Question:
I’m curious what the general feeling is on septic tank maintenance contractors doing the digging for access to customers’ lid/tank accesses. I understand that in most cases, there is already a riser, but there are obviously die-hard folks who have not made the switch from an old buried lid. I would imagine that in most cases, it’s a simple matter of hand-digging a few feet. Do you bring the shovel, or is it better to tell the customer to dig it or have it dug beforehand?
Answers:
If your labor rate reflects the price of the pump truck sitting there idle while you dig, most folks will have it uncovered for you.
We have to dig up quite a few. I always say I’m going to charge, but I never have. If it’s someone who is capable of digging, but being lazy, I say charge them.
Telling the customer to dig a hole for you isn’t going to fly. It has to be part of your service. No one says you can’t charge for it. In fact, charging to dig is the precise inducement a customer needs to allow you to install a riser so that the digging expense disappears every time you pump. The riser eliminates a repeating expense.
Isn’t a riser a smart purchase? To my thinking, these are precisely the residential customers who have the most to offer. For example, look at the drain cleaners. Do you think the money is in cleaning drains? There is no large drain-cleaning company (that I know of) that just cleans drains or unstops blockages. That’s not where the money is.
The real money is in all of the additional services that spin off of that clogged drain — jetting, sewer repair, cleanout installations, video inspections, line locating and trenchless repair. Who do you think buys most of that equipment at the trade shows?
A slow or blocked drain is the reason why customers initiate a service call, but they typically buy more than just the solution to the immediate problem. The clogged drain is generally only a symptom of an underlying problem. Plus, the new technologies offer customers more service and maintenance options than ever. It takes a trained technician to see more than the obvious.
I believe it’s the same for septic system maintenance. Once you have to break ground, a series of additional services come to light — installing risers, offering aeration systems, cleanouts, pipe repair, pipe locating, jetting, bio products, scheduled maintenance programs. Sound familiar?
With the rising costs of fuel and dumping charges, it would seem to me that those who only pump have more options than ever to engage in some significant business opportunities. Pumping is the reason people call. It prompts the customer to initiate the service call. But it’s not where the big profits are.
It’s amazing how many folks will not let me install a riser. This isn’t a sticker shock issue either — they tell me no before I give them a price.
People don’t buy a riser. They buy the benefits of having a riser. I’m sure you know that. Here’s why I would buy one:
• Easy access
• No more digging
• Easier maintenance
• No more landscape damage.
Since you already have the lids exposed, service time is the least expensive time to do a riser installation. You’re getting double the bang for the digging expense. In other words, they’re already paying you to dig up the covers, so now is the best time to install the riser.
I suppose the idea of digging for the customer has a lot to do with a number of things. Granted, the ground should have been dug before and hopefully will have had all the rocks picked out. But if the ground is as dry and hard as it is right now where I am, a dig by hand doesn’t sound like something anyone would get done in a hurry. Then, if the customer wants the tank pumped in January and the ground is frozen, well ...
Now, if you live and work in an area that doesn’t experience drought or frozen ground, I suppose it might not be so bad.
