This industry is filled with hardworking, talented individuals who are proud of our industry, and we enjoy sharing their work with you.
Every month installers share their best advice, industry insights, and the challenges they face on the job. We hope you enjoy reading these stories, to learn from others in the industry and glean tips and tricks to implement in your own business.
We rounded up some of the more memorable stories and quotes to share with you again.
I had a very wise businessman tell me years ago that the most important part of the business is customers, so building relationships with them is probably more important than what we’re doing, whether you’re a septic guy, a baker or whatever. I do value our customers and what they’re dealing with.
– Clint McCammon, Solid Ground Excavating, La Cygne, Kansas
I don’t really personally believe in competition, and I tell my customers that, too. They’re making an investment in their property, and they need to make sure that investment is done with somebody who they think will do a good job. Hire me because you want us to do the job, not because we’re going to be cheaper than the next guy.
– Jordan Johnson, Countryside Plumbing Sewer & Septic, Antioch, Illinois
My dad used to say, “You never lose money on a job you don’t get.” When I first started, if I didn’t get every single job I was asked about, big or small, I’d be upset. But after all these years I now know you don’t have to get every single job. You have to look at quality not quantity.
– Chris Chapman, Show Me Soils, Lonedell/St. Clair, Missouri
I talked at the IOWPA conference one year on this subject. It was back in the 1980s when there was a recession and some companies didn’t make it. So my talk was: the only two things you have to do is do what you say you’re going to do and return phone calls. It’s so simple but I can’t tell you the number of people I’ve heard complain that someone won’t call them back.
– Dick Blazer, Blazer Farms, Kokomo, Indiana
When I first started in this industry I was just a kid. I worked for RGM Liquid Waste Removal (Ralph Macchio). He was tough but fair. He would always say, “If you don’t inspect, you won’t get any respect.” He showed me it was important to catch people doing something right. That taught me the value of taking care of your people. No one can do this job alone, and without great people you cannot be successful. Our motto is, “Be nice, it doesn’t cost any money.” We try to treat our customers, co-workers and the people we meet during the day nicely, and it seems to be working. When we do any job, big or small, we always do it right. If you do things right and treat people fairly the money seems to take care of itself.
– Robert McInerney, United Cesspool Service, Oakdale, New York
My dad always said, “Pay your bills right away, they don’t get any smaller sitting on the desk.”
– Stephen B. Nelson, Clearwater Recovery, Rockland, Massachusetts
When I was 18 and getting started, my dad hired me out to another company. It was a little bigger, 25 guys. The guy I was working for asked me if I planned on taking over someday, and I said I’d like to. He said, “Make sure you take care of your employees, I don’t care how big you get, because your guys are everything. You think you can do it all but you can’t. And keep a good image.” We strive for that. We take care of our guys because without them we wouldn’t be where we are. And we focus on image — show up with clean, tidy equipment that looks good and is well-maintained, along with yourself, because customers definitely notice.
– Jake Bell, Bell Excavating, Inc., Stillwater, Minnesota
Sometimes people say things like, “I’ve always heard that I don’t have to pump my septic tank. My grandparents and my dad never had to.” But after you get done talking to them you find out it was a straight pipe to the ditch. We tell them, “Your septic system is not your grandparents’ septic system. You need to take care of it like you do your car.” Part of our job is educating people, so we spend a lot of time telling customers what they should and should not be doing.
– Rick Miene, Miene Septic Service, Robins, Iowa
Ever since I was little I’ve seen my dad do extra things for customers that I knew he wasn’t going to charge for. One day I asked him why he did that because he couldn’t make money if he didn’t charge people, and I’ve never forgotten what he said. “It isn’t always about the money. People don’t forget the small things you do for them, especially in a small town. I do it so there will still be a business for you to run in 50 years.” And here we are, 50 years later, and I’m glad my dad is still around to see that I believe in and live by those words, as well.
– Dan Micsky, Micsky Excavating and Septic Systems, Greenville, Pennsylvania
We did a job for a couple who had 13 kids. It was the biggest drip system we’d ever put in. When we returned a few months later to see how everything had settled in, the whole drainfield was fenced off and there were 30 or 40 goats on it. It was wet so there were hoofprints everywhere. I said, “You’ve got to get these goats off this drainfield. They’re going to destroy it.” We came back a couple weeks later and they were all gone. I said, “I’m glad you got them off the drainfield. What happened to them?” He just smirked. He had them butchered — which isn’t quite what I had in mind.
– Chris Chapman, Show Me Soils, Lonedell/St. Clair, Missouri
You’ve got to be bold. I think the most important thing to be successful in business is to ask the right questions to the right people. And most importantly, don’t ask questions that reconfirm what you think you know. Ask questions to try to prove yourself wrong.
– Joe Karthein, Sentinel Excavating, Nelson, British Columbia
It’s about trying to do the best we can for our clients. That goes across the board, whether you’re pumping, inspecting, installing or working with local government. What can we be doing better to help people? I’m very meticulous when installing a system. I’m not the cheapest, and I never will be. But you would be hard pressed to find somebody who pays as much attention to detail as I do. I will lie awake at night until I make sure that system will work for the customer.
– Shane Broyhill, Broyhill Environmental, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
When you study your craft, when you learn from other people, when you are open to ideas even after 41 years in the business, you don’t have a lot of competition.
– Ralph Baker Dotson, AAA Allied Septic Service, Santa Fe, New Mexico
The biggest thing I’ve learned is to share knowledge. I try to make property owners feel like I’m here because I really enjoy the industry, and I want to make sure that our environment is safe and healthy for my kids and their grandkids. Pulling together the environmental consequences and the knowledge of wastewater is important.
– Stacey Feser, Feser Environmental, Le Sueur, Minnesota
Being part of the community is huge. Even if it’s just sponsoring a kids’ hockey team, it connects us to the community. One winter Rick brought a skid-steer and plowed out a little hockey space for the kids on the soccer field at the school. Doing those simple community tasks goes a long way.
– Tammy Bovay, RT Septic & Water Systems, Sturgeon County, Alberta
