Issue link: http://psai.uberflip.com/i/1299190
ASSOCIATIONINSIGHT Portable Sanitation Association International News BIWEEKLY EDITION OCTOBER 14, 2020 Page 15 5. Use problems raised by customers as an opportunity to shine. Rather than view it as a headache, approach fixing their problem as a chance to show that you really do care about their job sites. This is a great way to differentiate your company from competitors to show them that you are different than most people because most people run from problems. But if you'll embrace it as an opportunity to make a profit, really shine, and convey an honest sense of integrity and follow up, that is critical. 6. Follow up again once the job's completed. Always call your customer, and ask them, "What did we do that was good?" You want to toot your own horn. So if they praise you, ask for a letter of recommendation. If they have complaints, explore them and see what you can do to make the customer happy. If the feedback is particularly insightful, consider making changes to how you do things. Quality Assurance and Hand Wash Stations Since COVID-19 entered our lives, hand washing stations have become more important than ever for portable sanitation companies. At the roundtable, David Croft, operations manager at Mr. John of Pittsburgh, had some great tips for ensuring hand wash units are always up to par. 1. Deal with leaks and equipment malfunctions before you place equipment in the field. Mr. John's handles this by filling hand wash units with water as soon as they are returned to the yard. That way you have some time to see whether there is a slow leak or not. Once you do a quick fill, check all the moving parts and items on the sink to make sure they are working and seal properly. It's very important to really know your parts and how the hand wash unit functions so you can spot problems and fix them before returning them to inventory. David says, "At one point we usually had just a repairman who did those things, but today we have had everyone in the shop really get involved with how the equipment works. For us, it is important to make sure that at any point, all of our team knows what to look for and what to do." 2. When prepping the hand wash stations in the yard, do a full scrub with soaps and approved disinfectant on all the major touch points to clean the unit. This has always been important, but it especially critical since COVID-19. Mr. John transports hand wash units with the tank ¾ full of clean water and paper towels in the dispensers. To avoid having the paper blow out of the vehicle when being moved, Mr. John uses a 60-gallon bag over top of the unit. This contains the paper and keeps the unit clean on the road. 3. Make sure your trucks are stocked with parts that are likely to malfunction in the field. Sometimes things break during transport, and your technician needs to be able to make a fix at delivery. 4. If possible, segregate your truck so equipment for servicing toilets is on one side and equipment for servicing sinks is on the other. At Mr. John, "We wanted to make it a point to really reserve the passenger side for sinks only, just to kind of keep that consistent." Segregating equipment ensures a more sanitary service. Ensuring Quality in the Field—Part I: QC for Sinks…continued from page 2 David Croft Continued on page 18