This is my most personal video yet. I just don't know if i can do this.
I've been reading PRO — Portable Restroom Operator — for the last three years.
This is what I've learned.
When i moved into my house three years ago, the previous owner had a subscription to
Pumper, the magazine dedicated to the liquid waste industry. I kept this one
sealed —better for the resale value. I went to the parent company's website
to renew the subscription, and when i clicked to renew the subscription, i saw Municipal
Sewer and Water and a magazine all about sewer cleaning, but my heart was truly captured by PRO.
It gets sent to me every single month and it's a highlight.
And i have learned a few big lessons in reading this thing.
There's always a cover story that promotes a small business
of portable restroom operators. This time, it's some people uh in Detroit who specialize
in really high-end portable toilets that you might see at a wedding or another outdoor venue.
But i've learned way more than just the particulars of every issue.
"And would you say you've even made some friends? I guess we should uh introduce you
to the folks out there. "Oh come on, little old me?"
Since march of 2020, i started seeing this little guy around more and more.
"And just like so many things in 2020,
i'm here to stay!" Let's do this.
Lesson number one: gear matters. I live in a creative landscape where
it is trendy to fixate only on storytelling. People say ah the gear it doesn't matter.
"Gear doesn't matter." There's a lot of truth in this,
but look through editions of PRO and you'll find lots of ads for vacuum pumps
and a lot of interest in trucks. I came to think of porta-potties not as potties
anymore, but the way that portable restroom operators do, as sort of these business boxes.
Yet even here, technology can provide a competitive advantage.
"That is so true, big Phil, whether they're business owners or content miners like you."
?Content miners? That's a little insulting. "You're out there creating conten,t and i'm
out there storing content. We basically have the same job."
Okay, so anyway, I learned that every industry has its own amazing camera or microphone or hot
new thing that people can fixate on, and sometimes it's a problem, but sometimes
it really makes a difference. Lesson number two:
every job is a customer service job. Let's go back to those business boxes.
The people who run restrooms are obsessed with customer service, because even though
they want to have the right gear, they know that basically they have a commodity business,
and customer service is what makes the difference. Look at this quote from one owner: "'We want to be
the only number a customer has to call when setting up a new job.' Drennan says. 'If we
don't have something, we'll third party it.'" This guy will buy ice for his customers from,
like, 7-11 just to keep them happy. And that is a big deal. Oh whoa.
"That totally makes sense to me." I haven't seen you before.
"He's like one of the biggest porta potties in the world right now..."
"It's great to meet you." "We've met...we used
to work at the same job site." "No no no, totally, I remember that. Um,
anyway, don't let me interrupt you your point, it seemed really interesting."
Um, anyway, I was gonna say that we're all kind of becoming like business boxes now,
we're all kind of becoming commodities thanks to globalization and technology. Replaceable unless
we differentiate and really serve the customer. Is that dumb, i feel like i'm being pretentious?
"Oh I for one think it's a really cool point—" I know, sorry, i just want to know what he thinks.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I had to answer this email. I guess I got the job as a Porta Potty at
SpaceX. That's kind of cool." "I think you stand out."
Oh really, like how? Glasses?
Yeah, i'm unique.
Check this out this article is from a previous edition of PRO. It's all about how Mike Drenna
helped provide power to a trailer park during a big power outage in February of this year.
When i started reading PRO, I'm gonna be honest, the only thing I knew about Porta Potties was that
they like to use weird puns a lot of the time. But now I know that they are these small
businesses that are dedicated to serving their customers, their employees,
and their communities in order to keep going. I am sure they joke about the weirdness of their
job when they're not being profiled in a magazine, but here's the thing: no matter what your job is,
work becomes work after a while. It's the relationships that make the difference.
"At the end of the day it's about what you learn, the truth of what you create, and the relationship
that you build. That's success. Not going to space or hanging out with George Clooney."
"You got to serve George Clooney?" "Oh no no no, this was just purely
social. I love Lake Como." "I live next to a puddle."
"And success, it'll eventually come if you just have those things you talked about:
a unique advantage and a focus on what people really want—"
Videos about Porta Potties yeah...yeah. "I know that you'll succeed."
He's gone. "Do you think he's right big Phil?"
I don't know but, if he's not my life is going down
the toilet! LAUGHTER. TONALLY,
IMAGINE A GRAPH WHERE THE LINE PROGRESSES FROM "MANIC JOY" TO "MIRTHLESS RESIGNATION."