When it comes to hiring staff, Doug Gredvig, owner of Area Portable Services in Sacramento, California, knows what he needs: The “it” factor.

And his company sales manager, Jason Klapper, “has it, whatever ‘it’ is,” Gredvig says.

“He has the right balance of patience and persistence. He doesn’t come off as a used-car salesperson in approach,” Gredvig says. “Rather he builds long-term relationships with customers based on trust, knowledge, and going the extra mile.”

Klapper, 45, has worked in the waste management industry for more than 20 years — primarily working with dumpster rentals for other companies. After being stationed in California while serving in the Air Force, Klapper returned home to Wisconsin and worked for a family-owned company.

But when he had enough of the Midwest’s harsh winters, Klapper returned to California and was fortunate to reconnect with his old friend Gredvig and join Area Portable Services, which Gredvig founded 12 years ago.

Shifting Gears

In the past, Klapper and Gredvig had been in contact through their careers. “Out of the blue, about a year ago, he asked me to come work for him,” Klapper says.

While Klapper has only been at the company for about a year and a half, Gredvig is impressed with what he’s done, especially his willingness to shift gears as needed.

“Jason is very versatile,” Gredvig says. “One minute he could be working with an event planner on an upcoming wedding, booking an upscale restroom trailer, and the next be on a job site with his hard hat and safety vest checking in with his superintendents.”

Now, as sales manager, Klapper works to generate leads and new contacts for the company, which Klapper says is one of the largest independent contractors in the area.

Through his job in waste management, Klapper had a lot of ties to the construction industry. “I want to continue to build the construction side of [the business],” he says.

But he was also responsible for bringing the company one of its largest special events contracts. The California Capital Airshow, a massive three-day event, brings around 75,000 attendees to Sacramento’s Mather Airport. “Last year was the first [time we won the contract],” Klapper says. “It gives us a chance to really test our capabilities; it was a good boost.”

Area Portable Services provided five restroom trailers and about 200 units to last year’s event, in addition to having several attendants on site.

Klapper’s ability to juggle his skills is another reason Gredvig feels he is worthy of note. “Jason has great knowledge and is skilled in both operations and sales, which works nicely in our organization. It is common to have these two departments butt heads in terms of workflow and how work gets done, but Jason eliminates that,” he says.

And Klapper credits his success to not being afraid to get out on the road, see the units and talk with people. “I spend a good share of my time out in the field — I ask questions, I inspect the units,” he says.

While most companies can say they pride themselves on customer service and unit cleanliness, Klapper knows that’s not just talk.

Price may always come into play, but in a large area with many competitors, Klapper knows that the intangibles of customer service and the tangibles of cleanliness do matter — that, along with relationship building and creating value are key tenets of his job.

“Those go a long way.”

This is the first in a new series profiling portable restroom technicians. Periodically www.promonthly.com will feature profiles about outstanding technicians.