Question: We have several local issues that are affecting our company as well as our competitors in the area (primarily disposal at the local wastewater treatment plant). What are your thoughts on working with these other companies on these concerns? How would you go about it? What guidelines do you have in terms of companies meeting together?
Answer: Our mantra while in business for 22 years was, “Work with competitors where possible.” There are situations where a number of portable sanitation operators working together — particularly on local governmental issues — can produce a successful result for all companies involved. Other areas of benefit could be bulk purchasing supplies, referral for nonportable restroom services and working together in the event of natural disasters.
Recognize the common issue
Identify a situation or an issue where multiple company involvement will produce a more effective result than your company trying for a resolution on your own. The mentioned disposal issues is an excellent example where multiple portable restroom companies working together can be more effective in dealing with local officials.
Create a fact sheet
State the issue — in this case, disposal issues. Create a fact sheet that identifies all of the problems and any action that your company has taken to address this issue. Why is the disposal issue so important? What can be done? What has your company tried to do? Most importantly, what can several companies working together do to resolve these issues? This “what’s in it for me?” approach is often effective when contacting competitors.
Contact the competition
The owner of your company should personally contact the owners of competing companies. Have your fact sheet ready to guide the conversation with the competitor. We would suggest a phone call first and then an email only in the event that you cannot reach them.
When leaving a voicemail or an email message, we would suggest merely mentioning that there is an issue that those of us in our market might want to consider working on together to resolve. This lets the fellow owner know that you are not calling to lodge a complaint with the company, but suggesting an area to work together for the benefit of all.
Listen to the competitor’s point of view
If they have additional ideas or suggestions, this is extremely helpful in working on this project. Let them know of other companies that you have contacted and ask for their assistance in contacting other companies. Perhaps they have a good working relationship with a competitor that you have not contacted or with whom you are not as familiar.
We always tried to reinforce the idea of multiple companies working together as a team and never to imply that this was “our idea.”
Schedule a meeting
Communicate with each company that has expressed interest in working together on the common issue and obtain each persons’ contact information. We suggest that the owner attend regardless of their daily involvement or expertise with the issue. It is acceptable for an owner to invite a manager or a key person, but keep in mind the group can become less effective if the group grows too large.
Avoid any hint or suggestion of collusion
Without getting into legal complexities, collusion is a secret agreement between businesses to gain an advantage over their competition. The most common type of collusion is price-fixing.
To avoid any doubt or question as to why a group of competitors would be meeting, several commonsense practices are highly suggested:
1. Meet in a common area and not at one of the companies’ offices. Meeting rooms are often available at a public library, a chamber of commerce, or other public facility. We were involved in a group here in Atlanta working on legislation and we met at the local Small Business Development Office on a university campus.
2. Record minutes of the meeting. List the start and end times as well as the attendees. Read a disclaimer about collusion and include this in the minutes. We used the general disclaimer from the PSAI which was, “Any discussion as to pricing, price structure or any attempts to limit competition will lead to an immediate dismissal of this meeting.” Take notes as to what was covered in the meeting. At the end of the meeting, have each attendee sign the minutes. After the meeting, copy or type the minutes and send them to each attendee.
Develop a work plan
As a result of the meeting, a work plan should be in place. Each PRO should have their responsibility — assemble facts, write letters, meet with officials, etc. Feel free to contact industry associations (PSAI, NAWT, NOWRA, others) for information as it is possible that some of their members may have had similar issues.
Implement the plan
Meet with the appropriate parties and have your issue resolved! Attempt to develop business relationships with these officials if future interaction is needed. For example, natural disasters often require governmental officials to reach out to PROs and you want to make sure that your company is considered as a resource.
Final thoughts
“Friendly competitors” are just that. While we may compete for business, at the end of the day, we respect our competition and there are situations where competitors need to work together. Being aware of the precautions discussed above, PROs can work together to resolve issues that benefit the industry, the community and the environment.
