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Taken From 101CorpusChristi.com -March 06, 2015
Success in business comes from friends, family, bankers and suppliers stepping up to help when things go wrong, says the owner of Muniz Electrical Masters and Muniz Cooling and Heating Specialists in Corpus Christi.
“The friendships between all of us is really why I’ve stayed in business for 15 years,” said Benny Muniz. “If I was to say it was all me all the time, or just because I know what I’m doing so well, I’d be a liar.”
Muniz and company estimator Ray Villarreal take pride in doing a good job for their customers and in contributing to the community. Muniz Electric sponsors local sports teams from Little League to high school varsity. They not only put the company name on the back of the uniforms, they sit in the stands and root for the young players as well.
“You see these little kids out there in the field with your logo on the back of their shirts, it’s a good feeling,” Villarreal said.
Both are Corpus Christi natives with family and children living in the area. Muniz extends his definition of family to include his 18 employees as well. They often gather after work to eat barbecue and shoot pool on the company’s red-felt table. They hang out in the boardroom and play with company pet Duke, an 8-year-old Presa Canario who laps up the attention — and the occasional breakfast taco.
“The guys from around the shop love him,” Muniz said, adding that customers seem to like him, too. Duke made a cameo appearance in one of the company’s TV commercials, generating more than 50 phone calls from people wanting to know more about him. Some of those callers became customers.
Which is another secret to the success of Muniz Electrical Masters: these guys build customer relationships based on quality work and respect, generating a lot of return business.
“People we do work for become our friends,” Muniz said. “It’s repeat work because they know we are someone who can be counted on.”
When an expansion to 36 employees began to threaten his company’s reputation for quality work, Muniz cut back to the current 18 two months ago.
“I never slowed down before on purpose,” Muniz said. “I don’t intend to be a big company. I’m going to stay the size we are and do better work. Money was not the issue. It was embarrassing and annoying to have to go back and redo the work.”
He’s proud of the crew he’s left with and hopes they will continue to work together providing quality service to Coastal Bend customers. The team of skilled craftsmen include an on-staff licensed professional engineer who personally oversees each and every design job. The company uses the latest in AutoCAD software in providing professional layouts. Employees keep up their training to provide turn-key electrical and engineering services, Muniz said.
Current long-time customers include malls, restaurants, and apartment complexes. Services offered include new installation and maintenance of electrical wiring and air conditioning and heating systems. They are long-time contractors with the City of Corpus Christi, Del Mar College and numerous hotels in the area.
“We’re doing lots of condos right now, too,” Muniz said. “Schlitterbahn brought in a lot of people buying condos on the island that haven’t even been built yet.”
When not working, Muniz and Villarreal have taken up a new hobby. While Muniz competes in barbecue cook-offs, Villarreal judges them — just not the one’s Muniz is cooking in he promised.
“I used to think I could barbecue,” Muniz said. “Now I’m learning there’s a lot more to it.”
Despite his ranking as a rookie, Muniz has won three prizes: first in brisket, sixth in ribs and fourth in chicken, after only a year on the circuit.
Though he claims Villarreal is the people person on the team, Muniz is a community man through and through. He got started as an electrician when he was a student in Moody High School. His teacher, Luis Gonzales, was an inspiration, he said, lamenting the fact that the class was canceled last year when Gonzales retired. Muniz’s son took the same class from the same teacher just a few years ago.
“It’s really a shame it’s not there anymore,” he said.
A member of the Kiwanis club, Muniz is an integral part of what gives Corpus Christi its family friendly appeal.
“I love everything about Corpus Christi,” he said. “I like its quietness and calm. I like the people.”
That dedication to community spills over into this work.
“Our intentions are to be friendly and helpful,” he said of his company. “Some people are doctors, we are electricians. We work hard to be good ones.”
Muniz Electrical Masters
Muniz Cooling and Heating Specialists
5553 Greenwood
Corpus Christi
361-334-2976
municelectricalmasters.net
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