Published March 2008

Taking Care of Business

By Mary Shafer (page 18)

A customer service emphasis keeps J & J Portables on the move in a Washington, D.C., market crowded with portable sanitation providers.

Customer service is the watchword these days, so it’s no surprise that J & J Portables of Huntingtown, Md., takes every opportunity to pound that message home to office staff and field technicians.

What may be surprising is the comprehensive way the company’s business structure supports that goal. From the hiring and training process to the way jobs are performed and the manner in which telephones are answered, J & J has built its entire business to accommodate the highest possible level of customer care. PROs seeking guidance on best practices in this area may take a page from the J & J playbook.

“We’re a family-owned business,” says J & J president Joe McKenny, whose portable restroom and septic pumping business serves the Washington, D.C., metro area. “That means everything to our customers. They can get hold of us 24/7, no matter what the circumstance. If they call at any time, we’re on it. We pride ourselves on our service.”

Their service mix is 90 percent portable sanitation and 10 percent septic pumping. “We have one full-time pumper,” explains McKenny, “and the rest of the guys drive portables routes.”

The portable sanitation side of the business consists of about 15 percent seasonal special events. The remainder is commercial, with about three-quarters of the units serving construction contractors. The other 25 percent serves industrial customers, with a liquid natural gas plant renovation providing their largest current industrial account.

Septic pumping remains a minimal part of the business. Most of it involves residential customers, with a small portion of commercial accounts. J & J pumps strictly septage, as they can’t dispose of grease at Solomon’s Wastewater Facility, the municipal treatment plant in Lusby, Md., owned by Calvert County.

Keeping the fleet

J & J handles a small amount of pumping for Calvert County government, including some wells, emergency pump-outs for sewer mains and other small jobs. The company holds no other municipal pumping contracts, as it’s only licensed to pump septage in Calvert County, and has no plans to dilute its market focus. In fact, J & J is so focused on its strengths, it never planned to pump at all — but again, customer service demands drove that decision.

“We had no intention of getting into the septic pumping side,” explains McKenny, “but demand grew and we were missing so much business because we didn’t have a (larger) truck that we decided to get into it.”

Now J & J has a fleet of five vacuum trucks, including a 1987 International 9370 with 4,000-gallon tank, a 2003 Ford F-550 with an 800-gallon waste/300-gallon freshwater tank, two 2006 and one 2007 International 4300s with 1,100-gallon waste/400-gallon freshwater tanks. All tanks are from Abernethy Welding with pumps from Masport Inc. The fleet is rounded out with a 2003 GMC pickup/ delivery truck carrying Crescent 750-gallon waste and 300-gallon freshwater tanks.

J & J’s restroom inventory includes 1,100 units: 1,010 PolyPortables Inc. Integra II models, 15 PolyPortables Senator ADA units, 10 PolyPortables Ambassador flush units with sinks, 30 PolyPortables Standard units with waterless sanitizer dispensers, and 35 American Polystar standard units. Special events are serviced by four Ameri-Can Engineering restroom trailers, an 824 Oasis, 818 Royale, 814 Tailgater and 615 Royale Dooley model.

The accidental pro

In 1997, McKenny was a deputy sheriff. He was also serving as his own general contractor, building a new house for his family. The city put a stop work order on the project because he didn’t have a portable restroom onsite. “There wasn’t yet a law requiring it,” he remembers, “but it was coming,” and inspectors were preparing contractors to accept the new rules with these stop orders. McKenny rented a unit from the only PRO in the area.

“Our suburb of D.C. was really starting to grow then,” says McKenny’s brother, Bo McKenny, “and I got the idea that it would need more portable restroom suppliers. I went to a few builders I know, and asked if they’d use me if I started a portables business. They said they would, and so I did.”

His vision was prescient. “We grew by leaps and bounds, and in 1999, I brought my brother onboard full time,” Bo McKenny recalls.

At that time, Joe McKenny was injured while training some new recruits at the Sheriff’s Academy. “I had to retire on disability, so I came on here full time,” he recalls.

Their father, Jim McKenny, owned a hydro-seeding company, and was helping his sons two days a week. In 2004, he also moved to J & J full time.

The tight-knit McKennys found they shared a similar attitude toward service and decided that was how they’d differentiate J & J from its competition. “When you call here, you will talk to an owner,” says Joe McKenny. “We tried an answering service, but it just didn’t work for us. So, we’ll always answer your question right away. We’re hands-on, too. We’re out there every day, working with our business to keep a handle on what’s going on.

“Our market is saturated with other operators, but we’ve thrived because of our service. We could grow a lot — we could have 2,000 units if we wanted them — but we feel if we get any bigger on the construction side, we may not be able to maintain the unparalleled service we do now.”

Bo McKenny concurs. “The level of service since the market’s been saturated has increased, but it still needs to be brought up. Everybody needs to be held to the highest standard for responsiveness.”

Staying responsive and effective includes building a strong employee base.

Help wanted

“It’s one of the hardest things about being in business, finding good help,” admits Joe McKenny. “We’ve been through a ton of employees, but have now had a stable crew for more than a year. We treat them with respect and compliment them when things are done especially well. We get calls, letters and cards all the time about our service and professionalism, and pass that on to our employees. We tell them, ‘Hey, you’re out there in our truck. You have to treat it as if it’s your own business,’ and they do.”

Retaining good employees remains a challenge. “One of the things I found is that we had to offer health insurance and other benefits,” says McKenny. “We try to give bonuses occasionally for a really big job, or when our guys bend over backwards to help us out.

“Our fleet also makes a big difference. We keep our vehicles clean and good-looking every day. Our employees are proud to be out there in a good-looking truck. We get calls from people who figure if we keep them that nice, we’ll do a good job on their projects.”

The McKennys make a point to pass on service orientation to new hires. “We go out with new guys the first week, give them a pad and pen, and let them write down their directions,” says McKenny. “We go through and make sure new recruits know what we expect. We show them how we clean out the units. They take over the second week, and we just stand back and watch, to make sure they’re doing it the way we want it done. By the third week, they’re on their own, they’re ready.”

Strategic planning

J & J services a number of high-visibility events in the nation’s capital. Such contracts require a strong trust with security organizations, and J & J’s service record has cemented that bond with the U.S. Capitol Police.

“They know we plan thoroughly and allow for contingencies,” says Joe McKenny. “We take care of all events on the Capitol grounds, including having serviced the funerals of Rosa Parks and Presidents Ronald Reagan and Gerald Ford. We sometimes work with two other larger companies for the big events on the Mall: fireworks displays, the Million-Man March, and for the Preakness Stakes horse race at the Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md. Some of these are 700-900 unit events, and no one business can handle all that.”

For several years, J & J has been using the Internet to locate and bid contracts, and to research suppliers. The McKennys frequently visit eMaryland Marketplace (https://ebidmarketplace.com), a clearinghouse for state contracts, where they’re registered as specialty contractors.

“They send us every bid that comes out for registered contractors in specialty areas,” explains Bo McKenny. “The site generates an e-mail to let you know a new contract is open, and you follow a link to download a Microsoft Word form from their site. We fill it out, then send it back via e-mail.”

Everyday efficiency

Customer service also drives fleet tracking utilizing Global Positioning System technology. “If we get a call, we can prove that the driver was where he should have been, and it lets us know if a call got skipped. Then we can check and find out why.”

Drivers are coached in customer relations, especially with construction contractors. “The first thing we have drivers do is get to know each worksite superintendent and exchange phone numbers. This way, in case there are vehicles blocking the units, they can call directly to have them moved. It makes us more efficient.”

J & J also tries to accommodate individual customer needs. “We’ll pick up a unit if there’s an unplanned work stoppage, or work with them if they need flexible payment schedules.

“This is a service-oriented business,” says Bo McKenny. “We pick up work from large companies every day because quantity has pushed quality out of their grasp. You have to keep everything you’re doing geared toward your customer. If you don’t have the service, you’re not going to have a business.”