In theory, running a dumpster rental company isn't that complicated. You get the containers out, they come back in again, you empty them, rinse and repeat, right?
In reality, there's much more going on than you might realise or have realized prior to getting into the sector. There's pricing, scheduling, compliance training, driver coordination, and your ability to handle the unpredictable nature that can come with this type of business.
And if you're struggling to control the backend, then it's highly likely that over time, issues have been building, and before you know it, they'll come to a head. Because honestly, those huge problems don't appear from nowhere; they accumulate. It's a small accounting error here, a little inefficiency there, and over time these snowball until margins are squeezed a bit too much and the company is just harder to run.
So how do you rectify it? You start by understanding some of the more common mistakes businesses make so you can avoid them and build processes that help you eliminate excess risk.
Mistake 1: Not Pricing Rentals Based on Real Operating Costs
A lot of dumpster rental companies base their pricing on what their competitors are pricing at, or on an old sheet that hasn't been reviewed in many years.
The issue with this is that landfill charges change, fuel costs rise, utility bills increase, routes get longer, technology and equipment get more expensive, and before you know it, the prices you're charging don't accurately reflect operating costs.
Your pricing needs to consider things like route distance, average tipping weights, driver time, fuel maintenance, administrative costs, and unbillable miles. Because if you're not, then you're going to struggle to make a profit or even break even, or worse.
Mistake 2: Relying on Paper or Static Spreadsheets for Scheduling
The truth is, dumpster rental schedules rarely stay static. They change customers' schedules, job sites change, trucks go down, and drivers get delayed. And when your schedules live only on paper or whiteboards in the office, things can get complicated fast.
You need to make all changes manually, and the margin for error here is huge. Things get missed, overlooked, or incorrectly logged, and before you know it's absolute chaos.
And this isn't to say the team in charge isn't capable, just that the more times you manually change something, the easier it is for things to get diluted or missed. App-basedd scheduling removes this from the picture. It creates a live and accurate version of the day, allowing dispatch and drivers to work together seamlessly. You can see routes update in real time, keep instructions consistent, and implement changes or updates without having to call each person involved separately. Dumpster rental business apps are built specifically to improve efficiency around the way these types of businesses are run and need to operate, so you can cover all your bases without having to find a new pen every 5 minutes.
Mistake 3: Letting Paperwork Slow Down Billing and Disputes
Handwritten sheets and carbon copies still exist within the industry, and people still favor them massively. However, they can cause issues and slow things down massively.
Paper can get lost, a figure entered incorrectly, so costs and prices aren’t clear, leading to delays and misunderstandings, and if something is questioned, it's not always as easy to track everything down.
This leads to invoices not being settled on time and things just generally slowing down while you sort things out.
Digital services, however, change this. Drivers can capture photos and upload them instantly, they can complete logs, collect signatures, add timestamps, and much more. Billing becomes easier as you can set up templates that allow you to enter certain information with ease and input the correct costs in the right places from predetermined fees that the system knows. And the best part is it reaches the office instantly, meaning there's no waiting around to drive customers, and those in the office can see the same information at the same time, so everyone is literally on the same page.
Mistake 4: Ignoring Compliance, Placement, and Permit Risk
Compliance is everything for dumpster rental companies, and overlooking things like dumpster placement, road safety setback requirements, and permitted waste types will get you in hot water sooner rather than later. And when these details vary, this can get messy fast.
The last thing you want is for these important details to exist in one person's head only. Everyone involved in the booking, delivery, collection, and situating of these rentals needs to know the laws per location on how, where, and when they can leave a dumpster and collect it safely and in accordance with regulations.
And the thing is, the customer will automatically assume you know these rules and regulations and adhere to them as standard, because, for the most part, the average customer won't. Especially if they're residential customers booking one-off hires.
Each site needs to know the requirements, permit information, and placement guidance for all areas they cover, and the job should have these details recorded so drivers know exactly what they can and can't do prior to leaving the facility.
Mistake 5: Neglecting Driver Communication
Your drivers are the front line for your business. And if you're not communicating with them, things will deteriorate with very little pressure. They need the right information to hand at all times — access notes, gate codes, safe placement areas, contamination expectations, time window, etc.
With this information, the service quality suffers, drivers take longer to do routine jobs, and it leads to increased miscommunication, repeat trips, refunds for customers, and worse fines for accidentally breaking regulations or laws.
Clear notes eliminate this risk. As does having real-time updates rolled out to drivers, proper training, clear standards and procedures, and having support for drivers to enable them to do their job well.
The more you support your drivers, the more they can protect the company by doing their job correctly each and every day.
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