Professional Pumpers Carry Great Responsibility in Meeting Industry Service Standards

Failing to meet basic service standards is to risk losing a customer, not catching an environmental hazard or worse.

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Most pumpers will be hitting their stride soon, working earlier mornings and later evenings to satisfy the avalanche of service calls the busy season brings. Tomorrow, or next Friday, or one day a month from now you may greet the morning with 10 appointments and only 13 hours of daylight. That doesn’t mean you or your drivers can give any service call the short shrift.

It’s a continual challenge to deliver the quality service homeowners and businesses expect and require. How busy technicians answer the call of duty can have life-altering impacts in the community. I am not being overly dramatic, either. Being a professional pumper comes with a great responsibility to the safety and well-being of your customers.

A recent headline drove home that point. In Arizona earlier this year, a toddler fell through a broken septic tank lid and fell into a full septic tank. Luckily the little girl survived, thanks to the brave actions of witnesses on the scene who dove into the tank and pulled her out. I assume this septic tank had been woefully neglected and that a pumper hadn’t been called to service it in years.

Service Touches

But when you pump several tanks a day – all summer long – the lesson from this story is that you need to carefully inspect every riser and lid you encounter, and don’t walk away from a single one of them if it poses a threat of danger. As pumping pros, you can’t afford to overlook a warped lid, a stripped security screw, or a cracked or eroded concrete lid.

A thorough inspection of the lids and risers is just one of many priorities to keep in mind as business ramps up this time of year. Failing to meet basic service standards is to risk losing a customer, not catching an environmental hazard or worse.

Here are just a few reminders that will keep customers calling you back and bring you home safe after each day’s route:

Tread lightly on the customers’ property

On busy days, sometimes you have to get in and out in a hurry. But you still have to take great care to leave a customer’s yard as close to the way you found it as possible. Don’t leave ruts in the lawn with your truck. Don’t snap off an overhanging tree branch backing into the driveway. When you dig up a lid, lay out a tarp to catch all the dirt and replace sod as carefully as you can. Roll your hoses to avoid dripping septage in the yard. These are aesthetic and safety musts.

Take the time to answer questions

It doesn’t matter how well you do your job, a pump-and-run mentality is a good way to lose a customer. Homeowners and business owners value good customer service and they’re willing to pay for it. They want to know the condition of the tank, to see how you’ve completed the service call, and are interested in your advice on how to best care for their systems. When you arrive, ask them about their expectations and explain what you’re going to do. Suggest a schedule for the next pumping and up-sell by offering periodic effluent filter cleaning or other ongoing services they may value.

Don’t ignore vehicle safety checks

It doesn’t matter how busy you are, you must allow time for a pre-route truck inspection every morning, and it’s just as important to look over the vacuum system at the end of a long day. Check condition of the tires, the lights, the brakes, suction hoses, fluid levels and make sure the truck meets your general cleanliness standards. If you have a crew of drivers, it’s a good idea to start the day (or at least once a week) with a tailgate safety meeting. Review personal protective equipment (PPE) necessary for the daily workload, talk about any special circumstances you expect and field questions. At the close of the day, wash dirty trucks, clean out the cabs and check the secondary moisture trap to make sure waste won’t be sucked into the vacuum pump the next time you fire up the system.

Take notes on each system you service

Good recordkeeping now will save time and prevent head-scratching down the road when you’re called back to a home or business. You should have an electronic file on each customer, and take notes in the cab after you finish every service. Jot down things like the tank location, whether you needed to dig up the lid, the best place to park the truck, how much hose you had to pull to reach the tank, landscaping you had to work around and any service preferences voiced by the customer.

Thank the customer for their business

It should go without saying, but when we’re at our busiest, we sometimes forget to thank customers for their loyalty. A service business is a people business, first and foremost, and that can get lost while running a hectic route. Customers will remember how they’re treated more than they’ll remember you came out and did your usual good job. A snub can cost you a sale, and without enough sales, you won’t be this busy again.

Good Job Today

There’s a reason you’re so busy as a septic service contractor. You’re good at what you do and you care about your customers. But just like any business, you’re only as good as the service you provided today, and you’ll have to go out and prove it again tomorrow.



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