Posted on 03/14/2004 1:08:55 PM PST by UnklGene
Names make for funny business - (William the Concreter, Uplifting Erections, Dr Pooh the Plumber)
By Daniel Knowles - March 14, 2004
WOULD you call Dr Pooh to fix your plumbing, William the Concreter to lay a slab, the Dump Rat to remove your rubbish, or Uplifting Erections to raise your house?
These Queensland businesses, and lots of others, are banking on a sense of humour to get your business.
Dr Pooh Plumbing Services owner Rodney Irwin said he came up with a name people would remember.
"I wanted something different that would stick in people's mind," Mr Irwin said.
He established the name in 1999, primarily to set his business apart from other Gold Coast plumbers.
"A few people have found it a little bit offensive but most like it," he said.
"There were a few upper-class people who didn't want the van parked out the front of their big flash houses. Most locals know us but a lot of tourists have a snigger about it.
"We did have some complaints about the radio commercial.
"It ended with 'It's a beep of a job but someone's got to do it'."
William the Concreter's owner Gary Wardrop said the name was inspired after a song by comedian Vince Sorrenti. The business motto "I come, I quote, I concrete" was adapted from a speech ("I came, I saw, I conquered") by Roman emperor Julius Caesar.
"I used to have it on the side of my ute," Mr Wardrop said.
"People would see it and then ring and say they liked it."
Bundaberg's Dump Rat, Peter Radel, said the name had served him well for the past nine years.
"People don't forget it," he said.
"Everybody knows me as it."
The Touch Up Guys is a franchise name that Fred Hawken and his wife dreamed up 13 years ago.
The company does minor repairs to cars ready for sale.
"In the industry, people used to say 'get the touch up guy'," Mr Hawken said. "They do remember it because that is what we do."
Not satisfied with just the Touch Up Guys, Mr Hawken has expanded the business to include vehicle shades – sold by The Shady Lady.
Townsville-based Crap's Mini Excavations owner Victor Craperi said the business was named after him.
"Everyone calls me Crappy," Mr Craperi said.
"They reckon I'm full of crap anyway, so it goes down well."
Fair Trading Minister Margaret Keech said the Office of Fair Trading, which registered business names, would not register names "likely to be offensive to members of the public".
Crap goes down well?
As in, "I don't care which one. Just call Any Taxi."
Here in St. Louis, there is a chiropractor named Armbruster. Whenever I look at his neon sign, I always check to see if the second "r" in his name has gone out.
I know of a pastor in another state who is named Pastor Boring. There is another pastor named Pastor Pagan.
Well, if it doesn't, you can always call Dr. Pooh, the plumber. :=)
Yes, it generally does, if you hold the flush-handle down a few seconds.
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