Junk haulers use e-tools to market their service

Daily Journal of Commerce (Portland, OR), Nov 7, 2003 by Jessica Swanson

Tom Maryschak's brother was working in the call center at the Junktion - the Vancouver, British Columbia, headquarters of North American junk haulers 1-800-GOT-JUNK? - when a franchising opportunity opened in Portland. He mentioned it to Maryschak, a native Canadian, who was working as a staffing consultant in town and was looking for a way out of a job he hated.

I can start my day with a salesman barking at me about what numbers I need to get or I can put on a blue wig and have a great time, said Maryschak who took on the franchise last summer.

The blue wig is part of a grass-roots marketing campaign that makes the 1-800-GOT-JUNK? franchises so successful. Otherwise known as the wave or the KAMP, short for the kick-ass marketing plan, Maryschak and his haulers, six in all, head out to a busy intersection in their service area, don blue wigs to match their windbreakers, polo shirts and blazing Nissan UD 1400s, and wave signs at passersby. The haulers also drop door hangers, sticky notes and lawn signs when they are not on a haul. Team members hand out blue junk buck coupons and refrigerator magnets every chance they get.

People collect junk, said Maryschak, but they forget they have it until they see us. Repeat business, on the other hand, is keeping the local franchise afloat - some customers have used the local 1-800- GOT-JUNK? up to a dozen times.

The key to success, said Maryschak, is customer service. And the key to customer service? F-U-N.

They've got to be outgoing. My guys are free spirits, he said. Having a staffing background has really helped me identify the right people.

A cold November day takes haulers Eddie Gray and Rami Krayem to a residence, a commercial job and a construction site, a group representative of the Portland franchise's mixed customer base. Mostly the junk is just that, but sometimes there is a real find.

I've found a Web cam and a record player, said Gray, who has worked for the franchise for just a month and who says he likes his job, even the marketing. Often, though, the jobs get messy. Maryschak said one time they arrived at someone's garage to find several months' worth of kitchen garbage.

Even so, the guys, as Maryschak calls them, keep the trucks sparkling and their uniforms clean. On site, they determine the size of the haul, present and confirm pricing up front, and sweep up after the job.

1-800-GOT-JUNK? meets the nuts and bolts of the blue-collar junk- hauling industry head on with the fast-paced geekiness of high technology. Last month, the 14-year-old chain launched its online booking system. A customer can visit http://www.1800gotjunk.com and book online, including choosing a time slot and getting a comprehensive pricing guide. That information is dispatched through JunkNet and then to Maryschak and the haulers, who pick up the information via Web-enabled Nextel cell phones. They can use MapQuest to find the best route, and some franchises have sprung for global positioning systems to stay on track. The call center, which Maryschak recommends for first-time users, works the same way.

Like every salt-worthy dot-commer, Maryschak has set his sights high and has committed to the aggressive and consistent marketing that permeates 1-800-GOT-JUNK? In his fifth month of business, Maryschak has caught up to the previous owner's take and, in the next three to five years, wants to see the infamous $1 million mark that Vancouver, B.C.; Toronto; and San Francisco take in annual revenues. Maryschak's franchise serves a 250,000-person block south of Division Street to Oregon City, and his drivers have hauled as far west as Buxton.

And, in the spirit of aggressive marketing, if you try to order a haul online in a nonfranchised area, 1-800-GOT-JUNK? doesn't refer you to Maryschak's operation. Instead, they will kindly recommend you look into becoming a franchisee.