Mr. Rooter® Tackles Frozen Pipes Along The East Coast

WACO, TEXAS (Monday, January 19, 2004) - As the coldest air moved off the East Coast and low temperatures ranged from 26 degrees below zero in Maine to the high teens in Virginia last week, Mr. Rooter phones were burning up with emergency calls for frozen and busted pipes.
"It's all a part of winter business," said Mike Bidwell, president of Mr. Rooter, which is one of the nation's largest plumbing franchises. "Once the temperature drops, pipes freeze and the phones light up."

Thirteen record lows were recorded from southern New England to Eastern Pennsylvania and North Jersey. And Mr. Rooter locations, which offer 24-hour service and repairs, were working plumbers overtime to reach all of the service calls for frozen pipes.

Ed Cabral, manager of Mr. Rooter in Westport, Mass., said some plumbers were working 17 or 18 hours a day. Mr. Rooter in Portsmouth, N.H., also reported triple the amount of service calls since the temperature dropped.

Meanwhile, many franchise locations were doing more work with less people to compensate for plumbers out with the flu.

Plumbing is an emergency business, Bidwell said, and Mr. Rooter's focus on quality frontline service is what matters the most in times of crisis.

"It's great to know that our network of franchise locations can be relied upon to answer so many calls when they are needed," Bidwell said. "They are offering an incredibly important service in an emergency, and customers really appreciate that kind of dependability."

About Mr. Rooter:
Mr. Rooter® offers full-service plumbing and drain cleaning services to the residential and commercial markets. Mr. Rooter has over 200 locations in U.S. and nearly 100 international locations. It is a subsidiary of The Dwyer Group, Inc., one of the world's largest franchise holding companies in the residential and commercial service business. Established in 1968, Mr. Rooter began franchising in 1974. For further information or to find the location nearest you, visit www.mrrooter.com.

About The Dwyer Group:
The Dwyer Group, Inc., based in Waco, Texas, is a holding company that owns six franchise businesses and Dwyer Group National Accounts. Each business sells and supports a different service-based brand name franchise under the following service marks: Aire Serv® Heating & Air Conditioning, Glass Doctor®, Mr. Appliance®, Mr. Electric®, Mr. Rooter® (Drain DoctorR in the UK), and Rainbow International® Restoration and Cleaning. Collectively, the franchisees of these franchise concepts offer customers a broad base of residential and commercial services. Dwyer is a portfolio company of The Riverside Company, a private equity firm with offices in New York, Cleveland, Dallas and San Francisco. Riverside acquired Dwyer in a public-to-private transaction in October 2003.

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