Not really a dirty business
[attach]5571[/attach]John Gross hasn’t yet encountered Santa Claus, but he’s seen his share of raccoons and squirrels climbing down the chimney.
“Animals are probably the most interesting thing we run into because every situation is different,” he says. “Sometimes they’re big, sometimes there’s 10 of them in there so that’s always a lot of fun.”
Gross started running John’s Chimney Service in 1991 when his father, who started the business in 1970, retired.
“I knew the business so I figured, ‘Why let it go?’ ” he says, adding he first started working for his dad during his summers off from school. “Let’s just keep on running with it and that’s the way it’s been ever since.”
Based out of his home office near Lawrence Avenue E. and Don Mills Road, his services include cleaning and unblocking chimneys, repairing and replacing dampers, fixing brickwork and installing fireplace liners.
Gross says he makes good use of his central location in the city as it is easy for him to access his entire service area, which runs from Ajax to Mississauga.
“It’s a great place to stay because you could get anywhere quickly and it’s a great little community, especially in Don Mills,” he says. “It’s a nice little place to stay.”
Reflecting back on the last two decades, he says the business hasn’t undergone too many changes. Aside from acquiring some camera equipment, he says he still uses the same kind of tools.
“We actually do it all from the inside,” he says, adding seeing the inside of people’s homes — particularly the lavish and upper class houses — is a perk of the job.
“A lot of people think we clean from the outside but we have special equipment, a special brush that we can push up from the bottom.”
Gross says another misconception is about the process being dirtier than it really is.
“We don’t make any mess,” he says. “People are always imagining a lot of dust coming out like in the Three Stooges.”
He says he credits their longevity and success over the years to offering prompt and good service and always finishing whatever task they set out to do. As for the future, he says he hopes it brings more good business.
“Kids seem to love us. When we come into the house the kids are just jumping up and down, it’s just like they’re watching a movie practically, they have a lot of fun with us,” he says. “We get the Santa Claus, we get the Mary Poppins thing a lot.”