The Schlomka Blog

Home Office

2011-09-19T19:17:00.001-05:00

We have officially been in a home office for about a year now! It's been a while since I have been able to update the blog- but time management is still something to be mastered with having an almost 3 month old home/in office helping us answer phones.

***

any tips out there from you working from home mommas- how do you do it?

Schlomka Softball: 2011

2011-06-16T14:43:00.000-05:00

Nothing can stop a team that is on fire; not hot weather and not the rainy weather!

We proudly sponsor the team; 'Schlomka Services'. They are an all men's softball team playing in a Men's Softball League of Lino Lakes, MN. In previous years the guys have also played in Champlin and Crystal, MN. The guys play every Tuesday night, double header games, starting at 6:15pm & 7:20pm.

{2011 jerseys thanks to Rick Wagner with Xtreme Custom Apparel & Promotions}

They started their season with the first game on April 26th and the last game is scheduled for July 12th. Only a couple of games have been rained out AND our guys are the sole undefeated team!

As a "team manager" I personally think they are the best team out there AND also the best team displaying a fun attitude, good sportsmanship and a GREAT mix of funny personalities.

These guys have all been friends since college {some even high school} and really enjoy the game- it's a fun and relaxed way to spend their Tuesday nights.

Below is a team photo really showing you just how much fun they have on Tuesday Nights: despite the occasional {once in 5 years} 100+ degree weather!

Keep up the good works guys!

If you are in the Lino area on Tuesday nights- stop by to cheer us on! We'd love to see you!

***

Do you have any local sports teams and leagues that your company proudly sponsors?

we got an "A"

2011-06-08T10:22:00.000-05:00

If you are not apart of Angie's List yet, you should be! It's a GREAT tool, it's free and it provides the "looking & seeking" customer the opportunity to fill out a report, giving your company a letter grade based on your work and service provided to them.

Our latest report was submitted by a new and happy customer in North Oaks.

Here is what he had to say:

North Oaks requires septic service at least every two years. I searched Angie's for providers and Schlomka matched one of the companies named by North Oaks. They are very easy to deal with and showed up ahead of schedule. It's the first time for the service as a new home owner, so we didn't know what to expect. North Oaks requires a written report for which they charge $17 and is passed on to the customer. Since there has been little use of the home while we undergo renovation, they did not have much to pump out, so I have no idea how the price might compare for fuller usage.

Went very well, as far as we know. We were not on sight at the time Schlomkas was doing the work. He called to make a report...not much to add to this

~~~

So as you can see it's to the point, he was happy with the service that we provided and we hope to hang onto him as another Schlomka customer in the future!

***

In what ways are you able to receive positive feedback and or constructive criticism from your customers?

Ending Dates Posted for SLR

2011-04-26T11:23:00.001-05:00

Per The Minnesota Department of Transportation

The ENDING DATE of Spring Load Restrictions in the SOUTHEAST and METRO FROST ZONES will be Monday, May 2, 2011 at 12:01 AM.

The ENDING DATE of Spring Load Restrictions in the SOUTH FROST ZONE will be Monday, May 9, 2011 at 12:01 AM.

The ENDING DATE of Spring Load Restrictions in the CENTRAL FROST ZONE will be Wednesday, May 11, 2011 at 12:01 AM.

The ENDING DATE of Spring Load Restrictions in the NORTH-CENTRAL and NORTH FROST ZONES will be Friday, May 13, 2011 at 12:01 AM.

***

Which zone are you in? Happy Spring Pumping!

Marian of St. Paul: Wine Classic

2011-02-21T20:37:00.001-06:00

This month I attended Marian of St. Paul's 2nd Annual Wine Classic. Jamie 'Schlomka' Mann, has worked with Marian for almost five years. She is the reason we were able to get in on this fun event.

Schlomka Services was able to donate a portion of the sponsorship, and in return we received two event tickets. Our support in this event will go towards the enhancement of programs and services provided to the residents and participating elders of Marian. It was really fun stopping by the Elder's Wish Table- which showcased a variety of large wine glasses, each containing an item that the residents of Marian would like to utilize. These items ranged anywhere from iPods and TVs to folding tables and docking stations.

At the event guests were able to enjoy all kinds of delicious appetizers and five different tables with 20+ plus; red wines, white wines and dessert wines. Marian's event partner, where all of the wine can be found, was St. Paul's Morelli's Market.

While sipping and tasting it was fun walking around the event, meeting other guests, browsing the decor and the silent auction where many other generous donations were made.

All in all it was a great event, we were happy to be apart of it and hopefully it's something that we can look forward to again next year!

***

What events does your company take part in as far sponsorships year after year?

Septic in the Winter, what to do?

2011-01-21T14:10:00.000-06:00

The question is "what to do?" well... our answer can be as simple as "nothing!"

As long as you have done your part in taking care of proper maintenance as far as regular scheduled clean outs at least every three years AND made sure to send proper waste down your drains, you should be good to go!

A couple of good tips for the Winter:

Keep your tank covers and the systems covered with the natural snowfall- snow acts as a natural insulator that can help to prevent system freeze ups.
Never leave a system for months on end with no water use- be sure to take care of the cleaning and getting the tank(s) filled back up and prepared for the cold months ahead.
Keep your favorite pumpers number on hand {that would be us, Schlomkas!}. Just so that, in case of an emergency, you know who to call. If your call is not answered in your time of need, there is always a 24/7 emergency number provided for you at the end of our voice mail.

***

Have you done your part for the Winter months in taking care of your septic?

Winter Season Comes a Callin'

2011-01-21T13:59:00.000-06:00

A day like today has us inspired. It's been a while since our last post, so we thought it would be a great time to get updated. The Winter season gets to be a little bit slower on our end, so we are always looking for things to keep us busy.

With cold and frigid temps our residential work will slow up, minus the unexpected and unwanted backups that can occur here and there.

We also have a few homes where drainfields aren't up to par and have to work overtime- which causes for slowing moving systems and frequent pumping until Spring moves in.

But before we know it, Spring will be here and we will be back to work in full swing. In the meantime, our period of down time is spent taking care of our everyday commercial customers and a little bit of "Winter Cleaning".

***

What keeps your business going during the slow months?

Garbage Disposals & Septic

2010-11-30T11:54:00.000-06:00

My recent actions and a story, call for a good update...

The other day as I was making breakfast {pancakes} my husband- who is one of Schlomka's driver/operators wasn't very happy with me as he was witness to me putting egg shells down the garbage disposal.

I was instantly ashamed as I tell people on a daily basis "limit the use of your disposal." and "put nothing foreign down drains that will end up in your system."

ok, I know all of this, but I figure- "I work for a septic company, if anything goes wrong we can handle it."

ehhhhhhhhh wrong answer!!!

Our conversation went like so:

Me: "but i have heard that the egg shells sharpen the blades..."
The Mr: "no.... no no no.... egg shells float, which means they are twice as likely to float right out into the drainfield, plugging things up..."

Maybe now would be a good time for me to brush up on my septic knowledge: www.septic.umn.edu

ok so lesson learned here, although we might be a septic company- we are not an excavating company which is what we would need if my eggs shells were to wreak havoc to the the drainfield system. doh!

***

What have you recently learned about your septic system as far as the dos & don'ts?

Help!

2010-11-09T09:14:00.000-06:00

One of our biggest customers was in need of some help ASAP last night- and with the early evening call, we were willing and able to get there and be there for this one.

Last night ours guys worked 12+ hours and into the early morning to help with a sewer line break that was leaking and creating a steady flow into Lake Minnetonka over in Excelsior, MN.

Here is a video link via Fox 9 News: click {here} check it out. You can hear and read more about the story. Sounds like everything is under control at this point. Our trucks pulled off site around 6am this morning.

To our crew; Thank you for all of your energy and helping out last night and this morning! That is exactly why I am happy to be apart of such a great company!

***

What has been one of your companies greatest acts of kindness, recent or past?

* GREAT reminder

2010-09-23T11:17:00.003-05:00

With all this rain, it just might be a good idea to re-read a post from this summer:

"In a Time of Heavy Rainfall"

***

Does the rain effect your business in a negative or positive way?

* Picking Colors

2010-09-22T09:32:00.005-05:00

For 2010-2011 we are adding a brand new truck to our fleet! This new guy will be made just for Schlomka's and a wide variety of specific jobs that we can execute on a daily basis. When building a truck, we have the opportunity to pick out every little and last detail, right down to the cab color.

I had the honor of having the last and final say for color! You know we went with a blue... but which blue did we/I pick!!??

It was between color #F6456 EB & #L3656 EB. I was automatically drawn to the color "Dark Cloisonne Effect" but finally decided to go with...

"Tropical Blue Effect" this is a terrible picture, but I look forward to sharing the final truck pictures once we have this sparkly new truck in our shop!

Luckily the guys all had bets on which color I would end up liking and this one made the cut!

***

Share with us a fun company detail that you were able to make the final decision on.

* Ruu Rowww

2010-09-16T18:22:00.004-05:00

This is what happens when Vac Truck meets Blackberry:

pretty durable wouldn't you say?? Well not really, we had to order a new phone right away. It's our drivers having a phone on hand at all times that makes our business go round.

***

What been something you need to replace ASAP in the workplace due to non-functionability?

Home Office

2010-09-14T23:12:00.005-05:00

Hello! The loooooong hiatus from blogging is all due to a little bit of REORGANIZATION over here with Schlomka's!

We are the works of splitting our one office location into TWO different offices. We have a home office in the North and our "shop" office in the South.

As soon as we have everything in place and things are back in order (we are almost there) you can bet we will back with some fun things to blog about.

Until then... keeping busy and organized, as we gear up for this BUSY Fall season, is where we will be! We thank you for your patience!

***

What have been any current work projects and or challenges for you and your company?

Q & A

2010-08-11T16:20:00.004-05:00

Often times a customer here and there will call up and have a few questions for us. Mostly, these inquires are sparked by a notice from their county that they reside in and or they are new home owners to a property with septic.

Either way, we welcome any and all calls asking us a question or two, or three or four! We are always glad to help out in any way we can- even if it includes a "go to" or a secondary company reference.

With all of that said, today I had customer P call and ask the following question:

"How often do I need to be pumping my septic?"

Here are a few of the different responses that I would typically run through and did with P:

How many people are living in the home and using water on a regular basis each day for bathing, washing and other normal daily water use?
Does your home have a garbage disposal and does it get used on a regular basis?
How much laundry do you do each week?

and the list can go on and on... this is of course based on the conversation with each individual customer about their household.

Further more, all of us here at Schlomkas obtain training, classes & continuing education credits via the U of M's extension program. I often browse their website looking for more info when asked questions like this mention in the future. Today I found a great worksheet for septic tank pumping frequency guidelines {see PDF}. I plan on sending an email to P tomorrow morning with this reference and also providing a few more answers to some additional info that I have gone ahead and looked into for him. I hope this helps!

***

What kind of questions might you have for us? Ask away!

Where have we been!?

2010-07-29T14:17:00.003-05:00

It has been a very busy summer for us here at Schlomka Services, which is great!

We have a lot of exciting things taking place and as soon as we catch up- we will return with an update just before we get into our Fall rush!

Thanks for hanging in there and busy business is good business!

***

What's keeping your company on it's toes!?

In a Time of Heavy Rainfall

2010-07-08T15:03:00.007-05:00

Here in MN, it is this time of year that we often experience hot temps and little rain. Well this year, the summer has been pretty unusual. We have been experiencing excess amounts of rain which in turn can lead to homeowners noticing slow moving septic and other issues at hand.

This is especially the case with older septic systems that may be less than water tight and/or have other problems that may remain unnoticed until an overwhelming amount of water (like we have been having) saturates the entire system and it's soil.

If a homeowners individual on-site treatment system (septic tank & drainfield) obtains a hidden defect, excessive water from a prolonged rainfall could overwhelm the system. This will call for quick action. Who will you call? and Why will you need to call?

If this sounds like your area (a lot of extra rain and a system working with a defect) try to prepare and think ahead in that time of long or heavy rainfall. Heavy rain can end up being just enough to push troubled systems over the edge, sometimes even leading to a system that could possibly fail and or lead to a backup.

Here are some suggested tips that made aide in the prevention of on-site sewage system problems in a time of extreme wet weather:

Monitor/Minimize water use in the home per day. This could mean spreading water use throughout the day and week to maintain a steady pace of water flow out to your drainfield.
Try not to flood your system with multiple uses all at once or all in one day. For example, shower in the morning, wash dishes in the evening, and turning off the water to rinse dishes and while brushing teeth. Another example may be to limit clothes washing to only 1 or 2 loads a laundry per day instead of dedicating a day for washing during the week.
Be quick to identify and repair a leaky plumbing fixture in the home; sinks & toilets. A running toilet or a leaky faucet can discharge tens or hundreds of gallons of water a day to your drainfield.
Again be quick to identify and repair noted leaky sewage system tanks, piping, risers, etc. Quick and proper fixes lead to prolonged life of an on-sit septic system.
Divert all surface waters and downspouts away from your sewage system. If there are any unnoticed non water tight areas in your system, this will help avoid over saturation of the entire system.
Schedule regular septic tank maintenance. Depending on water usage in the home, it's suggested that maintenance should take place no more than every three years at a maximum. If high occupancy with regular/to heavy use of water is taking place, it doesn't hurt to have the system maintained every year or other year as well.

If you're ever detecting a problem and or have ANY question about your system, or "who to call", or "what's that smell?" Call us here at Schlomka Services so we can help you today!

Also remember, with it being summer, your home may house extra company for the weekends. Whether is be family gathers or a Holiday event, the extra company leads to an increase in water at an excessive rate- so just think ahead and be prepared!

***

When was the last time you called your septic maintainers looking for advice or to schedule a tank maintenance?

"It's the little things...

2010-06-23T12:31:00.010-05:00

...that will make the difference."

We like to make it pretty simple on our customers- it makes for better means of communication and also helps out in the efficiency department.

When a job is completed and the home owner was either not home or not available, our drivers will leave the service slip with the customer. This goes along with the convenience of a Schlomka addressed door hanger. Some times you have those windy and or rainy days... so the door hanger does not survive.

In that case, when mailing out invoices to our residential customers, we include a small securityenvelope with our return address provided on that as well. That way our customers feel at ease sending their payment to us via USPS and with ease.

These are all little and simple things {tips & hints} handed down from the previous Schlomka owners, thanks Gma & Gpa!

***

What small things do you provide for your company's customers?

Piles & Piles of Work!

2010-06-09T16:56:00.003-05:00

Don't worry, not complaining! Just wanted to take a break here in my day...

Here at Schlomka's we have had a year of Up, Up and more Up! Usually a business such as ours goes like so:

Winter: Slows down quite a bit...
Spring: BUSY!!
Summer: Steady
Fall: BUSY BUSY BUSY!

Well.... we have literally been BUSY BUSY BUSY since last Fall!

Here in the office, I am usually pretty good at getting all Country reporting out within the first week following a month end. But today, I am getting out (some of March) all of April & most of May's reports- it's been a huge task! This is about all the time I have, there's more to be done- back to work!!

Thanks for keeping Schlomka's busy!

***

Do you have a daunting task that is just sitting in your office and waiting for you attention?

Fun Share

2010-06-01T13:25:00.004-05:00

I thought this was both wonderful and a great thing to share with you...

Last evening I was browsing Carol Schlomka's facebook profile. Carol is {aka: Grandma Schlomka} & {fka: Schlomka's VP}.

It was great to see her interests listed as follows;

Schlomka Services LLC
Schlomka's Portable Restrooms & Pressure Washing
Schlomka's Vac Truck Service Inc {see link}

I also know that if Schlomka Excavating were to have a fan page, she most certainly would be a fan of their page & company as well.

It's a great reminder that the Schlomka's have plenty of experience in the world of entrepreneurship- also another great reason to give the Schlomka's {any one of us!} a call today!

***

Does your family also have separate businesses with the family name incorporated into the company name? If so, what's your company?

EKK!

2010-05-27T15:34:00.012-05:00

Today's story goes like so...

It's already that time of year- with all the trucks out and about, it's not unusual for one of them to stop by another's job site to lend a helping hand.

This afternoon we had our Sterling drop by the help out the Kenworth.

Here we have JH dragging hose so we can get the job done!

{notice JH's very green surroundings- made up of all the tall grass, weeds and trees...}

an THEN It is also that time of year to WATCH FOR TICKS!

It's not uncommon to finish up with a job like this. While our driver completes a job and leaving behind a satisfied customer, he may leave feeling a bit creepy and crawly. KW & STER ended up with anywhere from 5-15 little friends!

Ekk!!

***

What are some things {or friends} that you need to watch out for while out on the job?

Small Business & Social Networking

2010-05-25T12:14:00.011-05:00

This morning I read a post via Brian Soils in honor of National Small Business week.

It's all about Small Businesses and Social Networking- a concept that we love- of course!

Click here to read- what are your thoughts on this?

***

Do you have a small business?

In what ways are you getting new customers to catch sight of you and your company?

Welcome!

2010-05-21T10:52:00.000-05:00

Today marks the 1st day of our NEW and UPDATED website!!

Larry took over back in June of 2006! And can you believe that there was NO website out there.... well I can believe it, but there was SOMETHING I had to do about it.

We had a friend {shout out to Snaza!} help get something out there.... anything... and it helped us out like you wouldn't believe!

But, almost 4 years later... we were due for some updating and after stumbling across a fellow family owned company- I looked into who did their updating.

For the past 5-6 months, I have been working back and forth via phone and email with a great web company of MN, Premier Web Design {PWD}. Nathan & Alisa were 100% wonderful, both speedy, flexible and have EXCELLENT skills in task execution.

Thanks to them we have now have a brand new look out on the web!

{p.s. PWD were awesome in really hearing what we at Schlomka's wanted to see out there}

We can't wait to see what this "revamp/makeover"will bring for us. Hopefully more customers, new old, young, fun, funny, interesting... we will be of service to all!!

Can't wait to talk with you all- give us a call today!!

{Andrea} in the Office: 651-459-3718

Thank You, from all of us here at Schlomka Serivces!