Be a Teacher

Maryland pumper Jerry Scarborough takes his Septic 101 course to homeowners, real estate agents and home inspectors, and builds a growing customer base.

Interested in Education/Training?

Get Education/Training articles, news and videos right in your inbox! Sign up now.

Education/Training + Get Alerts

When Jerry Scarborough suffered an injury in the line of duty with the Maryland State Police, he knew his 15-year career would end, and he knew he needed to do something else with his life.

While at a local restaurant, he began talking to septic system pumper Ray Hall.

"Mr. Hall was different than the other septic guys in this community. He wore wingtip shoes, dress pants and a dress shirt. He always looked good, and he always smelled good," Scarborough recalls.

When Hall learned of Scarborough's impending retirement, he explained he had a business and no children to leave it to. Scarborough didn't think pumping was for him, but he rode with Hall for a day. He saw customers who were pleasant and friendly, unlike his interactions with the public as a police officer. "And I thought 'wow,' because when I wrote somebody a ticket for $95 they'd normally call me names and drive off."

He learned more about the pumping operation and bought the business from Hall in 1992. Starting with a single 1970 Chevy truck that came with the business, Scarborough built Hall's Septic Service in Street, Md., into a company with eight service trucks, 300 portable restrooms and seven employees including his wife, Kathy.

Although Street is a small town in the northeastern part of the state near the Pennsylvania border, the county has a population of more than 256,000 and is within commuting distance of Baltimore and Washington, D.C. Houses can be large and real estate listings in the half-million-dollar range are not unusual.

Scarborough carries a certification from the National Association of Wastewater Technicians, and he says that has helped a great deal. A big part of making his business successful and attracting new customers is developing a free educational course about septic systems. He explains how he developed the seminar and how pumpers everywhere can benefit by reaching out to customers and teaching them the finer points of septic system care:

Pumper: What made you develop your Septic 101 course?

Scarborough: After getting my NAWT certification, I began getting calls from real estate agents to do inspections and I gave them a professional report, like a police report.

Then I'd work for these homeowners and find things that should not be in a septic system, causing me more time to clean them. I'm talking about grease and feminine hygiene products.

One day, a young real estate agent was there for an inspection, and I said, "Tell me about the people buying this house." And she said, "They're from Baltimore City." Usually city people trying to come out in the country where I live, that's tough. They have no clue. They flush everything down the main city sewer line, which works, but it's not going to work with a
septic system.

I said I'd like to talk to them and explain what I do. So I gave them information: the inlet, the tank, told them use liquid laundry detergent, don't pour grease down the sink, and so on. The young agent asked if I could come to her office and tell the rest of the staff what I told her clients. And that began Septic 101.

Pumper: How did it grow?

Scarborough: Telling anybody is one thing, but if I can show you a picture of something, that's just worth a thousand words. So I began carrying a camera and photographing. I have pictures of a metal tank full of holes, a concrete tank, and a surfacing drainfield.

My wife goes with me now. She runs the PowerPoint presentation, and I do the talk, and it averages an hour. I don't charge to do it. And the real estate agents love me. I have had classes of 15 to 50 people. I did one class for the bosses of a real estate company. They brought in all the brokers who received two hours toward their continuing education requirement.

Pumper: How have you made the class interesting?

Scarborough: Everything I learned in the state police about dealing with people I apply here. You have to have a sense of humor. I hit them with some one-liners, and we show a few pictures of our wedding, which was in a handicap portable restroom. (My wife suggested it. She and I and the minister stood inside while the guests stood in a U on the outside.) I really get them lightened up that way.

Pumper: Can you give a sample of what you say?

Scarborough: The first thing I ask them is, "Do you know anything about a septic system?" I did this today. And a guy says, "Yeah, I know about septic systems." And I said, "Well I'm still learning every day. Why don't you tell me what you know?" And he says, "Well, I know it comes in here and it goes out."

I tell them a septic system is as simple as one, two and three. Every sink, tub and wash basin is connected to it, so everything is coming down that line into this tank. I tell them about the size of a tank and ask if they know that a family of four will fill this tank up in 10 days or less. They don't know that.

I tell them how to take care of the system: If you didn't eat, drink, or wash with it, it doesn't go in there. I tell them we still get three phone calls every week from people having problems, and there are three main causes. The first one is grease. Water is always passing through your tank, and it's pushing that grease out into the drainfield.

Then I hit them with the story of my best friend who plugged a drainfield in 12 years because his wife poured all the grease down the drain. The second thing is laundry detergent, and I look right at the women: "Are we going to use liquid or powder? I need liquid or gel to leave your house." Third thing is baby wipes. They will not break down.

Pumper: How has Septic 101 helped the business?

Scarborough: Those people who had never seen me before or known me before are calling me. I had one guy from a home inspection business ask me to give Septic 101 to his group. Guess who they recommend? They recommend Jerry with Hall's Septic Service. So Septic 101 has literally helped me build this business.

Pumper: What else happened as the result of Septic 101?

Scarborough: I have been to court three times now as an expert witness on septic system inspections. And in Baltimore County in a jury trial, a client I worked for won $60,000. It took about a year to get that case in court, and in that time my company pumped more than 115,000 gallons from this man's backyard. I told the judge we typically pump a tank every two years.

Judges don't know about wastewater. So I said, "Your honor, the first thing I would like to do is go to the blackboard and draw a picture of a septic system and give you Septic 101 so you know what we're talking about."

Jerry Scarborough may be reached at 410/808-8888 or by email at hallshoneypots@aol.com.



Discussion

Comments on this site are submitted by users and are not endorsed by nor do they reflect the views or opinions of COLE Publishing, Inc. Comments are moderated before being posted.