Need quick and affordable junk removal for your property? Before picking up the phone to call a nearby junk hauler, hold your horses a moment. You work hard for your money and you probably value your time, so make sure you choose a junk hauler that’s dependable and affordable.
Local, genuine junk haulers will be able to get the job done, often at far lower prices and with better service than many of the big national corporate junk hauler franchises. If you’re trying to find a reputable junk hauler near you, try to avoid calling a franchised junk hauler for these ten reasons:
1. You end up paying MORE
Junk removal franchises frequently claim that they have competitive prices, but they often cannot outbid small, local junk haulers – all other things being held constant. Franchisees need to pay franchising fees/commissions and consequently need to bump up their prices by a noticeable margin, often 15% or more to pay corporate for the privilege of operating a franchise.
Furthermore, franchise junk haulers tend to have higher overhead costs than local and independent junk removal companies. The cost of renting an office, utilities, and maintaining a fleet of vehicles adds up quickly, and those costs get baked into your total quote. Small junk haulers sometimes operate on razor-thin margins with minimal expenses, which allows them to quote you far more competitive prices (sometimes 10% to 50% better than what the big brands will quote you).
2. Inconvenient schedules
Chances are, you’ve already got a busy schedule as it is day in and day out. The last thing you want to worry about is waiting for a junk removal franchise to come at an inconvenient appointment window. “We’ll be there sometime between 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM” is a lot more inconvenient than “we’ll be there at 1:00 PM sharp.”
Unfortunately, many junk hauler franchises manage their busy schedules by giving customers these sorts of appointment windows instead of a dependable, fixed time. When you choose a local junk hauler, you’ll often be able to negotiate a fixed appointment time that works for you. Moreover, you can often negotiate same-day junk removal, depending on their schedule.
3. Slow over-the-phone response times
This is a problem that affects a lot more than just junk haulers. Banks, airlines, and all sorts of other big corporations in America have largely outsourced their customer support phone lines to foreign countries, where the support staff may struggle to give you the service you need.
You might also end up waiting on hold listening to upbeat elevator music on loop for an hour or more, which gets pretty tiresome when all you want to do is just talk to a darned human being!
Local junk haulers often carry their cell phone with them and will personally pick up the phone and give you the quality service you deserve.
4. Spotty coverage in many towns and cities in the USA
Although the big national junk removal franchises boast about having great coverage across the United States, the reality is often a little different. Service in major metro areas like Houston, Los Angeles, or Philadelphia might be readily available but finding a single franchisee covering Dubois, WY might be as hard as finding a needle in a haystack, for example.
It makes sense why they’d operate like this: supply and demand from big cities justifies them covering these areas. But that isn’t any solace if you do live in a smaller community that isn’t served by these big names.
In these cases (and if you live in a major metro area, too) it’s often a lot easier to just call a local junk hauler near you that can get the job done. They usually won’t nickel and dime you if you’re a few miles outside of their normal service area, and they’ll provide stellar service when nobody else might operate where you live.
5. Same old cookie cutter customer service
A lot of the big national junk removal franchises do provide good service for their paying customers, but often that’s because they have corporate policies that tell franchisees and their employees how to communicate with customers in a clean and professional manner.
For some people, that’s fine – just ordinary same-old service. For other people, it just feels inauthentic and lacking in sincerity. When you’re dealing with an independent junk hauler, they’re incentivized to provide great customer service but it’ll often be more genuine and heartfelt because they take pride in their work and they’re happy you called them instead of the big names.
6. You’re feeding the pockets of corporate America, NOT your local community
Being a conscious consumer partly has to do with spending your money on services and causes that you support, but it’s also about keeping money circulating in your economy and supporting hardworking small businesses that provide excellent services. Perhaps you already have this philosophy with your favorite bar or restaurant in your community, spending money there instead of at one of the big corporate chains. Why not have this attitude towards junk haulers, too?
Small independent junk haulers are often industrious, hardworking small business owners that genuinely want to make a positive impact in their community. Franchise owners might share this sentiment, but a big incentive for franchisees is generating profit and a somewhat passive income. Their money flows upwards to corporate America, perhaps funding another yacht or a down payment on a summer vacation home.
Spending your money on local junk haulers keeps the money flowing in your community and lets them reinvest their profits into improving their services, hiring staff, maintaining their vehicles, and so on.
7. They aren’t as environmentally friendly as they often claim
Sustainability and being ‘green’ or ‘environmentally friendly’ have become so commonplace in recent years, but there are plenty of businesses that engage in not-so-sustainable practices or outright ‘greenwashing.’ While we’re not accusing any particular company of engaging in this latter practice, the actual eco-friendly junk removal practices of many big franchises are often only skin-deep.
Most junk removal businesses are incentivized to sort out junk into recyclables and landfill waste due to the costs of disposing of waste by the ton at various facilities. Many franchises will sort out junk like scrap metal and sell to a buyer, which lets them advertise that they’re ‘sustainable’ or ‘eco-friendly junk removal’ but perhaps they dump everything else, only recycling the bare minimum.
Small junk removal businesses often tap into the availability of local charities operating in your community, which lets them donate old furniture, appliances, and other unwanted junk for free, which in turn keeps their costs low and thus allows them to quote you at competitive rates. In other words, going green and providing eco-friendly junk removal services are much more attainable goals for small junk haulers.
8. Lack of flexible services
Franchise or independent, most junk haulers provide simple, no-fuss junk removal as their bread and butter service. That’s fine, and that’s probably why you would call one in the first place.
Sometimes, you may need specific services that the big franchises simply may not offer. Things like swimming pool dismantling, shed dismantling and removal, or hot tub dismantling are all services that many independent junk haulers provide and that franchises might not be able to do for you. Their services are often rigid, according to their franchise agreement. They can’t just operate however they please, but a small junk hauler will often have far more flexibility.
Some independent junk haulers provide a wide range of services, such as general handyman services, office and home cleanout services (including a professional cleanup), dumpster rentals, moving assistance, and much more.
9. Poor customer support
As mentioned in the third point above, national junk removal franchises often use call centers located abroad to handle any questions or complaints about their services. Most of us have probably reached our wit’s end with the so-called ‘customer service’ of these types of corporations, especially if something has gone wrong.
With local junk haulers, it’s a whole different ball game. Many independent junk haulers will pick up the phone themselves and offer you the best support they can. Need to rearrange your appointment? Need to let them know which entrance to use to your property? No problem, just give them a call and cut out the middleman.
10. There are better junk removal services near you
The big national junk removal franchises are omnipresent in towns and cities across America. You see their trucks and box trailers driving up and down the roads and highways, parked in driveways, and pulling up for lunch at the drive-thru window every day. They spend a fortune on marketing, but that doesn’t necessarily make them the best value for money.
Most local junk haulers near you might also have their business name and phone number painted on their trailer, but they simply lack the marketing muscle of the big guys. Maybe they’ve got an Instagram page or a Facebook profile, or maybe you’ve seen them dropping off flyers at the local laundromat. Give them a call and experience great value for money, but also make sure that they’re reputable and that they operate a legitimate business.
Choose an independent, local junk hauler by using JunkGator
Want a great alternative to calling one of the big junk removal franchises? Find local junk haulers near you with JunkGator. Our member partners are vetted and approved for quality service, and we’ve got over 500 members located across the United States.
Just click GET QUOTES and give a junk hauler near you a friendly phone call to request a no-obligation quote today.
