employees on the books

[vinny]

Im interested in getting a driver and putting him on the books but was wondering how to go about that? I have many concerns such as letting someone go out on their own and risk my reputation- no matter who you hire they will not do as good or proud a job as you will. They come in to do their hours and go home. They beat equipment, lose tools, etc. What do you do on days when jobs are slow? A competitor of mine got out of septic pumping because he said after all is said and done, there isn't enough money in septic tank cleaning alone. Some days you can have anywhere from 4-10 pumps, some days 1-2, and some days none. Is it better to stay small or go bigger? Any input?

[Mackman]

The small company i worked for had 3 trucks. When we were slow. we used to wash the trucks and greae them etc. for the day. Or we would put 2 drivers in one truck for the day to speed things up. But most of the time he had the work. But every once in awhile we would get a slow day here and there. But he would never send you home. Always got 40hrs a week.

[vinny]

what was starting pay? did you guys have benefits? I don't see how its possible to turn a much of a profit with dumping, maintenance, fuel, advertising, payroll, insurance, and unforeseen expenses

[Mackman]

what was starting pay? did you guys have benefits? I don't see how its possible to turn a much of a profit with dumping, maintenance, fuel, advertising, payroll, insurance, and unforeseen expenses

I started at 17.50hr when i left 3 years later i was at 19.10hr. We had paid hoildays, sick days and 1 week vac. He did have health benefits. It wasnt the greatest plan but it was better then nothing and it was free. Also if you were on call for the week you got an extra 75bucks in your check. Plus he had uniforms so we didnt have to get our own clothes messed up. Overall it was a good small family owned company to work for.

Back in the day he was at 195.00 a pump out up to 1,250 gallons. Dumping fees back then i think were 1.2cents a gallon We did 6-10 houses a day and then had a couple holding tanks, grase traps or package plants we would go hit. Each truck did 2-3 houses a day. We try to spilt the houses up.

[txshriner]

I have only 3 employees in the septic portion of my business. The low guy on the totem poll comes in 3 days a week & cleans equipment & I pay him a flat $350 per week. I have another flat rate employee which rides shotgun on my #2 truck & also does mechanic work for me. He gets $550 & I know there are a bunch of guys that don't believe it, but every truck needs 2 people on it. My wife & myself run my truck. One person does the initial talking & paperwork and the other mostly does the work. Two people per truck can by far outrun the profits of one man trucks.
Now the trick is the person your talking about that has to be able to do really do the business! Trust is the first & major issue. They absolutely must be trustworthy! But you still draw up a non compete agreement, not that it will be worth the paper it's written on but nice to have! Last but certainly not least you have to pay them enough to keep them. In my opinion the only answer is commission! The young man that I have in this position started working for me when he was in high school, he has now completed his 4 years at Texas A&M & has been with me over 12 years. His pay is calculated after deducting the disposal fees from the job & I pay him 30% of what's left. He has consistently done better every year. For the last 2 years he made 100k & I know that's a lot of money but he is worth it and he ain't going anywhere.
I was told a long time ago is "if you pay peanut, you get monkeys" good people make or break a business! If you can't afford to pay good wages, it's not because your expenses are too much.

[vinny]

How much pumping do you usually do? Do you just do septic pumping or do you do repairs or excavating work as well?

[txshriner]

How much pumping do you usually do? Do you just do septic pumping or do you do repairs or excavating work as well?

we run 2 trucks. i have a truck with 2 guys on it that are pumping grease traps all day everyday unless i pull them to do something else. i cover most of the residential pumping. all of the ones that have problems but i pass alot of the pump & go jobs to my other truck.
but the problem solving & the extra's bring in as much or more than pumping. to start with, you must sell additives. wheather its for drains, roots, grease traps or just septic tank enzymes. just like everything out there, i know of guys that give enzymes to their customers. but i was told a long time ago that something given for free has no value! the stuff you buy off the shelf for septic tanks runs between 5-10 bucks per month. i pay $6 each for a 12 month supply that has my name & number on each package & sell the box for $96! 90% of my customers buy them from me & this turns into a healthy profit all by itself and certainly one i suggest.
but repairs are where the real profits are. its usually a relatively simple problem but most guys want to replace the whole system or make a big production of the situation. septic repairs are usually possible but you have to get it on you & which is why most guys just sell the new system. i price the repairs at a kings ransom & usually get the job.

[Dennis]

For the last 2 years he made 100k & I know that's a lot of money but he is worth it and he ain't going anywhere.

100K per year or 100K for 2 years?

I was assuming he does much of the leach field cleaning but by your last posting you handle most problem calls?

Thanks, Dennis...

[vinny]

what kind of bacteria do you sell is it from chempace? i have a hard time getting $50 for a year supply of additives. Out of every 5-6 people MAYBE 1 will buy and i explain to them and they still don't buy. They don't even want to pay to pump the tank

[txshriner]

100K per year or 100K for 2 years?

I was assuming he does much of the leach field cleaning but by your last posting you handle most problem calls?

Thanks, Dennis...

you are correct, i do at least 90% of the problem calls. anything that is electrical related i send him because i dont do electrical.

[txshriner]

what kind of bacteria do you sell is it from chempace? i have a hard time getting $50 for a year supply of additives. Out of every 5-6 people MAYBE 1 will buy and i explain to them and they still don't buy. They don't even want to pay to pump the tank

two things come to mind. first is what are you charging to clean their tanks? if your cleaning price is low that would make your enzymes seem high.

next is how do you go about trying to sell them? we dont push them at all, we just ask. kind of like "would you like fries with that?"

naturally when you ask your customer if they use enzymes the natural answer is that they use rid X. we explain that we have a much better product than rid X & it is comparably priced. our product when broken down into monthly expense is $8 per month. now i know this may sound off the wall to you but ive learned through the years that if something wont sell, you stand as good or better of a chance by going up on the price rather than down.

because of the price i have negotiated on my enzymes i wouldnt want to name them but they are out of the pumper magazine.

[Mackman]

The only problem i have with bacteria is if a customer googles it he can see alot of info stating that it doesnt work. Then you will look like a snake oil salesman.

[txshriner]

The only problem i have with bacteria is if a customer googles it he can see alot of info stating that it doesnt work. Then you will look like a snake oil salesman.

sir, what about all the people in this world that say septic tanks NEVER need to be cleaned & septic pumpers are scam artists? does that stop you from pumping tanks?
i dont remotely push enzymes, i only offer them & my profits have gone up every single year since 1991 from enzyme sales. i think il stick with my program until the bank quits accepting proceeds from enzyme sales.