Several weeks ago, Francy listed a home that had been rented out. Let’s just say the renters were not the neatest folks. The home was basically trashed. As the owners lived out of state, they needed a cleaning service to get the house ready for sale.
Enter the Garbage Guy. We’d never worked with them so we just took a shot.
We were so pleased with their service that they immediately were enshrined on our “preferred vendor list” and I asked Robert Allen, the owner of Garbage Guy, to answer a few questions for our readers. . .
“What kinds of services does Garbage Guy offer?”
We are a full-service JUNK Removal company. We offer removal of appliances, old furniture, junk, or yard debris for homeowners and businesses. We also offer specialized services to realtors, investors, property managers, and banks dealing with REO properties.
We do Trash-outs! That doesn’t just mean we come by and haul away piles of stuff by the curb. We gather, we load, we haul away – and sweep up after ourselves. We assess removal needs at a property and provide prompt estimates for banks or management companies including ‘before photos’ of debris to be removed. Once approved, we remove all interior and exterior debris, leaving the property vacant and clean-swept. ‘After photos’ are then provided with the invoice to verify the work was completed professionally. We can also provide a cleaning estimate and subcontract cleaning services if a sales clean is required for a vacant property as part of the sales process. A sales clean includes all flooring, kitchen and bath surfaces, fixtures and appliances, and inside windows.
In the real estate world, JUNK gets in the way. It cramps space in even the largest properties – making them seem smaller. Garbage Guy is the superhero of Space Reclamation – helping homeowners de-clutter in preparation to list or show a property. We also help during the move – taking away items they don’t want to take with them to the new property. Finally, after the move, we take away stuff left behind by former owners and the mountain of moving boxes that would take weeks or months to feed into the small residential dumpster at the curb.
Garbage Guy also provides services to handymen and remodelers. We offer a self-loading dumpster – using our truck or trailer, we gather, load, and haul away the construction debris from a kitchen or bathroom remodel or other construction project. This saves homeowners from driveway scars caused by a dumpster drop, or from becoming a magnet for OPG (other people’s garbage). Dumpsters are easy targets for couches, swingsets, and big screen TV boxes and an eyesore according to some HOAs.
In short – if it isn’t toxic or hazardous and we can lift it – we’ll haul it away! We take it out so YOU don’t have to!
“Tell us a little about how/why you started Garbage Guy.”
I was a regional manager in an international software company and traveling too much. I considered entering the real-estate fix-and-flip market and looked at a lot of JUNK-Filled houses. However, the 10% per month appreciation and bidding wars (12 offers first day) kept me from buying any homes. I couldn’t stomach the negative cash-flow ‘what if.’ After looking at a lot of trashed houses, I realized –someone has to clean them out. I took a major career detour and became that someone.
“So – is this better than software?”
I love what I do. People are always glad to see me, they love what we do for them, and the immediately visible results are very rewarding.
See the bio on our website for more.
This page also has a coloring page for kids… left hand column.
“What are some of the advantages, and disadvantages of being a small businessman in Phoenix?”
Phoenix is huge – and growing every day. All those people have junk to get rid of. I don’t think we will ever run out of work to do as we clean up the world – one property at a time. People here are friendly, easy-going, and appreciate quality work. I love meeting and interacting with people of varied backgrounds and interests.
Disadvantages? Sure is HOT outside right now (and we meet some nasty critters under junk sometimes). This one is quickly countered by the BENEFIT of working outside in the winter.
“What is the biggest or nastiest mess you’ve ever cleaned up?”
Biggest – 93,000 pounds of gravel, cinderblock, and concrete debris (we don’t do those anymore without a tractor) Nastiest – tie between the vacant place trashed and lived in by vagrants for months or years before renovators took it over and the cat-urine soaked carpeted place we could hardly breathe in. There are lots of horror stories about what a refrigerator looks like after a month without power in August, or how bad some renters treat property when they are going to be evicted- but you’ll have to use your imagination. Better yet – take a look at our photo gallery for some of the biggest messes fit for public viewing
“Why should people choose Garbage Guy?”
We are cheaper than the other guys – usually by at least $100 on a large load. We save you time and money over renting a truck or dumpster and doing the work yourself. You get the space back, the junk gone, and you don’t have to lift a finger except to dial the phone and point at what you want removed. We take it out so YOU don’t have to.
Thanks Robert for some insight into you and your company!
If you’re in the Phoenix (or Salt Lake City) area and you need junk removal services, call Garbage Guy. Robert and his crew are polite, prompt and hard working.
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Jay - Thanks for the great interview and resource! I will keep Robert Allen (weird that is my dad’s name, brother and grandfathers too) in mind for he’s servcies!
Another “guy”?
I’m thinking Garbage Guy franchise.
Nice! thanks for the contact Jay I can’t tell you how often (for some strange reason) I need a guy like this.
It’s good to know that they do a good job -
Is this the same thing that 1-800-JUNK does? I see their trucks all over the place here in Virginia. It’s great to know that there are independent people operating companies like this. And I love the idea of taking before and after photos to show a job well done!
No doubt, there’s money on garbage! It’s a pretty cool business, and nice thing you share photos of them.
Good resource to have, Jay. Knock on wood, with all my rentals I’ve never needed a garbage guy, but I’m quite certain the day will come.
Where can we contact the Garbage Guy??? I can recommend this to my friends and relatives they surely needs this.
Concrete - you can find the Garbage Guy at, http://garbageguy.com