The Criniti family founded Zoom 21 years ago out of a spare bedroom with a little bit of borrowed money. Back then, Jim Criniti, Jason Criniti, and their father Jim Criniti Sr. rode together to service calls in a single truck, with at least one of them sitting on a bucket between the front seats.
“Those were some tough times, but we had great customers and we worked hard to build a thriving shop,” said Jim Criniti, president of Zoom Drain. “I was 28 years old and my brother, Jason, was 24 years old when we began. We have grown to 32 employees as of October 2016, and we’re hiring more good people all the time.”
With 18 trucks and vans and six new trucks currently on order, the company covers the entire Philadelphia metro area, which includes downtown and the surrounding suburbs. They belong to multiple industry groups and associations such as NASSCO, PHCC, Better Business Bureau, National Restaurant Association, National Apartment Association, and International Facility Management Association.
“Some of these are industry-specific for the type of drain work we provide,” Criniti said. “Others are a way to network with the types of customers we serve. We provide drain-cleaning service as well as repair and replacement work for residential and commercial customers. In the past, we’ve worked with big real-estate management companies, hospitals and facilities, and franchise restaurants, as well as colleges and schools.”
Of the 18 vehicles, the Hino and Isuzu cabs with Hackney bodies are a favorite.
“We like the Hino and Isuzu cabs because they have good lifetime performance,” Criniti said. “They have great turning radius and they’re durable enough to carry the heavy loads that we do. We like Hackney because the body allows the tech to stand up in it, access all tools and parts easily, and it’s rigged up with the special water-jetting equipment that sets our specific trucks apart.”
The new wrap is only on one truck so far but is planned to be on all new trucks moving forward. The design was a team effort among the owners of Zoom Franchise Company — Al Levi, Ellen Rohr, Jim Criniti, and Jason Criniti — and one of the franchisees, Zoom Drain Long Island owner Ray Gremaux. It was Gremaux who decided on the graphic design company Graphic D-Sign located in Washington, New Jersey.
“One of the most effective marketing techniques out there is a great truck design,” Criniti said. “Plus, the cost of the marketing stays as long as the truck is out there in the field and the wrap is in good shape. We wanted something edgy and eye-catching, beginning with the color and graphics and leading to our name, which instantly conveys what we do — a design that tells people who we are and what we do differently.”
The slogan — “Fast. Focused. Zoom.” — was chosen to speak for the company’s rapid response rate and focused work ethic.
“It also speaks to even the sound our customers associate to the specialized water jetting we do and the sound of clear drains,” Criniti said. “The area is very competitive, so we do a lot of SEO, PPC, referral marketing, and specialized targeted testimonial-based direct mail. We wanted something that gets people’s attention when they’re not looking for it. With this new truck wrap, people won’t miss it going down the road, and when they see it, they’ll know our name and what we do in an instant.”
