John Cruickshank, of Cruickshank Plumbing and Heating, took the top spot as our National Heating Installer 2022 at InstallerSHOW back in June. Although the competition was tough, John was able to impress the judges with his incredible technical skills, professionalism and customer service to eventually be crowed our winner.
Recently, we arranged for John to catch up with Installer to give you an insight into life as the National Heating Installer of 2022.
How has everything been since you were named National Winner of the HI Awards in 2022?
It’s really good. It’s been great because customers have reached out to me following winning the award, as they’ve seen the news or found me on social media. I’ve had a couple of phone calls from them saying that they’ve seen that I was the HI Awards winner and they have looked into what the logo represents, so it’s been brilliant in that regard.
The moment I found out that I’d won, I wasn’t ringing up my wife, I was on the phone to my website developer to make sure I had that winner’s logo everywhere. It’s great advertising, it shows that I am known in the industry, that I represent high standards and that I do what’s best for homeowners– so you can see what I’m about straight away.
Tell us a bit about your background on the tools
I started in 1996 working for housing associations for various companies. When I speak to a lot of installers from my generation, we all seem to start the same way, getting lots of experience working for associations and councils. I was working for a business owner but we had a falling out so I went and started my own business.
I grew my business quite a lot, there were seven of us at its biggest just before COVID. That caused its own problems and to be honest, I don’t think I was a very good manager. I think it all grew too fast, too quickly and it became a headache. I felt like I had to grow because it’s a business but it didn’t suit me.
Now I’m back as a sole trader and I’m much happier. I do the work, I talk to the customers and I know what I can and can’t achieve, it’s all on me.
The HI Awards is a very tough competition to win, how good is it to be recognised by the industry?
People don’t realise how tough it is. They think it’s all about black clips and shiny pipes, but there is so much more to it than that. Until you actually enter and you get through to the regionals, you don’t know how hard it is. When they announced the regional winners and you see the names and check out their work, it’s a whole different kettle of fish. I started to get a bit of imposter syndrome because I was looking at the list thinking this guy is incredible, this guy is even more incredible. I felt very humbled when I looked at the names of the other Regional Winners because I thought I’m actually in the heavyweight division here.
How did you hear about the awards and what made you choose to enter?
I went to InstallerSHOW in 2021 and it was the first ever time that I’d been to a huge trade show like that. I’ve been doing plumbing for a long time and I was blown away by everything. I found the HI Awards stand and I spoke to them and thought, I wonder where I am in my career, I wonder where I am amongst my peers. That’s why I entered, to sort of gauge how well I’m doing. People can tell you that you’re a really good breakdown engineer and installer, but how do you really know? It wasn’t until I went through this competition, had my work judged by industry experts, passed the very tough technical challenge, and the public vote, that’s how I can be confident that I’m a decent engineer.
How did it feel on the day when you won?
I was sitting next to Damon Blakemore who was National Runner up, and Soph Maguire who was nominated for Rising Star. To be honest we were just chatting because the nerves were kicking in. It is always busy on that stage and you could start to feel the tension. Then they started announcing the other awards, Rising Star, and Most Sustainable and I started to get nervous. They announced Damon as National Runner up and I was really happy for him because he’s brilliant. I kind of zoned out then because of all the excitement, so when they read out that it was John Cruickshank, it didn’t really register, I was just looking around. Then it hit me and I thought oh my God, I can’t believe it. I was absolutely speechless and I saw Grant who has become a good friend and I gave him the biggest hug. It was just an absolutely amazing experience, and that buzz was just brilliant.
So, what’s your advice for anyone looking to enter the HI Awards?
The first thing I’d say is that it is tough, but it’s well worth it. You need to pick your best project, something that you really had to think about, with challenges to overcome. What’s the toughest job you’ve come up against, the one that kept you up at night? That’s what you want to show off. I think a lot of people will concentrate on the most perfect-looking job, but I’d go for the one that really made you graft. That’s going to be your winner.
To enter the awards and for your chance to become the National Heating Installer 2023, visit the enter page on our website and submit your entry today!