The days of a pump-and-run business strategy are over for the majority of septic service contractors. Profit- and customer service-minded pumpers are dialing into the trend toward more careful maintenance for their customers’ onsite systems.
Maintenance contracts are the wave of the future, with regular inspections bringing in consistent revenue for contractors and assurances of longer lasting systems for homeowners. That’s why system maintenance and rejuvenation is the theme of this issue of Pumper.
More and more pumpers are turning proactive to make sure they inspect tanks long before a problem with sewage treatment rears its ugly head. You might be among the legions of contractors promoting regular inspections and maintenance.
CONTRACTOR PROFILES
Certainly, our two contractor profile companies this month are good examples of both advocating upgrades for older systems and making ongoing onsite system maintenance a priority. They find system maintenance is a matter of sound environmental principle and the foundation for quality customer service.
Olson Sewer Service of Forest Lake, Minn., recommends new components to make maintenance easier on existing systems. But brother and sister owners Jon Olson and LeeAnn Weigt go further. They install new systems with ease of future maintenance in mind. In our cover story, “Rapid Response,” Weigt tells writer Ken Wysocky: “We look at the long-term picture. Mechanical devices will fail eventually, so we try to make it easy to make repairs, which keeps costs down for homeowners.”
Longtime pumper Dave Ritchie Sr. of Zaring Septic & Drain Service, Crestwood, Ky., is the subject of our occasional feature, Looking Back: 20 Years of Pumper Profiles. We featured Ritchie’s company a decade ago, and returned for an update. Building a concentration on maintenance, he told writer Seiche Sanders, “All those companies that provide (only) pumping — they’re missing the boat for additional revenue … They kill themselves by not being capable of recognizing and knowing what other work is involved.” Turn inside to see how he’s helping customers and building his bottom line.
BUILD AWARENESS
When I talk to pumpers, I frequently hear that consumer education is the key to jump-starting a maintenance program. After all, you need to raise awareness of the importance of regular inspections before convincing customers to order them. Two stories in this issue offer suggestions on building customer understanding about septic system care.
In Reader Pipelines, pumpers tell writer Mary Shafer how they approach customer education, from sharing printed materials about how a system works to actually taking customers outside and showing them the over-filled tank.
In Pumper Interview, writer Erik Gunn gets the lowdown on a fantastic set of videos — aimed at both pumper and homeowner education — produced by the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services. I urge everyone to go to the DES Web site and watch both videos (http:des.nh.gov and click on Media Center at the top left). The consumer video, especially, has great potential to help the industry educate the public.
