Chris's Blog

It has been a while

Chris Savoia (1-800-GOT-JUNK?-SD South Bay) (1-800-GOT-JUNK?) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 03:55:16 -0500

Testing...

REO Trash Out Post Pictures

Chris Savoia (1-800-GOT-JUNK?-SD South Bay) (1-800-GOT-JUNK?) — Tue, 27 May 2008 20:11:00 -0500

Here are the "Post" pictures for the Energizer REO Trash Out we did in the South Bay of San Diego. Please see our previous post for the "Pre" photos. It sure feels good to be done. The property is almost ready to be shown. Another great job finished by 1-800-GOT-JUNK? San Diego.

Trash Out Job- Before and After Photos

Chris Savoia (1-800-GOT-JUNK?-SD South Bay) (1-800-GOT-JUNK?) — Tue, 27 May 2008 18:20:28 -0500

I thought I would share some pictures of a Trash Out job we recently finished for a bank owned property in South San Diego. The regular sized tract home had a rather large back yard that had been converted into a nursery of some sort. In the pictures you will see a number of black planting pots. We hauled away over 4,000 pots. The pots alone equalled almost three full truck loads of junk.

We sorted all the pots and were able to recycle them at a local nursery. We had never seen this many pots in one location but once faced with getting rid of them, we found the right way to take care of them without tossing them in the landfill.

With over 20 trucks in San Diego County alone, we can handle just about any Trash Out job there is. This one was a perfect example. This job was the Energizer bunny of jobs. Just when we thought we were getting close to finishing, we unearthed a whole new pile of junk that we hadn't seen.

Advertising on Facebook

Chris Savoia (1-800-GOT-JUNK?-SD South Bay) (1-800-GOT-JUNK?) — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 03:27:32 -0500

I just placed an ad on Facebook. Has anyone else done this? I really like the features that allow you to sift who sees your ad by demographics. Since our junk removal company in Chula Vista is part of a franchise (1-800-GOT-JUNK?) we have territories. There isn't much of a reason for me to pay for clicks or views in the greater San Diego area if our franchise doesn't personally serve that area for junk hauling services. The cool thing about Facebook ads (it's cool right now- thirty minutes into my trial) is that I asked for only certain members to see my ads. I sifted for city and age. Not too many teenagers and college kids pay for our services so I'd rather not pay for them to see our ads. Although, it might be a good way to reach kids looking for a summer job.

Anyway, I'll post more about my experiences placing an ad on Facebook. Hopefully it brings us lots of eyes from people in Coronado, Chula Vista and other San Diego South Bay communities who need to get rid of their junk and want a hauling service to help them out.

Earth Day E-Waste Event

Chris Savoia (1-800-GOT-JUNK?-SD South Bay) (1-800-GOT-JUNK?) — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 16:10:28 -0500

Here's a link to our site for our Earth Day E-Waste recycling event: http://www.1800gotjunk.com/earthday/

I'll post more on this later. Please come out and support our cause if you're in the area on the 19th of this month.

The free recycling collection is for most types of E-Waste. We always take: computers, monitors and TVs in our South San Diego Junk Hauling area. We never charge a surcharge either. Saves our customers lots of money as others in this business often charge $25-$50 per item. So, if you're in Chula Vista, Bonita, Coronado, National City and have E-Waste bring it on down on the 19th to get rid of it for free!

Jacuzzis and Hot Tub Removals

Chris Savoia (1-800-GOT-JUNK?-SD South Bay) (1-800-GOT-JUNK?) — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 15:01:12 -0500

We did three more hot tub or jacuzzi removals this last week. One in Bonita, another in Eastlake and the final one in Otay Ranch. They are not easy and usually we have to bring at least three, sometimes four people to the job. We do enjoy doing them though and have gotten quite good at removing them.

The Eastlake, Chula Vista jacuzzi removal was fun because the client had a five year old white grape vine that had just started to bloom. We chatted about the fruit he got from it last year. Hopefully ours will bear fruit this year.

The client also told us he had called another hauling company to ask them what they would charge for the jacuzzi removal. We never like to give quotes over the phone (one man's "a ton of junk" is another's "barely anything" but we will always swing by for a no obligation appointment to give you a price range) but this company did. He said they were advertised as a "low price" option. He actually used the air quotes. Anyway, their quote for just the jacuzzi ended up being almost one hundred dollars more than what we charged and we took away two barbeques and a large basketball hoop to boot. He was in the Navy and we also gave him a military discount.

One thing to remember when having a hot tub or jacuzzi removed is that it can be dangerous. Dangerous to your home, to the people removing it and also to your home owner's insurance. That is why it is crucial that if you are looking to have a hot tub removed in the South Bay of San Diego that you hire a company that carries liability insurance and Worker's Compensation insurance for it's employees. We do. That protects both our employees and our customers.

Happy hot tubbing.

Hauling Junk in Imperial Beach for hotel from "John from Cincinnati"

Chris Savoia (1-800-GOT-JUNK?-SD South Bay) (1-800-GOT-JUNK?) — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 19:52:25 -0500

Back in November I saw a job show up on our schedule for a few days out. The description was, "Old hotel in Imperial Beach." Now, I'm a big fan of HBO so I had a pretty good idea where this job might be.

When the Sopranos ended for good, there was an empty space that needed to be filled. My hopes were that the space would be filled with, "John From Cincinatti." From the beginning it looked like a great show: about surfing, based in Imperial Beach just a few miles from where I live and work and created by the creators of another HBO drama, "Deadwood." The show was interesting but was not picked up for a second season. Our crew was pretty disappointed when we heard the news that "John" had not been renewed. On a couple of occasions we had jobs "inside the ropes" of the filming set while in Imperial Beach (IB).

One time we had to ask the police if we could drive in to our job because they were filming a driving scene. Throughout the entire job, we left one of our doors shut so if our truck got in the shot it would be easy for all of HBO's viewers to see our big 1-800-GOT-JUNK? sign. I never saw the truck in the series even though they did film the blond in her little convertible Porsche drive by us and the truck as we tried to look busy in the background. We must be on the cutting room floor.

So... when I saw the description of the job I thought it might be the hotel where most of the show was set. Sure enough, when I called our contact Liz, she said it was indeed where the job was. We have actually done two jobs out at the former El Camino Hotel. The current owners are very nice and did not want to have to deal with removing the almost four truckloads of junk we have taken out of there. The strangest thing we pulled out of the hotel was a cement deer that had been poured into the ground and set with rebar. Of course Robert took good care of that thing with his favorite tool: the sledge hammer. I've included some pictures of us working at the hotel. By the way, if you are ever near the old El Camino Hotel in IB, you must stop by and get Donuts at the Stardust Donut Shop. Best in the world without a doubt.

San Diego hauling, Imperial Beach Junk Removal, Coronado hauling http://www.1800gotjunk.com/SanDiego/

Imagine the possibilities

Chris Savoia (1-800-GOT-JUNK?-SD South Bay) (1-800-GOT-JUNK?) — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 16:30:56 -0600

Thank you to my colleague Eric Blum for this fine post which I "borrowed." It really helps to explain what we can do:

We are frequently asked by Realtors about the different types of "junk" we can remove. Some people think we just do residential work (we also do a ton of commercial work; think malls, self storage companies, contractors, etc). Some think we just want items of value (we don't, we are a junk removal service and don't look for items of value because we donate, recycle or dispose of the junk). Often people think we are a free service (sorry, the employees got tired of being paid with pats on the back). We even get the question of how long do you leave the dumpster? (We don't rent out dumpsters, we send out a clean shiny truck, two uniformed and trained employees that do all of the loading and cleanup no matter where the junk is located including basements, attics, crawl spaces, storage units, etc).

The biggest hurdle is to get our potential customers to think about the "unique" items we can haul away. Here are some visuals to help you and your clients think about cleaning up that property to help sell it faster!

Hot Tubs - When it cracks, gets old or just is not your thing anymore, we can take it away. Most times we can do it without cutting it up into pieces. But we can demolish it if it can't be lifted.

Sheds - Does your shed remind you of the Leaning Tower of Pisa? Do you have all of the neighborhood animals living in or under your shed? We will tear it down and clean up the ground afterwards.

Swing Sets - Are the kids in college and you still have that rusted or splintered swing-set out back? We will take it down, load it up and haul it away.

Dirt/Concrete/Stone- Doing some DIY work? Old pavers, broken up concrete or stone from a project? Using shovels, wheelbarrows and other tools, we can make it disappear.

Appliances/Refrigerators/Air Conditioners - Everyone has these old appliances lurking around in their home or business. Refrigerators, A/C units and dehumidifiers all contain Freon, so we will dispose of them properly. Taking out large and heavy appliances from garages, inside the home or wherever they are (you'd be surprised) is our specialty. Our team will make history of it. The best part is we don't charge extra to get rid of these items. There is no surcharge- again, everything is up front with us.

Above-ground Pools - Pool rusted out? Becoming an eyesore? Get rid of it! We can disassemble it for you too.

Construction Debris - Old kitchens, bathrooms, drywall, carpet, tile, 2x4's, etc. We can handle it. You rip it down; we come in and take it away. It doesn't matter where it is. Leave it where it fell. Regardless of where the junk is we, don't charge extra for labor. We will even sweep up when we are done!

Computers/Electronic Waste -There is a ton of bad stuff in old electronics including lead, mercury and other toxins. We are one of the only commercial haulers in San Diego County (if not the only one) who has a license to haul Electronic Waste. It costs us extra to sort, store and ship these dangerous items once we take them from your site. But, guess what? We don't charge extra for these items either. With us, you are assured that these materials are ending up in the correct spot. We can even provide a Certificate of Assured Destruction if you need one. Eric Blum is pictured below with common E-Waste. We can take it all LEGALLY, which protects you as the customer.

Yard Waste - Have a pile of old branches, leaves, grass or other yard debris? Clean up that yard and make it that oasis you dreamed of!

So, as you can see, there are a lot of ways we can help remove many different types of items from your or your client's home!

San Diego South Bay Expressway

Chris Savoia (1-800-GOT-JUNK?-SD South Bay) (1-800-GOT-JUNK?) — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 15:16:25 -0600

When I was looking over the site for the San Diego South Bay Expressway I found a really cool tool. If you go here: http://www.southbayexpressway.com/tollwiz/ it allows you to see how much the tolls are going to be for your trip. It's nice to see how much it is if you just want to go from Olympic Parkway in Otay Ranch over to East H Street near Eastlake. If you haven't been to the three new shopping centers in the Otay Ranch, Eastlake area you should check them out. More on those later.

One of our trucks used the South Bay Expressway yesterday to go from Olympic Parkway to Spring Valley. The trip took about 8 minutes. Normally it would take at least that long (if not much longer) to get to the 805 from where the guys were. Then, they would still have about 10 freeway miles or so left. The SBE rocks.

South Bay Expressway

Chris Savoia (1-800-GOT-JUNK?-SD South Bay) (1-800-GOT-JUNK?) — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 11:35:12 -0600

Have you been on the new 125 South Bay Expressway yet? It connects Spring Valley to Otay Mesa. It's a toll road that is going to save our company lots of time and money. The website for more information is here: http://www.southbayexpressway.com/. When we have a junk removal job in Chula Vista or Bonita and then need to go north to Lemon Grove, Spring Valley or the 92115 area this will save us a ton on gas and labor. It is well worth paying the toll. If you haven't taken it down to the border crossing at Otay you should give a try. It is a nice drive through an area that was previously unreachable.

Why is Dr. Phil up?

Chris Savoia (1-800-GOT-JUNK?-SD South Bay) (1-800-GOT-JUNK?) — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 19:00:19 -0600

Since I just created my profile here on Active Rain I wanted to get a photo up. My hard drive crashed recently and I don't have much on this machine yet. I placed a photo of Dr. Phil up because he is one of our biggest fans. 1-800-GOT-JUNK? has been featured on the Dr. Phil show more than three times. Our crews have helped his viewers and guests clean up their lives by removing unwanted items. We were introduced to Dr. Phil by Oprah some years ago. We have been featured on her program as well. Here is a link to one of our appearances: http://youtube.com/watch?v=MhqXt4Txq0s Thanks Dr. Phil. I dig how he says, "1-800-GOT-JUNK?" I'll take his photo down when I have a better one.