This feature in Pumper reports noteworthy conversations that take place in Pumper Discussion, an email-based forum for industry professionals sponsored by COLE Publishing. Pumper Discussion provides for the exchange of information and ideas on septic and drainfield installation and maintenance, trucks and equipment, portable sanitation, chemicals and additives. To find out more about Pumper Discussion, or to subscribe, visit www.pumper.com.

Information and advice in Overheard Online is offered in good faith by industry professionals. However, readers should consult in depth with appropriate industry sources before applying such advice to a specific business situation.

 

Question:

Every industry has fools whose prime method of getting business is cutting established prices in an area. If you happen to be one of those individuals, pay close attention to this thread because you may learn something. This is something that will never go away, so it’s my thought that this thread could be very helpful to the guy getting clobbered by a price cutter. (Short term, because price cutters often put themselves out of business.)

 

Answers:

Be the expert. Take out an ad in the local newspaper explaining septic systems, how to take care of them and what goes into disposing of the septage properly. Make a point to have the reader ask their pumper where he dumps his loads. Let the reader know how you go about disposing of your septage in a legal, sanitary way. This will at least shake up the competition a bit.

The more professional you are, the more favorably you will be viewed by your customers and the community in general. You cannot beat them on price. You have costs to cover.

 

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Another way to survive storms like this is to keep track of all of your jobs and remind customers when they need to be pumped again. Keep notes of what kind of condition the tank was in, the location if it doesn’t have a riser, the location of the drainfield, and photos if you have the ability. Then have the information at your fingertips when they call.

Keep your head, don’t panic and good luck! Yeah, I’ve done the flier thing door to door. It may not generate immediate business, but often they’ll keep it for later. Refrigerator magnets too.

 

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I have just changed my newspaper ad to inform potential customers that my loads are disposed of environmentally. I only have two main competitors in town with 10,000-plus tanks. One uses the same disposal as me (the one causing me grief at the moment) and the other has very primitive ponds, which are not environmentally friendly.

One other thing I will be doing soon is a business profile in a local magazine. I think I am heading along the right track; the advertising people love me at the moment. By the way, at the moment the best and cheapest advertising is the Yellow Pages online.

 

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Don’t get hung up on what anyone else is doing! Pumpers can only put themselves out of business by working cheap and offering gimmicks and freebies. Set your price where it works for you and don’t be afraid to miss a job because you’re not the cheapest. And if the phone isn’t ringing, get out there and shake hands and knock doors! Between 8 and 10 a.m., you can catch managers at restaurants and ask them if they are happy with their current grease trap service, which is a very good way to get steady commercial work. Print fliers and hand them out in the country, and if you see someone in their yard, don’t pass by without stopping to let them know who you are and what you do! These two ideas alone are enough to put you to work immediately and build a solid business.

 

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Every situation is a little different, requiring different approaches to remedy the problem. I give price cutters enough rope to hang themselves and wait until they make that big error in judgment (and they all do). It’s like the barber who was dealing with a cheap barber who moved in across the street and charged only $5 for a haircut. After a few weeks, he put up a sign reading, “I fix $5 haircuts.”

I guarantee that all my customers will pass a point-of-sale septic system inspection as long as they follow my procedures and pumping schedule. If they hire another pumper, the guarantee is void. Unless they are going to save so much money that it would be cheaper to put another new system in – this makes you the cheap guy who is still charging top dollar – and well worth it.