. And don’t put the bucket on a wooden deck. Below is a screen shot of a post in one of the chimney service forums. Fire caused by improper ash disposal. Embers can stay alive in a pile of ashes for days. PLEASE DONT put your ashes in a paper bag or a cardboard box.
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baileyschimney@gmail.com

If we don’t pick up right away, send a text for the quickest response. We do our best to answer the phone when it rings, but if we can’t pick up we check our voicemail at least once a day.

Los Alamos customers, please call the Santa Fe office.
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My friend Bill Loundy lent me a book called Reinventing Organizations, by Frederic Laloux, and it rocked my world. As a business owner with about a dozen employees, I'm always looking for a way to create better jobs, a better place to work, a better work culture. This book has the keys to the kingdom in that regard. An in-depth study of several successful companies that operate on a new paradigm of how to do business, Reinventing Organizations should be required reading for all business owners and leaders.

In a way, reading it was reaffirming, because a lot of the things we do at Bailey's, in terms of how we interact with each other, are in line with the models shown in the book. Most everybody at my company thinks like a boss. Employees have a huge amount of autonomy and freedom, and they take the responsibility that comes with that freedom. Nobody is micromanaged, feedback is given respectfully. When I have to talk to somebody about something they could do better, I talk to them as if they are a co-owner of the business. Employees have company cards and they can spend money when they need something for work without jumping through a bunch of hoops. We find great people, continually train them, and then put a huge amount of trust into their hands. The result? They are always coming up with ways to make things work better, customers are thrilled, revenues rise, profits rise. We share a lot of the profits with the staff, but that's not why they do what they do. They enjoy working with a purpose to do good, to help people and save lives, to build relationships with clients and each other. Deep inside, people yearn to do something meaningful, to make a difference. Of course we pay very well, and offer benefits, that's a no brainer. But lots of people have jobs they hate, even though the money is good. To create a job people like, that is our goal. Because one of the purposes of the business is to provide good jobs for good people.

While reading the book, I constantly had epiphanies about Bailey's Chimney, for example: "AH HA, so THATS why JD stayed up half the night for weeks in a row in the busy season, re-designing the inspection forms and making them twice as good, without even being asked to, and he didn't even clock in for that time (the closest I've ever come to yelling at him was when I told him he HAD TO get paid for that work) or AH HA, that's why I have to constantly ask my general manager to stop working because she also stays up late, working from home, sorting things out and solving problems, her dedication to the business is absolutely astounding, I have to schedule massages for her (which the company pays for) because she won't do it for herself...AH HA, so THAT'S why our installer, Chris, is so dedicated to tackling highly challenging situations, and his eyes light up as he tells me the story of his latest triumph overcoming difficult situations..."

Now that the concept has been clearly articulated by Mr. Laloux, I can see that, while we've been on the right track, there still is so much room for improvement at my company.

Long story short: The traditional corporate model sees organizations as machines with someone at the top pulling levers, and everyone else is a cog. These companies operate from a place of fear. Pretty much everyone hates their job in these organizations, and all of the rewards are extrinsic, i.e. people are motivated by money, power, and prestige. Special corner offices and reserved parking spots for important people, everyone always fighting for the next promotion, people constantly shirking, trying to avoid blame and responsibility, etc. In that model the company has a need for total control, and everyone is micromanaged. People are driven by sales targets, production quotas. It all leads to resentment.

The new paradigm operates from a place of trust. No quotas. No sales targets. Employees are empowered to make decisions of consequence. Ideas and input are sought from everyone. Decisions that affect other members of the team are taken into advisement by the people the decision will affect. For example, when I come up with an idea for something I think we should do, I run it by the team and get their input before making any decision. Though I own the company, my ideas often get shot down by the people who matter--those who are actually doing the work. People are empowered. The organization thinks of itself not as a machine but as a living organism with a purpose it's trying to fulfill, where everyone is valued and all roles are important. No special parking spots or offices. My desk is usually a wood stove in the show room.

Tremendous energy is unleashed when employees are empowered, respected, and trusted. People are allowed to bring their whole self to work, they are not required to pretend to be someone they are not. Productivity skyrockets. The results speak for themselves.

One of the most well known cases discussed in the book is Patagonia, the outdoor clothing company. Another book, by Patagonia founder and owner Yvon Choinard, called Let My People Go Surfing, goes into the same principles (I read that immediately after finishing Reinventing Organizations.)

From my own experience, in my own business, innovations and improvements happen almost on a daily basis, and most of them don't come from me. My employees teach me things all the time. The business has grown sixfold in the last seven years, organically, without financing. Every year we have more trucks, more folks, more happy customers. Our prices for services are higher than our competitors, but we provide far better value and people line up for months for our services. In actuality, we don't really have competitors, because nobody else in our market does what we do. Like Patagonia: everybody knows their stuff isn't cheap. But if you want quality, its well worth the price. If a zipper breaks, they will fix it. But usually the zippers don't break.

If you are in any kind of leadership position, please read Reinventing Organizations. I believe the practices described in this book are essential for the next step in human evolution. There is a shorter, illustrated version available, and I've ordered multiple copies for the primary stakeholders in my business so we can all read it together and explore further how we can continue to evolve and grow in a healthy way as an organization.

You can find out more about the book HERE
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baileyschimney@gmail.com

If we don’t pick up right away, send a text for the quickest response. We do our best to answer the phone when it rings, but if we can’t pick up we check our voicemail at least once a day.

Los Alamos customers, please call the Santa Fe office.
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We sold and installed these three rain caps. The caps we carry are stainless steel. We painted these black at the client’s request. These chimney rain caps have a lifetime warranty. Chimney caps serve three main purposes: they keep critters out, keep rain and snow out and therefore makes the chimney last longer, and the keep embers from flying out the top of the chimney. We carry these chimney caps on all our trucks.

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baileyschimney@gmail.com

If we don’t pick up right away, send a text for the quickest response. We do our best to answer the phone when it rings, but if we can’t pick up we check our voicemail at least once a day.

Los Alamos customers, please call the Santa Fe office.
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baileyschimney@gmail.com

If we don’t pick up right away, send a text for the quickest response. We do our best to answer the phone when it rings, but if we can’t pick up we check our voicemail at least once a day.

Los Alamos customers, please call the Santa Fe office.
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baileyschimney@gmail.com

If we don’t pick up right away, send a text for the quickest response. We do our best to answer the phone when it rings, but if we can’t pick up we check our voicemail at least once a day.

Los Alamos customers, please call the Santa Fe office.
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We replaced this chimney yesterday. Security chimney in many places had the inner liner completely work away and in other places it looked like a bunch of tacos inside the pipe. Security chimney pipe was the top of the line chimney 30 and 40 years ago. It came with a 30 year warranty. This pipe is a bit over 40 years years old. Chimneys sometimes need to be replaced.
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baileyschimney@gmail.com

If we don’t pick up right away, send a text for the quickest response. We do our best to answer the phone when it rings, but if we can’t pick up we check our voicemail at least once a day.

Los Alamos customers, please call the Santa Fe office.
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Sam Cartwright’s first damper removal.