Tips & Takeaways: 6 Valuable Business Pointers Compiled From Pumper’s Latest Issue

Mine this issue for at least one great business-building idea in every story.

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Here at Pumper we pride ourselves on sharing valuable business advice we hear from septic service pros, small business experts and industry leaders. It’s most gratifying when I run into a contractor at the Pumper & Cleaner Environmental Expo or through a phone call or email who says something from the magazine made a difference in his or her operation.

When I edit the contractor profiles and other stories that cross my computer desktop, practical advice is always top of mind. Making sure the content is helpful is right up there with checking spelling, putting all the commas in the right place and writing compelling headlines. In fact – and don’t tell my bosses this – sometimes I could forgive a misplaced comma in the magazine if I knew an idea or nugget of information in a story helped save readers money or increase revenue. Our mission to help you improve your businesses is just that big.

So I decided to go through this issue and make sure we’re living up to our business-building goals. Here’s a few tips I found in the review, and I hope they lead you inside to read the rest of the stories.

If you think there’s no demand for high-end restroom trailers, think again.

Jay Brendel, owner of Brendel’s Septic Tank Service, White Lake, Mich., tells writer Dee Goerge in a profile story that he wondered how much impact buying restroom trailers would have on the portable sanitation side of his business. But taking a chance on the upgraded units has paid off, boosting revenues for restroom service over his traditionally strong septic work. The lesson learned: “You’ve got to keep growing in this business,” Brendel says. “You’ve got to be diversified with what you think you can rent.”

A technician performance checklist will boost your company’s reputation.

At Legacy Sanitation in San Jose, Calif., portable sanitation service technicians check each other’s work using a performance checklist. Owner Bryan Lowe tells writer Doug Day in a company profile that self-policing leads to better teamwork and compliments from customers. Here’s how it works: Occasionally a driver is assigned to follow along another technician’s route and check every aspect of the service being provided. The checklist is used to promote consistent service quality and improve every worker’s performance.

Rather than provide your employees with a smart phone, pay them a stipend to use their personal phones for business calls.

Your phone bill has likely skyrocketed as you’ve issued cellphones to employees so you can keep in constant contact during the workday. In his review of phone service expenses, Money Manager writer David Steinkraus suggests curbing costs for potential data overages and lost smartphones by giving employees a monthly payment to use their personal phones for business. If you provide work-only phones, you could end up responsible for data charges racked up by employees surfing the net and for phones lost on the job. The monthly phone allowances transfer those unexpected expenses back to the users.

Be mindful of waste splashback and order appropriate safety equipment.

Our Pumper Interview this month gets specific tips on safety gear for septic service technicians from Misty DeJonghe, of Matt DeJonghe Septic Tank Cleaning, who teaches blood-borne pathogen certification classes for pumpers. She shares her safety equipment list with writer Scottie Dayton. To avoid exposure to a host of diseases, DeJonghe’s technicians wear industrial mid-length rubber gauntlet gloves, a respirator or dust mask, wraparound safety glasses and water-resistant rubber work boots. The company also forbids wearing shorts unless there is a threat of heatstroke.

Never let a customer know you’re irritated with them.

In her Building the Business column, corporate trainer Judy Garmaise says one component to successful follow-up calling is never letting your frustration show through, even after a customer repeatedly ignores your voicemail messages. Showing your exasperation or recounting the litany of unanswered calls won’t prompt that customer to call back. Remaining constantly upbeat offers your best chance for repeat business. “If you are courteous and guilt-free, even on the sixth or seventh voicemail, you leave all doors open,’’ she says. “Stay positive and put a smile in your style.’’

Don’t go fishing for a lid that falls in the tank. Sell the customer a new riser.

In our Overheard Online story this month, a writer asks how to retrieve a concrete tank lid that accidentally falls into the tank. Pumpers jump in to tell the contractor to install a lid that won’t fall in. One poster goes as far as to suggest pumpers should add a disclaimer to their invoices that says they are not responsible if a lid falls into the tank, then suggests replacing older lids for safety.

WHAT’S ON YOUR MIND?

Do you have feedback on any of the advice you read in this issue of Pumper? Is there a question or an issue you’d like us to address in a future issue of the magazine? Drop me a line and let me know.



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