Talking to owners in the 1-800-SWEEPER network I’m often surprised that not everyone is taking advantage of our cost saving opportunities. The only explanation I’ve come up with is that we are a “Hard Headed Bunch” or the perceived saving are too small. It may also be that savings stated as a percentage just don’t have the same impact. So I did a little exercise to generate some real numbers: …
Although we often focus on the equipment and technology that forms the backbone of our fleets, at the end of the day, the sweeping business is a service oriented endeavor, and the most important part of our businesses is our staff. Without the right people in place, even the most modern and up-to-date equipment is of little use. And while we all have numerous talented and gifted employees on our payrolls, there is one special group of employees that deserve extra thanks: our veterans. To this end, the board of 1-800-SWEEPER has adopted a new initiative to recognize the service of our veteran employees. …
To many contractors, municipal planners, and property managers unfamiliar with our industry’s best practices, a freshly swept street that looks clean is clean. Like many things in life, appearances can be deceiving. Did you know that using the wrong type of sweeper can leave behind up to 50% of the heavy metals and other pollutants attached to dirt particles? What’s more, the pollutants left behind don’t just make for dirty streets—they represent a major threat to the water quality of our nation’s streams, rivers, lakes, and oceans.
The North American Power Sweeping Association (NAPSA) is promoting an upcoming webinar presented by internationally renowned sweeping expert, Roger Sutherland, who will explain how to select the proper sweeping equipment and demonstrate how an effective street sweeping program can significantly reduce pollutants found in storm water. …
Regular readers of our blog may remember a story we ran about the Color Me Rad Race in Boston last summer. Color Me Rad is a nationwide 5K race venue that travels city to city. Runners start the race with a clean white t-shirt, and as they make their way through the course, they are doused with brightly colored cornstarch. By the time runners hit the finish line, they sport a colorful rainbow of colors from head to toe. We ran this story in part because race director Jessica Hall contacted 1-800-SWEEPER for post-race clean up assistance, and in part because she wrote a glowing testimonial that spoke to Immaculate Power Sweeping’s ability to leave the venue looking pristine in just a few short hours after the conclusion of the race.
This month’s edition of North American Sweeper Magazine has a fascinating interview with Immaculate’s Derek Grieco. In this feature story, Derek explains in great detail how his company managed to clean up after the race, and how his conversations with race director Jessica Hall helped to create a new job spec for cleanup efforts for other venues in the Color Me Rad race circuit. …
Sometimes when we finish giving 1-800-SWEEPER presentations, new prospective partners say, “The benefits of being involved in 1-800-SWEEPER sound good…..I like the idea of the cooperative internet marketing, the search engine optimization, the sales leads, and the potential savings I might receive from your buying group, but how do I know if it will really work?” As business owners, we have all been pitched on the “next big thing”……the “no brainer idea” that will help us grow our companies. Sometimes these ideas are home runs….sometimes they are fall short of the mark. At 1-800-SWEEPER, we think some of our best reasons to join come from our actual partners. Randy Hite’s recent testimonial is case in point. …
