Featured below is the best of Take 5, a print feature asking PROs about their top five issues. Here are five common issues affecting portable sanitarians in 2024:
Tommy McGraw, owner of McGraw Event Pros in Charleston, North Carolina, featured in February 2024, McGraw Event Pros Enjoys Fast Growth Serving the Southeast
1. SELECTING THE RIGHT EQUIPMENT FOR THE JOB
McGraw doesn’t believe in a one-size-fits-all equipment philosophy and likes to order a range of products from different suppliers to assess their pros and cons.
“All of the manufacturers have great products and they all have things that they could probably improve on if they’re used in a particular situation,” he says. “I might like a restroom trailer design, but if I find that the waste tank is smaller on those units, I will use them for VIP service at an event, instead of general admission. We also use particular portable restroom manufacturers for construction. We like to try these different products, so that we can determine who’s going to be our best partner for a particular application and clientele moving forward.”
One of McGraw’s favorite pieces of equipment is an AVANT 528 articulating loader.
“A skid-steer doesn’t maneuver in the most efficient manner,” he says. “It also has tracks that tear up people’s grass. The AVANT 528 has turf tires and can turn in extremely tight spaces. We don’t have to drive our trucks and trailers through fields to serve a festival anymore. We park in a safe location and then use only one guy and that loader to move 50 or 60 toilets. It’s saved us a ton of time and a ton of muscle.”
2. HIRING THE RIGHT PEOPLE
McGraw credits sales manager Bridget Lundberg for helping him understand the market opportunities in the area.
“She explained the potential for a company founded on excellent service,” he says. “We don’t look at ourselves as being in the restroom business, we’re in the hospitality industry.”
In the earliest days of the company, McGraw delivered restrooms and provided service, but he soon stepped back and now employs five drivers. “I’m never going to ask any of my people to do something that I would not do or have not done,” he says. “Even now, if I get a call at midnight, I’m the one who will get in the truck to follow up.”
Most of the company’s employees are referrals. McGraw believes in paying competitive salaries, but also works to ensure employees feel valued. That begins with giving them the training and tools they need to be successful.
“Having a solid employee team behind me has allowed me to focus on new sales ideas, brainstorm new opportunities and work with our equipment manufacturers to move the business forward,” McGraw says.
Mitzi Autry, owner of Mitzi Autry’s Portable Toilets in Owensboro, Kentucky, featured in April 2024, A Woman in Public Sanitation Learns Mechanical and Social Media Skills to Succeed
3. LAUNCHING RESTROOM TRAILER SERVICE
Autry always wanted to add restroom trailers to her inventory but wasn’t sure her small farm community would go for it. She finally took the leap anyway and bought a used unit. But it turned out the timing was not the best.
“That was in February 2020,” she says. “And in March the world shut down. I was so proud to get it and had made some videos and put it out there on social media. I was devastated.”
But someone saw her video and she got her first job, which ended up paying for the trailer. “I took it to Lowe’s,” she says. “They kept it for a very long time to protect their employees. They were one of the few places open because they were considered essential. It was just luck, luck, luck.”
After the pandemic she discovered there really was a need in her community for luxury trailers and now has three four-stall units from A Restroom Trailer Co.
4. ADDING SEPTIC AND GREASE SERVICES
“If you’re going to be in the waste business, septic and portable toilets go hand in hand,” Autry says. In 2023 she bought a 2024 Mack truck built out by Iron-Vac with a 2,000-gallon aluminum tank and Jurop pump.
So far, Autry is the only one who handles the truck. “It’s such an expensive piece of equipment, I’m not ready to let other people drive it,” she says. “So it’s been me and my husband trying to build that part of our business.” Autry remarried in 2022 and is now educating her husband, Darin Tapp, on the industry.
She gave the septic company a different name for maximum flexibility. “If I ever want to separate the businesses, it already has its own name, its own phone number.”
Stacey Nelson, owner of Drop Zone Septic & Portables in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, featured in September 2024, TV Game Show Puts Drop Zone Septic and Portables On the Map | PRO Monthly
5. CUSTOMERS PREFER LIGHTED RESTROOMS
As daylight fades on a work site or outdoor party, visitors are pleasantly surprised when stepping into a Drop Zone restroom and triggering its overhead light. Nelson installs 40- to 45-lumen motion-activated solar lights like the J-Light from J&J Portable Sanitation Products in each unit, and makes sure his customers know about it.
“Customers have no problem paying a little extra for those lights,” Nelson says. “Most people only use a portable toilet two or three times a year and don’t really know their interiors, especially at night. They’re more comfortable when they can see everything. The light won’t turn off until there’s no motion for 45 seconds.”
