From sprinklers to spigots

Before he joined the Navy or started an irrigation company, Joe DiBlasi learned about service in a Long Island deli. One of his first jobs at age 15 was bagging groceries, then racing outside to load customers’ cars.

“If I didn’t beat a customer to her car, I’d be in trouble,” he says. “One time a lady beat me to her car, and the owner let me have it. I’ll never forget it.”

Forty years later, that lesson still drives DiBlasi to stay ahead of customer needs at JKJ Lawn Sprinkler, the irrigation company he started in 1984 in Denver. When people ask how he makes a living, he says, “I take care of people. Putting in sprinkler systems is what we do, but my job is to take care of clients and make sure they’re happy.”

For the full story in the April issue, click here.