A neatly uniformed service technician emerges from a sparkling clean, late-model truck that just pulled up to a customer’s home. In an instant, the technician has greeted the customer and started work.
That’s an image that Mike Biros works hard to maintain for Biros Septic & Drain Cleaning Inc. of Zion Grove, Pa.
“When you’re pulling up to a customer — whoever they may be — you want to look and act professional,” says Biros, the company’s president. “Keeping the trucks clean and having the techs in uniform makes a good, lasting impression.”
The clean, professional look starts with a well-maintained fleet that is washed two to three times a week in the summer months and nightly during the snowy, muddy Pennsylvania winters. And the uniforms are mandatory for all workers.
“That includes me. Sometimes I think I sleep in a uniform,” Biros jokes.
But, professionalism is a serious part of Biros’ homegrown business, which serves a seven-county area of Eastern Pennsylvania. The company’s clean equipment plays a prominent role in its advertising and marketing materials, including on the Internet and local television. Mike Biros also makes sure his staff is thoroughly trained and able to educate customers about the care and maintenance of onsite systems.
This combination of image and expertise has helped Biros Septic & Drain develop a pattern of steady growth. The company provides septic tank and drain cleaning, septic and sewer line installation and inspections, general contracting and mechanical services for residential, commercial and industrial wastewater treatment facilities.
HOMETOWN SUCCESS
Biros and his brother, John, entered the wastewater industry as a sideline 18 years ago while both were employed at a construction firm. The opportunity arose when their home village of Sheppton, Pa., and the adjoining village of Oneida, installed a municipal wastewater system.
The brothers went door-to-door in the villages offering to reroute service lines from existing septic systems to the new municipal system, then fill in the abandoned septic tanks. As an incentive, they gave property owners the opportunity to pay half the cost upfront and finance the balance over six months.
Their original equipment — a used vacuum truck with a 1,000-gallon tank and a diaphragm pump, along with a Case 480 loader/backhoe — was soon doing additional duty as the Biros brothers started marketing septic pumping and repair service. The household service installation work continued to grow as municipal wastewater systems were developed in other communities.
The growth continued, and when a local portable restroom provider suddenly went out of business, the Biros brothers saw an opening and bought 50 portable restrooms. But Mike wanted to specialize in septic service and drain cleaning. “Instead of doing 10 things, I decided to do one thing,” he says. So the brothers split the business in 2002 with John taking the portable restroom and excavation portion and Mike taking the residential and commercial septic service and drain-cleaning portion.
Mike and his wife, Kim, ran the business themselves for the first two years with Mike handling the service and Kim keeping the books. In response to customer requests, he added septic tank installation and grease trap cleaning. The payroll has grown to 11 employees. Kim continues as the company’s bookkeeper and billing coordinator.
FLEXING A MARKETING MUSCLE
Word-of-mouth has been an effective business builder, but several marketing initiatives have kicked Biros Septic & Drain into high gear. These include a detailed Web site, traditional telephone directory and newspaper advertising, a booth at home shows, and local TV commercials. A commercial posted on YouTube, a popular video sharing Web site, is the innovation.
The Web and video promotion are the work of Justin Stauffer, who splits time between the office as marketing and sales manager and the field as a service tech. When Stauffer joined the company about two years ago, Biros immediately tapped into his Web development experience.
“I’d wanted to have a Web site, but with 10- to 12-hour days in the field, I absolutely didn’t have the time,” Biros says. “When we interviewed Justin, we found out he had some training in Web sites. The first thing we did was get him busy putting our Web site together.”
The Biros site (www.birosseptic. com) includes a rundown of the company’s services, photos of its equipment in action and customer testimonials. There are also links to the Pennsylvania Septage Management Assoc-iation, the National Onsite Wastewater Recycling Assoc-iation and the National Association of Wastewater Transporters Inc. — organizations Biros belongs to.
Stauffer narrates a one-minute commercial on YouTube. Produced through the Yellow Book advertising service, the video work was included in this year’s ad package. Stauffer and Biros are waiting to see if the Web-based commercial helps deliver more business.
Biros started his TV presence a little more than two years ago by appearing as a guest expert on a local TV show in the nearby Scranton, Pa., market.
“There’s this home and backyard show on our local TV station. It features a lot of topics but they weren’t addressing septic systems,” he says. “So, I called and introduced myself and they had me on as a guest. After that, I decided to give commercials a try.”
Biros worked with the TV station’s sales department to produce the ads, settling on a 30-second ad to promote its services and a pair of two-minute educational commercials. The longer commercials recommend maintenance products, including septic tank outlet filters and washing machine lint filters.
The TV ads run for two months in the spring and fall, times when property owners are likely to be thinking about home maintenance needs. All advertising features the slogan, “We do it right the first time.”
At $10,000 a year, Biros says the TV advertising is a significant investment, but he credits the commercials, along with other marketing strategies, for a 20 percent annual revenue growth since he struck out on his own.
MAKING EDUCATION A PRIORITY
Biros calls education of his service technicians — and customers — “our biggest asset.”
Biros and the technicians participate in a variety of certification training programs through the Pennsylvania trade group, including NAWT’s Vacuum Truck Technician, as well as Onlot Wastewater Treatment System Inspection and Confined Space Entry.
Biros provides customers with a septic system information kit, which is built around a booklet from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and information from state environmental officials and the state trade group. He says the materials add to his company’s credibility.
Visitors to the Biros site can also learn some of the ins and outs of septic systems. Links include brief descriptions and diagrams depicting various types of systems and answers to common questions.
In addition to education, Biros has built long-term customer relationships with what he calls a “no hassle” system maintenance program. The program works like this: Customers who have had a service call or maintenance are placed in a database that includes information about their household size and type of onsite system. Then, at an interval ranging from one to five years depending on system requirements, they receive a postcard and phone call reminder of needed maintenance.
“It’s a no-pressure, no-obligation reminder to keep their system maintained,” Biros says. “A lot of people really appreciate that we keep track of it for them.”
CLEAN AND SHINY
A 2006 Peterbilt 357 vacuum truck, washed and waxed to a glossy shine, is the centerpiece of the company’s Web site and marketing materials. The red Pete, built out by Pik Rite Inc. with a 5,500-gallon Progress aluminum tank and a Robuschi pump, signifies Biros’ insistence on having a fleet of well-maintained, late-model vehicles.
“You have to stay on top of things if you want to be able to rely on your equipment,” he says.
Other vehicles in the Biros fleet are a 2009 Peterbilt 367 built out by Pik Rite with a 5,500-gallon Progress aluminum tank and a Robuschi pump; a 2003 Kenworth T800 built out by Allied Tank with a 4,000-gallon Progress aluminum tank and Masport pump; and a 1999 Peterbilt 357 built out by Presvac Systems Ltd. with a 3,500-gallon steel tank and a Wittig pump.
Biros also runs a 2005 Chevrolet 4500 cube van carrying a 4018 jetter from US Jetting, a J-3055 jetter from General Pipe Cleaners, a RIDGID push camera, a RIDGID Mini-SeeSnake camera and a RIDGID rodder; a 2003 Chevy van carrying a RIDGID push camera and a RIDGID SeeSnake camera; and a 2007 Dodge pickup carrying tools for septic system inspections.
A Case 580K loader/backhoe, a Bobcat 430 mini excavator and a Rovver 125 crawler camera from Envirosight round out the equipment. Biros hopes to someday set up the crawler camera in its own truck to improve efficiency.
LOOKING TO THE FUTURE
Biros is among business owners who are “cautiously optimistic” about business conditions. After several years of steady growth, sales have flattened out this year as residential and commercial customers are behaving differently than in the past.
“Last year, it would have been ‘Come on over and do it.’ Now, when they call they’re interested in price,” he says. “It makes you a little nervous.”
But, Biros also thinks his team’s size and experience is a plus in the long run. He’ll continue to emphasize a professional image and education.
“We watch our equipment and watch our expenses,” he says. “But the main thing we do is serve our industry as a professional company. We’ll continue educating our staff and our customers.”
