Meet the Contractor: Brandon Anderson, Morris-Jenkins

Every North Carolinian knows: You have to support either NC State or UNC. You have to eat Duke’s Mayonnaise, never Hellman’s. And any time you think about HVAC, a Morris-Jenkins jingle will likely pop into your head. 

For the first edition of Homepros’ new series — publishing on select Fridays — in which we’ll be profiling contractors from around the country, we caught up with Brandon Anderson, president of Morris-Jenkins. Know a contractor who’d be great to include? Tell us who! 

• Service area: Greater Charlotte, recently opened a second location in Greenville, S.C.
• Employees: 650+
• Trucks: Over 500
• Independent or PE-backed: PE-backed, part of Wrench Group

Below is our conversation, lightly edited for brevity.

Tell us a little company history.

Morris-Jenkins started in Charlotte in 1958 and has grown into one of the area’s largest residential HVAC, plumbing, and electrical companies. Our former owner, Mr. Jenkins, built the company around taking care of people and making it easy for customers to do business with us. That is still the core of who we are today.

What’s unique about MJ?

We are probably best known locally for our commercials — our “You’ll have cool air at your house tonight” jingle, and “Mr. Jenkins and Bobby” campaign, now featuring our employees and showcasing our night shift. But behind that, the thing we really want to be known for is making home service easy. We’re open til midnight, even on weekends, with no extra charge. We answer the phone, we show up, and we try to take the stress out of calling for service.

What’s a crazy job your team still talks about? 

We love talking about crazy experiences our techs have in homes, and even our contact center shares funny calls! Pictures and videos make it even better… in fact, we have a little campaign on our social media sharing pictures that plumbers take of unusual things they find clogging customers’ pipes.

Business-wise, what’s keeping you up at night?

Keeping our standards high as we grow. Growth is exciting, but it can also expose weak spots if you’re not careful. I think a lot about how we keep the customer experience consistent, how we train the next generation of leaders, and how we make sure every department is running the same play.

Hottest industry take?

The basics are still underrated. Everybody is chasing the next tool, the next software, the next lead source, the next shiny thing. Those things matter, but the companies that win are usually the ones that answer the phone, train their people, show up when they say they will, communicate clearly, and make it easy on the customer.

What will MJ look like in five years?

I think we’ll still feel like Morris-Jenkins, just bigger and better. We’ll be serving more customers, creating more opportunities for our people, and continuing to grow beyond Charlotte in a way that protects what makes us special. The goal is not just to get larger. The goal is to get better while we grow.

Something your accountant hates but your team loves?

Probably the amount of food, drinks, events, giveaways, celebrations, and employee appreciation things we do. None of that is cheap, and I’m sure there are cleaner ways to run the spreadsheet. But culture matters. When people feel appreciated and connected, that shows up in how they treat each other and how they treat customers.