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W EEKLY EDITION AUGUST 14, 2019 Tips for Making Money in the Portable Sanitation and Rental Business By Karleen Kos, PSAI Executive Director 4. Call before you service or pick up . In the past few years , it has become increasingly common for service - based businesses to call ahead when making a delivery or conducting service. This call ensures the customer is ready for the service when the driver arrives. It feels like a courtesy to them, but it also saves you time and money. 5. Charge if you spend time waiting around . No matter what you do, there will be situations where something holds you up. Situations like units being unavailable, equipment having to be moved, locked gates, and a million other things ca n make your day longer than expected. It's okay to respect a route sheet that specifies a customer doesn't want you to call ahead. The onus is on the customer to be ready for your driver's arrival either way. Make sure your contract and pre - rental consulta tion clearly state driver arrival times and the fee applied if the driver is unable to access the units within x minutes of arrival. Inventory Tips 1. Tag your inventory . Each piece of equipment should have a unique identifier on it. Companies have used various methods for doing this, including using a Dremel - like tool to carve a number into an inconspicuous place on the body of the unit. Doing this allows you to document the full history of any unit, to log its exact whereabouts, and to identify it if it is stolen and decals are removed. 2. Simplify . Back when Southwest Airlines was first becoming "a thing" in cost - conscious travel, business schools studied how SWA kept their costs low. One thing they did that was very different from their competitors is th ey flew only Boeing 737s. This difference meant lower training expenses for mechanics and pilots. It reduced the chances of human error. It also meant SWA had to stock fewer parts and experienced less variation — hence, lower associated costs — in what wa s needed in hangers, tool kits, and jetways. You get the point. It is common in the portable sanitation industry, especially when companies are first starting, to have inventories of used units from various manufacturers. There's nothing wrong with this; it gives you a chance to see what you like and what works. However, the more you can simplify your inventory over time, the easier and cheaper it will be to maintain it, transport it, and sell it. P AGE 10 CONTINUED ON PAGE 1 1