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Character Before Skill: Justin Waters Of Allegiance Water Shows Why Character, Not Skill Alone, Builds Better Home Service Companies

Justin Waters’ PowerChat with Greg Cummings shows how Allegiance Water is building a stronger home service company by hiring for character first, training with purpose, and creating trust through people who truly care...

Character Before Skill: Justin Waters Of Allegiance Water Shows Why Character, Not Skill Alone, Builds Better Home Service Companies
Justin Waters’ PowerChat with Greg Cummings shows how Allegiance Water is building a stronger home service company by hiring for character first, training with purpose, and creating trust through people who truly care...

Justin Waters’ PowerChat with Greg Cummings shows how Allegiance Water is building a stronger home service company by hiring for character first, training with purpose, and creating trust through people who truly care.

In today’s home service industry, many companies compete on speed, scale, and technical skill. But during a recent PowerChat interview hosted by Greg Cummings, CEO of Power100, Justin Waters, Founder and CEO of Allegiance Water Services, shared a different message about what truly builds a lasting company. Based in Arizona and serving homeowners across Scottsdale, Phoenix, Mesa, Chandler, Tempe, and surrounding communities, Allegiance Water Services has grown from a plumbing company into a trusted provider of plumbing, water treatment, irrigation, and outdoor water solutions designed around the real needs of homeowners. Through every service call, Justin Waters has focused on one core belief. Great service starts with great people.

During the conversation, Justin explained that Allegiance Water’s greatest strength is not only the work the company performs inside and outside the home. It is the people homeowners trust to enter their homes during stressful moments. From residential plumbing services in the Phoenix metro area to water softener installation, irrigation repair, and whole house water filtration solutions, the company has built its reputation around calm communication, honest service, and long term trust. Justin shared that Allegiance Water does not hire skills first. The company hires people with character, strong attitudes, and a real desire to serve homeowners the right way.

Power100 is the only unbiased third-party platform that recognizes and elevates the top leaders and most impactful companies in the home improvement industry. Through conversations like this PowerChat interview with Justin Waters, Power100 continues to spotlight the leaders who are changing the way contractors grow, lead teams, serve homeowners, and build trusted businesses inside their communities. Greg Cummings created the PowerChat platform to help contractors, business owners, and industry leaders learn directly from the real experiences behind today’s most respected companies.

The conversation with Justin Waters highlighted a leadership approach that is becoming more important across the home services industry. While many companies search only for experience and technical ability, Allegiance Water Services believes skills can be trained when the right mindset already exists. That belief now shapes how the company hires employees, develops leaders, supports families, improves customer experience, and builds customers for life throughout Arizona. The result is a service model centered around trust, people, and the human side of home service.

Why Character Is Becoming The New Standard In Home Service Leadership

The recent PowerChat conversation between Greg Cummings and Justin Waters arrived at an important time for the home service industry. Across the country, many companies are fighting for growth, chasing faster production, and searching for skilled labor in an increasingly competitive market. But during the discussion, Justin Waters shared a different way forward. Instead of building a company around technical ability alone, he explained why long term success starts with hiring people who genuinely care about serving others.

Greg Cummings, CEO of Power100, PowerChat with Justin Waters, Co-Owner and CEO of Allegiance Water Services

That message has become the foundation behind the growth of Allegiance Water Services throughout Arizona. The conversation highlighted why customer trust is becoming one of the most valuable parts of modern home service. Justin explained that when companies focus first on character, attitude, and service mindset, they create teams that homeowners feel comfortable welcoming into their homes during stressful moments.

Throughout the interview, the discussion explored how this leadership model affects every part of the customer experience. From the first phone call to the final repair, Justin shared how his team works to remove fear, confusion, and uncertainty from the process. He explained that many homeowners call during moments of panic, especially during plumbing emergencies or urgent water issues, which is why clear communication and human connection matter just as much as technical knowledge.

The conversation also showed why this leadership approach matters far beyond one company. Across the home services industry, contractors are facing growing pressure to scale quickly while still protecting customer trust and employee culture. Justin Waters offered a reminder that sustainable growth does not happen by treating workers like numbers or customers like transactions. It happens when companies invest in people, train them carefully, support them well, and create a culture centered around service.

As the discussion continued, it became clear that this philosophy is shaping more than just a business operation. It is shaping the future identity of home service leadership itself. Justin’s approach reflects a growing shift happening across the industry where homeowners are no longer looking only for technical expertise. They are looking for companies that communicate clearly, respect their homes, care about their families, and stand behind their work long after the service call is complete.

At the center of the conversation was one simple idea that carried through every topic discussed. The future of home service will belong to companies that know how to build trust through people who care.

During the PowerChat, Greg Cummings asked Justin Waters how he moves quality, care, and attention from the leader’s seat to the people who do the work in the field. Justin’s answer gave the whole conversation its strongest message. For Allegiance Water Services, great service does not start with a resume. It starts with the person.

Justin said, “We don’t hire skills, we hire character. Because we are of the opinion that we can train your skills into you.”

That simple idea shows how Justin Waters, thinks about leadership. He knows plumbing, water treatment, irrigation, and outdoor water work all require skill. But he also knows that skill alone does not build trust. When a technician walks into a home, the homeowner is not only looking for someone who can fix the issue. They are looking for someone they can trust in their space.

That is why character sits at the center of the company’s service model. The right person must care about the customer. They must listen. They must respect the home. They must understand that a water problem can feel stressful for a family. For Justin, training can build the hands. Character shapes the heart behind the work.

This is one reason Allegiance Water Services has been able to grow beyond a normal service call. The company is not just trying to send workers to homes. It is trying to send people who make homeowners feel safe, heard, and helped.

Learn more about Allegiance Water Services.

Justin’s view on hiring also gives the industry a clear lesson about talent. Many home service companies are trying to find workers who already know every part of the job. That can make hiring slow, hard, and costly. Justin sees another path. He believes the right person can be taught the work if they already have the right mindset.

He explained, “As long as you have a good attitude and you have the right mental outlook that is basically we’re here to serve, we can train you into needing to know what you need to know.”

That quote matters because it shows that Allegiance Water is not waiting for perfect workers to appear. The company is building people. This kind of leadership is important in the trades because many companies need skilled people, but not every person with skill carries the right heart for service.

Justin’s model gives the business room to grow without losing its culture. A person can learn how to repair a water heater. A person can learn how to work on irrigation, water treatment, high pressure mist, or pool equipment. But it is harder to teach care, respect, patience, and honesty if those values are not already present.

This makes Allegiance Water Services a strong example of how home service companies can grow through training, not just hiring. When leaders choose people with the right values, they can build teams that learn the craft and protect the customer experience at the same time.

Discover more industry leadership conversations at Power100.

Justin made it clear that the company’s mindset is built around service. That matters because many homeowners do not call a plumbing or water company when life is calm. They often call when something is wrong. A leak, a failed water heater, poor water quality, or irrigation trouble can turn a normal day into a stressful one.

Justin said that many new customers reach out in “some kind of a state of a panic or some kind of state of concern.” His team works to remove that stress as fast as possible. He said the goal is to reassure the homeowner with a simple message. “We’ve got you, it’s going to be okay.”

That is where character becomes part of the customer experience. A skilled worker may fix the problem. But a person with a service heart helps the homeowner feel calm while the problem is being fixed. That difference is what turns a service call into trust.

Justin also explained that the company wants the whole process to feel easy. From the phone call to scheduling to the technician arriving at the home, the goal is to remove resistance. Customers receive updates, know who is coming, and get clear communication. In his words, the company is “eliminating the wonder.”

For homeowners that kind of experience matters. It tells them they are not just getting a repair. They are getting care, clear steps, and a team that wants the job to stay right after the work is done.

As the conversation moved forward, Greg and Justin talked about how the company has grown beyond a traditional plumbing business. Justin explained that many customers are surprised to learn the company does more than one service. A homeowner may call for a water heater and later find out the same team can also help with water treatment, irrigation, high pressure mist, pool equipment, and other water needs.

Justin said, “People don’t even know that we do everything.”

This point is important because the company’s wider service model depends on trust. If a homeowner is going to call one company for many needs, that company must earn the relationship first. It is not enough to say, “We do more.” The customer must believe the team can do more with care, skill, and follow through.

That is why Justin’s hiring message fits so closely with the company’s growth. The “everything water touches” model only works when the people behind it are dependable. A homeowner may need plumbing help one day, water treatment the next season, and irrigation support later. Each visit is a chance to deepen trust.

Justin also shared that the company wants customers to become what he calls “customers for life.” That phrase gives the press release a strong business lesson. The goal is not to win one job. The goal is to build a relationship so strong that the homeowner has no reason to go anywhere else.

Learn how Power100 highlights leaders who are shaping better service standards.

Justin’s belief in character does not stop after hiring. It also shapes how he treats the people inside the company. When Greg asked about the future standard for attracting great employees, Justin made it clear that team care is part of the business model.

He said, “I treat my employees like I do my customers. It’s very much about them.”

That line is one of the strongest culture points in the interview. It shows that Justin does not see employees as tools for production. He sees them as people with families, needs, health concerns, and lives outside work. He spoke about giving 12 holidays, being flexible with doctor’s appointments, helping employees care for their kids, and working to provide the right kind of health insurance.

This matters because the home service industry can be hard on workers. Long days, urgent calls, and physical labor can wear people down. Justin’s approach gives the team more room to be human. That kind of care can help people stay, grow, and serve better.

It also connects back to the customer. When workers feel respected, they are more likely to treat homeowners with respect. When they feel supported, they are more likely to show patience. When they know the company cares about them, they can carry that care into the home.

Visit Allegiance Water Services to see how their team serves Arizona homeowners.

The final leadership theme from the conversation was growth. Greg asked Justin how he balances business growth, money, and brand reputation. Justin’s answer showed that he is not trying to grow at any cost.

He said Allegiance Water has not “fallen trapped to the private equity game.” He explained that the company is not taking outside money that could change how the business is run based on shareholder profit margins. Instead, Justin said the goal is to be part of the community and keep serving the community’s needs.

That answer gives the home service industry a powerful lesson. Growth can be good, but only when it protects the people who made the business strong. If a company grows so fast that it loses its values, the customer feels it. The team feels it. The community feels it.

Justin’s approach is different. He is choosing growth that keeps trust in the center. He is building a company that can serve more homeowners without losing the character that made the company matter in the first place.

This is also where the story of Allegiance Water Services becomes bigger than one local company. It becomes a picture of what modern home service leadership can look like when values guide the work. The company can grow, expand its services, use better tools, and reach more customers, while still staying close to its mission.

At its core, Justin’s message is simple. A company does not become great because it grows fast. It becomes great when it grows with the right people, the right heart, and the right reason.

The Future Of Home Service Will Belong To Companies Built On Trust

As the conversation came to a close, one message stood above everything else discussed during the PowerChat. Great home service companies are not built only through technical skill, fast growth, or bigger operations. They are built through people who care about the homeowner, care about the team around them, and care about doing the work the right way.

Justin Waters’ leadership story reflects a growing shift happening across the home service industry. Homeowners today want more than repairs and installations. They want honesty, communication, respect, and peace of mind when someone enters their home. They want to feel like the company standing behind the service truly understands the responsibility that comes with serving families during stressful moments.

That is why the conversation around character mattered so deeply throughout the interview. Justin showed that training people to perform the work is only one part of building a strong company. The bigger challenge is finding people with the right heart, supporting them well, and helping them grow into leaders who protect the customer experience every single day.

Throughout Arizona, Allegiance Water continues to grow because the company has stayed connected to that belief. Whether helping homeowners with plumbing, water quality, irrigation systems, or outdoor water solutions, the mission remains rooted in service, trust, and long term relationships built one home at a time.

The conversation also offered an important reminder for contractors and business owners across the country. In the next era of home service, the companies that stand out will not simply be the ones with the biggest budgets, the most trucks, or the fastest expansion. They will be the companies that know how to build strong cultures, invest in good people, and create customer experiences that make families feel cared for long after the work is complete.

Justin Waters’ story is a reminder to home service leaders that skill may win the job, but character wins the relationship. And for Allegiance Water, that relationship is the foundation for customers for life.

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About the Author

Power100 Staff

Power100 Staff

The Power100 editorial team covers the CEOs, companies, and strategic partners shaping the home improvement industry — with original journalism backed by our proprietary ranking system.

About Power100

Power100 is the nation's premier CEO ranking and media platform for the home improvement industry. Using a proprietary 5-layer evaluation system, Power100 identifies and celebrates the top CEOs, companies, and strategic partners driving innovation, customer satisfaction, and leadership excellence across the country.