Heart Attack Strikes A Pumper And A Great Crew Steps In

When a health crisis felled Jeff Ruggiero, the Vermont pumper’s staff kicked it into high gear and took care of business until he was on the mend.
Heart Attack Strikes A Pumper And A Great Crew Steps In
The Best Septic Service crew is shown with Kim Nace, a representative of Rich Earth Institute (third from right). The company is participating in a “peecycling’’ study with the institute. Best employees include (from left) Justin Ruggiero, Seth True, Jaden Frost, Lisa Ruggiero, Jeff Ruggiero, Rachel Comtois and Wayne Turner. The restrooms are from PolyPortables LLC.

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Like many septic service contractors, Jeff Ruggiero is a self-admitted workaholic who was no stranger to 70- and 80-hour workweeks since 2010, the year he and his wife, Lisa, established Best Septic Service in Westminster, Vermont.

But there’s more to life than just work, a fact that Ruggiero now realizes after receiving a sobering wake-up call in September 2013: a severe heart attack.

“I’m a pretty driven guy, but I drove myself right into the Dartmouth bed-and-breakfast for about five weeks,” says Ruggiero, 49, referring to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire, where he underwent triple-bypass heart surgery. “Two of my arteries were 100 percent blocked and a third was 79 percent blocked. They couldn’t believe I was walking around, much less working every day. But I never had any problems before that.

“It definitely was a wake-up call,” he adds. “I never thought it could happen to me … I thought I was bulletproof.”

Ruggiero’s experience offers fellow pumpers a cautionary tale about burning the candle at both ends for years without respite. But it also points out the value of having loyal, cross-trained employees who can handle day-to-day operations when the boss suddenly isn’t around.

“I always knew we had great employees, but now I know we have the crew of all crews,” Ruggiero says of his wife, Lisa, who handles the books and manages the office; son Cris, 22, who manages portable restroom operations; son Justin, 19, who performs septic system repairs, camera inspections and waterjetting; technicians Seth True and Wayne Turner; and Rachel Comtois, who handles dispatching, sales and marketing.

“They really battened down the hatches while I was gone,” notes Ruggiero. “Lisa and I are really blessed. A lot of times you hear about employees who play while the boss is away, but not my crew. And when I came back, they made me fill out a job application. I thought that was pretty cool.”

DRIVEN TO SUCCEED

Ruggiero worked in the trash industry for 20 years before he and Lisa founded Best Septic with just one vacuum truck. “I always wanted to go into business for myself and work with my two boys,” he explains. “I also thought it would be easier to manage my work schedule, which didn’t work out too well.”

Growth occurred rapidly. In just more than four years, Ruggiero says revenue has risen dramatically, which he attributes to his dedicated employees. In addition, the company grew by branching out into system repairs and then adding portable restroom rentals to its list of services.

“A lot of people started asking for restrooms for special events,” he says. “Our service area is very rural, so there are a lot of septic systems, and people don’t want to put all the waste generated by a special event, like a backyard wedding, into their septic systems.

“I also didn’t want to have all my business eggs in one basket … I wanted to diversify,” he adds, noting that the company’s revenues now are evenly divided between septic service and portable restrooms; portable restroom revenues are split roughly 50/50 between special events and monthly rentals. “We also started repairing septic systems and retrofitting systems with risers,’’ he says.

Providing great customer service also contributed to the company’s growth, Ruggiero points out. That means more than just cleaning restrooms thoroughly or being considerate of people’s lawns/landscaping when servicing septic systems. In addition, it includes things like educating customers about septic system do’s and don’ts or pointing out to restroom customers that they may need more frequent cleanings or, alternatively, another restroom or two on site to accommodate high usage.

AGILE EQUIPMENT

As the company grew, its roster of equipment expanded, too. Best Septic now owns a 1990 Ford L8000 with a 2,000-gallon steel vacuum tank; a 2015 Ford F-350 with a slide-in 400-gallon waste/200-gallon freshwater aluminum tank; a 2003 Ford F-450 with a 500-gallon waste/300-gallon freshwater steel tank; and a 2003 Ford F-350 with a slide-in 300-gallon waste/150-gallon freshwater aluminum tank. All trucks were built out by Imperial Industries Inc., and rigs run National Vacuum Equipment Inc. pumps.

Ruggiero prefers smaller, more agile trucks with smaller tanks, well-suited for Vermont’s mountainous terrain. “Vermont has a lot of dirt backroads so we need more nimble trucks, especially during our spring ‘mud season,’” Ruggiero explains. There are three treatment facilities within the company’s service area, which minimizes the need for larger tanks to reduce back-and-forth disposal trips. In some circumstances, though, waste from smaller tanks is consolidated into a larger truck for convenient dumping.

The company also relies on a 2015 Ford F-350 service truck with a skid-mounted water jetter made by RIDGID. The truck is a multitasker, used for doing everything from pipe repairs and riser installations to cleaning grease traps and hauling a trailer to deliver restrooms. In addition, Best Septic owns a 1997 GMC pickup truck that can carry a slide-in unit when needed; about 150 restrooms from PolyPortables (including four handicapped-accessible units and 15 special-event units with sinks and interior lights); a RIDGID SeeSnake pipeline inspection camera; and a Kubota mini-excavator.

PITCHING IN

During Ruggiero’s health crisis, employees assumed various extra day-to-day duties. “Everyone stepped up big-time,” he notes. “Even Wayne’s wife, Brenda, and their kids helped out with phones.

“After Lisa told everyone what had happened, they all said she didn’t have to worry about a thing – that they’d handle everything,” he continues. “We’re all like family. Even my competitors called in to see how I was doing.”

Ruggiero says his son Justin largely took over his job responsibilities – things such as emergency calls, running jobs and helping with truck repairs. “I’m so proud of him and how he stepped up and handled everything, along with worrying about me being in the hospital,” Ruggiero says. “Overnight, he went from being an 18-year-old boy to a man running a business.”

Cross-training employees like True and Turner to do each other’s jobs paid big dividends, Ruggiero adds. “Sure, it’s costly to have two guys in a truck for several days,” he admits. “But in the long run, it pays off.”

More than a year after Ruggiero’s heart attack, he says he still has to take it easy. But that fits nicely into his newfound perspective on work/life balance. What would he tell other pumpers who are pushing it to the limit? Back off a bit and make more time for family and friends.

SMELL THE ROSES

“I discovered that all the stuff I thought was of major importance really is not that important compared to making time for family, then doing the job,” he explains. “Otherwise, the workday never stops. You have to keep in mind that it all gets done eventually.

“The heart attack definitely got me to settle down,” he continues. “I don’t treat everything like it’s a red alert – that everything needs to be done right away. I spread things out more so I can spend more time with my kids and Lisa and family … spend more time with my nieces and nephews. I didn’t do that before … if they had a sports event or something else, I’d say, ‘I’m too busy to go – I’ll catch them next weekend.’ I don’t do that anymore.”

That philosophy also extends to the company’s employees, he says, noting that he’s more conscious about allowing the crew even more flexibility to attend their children’s events and activities.

“People always joke about how you never know – you could die tomorrow,” Ruggiero says. “That’s not a joke anymore. There’s no more trying to be human dynamos … everyone helps each other more.”



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