Ever since Mitchell Weiner left college in the late 1970s, he was confident he was meant to work in the family business. Now the CEO of Mr. John/Russell Reid in Keasbey, New Jersey, Weiner was recently honored with the Andy Gump Award, the most prestigious honor awarded by the Portable Sanitation Association International (PSAI).
Weiner believes his late father, Morton, who founded Mr. John in 1964, would be thrilled. “He’d be very pleased,” says Weiner, 58. “(His family) followed through and made something great out of what he started. I believe we enjoy a fantastic reputation.”
Weiner now leads the $42 million company with “a well-developed staff of managers,” including his brother Gary (president) and former brother-in-law David Dam (executive vice president). Among the company’s 250 employees are other family members, including Weiner’s daughter Rebekah Weiner, director of marketing.
“It’s the best thing in the world,” raves Weiner of working with his family.
The company Morton founded serves most of New Jersey, all of New York City and portions of neighboring Pennsylvania and Delaware – with 10,000 portable restrooms. It also services the liquid waste industry through its 1981 acquisition of Russell Reid. Over the years, the company acquired 24 other portable restroom and septic tank cleaning companies, creating a monolithic entity in the portable sanitation industry.
“(When) we bought the Russell Reid business in 1981 … we got two trucks and a little metal box full of index cards (the accounts file),” recalls Weiner. “We leveraged that business by buying some competitors that were ready to be done. There was a significant shift in regulations in the early ‘80s; the old-timers couldn’t see themselves changing the way they did business.”
The septic division “adds some diversity to our mix … In the portable toilet business, most every job is ending, so it needs to be replaced with a new one. In the wastewater pumping business, there is a lot of repeat business or work that gets scheduled with some regularity,” says Weiner. “It helps to even out the seasonality of the toilet business.”
In 2013, the company celebrated its 50th anniversary, another milestone that would have made Morton proud.
“The reason that this business survived and thrived,” says Weiner, “is we tried to make good investments and provide what I call the ‘value proposition’ to our customers. That is, to provide fair pricing for value delivered.”
Joining the family business
Ever since he was little, Weiner was, in one way or another, involved in the family business. “As a kid, I used to ride the routes with my father … this is where I spent my youth,” says Weiner, who has a bachelor’s degree in marketing and finance.
During college, he drove service and delivery trucks, fostering a well-rounded knowledge of the business. “When I got started, this was a small business; there was a world of opportunity,” he recalls. “The first job that my dad gave me was (collections).
“Behind every bill that’s not paid is a story … if you do this for a while, you’ll learn how the business works. It’s very illuminating.
“There was no such thing as personal computers. It was a big deal to have an IBM Selectric (typewriter).” But he notes that Mr. John was an early adopter of technologies, such as fax machines.
“Technology has helped us organize and present the information,” he says. “The amount of slack in all transactions has decreased because of increased communications.”
Mr. John/Russell Reid’s reach is vast, and competition is everywhere, but Weiner notes that their location has been a big part of their longevity.
“We’re located between New York City and Philadelphia,” he says. “In between those two cities is a sprawling combination of manufacturing, offices, higher education, courts, transportation … with very complex infrastructure. We’ve accumulated experience and have developed people who can meet the crazy challenges.”
The company’s half-century of experience certainly can meet those challenges, but staying on top isn’t just about pricing. “Pricing isn’t what gives us the edge,” says Weiner. “The success of the company is built on our ability to take on large complex projects and follow through on our promises.”
Improving online presence
In a rapidly changing society, with more tech savvy customers, Mr. John/Russell Reid has made what Weiner calls a “significant investment” in the company’s Internet presence.
“We (recently) launched our newest version of the Mr. John website,” says Weiner, noting that the company decided to spend the extra money to hire experts to create that presence.
“It’s our belief that having a great web presence will be essential to having a sustainable business model,” Weiner says. “People who search the Internet (for portable restrooms) are either competitors seeing what you have or people who are ready to buy.
“The first thing that is important is coming up in the organic search in your neighborhood,” he adds. “The next thing that’s important is for them to easily find what they’re looking for.” To that end, investing a fair amount of time, effort and money on search engine optimization (SEO) has been worth it, Weiner believes.
One thing Mr. John does not include on its website, however, are prices. “That’s a raging internal debate,” he notes. “The reason we’ve been reluctant to do it (is) there’s really no typical situation. The majority of the jobs that we get contracted … have specific time windows, service windows … conditions that might require changes in pricing.
“We like to offer the customers what I call a ‘consultative experience;’ by asking about the event and the sort of experience they want their customers to have, we can provide them with some alternatives.”
Earned accolades
The Andy Gump Award has been around for more than 20 years, and receiving it is a noteworthy achievement. The M.Z. “Andy” Gump Award was originally developed and sponsored by Andy Gump Inc., in Santa Clarita, California. Barry Gump, a second-generation industry veteran, made the presentation beginning in 1993 to honor his father, Andy Gump, a pioneer in the portable restroom business who began his venture building wood units in his garage in 1956.
Weiner was nominated this year for the Andy Gump Award by his brother, Gary. “He sought to have me recognized by my peers.
“I was surprised and humbled,” Weiner adds. “Like most people, you put your head down and do your work. I never really expected to be recognized for what I do.”
It’s a particularly special honor because Mr. John/Russell Reid has never been so honored by the PSAI.
“This is an unusual industry; there’s an awful lot of operators across the company, and they’re all really hardworking and doing their best,” Weiner says. “Most of us exist in what I call our ‘silos.’”
But as he approaches his fourth decade in the industry, Weiner admits personal awards are nice, but corporate longevity and success is always about something much bigger than just one person; it’s about enriching one’s company and pleasing one’s customers.
“We always endeavor to hire good people, offer good jobs and offer the value proposition to customers,” he says. “Those simple things create longevity.”
