If you suffer from disposaphobia, the fear of getting rid of things, Doug Martin of West Windsor can help you. His new business, 1-800-GOT-JUNK?, is assisting people with the daunting task of de-cluttering their lives without having to haul stuff to the curb by themselves.
Martin’s junk removal business takes away used items, old furniture, or even yard debris to give the owners back the space in their homes. He recycles and donates whatever he can and only dumps the stuff that nobody wants.
Martin’s company involves his whole family. His wife Terri works with recruiting, interviewing, and advertising. His children Rachel, 17, and Scott, 16, have worked many of the jobs. Both are students at High School North, Rachel is a senior and Scott is a sophomore.
Born in Bayonne, Martin moved to Syosset, Long Island, in New York when he was eight. He attended the University of Denver and graduated from Rider College with degree in finance and accounting.
During his years in magazine publishing, he owned his own publications and flew more than 300,”000 miles a year. When his last company was acquired by Citibank and he was offered the chance to move to Atlanta, he decided to open his own business. He knew he enjoyed being an entrepreneur so he looked into many types of business.
“When this company came along, I was able to validate the model. It was a service business with a difference, and had a history of success and financial awards,” says Martin.
Martin’s franchise agreement includes close to 25 percent of the state in population including West Windsor, Plainsboro, Cranbury, and Red Bank. “One of the best parts of the business is that we have a call center in Vancouver,” Martin says. “When someone calls they get someone who thoroughly explains the service and most of the pre-work.”
“Every job begins as an estimate and close to 90 percent of estimates turn into jobs,” Martin says. The fact that the company prides itself on friendly, energetic, and uniformed drivers, ontime service, and a clean shiny truck, probably helps.
“We will not take everything,” says Martin. “We recently declined to take designer gowns as they can’t go to Goodwill.” He advised the client to take them to a consignment shop. He told people with a dead deer on their property to call animal control. “It’s a shame but we take a lot of couches and sofas,” Martin says. “If people have a pet in the house Salvation Army won’t take it.”
Things that Martin’s business has picked up include patio furniture less than two months old, exercise equipment, cabinets, shelving, miscellaneous household items, windows, dining room tables, end tables, an electric organ, and a radio cabinet.
Westin Hotel in Plainsboro had five tons of unused carpet still on the roll in their West Windsor storage facility. Habitat for Humanity and Goodwill had no space in their warehouse and Martin had to take it to the dump. “It was sad that there are people who could have used it and we couldn’t do anything with it,” says Martin, who does not store picked-up items to resell or to donate at a later date.
Half of Martin’s employees are students at schools including Lehigh University, College of New Jersey, Florida Southern, and St. Joseph’s. Martin is busy hiring, training, recruiting, and training. “Every day I worry that I’ll have a 10-truck job in the morning and nobody will show up,” he says.
The blue wave, the trademark of the company, is performed several times a day for product recognition. The employees assemble in an area, don blue curly wigs, smile, and wave to people. People see them having a good time and usually smile and wave back.
“Unlike Comcast, Verizon, or even the Salvation Army, we give a two-hour window and always call 15 minutes before arriving,” says Martin. “This allows flexibility and the person is not waiting at home all day.” Estimates are free and the minimum job costs $110 to cover the costs of the trip, as well as dumping or recycling costs.
“Even if we only work in a three foot area, we sweep as much as we can,” says Martin. “People don’t expect the entire garage to be swept or vacuumed.”
“I like to be able to wow a customer,” he says. For information visit www.1800gotjunk.com.
