1-800-GOT-JUNK?

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Coordinates: 49°15′58.50″N 123°05′03.66″W / 49.2662500°N 123.0843500°W / 49.2662500; -123.0843500

1-800-GOT-JUNK?
Type Private Company
Industry Junk Removal
Founded In 1989 in Vancouver, British Columbia
Headquarters Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Number of locations 162
Key people Brian Scudamore, CEO
Founder and CEO
Products Junk Removal Services
Website www.1800gotjunk.com

1-800-GOT-JUNK? is an international junk removal company with 162 franchises serving residential and commercial clients in the United States, Canada, and Australia. On average, the company diverts from the landfill over 60% of the items it picks up,[1] and franchise partners donate goods and services to community and charity organizations.[2]

History

1-800-GOT-JUNK? was founded in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1989 by current CEO Brian Scudamore.[3] After seeing a junk hauling truck in front of him at a McDonald's drive-thru, Scudamore—then 18—purchased a used pickup truck for $700 and came up with the name The Rubbish Boys and the slogan "We'll stash your trash in a flash."[4]

As the business grew, Scudamore began to hire other students to handle the workload and started a summer student franchise program. The crews would "junk patrol" alleys looking for junk that the city haulers wouldn't take away.[5]

In 1993, a year and a half short of graduation, Scudamore quit college to concentrate on his business full time, formally incorporating the company as The Rubbish Boys Disposal Service Inc.[6][7]

Scudamore changed the company name in 1998 to 1-800-GOT-JUNK?. In 1999, 1-800-GOT-JUNK? began franchising, starting with locations in Toronto and Portland, Oregon.[8] The company grew to 270 locations by 2007. As of 2013, there are 162 locations throughout the United States, Canada and Australia. In the spring of 2005, 1-800-GOT-JUNK? expanded into Australia with the opening of a corporate-owned franchise in Sydney.[9] In Australia, the company is known as 1800-GOT-JUNK? without the first hyphen, to match toll-free numbers in Australia.

In 2011, Erik Church was hired as the company's Chief Operating Officer.[10] Church is the former president of EF Education Canada, a privately held education company.[11]

Brian Scudamore has gone on to launch two other franchised companies: WOW 1 DAY Painting--a company that paints homes and businesses in a day--and You Move Me, a local moving company.[12]

Environmental Strategies

The company keeps over 60% of collected items out of the landfill by recycling and donating,[13] and aims to increase that to 75% by 2015.[14] 1-800-GOT-JUNK? performs bi-annual audits of their environmental practices.[15][16] Franchisees have access to a report to track their landfill diversion.

Technology

1-800-GOT-JUNK? uses a scheduling and booking engine called JunkNet.[17] Customer calls are routed through a central call center based at the company headquarters in Vancouver and a second location in Toronto.

Many franchisees now use smartphones and tablets to access their schedules remotely. 1-800-GOT-JUNK? released a consumer-based mobile booking site in 2012 and a mobile app in 2013 for franchisees and their employees to manage operations.[18][19]

Brand Awareness

1-800-GOT-JUNK? built brand awareness through public relations and today works with media and production companies on reality TV shows. In 2011, Brian Scudamore was featured on ''Undercover Boss Canada[20] and staff members won money for charity on the first season of Global Television’s Canada Sings.[21] 1-800-GOT-JUNK? is also known for its regular appearances on the A&E show Hoarders.[22][23]

1-800-GOT-JUNK? advertises on telephone poles, mailboxes, doors or in other publicly visible places.[24] They park their large trucks in prominent locations to advertise their business.[25]

In 2006, Brian Scudamore was quoted on 10,000 Starbucks cups as part of their ‘As I See It’ program.[26]

1-800-GOT-JUNK? keeps a regular blog[27] to share consumer tips.[28]

Recognition

1-800-GOT-JUNK? is often recognized for its culture, staff engagement, employment brand and sustainability.[29] Among other accolades, the company has recently earned a place on Entrepreneur Magazine’s ‘Top 500 Franchises’,[30] as well as Franchise Business Review’s Franchisee Satisfaction Awards List.[31] They've also been recognized as a ‘Best Company to Work For in Canada’[32] and a ‘Most Engaged Workplace.’[33]

Company culture and values

The company is known for its ‘work hard, play hard’ culture and family-like atmosphere.[34] The headquarters (aka ‘The Junktion’) regularly offers informative tours of the office to share best practices with interested parties.[35] Transparency is a major tenet of the company culture. There are no private offices at the Junktion and company metrics and performance are shared regularly with staff at monthly meetings and daily, companywide Huddles.[36][37]

Based on their philosophy “It’s All About People,” 1-800-GOT-JUNK?’s hiring practices revolve around four core values: Passion, Integrity, Professionalism and Empathy (PIPE).[38] Because the philosophy often refers to putting the right employees in the right positions, they are known to be “slow to hire, quick to fire.”[39]

Customer service

1-800-GOT-JUNK? emphasizes customer service and evaluates its level of success using the Net Promoter Score system.[40] The company claimed a score of 80 in 2012.[41]

References

  1. ↑ Johnson, Jim. "Junk removal company posts 60% landfill diversion rate". Waste & Recycling News. Retrieved 1 November 2013. 
  2. ↑ "Yard Sale for the Cure". CP24. Retrieved 1 November 2013. 
  3. ↑ Allen, Scott. "Entrepreneur Success Story: Brian Scudamore of 1-800-GOT-JUNK?". Archived from the original on 05 September 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-30. 
  4. ↑ Stoller, Gary. "Rubbish Boy turned junk into his career". USA Today. Retrieved 1 November 2013. 
  5. ↑ Villano, Matt (2006-05-01). "A Cache of Cash Cleaning Up Other People's Trash". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-04-18. 
  6. ↑ "Six ideas that made $100 million". Yahoo! Finance. Retrieved 1 November 2013. 
  7. ↑ "How I did it: Brian Scudamore". Business in Vancouver. Retrieved 1 November 2013. 
  8. ↑ "1-800-GOT-JUNK Franchise Review - 1-800-GOT-JUNK Franchises For Sale". Businessmart.com. Archived from the original on 08 July 2011. Retrieved 2011-06-13. 
  9. ↑ Blaskovich, Sarah. "Success stories - Brian Scudamore". Success. Retrieved 1 November 2013. 
  10. ↑ "The Frequent Flyer: Erik Church". Go Far. Retrieved 1 November 2013. 
  11. ↑ Parry, Malcolm. "Franchisees moved by Scudamore's latest venture". Canada.com. Retrieved 1 November 2013. 
  12. ↑ Wanless, Tony. "Financial Post". Retrieved 27 December 2013. 
  13. ↑ "Junk Salvaging Gets Environmental Audit". Greenandsave.com. Retrieved 1 November 2013. 
  14. ↑ "1-800-GOT-JUNK Goes International". ABC Nightline. Retrieved 1 November 2013. 
  15. ↑ "How I did it: Brian Scudamore". Business in Vancouver. Retrieved 1 November 2013. 
  16. ↑ "Our honored small businesses - Where are they now?". Winning Workplaces. Retrieved 1 November 2013. 
  17. ↑ Dubowski, Stefan; Anthes, Gary. "From the detritus that is one company". IT World Canada. Retrieved 1 November 2013. 
  18. ↑ Levy Sarfin, Rachel. "1-800-GOT-JUNK? rolls out mobile app for franchise partners". IT in Canada. Retrieved 1 November 2013. 
  19. ↑ "1-800-GOT-JUNK now has an app". Computer Dealer News. Retrieved 1 November 2013. 
  20. ↑ "Undercover Analysis | Episode #4: Got-Junk Boss Brian Scudamore". Financial Post. Retrieved 1 November 2013. 
  21. ↑ Gee, Dana. "Notes are junk in name only?". Canada.com. Retrieved 1 November 2013. 
  22. ↑ Buckman, Adam. "Inside the amazing world of A&E's Hoarders". TVhowl.com. Retrieved 1 November 2013. 
  23. ↑ "Hoarders". A&E. Retrieved 1 November 2013. 
  24. ↑ "1-800-GOT-JUNK? LLC". Answers.com. Retrieved 1 November 2013. 
  25. ↑ Smith, Devlin. "Got Junk?". Entrepreneur Magazine. Retrieved 1 November 2013. 
  26. ↑ Scudamore, Brian. "Make believe magic: Engaging your top talent". Profit Magazine. Retrieved 1 November 2013. 
  27. ↑ "Not Another Junky Blog". 1-800-GOT-JUNK?. Retrieved 1 November 2013. 
  28. ↑ Meerman Scott, David. "Not another junky blog". Web Ink Now. Retrieved 1 November 2013. 
  29. ↑ "50 most engaged workplaces 2012". Achievers. Retrieved 1 November 2013. 
  30. ↑ "2013 Franchise 500 Rankings". Entrepreneur Magazine. Retrieved 1 November 2013. 
  31. ↑ "2013 Franchisee Satisfaction Awards Top 50 Franchises". Franchise Business Review. Retrieved 4 November 2013. 
  32. ↑ Wahl, Andrew; Castaldo, Joe; Olijnyk, Zena; Pooley, Erin; Jezovit, Andrea. "Best Workplaces '07". Canadian Business. Retrieved 1 November 2013. 
  33. ↑ "The 50 most engaged workplaces in Canada". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 1 November 2013. 
  34. ↑ "Purpose Beyond Profit: Brian Scudamore’s Big Hairy Audacious Goal". Institute B. Retrieved 1 November 2013. 
  35. ↑ "Business Expert Q&A". Make It Business Magazine. Retrieved 1 November 2013. 
  36. ↑ Scudamore, Brian. "Three business practices that turned 1-800-GOT-JUNK into a $105 million business". Technori. Retrieved 1 November 2013. 
  37. ↑ Clark, Cynthia. "Creating Lasting Employee Engagement". 1to1 Media. Retrieved 1 November 2013. 
  38. ↑ Scudamore, Brian. "Three business practices that turned 1-800-GOT-JUNK into a $105 million business". Technori. Retrieved 1 November 2013. 
  39. ↑ Levine, Leslie. "Got Junk? Staffing & HR". All Business. Retrieved 1 November 2013. 
  40. ↑ D'Antonio, Mila. "1-800-GOT-JUNK? drives its customer experience forward". 1to1 Media. Retrieved 1 November 2013. 
  41. ↑ "1-800-GOT-JUNK? case study". Apptivo. Retrieved 1 November 2013. 

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