Long time pals and Salisbury business partners Allan Rook and Matthew Ennis have launched a new venture, writes David Vallis. 

The pair, who first met up in the Army and later ran Dusters - a 1980s wine bar and restaurant in Blue Boar Row - have now become drain doctors. They are running Drain Doctor Plumbing, an American-style 24-hour plumbing and drain cleaning business covering Wiltshire and the South Coast. Allan and Matthew, who for the past six year have operated a build-ing  maintenance and refurbishment business called First Choice, have acquired the Drain Doctor franchise for the entire Southampton Yellow Pages area.
"The concept is so impressive that we decided it would comple ment our existing operation," said Allan.

Drain Doctor Plumbing is part of a national franchise offering a round-the-clock, all-year service based on a fixed "menu" of prices and guaranceed work manship for both    domestic and commercial customers.

Clients include estate agents, letting agents, insurance companies and local authorities. "We give firm quotations for each job before starting work so customers know exactly what to expect," said Allan. "There are no extras for out-of-hours working or emergency call-outs."

The Drain Doctor service has a network of qualified technicians operating from fully-equipped radio despatched vans and promises to respond to calls within an hour.
With the most up-to-date drain jetting, closed circuit television cameras and electro-mechanical clearance equipment they undertake to tackle just about any plumbing job.
"That means everything from leaking domestic taps to blocked factory drainage systems or from a blocked restaurant kitchen waste to a camera drainage survey for a house purchaser, agent or surveyor," explained Allan.

He and Matthew operate from Enterprise House in Cherry Orchard Lane, Salisbury.

Published in Salisbury Journal (11th April 1996)