About Ronald Goyne

Hello! My name is Ronald Goyne. I am the owner of Texas Master Plumber. LLC. I started this business in 2005 and I have been in the plumbing service, repair, and drain cleaning business since 1989.

I was a “grunt” and a “gofer” for the first year of my career. I was hired on as an electricians helper. I pretty much did whatever was asked of me (and then some). I rode with electricians, HVAC technicians, appliance technicians, and plumbers. I was installing HVAC equipment, wiring, digging ditches, and crawling under houses and through attics. I remember working 12 hour days and when I was dropped off at the shop, I would help answer the phones (off the clock) until the traffic died down. I wanted more than just to be a service technician.

See, nobody goes through school saying, “I think I want to be a plumber when I grow up.” It wasn’t until after graduation that I realized, I wasn’t going to college. I was making and delivering pizza’s at the time. I knew I couldn’t make a decent living at a part-time job. I’d have to own that pizza joint or find a full-time job doing something else. Having this epiphany, one evening I asked my mother this rhetorical question, “What am I going to do with my life?” She didn’t see it as rhetorical. She handed me a piece of paper with a phone number on it and said, “Call your uncle.” My whole family was in the plumbing and HVAC industry in some way, shape, or form. My grandmother even cooked lunch for a couple of hundred people ever Monday through Friday at the largest service company in Houston, TX.  So, I made the phone call and I started that following Monday morning.

Getting Into the Grind

Being that I was not a morning person, it was going to be very challenging for me to get there every morning by 7:00 a.m. I grew up, and was still living, in Clear Lake City, TX (halfway to Galveston). I was going to have to drive across town to the Spring Branch/Memorial area (close to the Galleria) at Silber Rd. and I-10, fighting traffic, both ways, for minimum wage.

It didn’t seem worth it at first. But, when you work 70-80 hours a week and that overtime pay kicks in, it was more than I had ever made and well worth it. I was learning a trade too. I was learning a trade that would put gas in my car, food in my mouth, and a roof over m head. It was all starting to come together.

With the hours I was working, I was able to go take my test for my Journeyman Plumber License in less than 3 years. It would normally take 4 years at 40 hours per week. I got my license to practice plumbing in the spring of 1992 and I had my Type I & II EPA certification to handle freon for HVAC. I was a multi-trade service technician and ran a “combination” truck (Plumbing and Air Conditioning/Heating) for about 3 years. I bounced back and forth between Air Conditioning in the summer, Heating in the winter, and Plumbing in the spring and fall. I didnt feel like I was being properly compensated for my knowledge in both fields so, I respectfully told my boss I was no longer willing to do the Air Conditioning and Heating side of the services they provided their customers. It was extremely taxing on my body with the hours I was working and the hot attics in the summer. Every time I’d go to a customer’s hot house and get them cooling down to a comfortable temperature, I would have to leave and go to another hot house. I have a lot of respect for HVAC technicians, but I was a plumber!

Learning Curves

As I said before, I would stay late to let the traffic die down before making the long drive home to Clear Lake City. Having nothing to do while I waited, I met new people in the office, made some friends, and helped them answer the phones for a couple of hours each night. They showed me the ropes and trained me on the computer so I could book the calls. After several months of helping, the word got back to upper management and they thought it would be a good idea to help dispatch in the evenings and weekends. No pay raise, but it seemed like a promotion to me. Less crawling under houses, through attics, digging ditches, clearing sewer drain lines, etc. I was learning about another aspect of the plumbing business. I was learning the operations: scheduling, dispatching, estimating, quality control, customer care, etc. Eventually, they moved me to a supervisor role and put me in the office permanently. By this time, I had moved and I was living on the other side of town in near Bear Creek, off of Hwy 6 and Clay Rd.

Moving On Up

In 2002, I was offered another promotion as the plumbing manager at their new location in South Houston. I know…I was driving back to the other side of town, again! It was just as far as it was when I started with the company. No problem though. It was a step in the right direction. I was in management now. There was just one stipulation. I had to get my Master Plumber License. I had the hours and the training so, why not? It was a little stressful, but I passed on the first try. Behold, I was a Texas Master Plumber.

Over the next two years, I took on the role of Operations Manager for the Plumbing, HVAC, and Warehouse at the South Houston location. It had its ups and downs and eventually business slowed to a crawl. The company made numerous cuts throughout and I was laid off. I know my bosses took it harder than I did. They were devastated. I was fine. It was becoming a little too political for me in the corporate world that had engulfed the company since it was sold in 1996. It was the best thing that they could have ever done for me, but seemed like the worst at the time.

A Season of Change

I bounced from one company to another trying to start a plumbing division for an HVAC company, water and fire restoration company, or save the service department at another plumbing company. The problem with this practice is that none of these companies wanted to let me do what I knew how to do. They wanted me to do things their way. Understandable! It’s their company. The other problem? What they were doing wasn’t working. I got a call from and old supervisor and was given a pep talk about my skills and knowledge. So, I left the last company with a chip on my shoulder. I was determined to show them all I could do it. I was determined to take the tools that my mentors, my family, and my friends had given me, and I started my own business. I needed a DBA and insurance.

Luckily, I still had a little cushion from the severance package I was given when I was laid off. With the support of my wife, my parents, and all of my friends and family, I took a leap of faith and set out on my own. I needed a name for my company and what better name than to describe who I had become. It took me almost 13 years from the time I quit the pizza place to become a Texas Master Plumber. I had been a Texas Master Plumber for 3 years. To my surprise, there was no other Texas Master Plumber in the county. And, when I incorporated the company, there was no other Texas Master Plumber in the state. I am THE “Texas Master Plumber”.

That’s My Story and I’m Sticking To It!

Thank you for reading my story. It’s been a long road to get to where I am today. I appreciate everything the world has given me. I couldn’t have done it without the support of my friends, my family, and of course, you, the customer!

I want to wrap this up by saying, I want to be your plumber! I fix things. When you call the other guy and he can’t figure it out, call me!!! Plumbing Service and Plumbing Repair is what I’ve been doing my whole career. This is my forte. I’m a big believer in the old saying, “If it ain’t broken, don’t fix it!” I will never do more than what needs to be done to repair or replace any of the plumbing in your home. From drain cleaning to gas testing, to water heaters, faucets, and commodes, I will get the job done right…or I won’t charge you!!!

Thanks again,
Ronald Goyne
President/CEO
Texas Master Plumber, LLC.