A great deal of our lives are affected by wind, and its importance is littered through novels, stories and history, but in 2009 there is great debate about harnessing the true power of wind and turning it into a renewable, green, natural form of energy, and more importantly obtaining this energy isn't 1000's of miles away in a distant land, for most of us it's in our backyard. Now I am not suggesting we all erect a 100-400+ ft tall wind turbine with a wing span of over 70 meters, but what I am suggesting is that we open our minds to what this could do not only for us, but for future generations. Amid all the negative hub-bub I decided to do some research on these large, white, graceful (I think they are graceful) sticks in the ground and see what is it about them that people both love, and hate! (follow the links on the bottom for links to the REAL experts)
Pros
*They emit no pollutants, waste or greenhouse gas.
*They do not extract any resources from the Earth.
*Due to technological advancements they are becoming much more efficient. Let's compare a turbine from 1981 to today. In 1981 the rotor diameter ( Rotor diameter is the area swept by the blades, the larger the sweep the more energy output) was 10 meters, today the rotor diameter is 71 meters. (meaning they are bigger and A LOT taller) total cost $65.00 today $1,300.00, cost per KW hour 1981 $2600.00 today $790.00 total output of energy 1981-45,000 KWhours / year, Today 5.6 Million KWhours / year. Simplified down, they are bigger, cheaper and are far more efficient than their 81 counter parts. That is a trend we can all be happy about.
*Construction of wind farms are becoming more efficient. Studies have shown that larger farms are not only more economical to build, they are more efficient as they are constructed in better placed areas. (windy areas)
*With the above in mind, when wind speeds increase, the cost goes down. with 7.15 mps (meters per second) cost per KW is: $0.048 ~ 8.08 mps cost per KW $0.036 ~ 9.32pms cost per KW $0.026.
Con's
*They are not, in most people's opinions visually appealing.
*They kill birds:
Let's explore that fact. Turbines have been called "raptor-matics" and the "Cuisinart of the sky" There are about a million different statistics regarding bird deaths, and you could spend weeks if not months weeding through all of the information but here is a quick snapshot of what your humble blogger found. Birth deaths can happen due to any number of the following: Natural collisions, miss landings, or flying into other birds. Loss of habitat due to human interference. Collisions with windows, planes, turbines. Electrocution from transmission lines (typically large wing span birds "raptors"). All of these types of situations collectively are estimated to cause 310,000,000 deaths. Which is a lot of deaths, but when you compare all of those statistics to a wind farm near Palm Springs California the picture changes. The San Gorgonia Pass Wind Farm where approximately 69 million birds flew through and 38 deaths occurred. That is 0.00006%. Yes they do result in bird deaths, but so does erecting sky scrapers.
*They throw ice blocks off their blades causing injury to people and property.
Visit http://www.awea.org/ for in depth descriptions on the possibility of 20 feet long pieces of ice spearing through your roof (side note: won't happen despite what you find on youtube.com) The very simplified reason is, the ice that does build up on the blades significantly changes the shape and lift of the blades (imagine a commercial airliner the same reason the blades do not turn is why airplanes are de-iced before take off) making them turn almost in slow motion. There have not been too many studies done because people in the industry do not feel that it is a serious enough risk to people and buildings.
The following links do a much better job in showing why wind is a real viable option freeing everyone from dependency on fossil fuel and hopefully will put us on the road to being kinder to the planet we all share.
http://www.windenergyamerica.com/
http://www.awea.org/
http://www.wind4me.com/
Monday, March 30, 2009
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Dumpstr Xpress Service Areas
Dumpstr Xpress breaks up its service areas into zones for pricing, finding your zone prior to calling our office for a pricing quote helps us give you the most accurate price.
Zone 1
85003 ~ 85006 ~ 85007 ~ 85008 ~ 85009 ~ 85013 ~ 85014 ~ 85015 ~ 85016 ~ 85017 ~ 85018 ~ 85019 ~ 85021 ~ 85022 ~ 85023 ~ 85024 ~ 85026 ~ 85027 ~ 85028 ~ 85029 ~ 85031 ~ 85032 ~ 85033 ~ 85034 ~ 85035 ~ 85040 ~ 85041 ~ 85042 ~ 85044 ~ 85045 ~ 85048 ~ 85050 ~ 85051 ~ 85053 ~ 85054 ~ 85087 ~ 85201 ~ 85202 ~ 85203 ~ 85204 ~ 85205 ~ 85206 ~ 85210 ~ 85213 ~ 85215 ~ 85224 ~ 85225 ~ 85233 ~ 85234 ~ 85236 ~ 85250 ~ 85251 ~ 85253 ~ 85254 ~ 85257 ~ 85258 ~ 85260 ~ 85281 ~ 85282 ~ 85283 ~ 85284 ~ 85296 ~ 85301 ~ 85302 ~ 85303 ~ 85304 ~ 85305 ~ 85306 ~ 85307 ~ 85309 ~ 85310 ~ 85323 ~ 85345 ~ 85351 ~ 85381 ~ 85382 ~ 85383
Zone 2
85043 ~ 85259 ~ 85308 ~ 85335 ~ 85340 ~ 85355 ~ 85363 ~ 85373 ~ 85374 ~ 85379
Zone 3
85207 ~ 85208 ~ 85209 ~ 85212 ~ 85255 ~ 85268
Zone 4
85085 ~ 85086 ~ 85219 ~ 85220 ~ 85248 ~ 85249 ~ 85262 ~ 85263 ~ 85264 ~ 85396 ~ 85297 ~ 85326 ~ 85331 ~ 85388 ~ 85339 ~ 85353 ~ 85361 ~ 85377 ~ 85383 ~ 85387 ~ 85388
Zone 5
85242
If you were not able to find your zip code please call our office @ 602-252-4300 for a pricing quote.
Zone 1
85003 ~ 85006 ~ 85007 ~ 85008 ~ 85009 ~ 85013 ~ 85014 ~ 85015 ~ 85016 ~ 85017 ~ 85018 ~ 85019 ~ 85021 ~ 85022 ~ 85023 ~ 85024 ~ 85026 ~ 85027 ~ 85028 ~ 85029 ~ 85031 ~ 85032 ~ 85033 ~ 85034 ~ 85035 ~ 85040 ~ 85041 ~ 85042 ~ 85044 ~ 85045 ~ 85048 ~ 85050 ~ 85051 ~ 85053 ~ 85054 ~ 85087 ~ 85201 ~ 85202 ~ 85203 ~ 85204 ~ 85205 ~ 85206 ~ 85210 ~ 85213 ~ 85215 ~ 85224 ~ 85225 ~ 85233 ~ 85234 ~ 85236 ~ 85250 ~ 85251 ~ 85253 ~ 85254 ~ 85257 ~ 85258 ~ 85260 ~ 85281 ~ 85282 ~ 85283 ~ 85284 ~ 85296 ~ 85301 ~ 85302 ~ 85303 ~ 85304 ~ 85305 ~ 85306 ~ 85307 ~ 85309 ~ 85310 ~ 85323 ~ 85345 ~ 85351 ~ 85381 ~ 85382 ~ 85383
Zone 2
85043 ~ 85259 ~ 85308 ~ 85335 ~ 85340 ~ 85355 ~ 85363 ~ 85373 ~ 85374 ~ 85379
Zone 3
85207 ~ 85208 ~ 85209 ~ 85212 ~ 85255 ~ 85268
Zone 4
85085 ~ 85086 ~ 85219 ~ 85220 ~ 85248 ~ 85249 ~ 85262 ~ 85263 ~ 85264 ~ 85396 ~ 85297 ~ 85326 ~ 85331 ~ 85388 ~ 85339 ~ 85353 ~ 85361 ~ 85377 ~ 85383 ~ 85387 ~ 85388
Zone 5
85242
If you were not able to find your zip code please call our office @ 602-252-4300 for a pricing quote.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
This isn't your grandfathers Buick........
"This isn't your grandfathers Buick"...a statement that almost seems condescending, but honestly when taken in the context of the way we do business we all need to see that this world it is a changen'! Which is where social media websites enter in and they come to us fast and furious, if you aren’t participating in it, you have already missed an amazing opportunity to build relationships with customers new and old!
Over the first weekend in February I traveled to Nashville to attend the "Blissdom 2009 blogging conference" I signed on for this for a couple reasons, I write two blogs and I'm a veracious social media fan. Be it myspace or Facebook you'll find me on almost the entire time I'm at home. I recently added Twitter to my arsenal of ways to stay connected to my friends, family, and those amazing folks who live inside the computer and who I've never met!! I knew that Twitter was a big deal, but I had no idea how much of a big deal Twitter really was until I saw over 200+ women all on twitter tweeting about the conference in real time. With that image in mind, imagine applying this to business! Your customers contact you, you know their needs, you know their wants...heck you know what they had for lunch! That is how our world is changing.
You might be wondering is social media for us? I don't want to mislead anyone, it's not for everyone, some employees aren't comfortable with the 110% accessibility of these sites, and the obvious privacy issues that can come up, but chances are there is someone within your organization that would love to start up the pages and take some time each day to building those relationships.
Just a few reasons to make the leap are:
*Unparalleled access to information like product support issues, customer buying habits, all things that before you had to guess at, now it's available for us, updated all the time!
*Collaboration, sites like wikis and online communities (like facebook) develop relationships that can live inside and outside the walls of a company. These sites can even be used to glean customer opinions on products and services.
*Increased control over the Company's Message. In an era where we are told that customers control the company's brand. A socialcorp can use the social media sites to further enforce their message and over and over again participate in real conversations driving home who we are, what we do and how awesome we do it!
One other major plus is that these sites are all free, MySpace, facebook, twitter, blogspot, wordpress.com (the list could go on) are all 100% free and they allow you to get your name, business, logo, picture all out there and potential customers are ready and waiting to meet you, and in turn you can separate them from some of their money! Companies, big and small have had to retool how they get new business and with competition at an all time high, keep that business. Social media sites will undoubtedly help with both challenges.
Becoming a social corp. is nothing to take lightly, even if you don't have a large following to begin with, it is always important to control all content put out there as if millions and millions of people will see it. (And remember Google is forever!) If you’re going to start tweeting on twitter, you need to keep it current, don't just force product pitches at your followers, get to know them! Talk to them; learn their kids’ names or favorite sports teams! If you don't they will un-follow you, or block you all together! If you opt to write a blog for a corporation, keep it on topic, (if you’re a mommy blogger at home keep it at home!) Regarding all your sites, always make sure that an administrator has to approve comments before they go up on your sites, the last thing you want is a nasty gram sent through without your knowledge. Lastly have fun!! These sites are created for just that purpose, there will always be customers out there that want formality, and if all your social media sites are ran correctly you should be able to appeal to all customers.
Over the first weekend in February I traveled to Nashville to attend the "Blissdom 2009 blogging conference" I signed on for this for a couple reasons, I write two blogs and I'm a veracious social media fan. Be it myspace or Facebook you'll find me on almost the entire time I'm at home. I recently added Twitter to my arsenal of ways to stay connected to my friends, family, and those amazing folks who live inside the computer and who I've never met!! I knew that Twitter was a big deal, but I had no idea how much of a big deal Twitter really was until I saw over 200+ women all on twitter tweeting about the conference in real time. With that image in mind, imagine applying this to business! Your customers contact you, you know their needs, you know their wants...heck you know what they had for lunch! That is how our world is changing.
You might be wondering is social media for us? I don't want to mislead anyone, it's not for everyone, some employees aren't comfortable with the 110% accessibility of these sites, and the obvious privacy issues that can come up, but chances are there is someone within your organization that would love to start up the pages and take some time each day to building those relationships.
Just a few reasons to make the leap are:
*Unparalleled access to information like product support issues, customer buying habits, all things that before you had to guess at, now it's available for us, updated all the time!
*Collaboration, sites like wikis and online communities (like facebook) develop relationships that can live inside and outside the walls of a company. These sites can even be used to glean customer opinions on products and services.
*Increased control over the Company's Message. In an era where we are told that customers control the company's brand. A socialcorp can use the social media sites to further enforce their message and over and over again participate in real conversations driving home who we are, what we do and how awesome we do it!
One other major plus is that these sites are all free, MySpace, facebook, twitter, blogspot, wordpress.com (the list could go on) are all 100% free and they allow you to get your name, business, logo, picture all out there and potential customers are ready and waiting to meet you, and in turn you can separate them from some of their money! Companies, big and small have had to retool how they get new business and with competition at an all time high, keep that business. Social media sites will undoubtedly help with both challenges.
Becoming a social corp. is nothing to take lightly, even if you don't have a large following to begin with, it is always important to control all content put out there as if millions and millions of people will see it. (And remember Google is forever!) If you’re going to start tweeting on twitter, you need to keep it current, don't just force product pitches at your followers, get to know them! Talk to them; learn their kids’ names or favorite sports teams! If you don't they will un-follow you, or block you all together! If you opt to write a blog for a corporation, keep it on topic, (if you’re a mommy blogger at home keep it at home!) Regarding all your sites, always make sure that an administrator has to approve comments before they go up on your sites, the last thing you want is a nasty gram sent through without your knowledge. Lastly have fun!! These sites are created for just that purpose, there will always be customers out there that want formality, and if all your social media sites are ran correctly you should be able to appeal to all customers.
You can follow Dumpstr Xpress on twitter
We are also on facebook, you can find us under the name:
robin wilson dumpstr xpress
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
14 Ways to Keep the Loyalty When Times Are Tough
Whether it is your external or internal clients, you must consistently think of increasing the loyalty factor if you're business is going to thrive. So when times are tough—and the engagement of these groups becomes even more critical to your bottom line—grasp the opportunity to develop a model to maintain the consistency of your relationship-building strategies.
1. Start off by taking an inventory of these people and their needs. What do they expect of you, and how do they arrive at these expectations? Then start acting to become a solution.
2. Be someone they enjoy working with. This is the time to tune up your best attitude and realize that we need to continue to be flexible. One-size does not fit all and we need to flex our own styles as we work with our clients and internal "clients" and colleagues.
3. Stay in touch with them via their preferred method of communication. Figure out a time log that works and reach out to them with ideas, interests and just to "stay in touch."
4. Ask their advice and feedback on how to do things better or with any products or services you provide.
5. Think strategically and help them find ways to do their work better and more effectively.
6. Do something that is "out of the box." Find ways to surprise them with things that you know will interest them. Do your homework. Sometimes, just by truly listening, you will learn so much about them.
7. Stay on their radar with both high-tech and low-tech touches.
8. Be dependable and reliable and let them know that if they need you at any time, you will be available. (People rarely, if ever, call people on their private time; yet sometimes just knowing you can makes a big difference.)
9. Show your appreciation for anything they have offered you—even a complaint. They are giving you a buying signal for the future and they deserve being thanked.
10.Make sure you know what the competition is up to and keep on top of it. You need this as part of your arsenal. When times are better and they are ready to buy, whom will they think of?? YOU!
11. Build a true foundation of trust by under-promising and over-delivering.
12. Put yourself in their shoes. Understand both their pressures and opportunities. Understand why they may hold back on their orders and still be right there with them to keep the loyalty. When times are better—they will remember you.
13. Keep these five basic expectations top-of-mind to your clients or internals:
• Rapport: Speak with them-and create synergy.
• Recognition: Make them feel important and do so with sincerity.
• Reliability: And do so consistently.
• Responsive: It is always important to get right back to someone, and in these times, it is even more important. Make sure you always get back with some reply. Never leave them hanging.
• Resolution: Everyone loves the phrase, "I'll take care of it." So say it, and then deliver.
14. Aim for share of wallet, share of market and share of heart and know that all of this takes time and patience especially in this economic market.
Editor's Note: Read all of the strategies and best practices from Incentive's Survival Guide at www.incentivemag.com/survivalguide. New articles daily!
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Changes ahead for L.E.E.D. Projects
This afternoon I was handed a memo regarding the changes being put into place by the U.S. Green Building Council (www.usgbc.com) and an outline of the changes on the scorecard. Our business falls under the materials & resource section, which prior to the changes accounted for 14 of the 69 points (or 20.3%) needed for approval. We track the tonnage of waste diverted from the land fills and recycle the materials. Doing this earns our customers points toward achieving L.E.E.D. approval. Under this new plan buildings will need 110 points for approval, and of those 110, material & resources accounts for 15 points or just 13.6%. After reviewing the memo I started on a journey to understand the logic behind the changes, what I found is the USGBC have revised the "sustainable sites" section, which has 12 points available with consideration given to "alternative transportation" (i.e. access to public transportation, bicycle storage and changing rooms)
In the new L.E.E.D. 2009 (as it is now called) the Energy & Atmosphere section accounts for 26 points, those can be attained for optimizing energy performance and using on site renewable energy resources. To simplify this complicated information, the prominence of materials & resources have been somewhat diminished and in its place is the focus on energy & atmosphere, reducing things such as carbon foot print, if the building runs and operates efficiently and uses less energy it produces less of a carbon foot print, and that also means that the business will avoid having to purchase things such as "carbon credits". Regardless of your view on carbon credits, I think it's obvious that the subject has hit a nerve. I admittedly am no expert, but what I feel like I see through the statistics and jargon is, purchasing carbon credits is far more expensive than hauling waste. Hauling waste is a one time problem, carbon footprint, carbon credits, carbon offset, matters not what you call it, those will exists for the life of the building. I hope that these changes will have a positive impact on building, and buildings, but what I would like to see is how the long term effects will play out on recycling less, every action obviously has a reaction as does ever inaction. Eventually it would seem that while focusing on carbon foot print is important, keeping an ever watchful eye on reusing items that we know can be recycled, as they are already being recycled currently should also be very important as well.
During my Internet "travels" I found some more statistics I thought I would pass along. Buildings consume 40% of all mined and processed materials, 30% of the energy supply, and any typical (non-l.e.e.d.) building project generates 2.5lbs of solid waste per square foot of floor space. (startling when you consider a 200,000 square foot building, which could result in at least 25 10 ton containers.) the need for responsible building is obvious, the planet needs it, consumers need it to help keep energy costs in check. In the end we will all benefit from responsible building processes. The U.S. Green Building council has 15,000 members, the organization was founded in 2000 and has over 14,000 projects approved, with more sites being added all the time.
In the new L.E.E.D. 2009 (as it is now called) the Energy & Atmosphere section accounts for 26 points, those can be attained for optimizing energy performance and using on site renewable energy resources. To simplify this complicated information, the prominence of materials & resources have been somewhat diminished and in its place is the focus on energy & atmosphere, reducing things such as carbon foot print, if the building runs and operates efficiently and uses less energy it produces less of a carbon foot print, and that also means that the business will avoid having to purchase things such as "carbon credits". Regardless of your view on carbon credits, I think it's obvious that the subject has hit a nerve. I admittedly am no expert, but what I feel like I see through the statistics and jargon is, purchasing carbon credits is far more expensive than hauling waste. Hauling waste is a one time problem, carbon footprint, carbon credits, carbon offset, matters not what you call it, those will exists for the life of the building. I hope that these changes will have a positive impact on building, and buildings, but what I would like to see is how the long term effects will play out on recycling less, every action obviously has a reaction as does ever inaction. Eventually it would seem that while focusing on carbon foot print is important, keeping an ever watchful eye on reusing items that we know can be recycled, as they are already being recycled currently should also be very important as well.
During my Internet "travels" I found some more statistics I thought I would pass along. Buildings consume 40% of all mined and processed materials, 30% of the energy supply, and any typical (non-l.e.e.d.) building project generates 2.5lbs of solid waste per square foot of floor space. (startling when you consider a 200,000 square foot building, which could result in at least 25 10 ton containers.) the need for responsible building is obvious, the planet needs it, consumers need it to help keep energy costs in check. In the end we will all benefit from responsible building processes. The U.S. Green Building council has 15,000 members, the organization was founded in 2000 and has over 14,000 projects approved, with more sites being added all the time.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
The Knight Transfer Inc. Link
Dumpstr Xpress and Knight Transfer go by different names but are truly one and the same when it comes to outstanding service and exceptional value. Knight Transfer operates in the lower 1/3 of the state in Michigan, providing waste hauling service. They offer 10 yd 20 yd and 30 yd containers and they do have a limited supply of 40 yd containers. Their number 616-748-9878 or 888-386-7787 the link to their web site is: http://www.dumpstr.com/
Gas prices, bad economy and 2009 OH MY!
Good morning everyone!
I have started my day earlier than normal...which is great because that means I will be home to usher in 2009 with my husband and daughter a little earlier too! With only a small numbers of hours left in 2008 I thought I'd hunt around the Internet to see what is making headlines this morning. Here is what I found.
Fox News: Oil Falls to $37, Down More Than 60% in 2008 - The United States saw its worst job market in 16 years hammer consumer confidence to a record low in December, the shopping season was the worst since at least 1970, and prices of U.S. single-family homes in October fell a record 18% from a year earlier.
Fox News: AIG May Ask Fed to Ease Rules On Disposals (take a moment to absorb that one..I won't pontificate on that subject, to put it simply the answer should be NO, it's tax payer money, they should not be allowed to do whatever they want with it!)
CNN: 2009: Nowhere to go but up! (love it!)
2008, witnessed four of the five worst market days ever in the Dow Jones industrial average - but also the three largest increases. Loving it even more! What do we have to learn from this? The market goes up and down! Stay lean, stay alert, stay in BUSINESS! In the second half of 2009, most analysts believe the market will begin to rise more consistently, as economic indicators start showing improvement in key areas of construction, housing, retail sales and credit.
MSNBC: Interesting poll on their web regarding the over all reader opinion on 2008, bear in mind this was not a scientific poll but interesting non the less. (this information was taken from their web @ 09:27 a.m. EST)
How would you describe the past year for you personally? 11298 responses
Great13%
Fine19%
OK28%
Poor21%
Terrible20%
How would you describe the past year for your country? * 11292 responses
Great1.8%
Fine3.9%
OK13%
Poor42%
Terrible40%
How would you describe the past year for the world? * 11321 responses
Great1%
Fine2.2%
OK15%
Poor46%
Lousy36%
What this humble blogger sees is that we are all overwhelmed by 2008 it's up's and down's, the loss of jobs, the financial struggles, the lousy sales for the holiday season (though there were amazing deals out there!) Perhaps realizing that you aren't alone won't make you less stressed when you can't pay your mortgage or when you have to juggle bills to buy groceries, but seeing that there has to be a collective, responsible, well organized plan for recovery from everyone hopefully will put in place a small bit of peace. In closing I wish everyone a safe New Years eve, and let's all welcome 2009 with open arms and make the most of every opportunity we get.
I have started my day earlier than normal...which is great because that means I will be home to usher in 2009 with my husband and daughter a little earlier too! With only a small numbers of hours left in 2008 I thought I'd hunt around the Internet to see what is making headlines this morning. Here is what I found.
Fox News: Oil Falls to $37, Down More Than 60% in 2008 - The United States saw its worst job market in 16 years hammer consumer confidence to a record low in December, the shopping season was the worst since at least 1970, and prices of U.S. single-family homes in October fell a record 18% from a year earlier.
Fox News: AIG May Ask Fed to Ease Rules On Disposals (take a moment to absorb that one..I won't pontificate on that subject, to put it simply the answer should be NO, it's tax payer money, they should not be allowed to do whatever they want with it!)
CNN: 2009: Nowhere to go but up! (love it!)
2008, witnessed four of the five worst market days ever in the Dow Jones industrial average - but also the three largest increases. Loving it even more! What do we have to learn from this? The market goes up and down! Stay lean, stay alert, stay in BUSINESS! In the second half of 2009, most analysts believe the market will begin to rise more consistently, as economic indicators start showing improvement in key areas of construction, housing, retail sales and credit.
MSNBC: Interesting poll on their web regarding the over all reader opinion on 2008, bear in mind this was not a scientific poll but interesting non the less. (this information was taken from their web @ 09:27 a.m. EST)
How would you describe the past year for you personally? 11298 responses
Great13%
Fine19%
OK28%
Poor21%
Terrible20%
How would you describe the past year for your country? * 11292 responses
Great1.8%
Fine3.9%
OK13%
Poor42%
Terrible40%
How would you describe the past year for the world? * 11321 responses
Great1%
Fine2.2%
OK15%
Poor46%
Lousy36%
What this humble blogger sees is that we are all overwhelmed by 2008 it's up's and down's, the loss of jobs, the financial struggles, the lousy sales for the holiday season (though there were amazing deals out there!) Perhaps realizing that you aren't alone won't make you less stressed when you can't pay your mortgage or when you have to juggle bills to buy groceries, but seeing that there has to be a collective, responsible, well organized plan for recovery from everyone hopefully will put in place a small bit of peace. In closing I wish everyone a safe New Years eve, and let's all welcome 2009 with open arms and make the most of every opportunity we get.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Just a bit of fun!
The full list of Lake Superior State's 2009 list of banished words:
-- green
-- carbon footprint or carbon offsetting
-- maverick
-- first dude
-- bailout
-- Wall Street/Main Street
-- monkey
-- 3 (Emoticon for 'heart' used in text messages and e-mail.)
-- icon or iconic
-- game changer
-- staycation
-- desperate search
-- not so much
-- winner of five nominations
-- it's that time of year again
Sadly I am known to throw the <3 out there and "it's that time of year again"...I use that one all the time!
-- green
-- carbon footprint or carbon offsetting
-- maverick
-- first dude
-- bailout
-- Wall Street/Main Street
-- monkey
-- 3 (Emoticon for 'heart' used in text messages and e-mail.)
-- icon or iconic
-- game changer
-- staycation
-- desperate search
-- not so much
-- winner of five nominations
-- it's that time of year again
Sadly I am known to throw the <3 out there and "it's that time of year again"...I use that one all the time!
The sky is falling...
Or is this much ado about nothing? http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/106331/ read the article and you decide. What I will say working in an industry that is driven by construction what we are seeing is, companies large and small have retooled their efforts, case in point is 12/31/08 both Knight Transfer Inc, (based in Michigan) and Dumpstr Xpress, Inc. (based in Arizona) are set to have very heavy days, from previous jobs during the holidays there has been a feeling of "Eh it's the holidays, let's give everyone the day off!" now, what I am hearing more and more is "When we have the work, let's work, because who knows if we'll have it again!" Perhaps a sluggish (if not stalled) economy will help all of us work harder, smarter, and maybe even thin the heard so to speak regarding the "not so go getters" of the world! These are scary times no doubt about it! But one thing to remember we are all in this together, when the dust clears (and it will!) who will be left standing? The people who had the stomach for change and the companies that did everything they could to survive. One more suggestion before I climb down off of my soap box, every business person regardless of what field should read "The world is flat" Thomas L. Friedman. That's all Good day!
Monday, December 29, 2008
A New Twitter"er" looking for some direction!
My subject line makes me wonder if that is even a word? Or will the word Twitter become a part of our language (that is if it hasn't already!) I signed up for a twitter account with the intent of promoting our business and forming some relationships in our service area. While searching around I have found in my short time on the site that what seemed very impersonal is actually quite personable! I am learning a lot about my fellow Phoenix folks and enjoying every second of it! I stumbled upon an interesting blog post from www.chrisbrogan.com on twitter and business...enjoy!
First Steps
1.Build an account and immediate start using Twitter Search to listen for your name, your competitor’s names, words that relate to your space. (Listening always comes first.)
2.Add a picture. We want to see you.
3.Talk to people about THEIR interests, too. I know this doesn’t sell more widgets, but it shows us you’re human.
4.Point out interesting things in your space, not just about you.
5.Share links to neat things in your community. ( @wholefoods does this well).
6.Don’t get stuck in the apology loop. Be helpful instead. ( @jetblue gives travel tips.)
7.Be wary of always pimping your stuff. Your fans will love it. Others will tune out.
8.Promote your employees’ outside-of-work stories. ( @TheHomeDepot does it well.)
9.Throw in a few humans, like RichardAtDELL, LionelAtDELL, etc.
10.Talk about non-business, too, like @astrout and @jstorerj from Mzinga.
Ideas About WHAT to Tweet
1.Instead of answering the question, “What are you doing?”, answer the question, “What has your attention?”
2.Have more than one twitterer at the company. People can quit. People take vacations. It’s nice to have a variety.
3.When promoting a blog post, ask a question or explain what’s coming next, instead of just dumping a link.
4.Ask questions. Twitter is GREAT for getting opinions.
5.Follow interesting people. If you find someone who tweets interesting things, see who she follows, and follow her.
6.Tweet about other people’s stuff. Again, doesn’t directly impact your business, but makes us feel like you’re not “that guy.”
7.When you DO talk about your stuff, make it useful. Give advice, blog posts, pictures, etc.
8.Share the human side of your company. If you’re bothering to tweet, it means you believe social media has value for human connections. Point us to pictures and other human things.
9.Don’t toot your own horn too much. (Man, I can’t believe I’m saying this. I do it all the time. - Side note: I’ve gotta stop tooting my own horn).
10.Or, if you do, try to balance it out by promoting the heck out of others, too
Some Sanity For You
1.You don’t have to read every tweet.
2.You don’t have to reply to every @ tweet directed to you (try to reply to some, but don’t feel guilty).
3.Use direct messages for 1-to-1 conversations if you feel there’s no value to Twitter at large to hear the conversation ( got this from @pistachio).
4.Use services like Twitter Search to make sure you see if someone’s talking about you. Try to participate where it makes sense.
5.3rd party clients like Tweetdeck and Twhirl make it a lot easier to manage Twitter.
6.If you tweet all day while your coworkers are busy, you’re going to hear about it.
7.If you’re representing clients and billing hours, and tweeting all the time, you might hear about it.
8.Learn quickly to use the URL shortening tools like TinyURL and all the variants. It helps tidy up your tweets.
9.If someone says you’re using twitter wrong, forget it. It’s an opt out society. They can unfollow if they don’t like how you use it.
10.Commenting on others’ tweets, and retweeting what others have posted is a great way to build community.
The Negatives People Will Throw At You
1.Twitter takes up time.
2.Twitter takes you away from other productive work.
3.Without a strategy, it’s just typing.
4.There are other ways to do this.
As Frank hears often, Twitter doesn’t replace customer service (Frank is @comcastcares and is a superhero for what he’s started.)
5.Twitter is buggy and not enterprise-ready.
6.Twitter is just for technonerds.
7.Twitter’s only a few million people. (only)
8.Twitter doesn’t replace direct email marketing.
9.Twitter opens the company up to more criticism and griping.
10.Twitter opens the company up to more criticism and griping
Some Positives to Throw Back
1.Twitter helps one organize great, instant meetups (tweetups).
2.Twitter works swell as an opinion poll.
3.Twitter can help direct people’s attention to good things.
4.Twitter at events helps people build an instant “backchannel.”
5.Twitter breaks news faster than other sources, often (especially if the news impacts online denizens).
6.Twitter gives businesses a glimpse at what status messaging can do for an organization. Remember presence in the 1990s?
7.Twitter brings great minds together, and gives you daily opportunities to learn (if you look for it, and/or if you follow the right folks).
8.Twitter gives your critics a forum, but that means you can study them.
9.Twitter helps with business development, if your prospects are online (mine are).
10.Twitter can augment customer service. (but see above)
In such a volatile business environment we all need to find more inventive ways to "touch" our customers. Twitter seems to be a great way to do this. What are your thoughts?
First Steps
1.Build an account and immediate start using Twitter Search to listen for your name, your competitor’s names, words that relate to your space. (Listening always comes first.)
2.Add a picture. We want to see you.
3.Talk to people about THEIR interests, too. I know this doesn’t sell more widgets, but it shows us you’re human.
4.Point out interesting things in your space, not just about you.
5.Share links to neat things in your community. ( @wholefoods does this well).
6.Don’t get stuck in the apology loop. Be helpful instead. ( @jetblue gives travel tips.)
7.Be wary of always pimping your stuff. Your fans will love it. Others will tune out.
8.Promote your employees’ outside-of-work stories. ( @TheHomeDepot does it well.)
9.Throw in a few humans, like RichardAtDELL, LionelAtDELL, etc.
10.Talk about non-business, too, like @astrout and @jstorerj from Mzinga.
Ideas About WHAT to Tweet
1.Instead of answering the question, “What are you doing?”, answer the question, “What has your attention?”
2.Have more than one twitterer at the company. People can quit. People take vacations. It’s nice to have a variety.
3.When promoting a blog post, ask a question or explain what’s coming next, instead of just dumping a link.
4.Ask questions. Twitter is GREAT for getting opinions.
5.Follow interesting people. If you find someone who tweets interesting things, see who she follows, and follow her.
6.Tweet about other people’s stuff. Again, doesn’t directly impact your business, but makes us feel like you’re not “that guy.”
7.When you DO talk about your stuff, make it useful. Give advice, blog posts, pictures, etc.
8.Share the human side of your company. If you’re bothering to tweet, it means you believe social media has value for human connections. Point us to pictures and other human things.
9.Don’t toot your own horn too much. (Man, I can’t believe I’m saying this. I do it all the time. - Side note: I’ve gotta stop tooting my own horn).
10.Or, if you do, try to balance it out by promoting the heck out of others, too
Some Sanity For You
1.You don’t have to read every tweet.
2.You don’t have to reply to every @ tweet directed to you (try to reply to some, but don’t feel guilty).
3.Use direct messages for 1-to-1 conversations if you feel there’s no value to Twitter at large to hear the conversation ( got this from @pistachio).
4.Use services like Twitter Search to make sure you see if someone’s talking about you. Try to participate where it makes sense.
5.3rd party clients like Tweetdeck and Twhirl make it a lot easier to manage Twitter.
6.If you tweet all day while your coworkers are busy, you’re going to hear about it.
7.If you’re representing clients and billing hours, and tweeting all the time, you might hear about it.
8.Learn quickly to use the URL shortening tools like TinyURL and all the variants. It helps tidy up your tweets.
9.If someone says you’re using twitter wrong, forget it. It’s an opt out society. They can unfollow if they don’t like how you use it.
10.Commenting on others’ tweets, and retweeting what others have posted is a great way to build community.
The Negatives People Will Throw At You
1.Twitter takes up time.
2.Twitter takes you away from other productive work.
3.Without a strategy, it’s just typing.
4.There are other ways to do this.
As Frank hears often, Twitter doesn’t replace customer service (Frank is @comcastcares and is a superhero for what he’s started.)
5.Twitter is buggy and not enterprise-ready.
6.Twitter is just for technonerds.
7.Twitter’s only a few million people. (only)
8.Twitter doesn’t replace direct email marketing.
9.Twitter opens the company up to more criticism and griping.
10.Twitter opens the company up to more criticism and griping
Some Positives to Throw Back
1.Twitter helps one organize great, instant meetups (tweetups).
2.Twitter works swell as an opinion poll.
3.Twitter can help direct people’s attention to good things.
4.Twitter at events helps people build an instant “backchannel.”
5.Twitter breaks news faster than other sources, often (especially if the news impacts online denizens).
6.Twitter gives businesses a glimpse at what status messaging can do for an organization. Remember presence in the 1990s?
7.Twitter brings great minds together, and gives you daily opportunities to learn (if you look for it, and/or if you follow the right folks).
8.Twitter gives your critics a forum, but that means you can study them.
9.Twitter helps with business development, if your prospects are online (mine are).
10.Twitter can augment customer service. (but see above)
In such a volatile business environment we all need to find more inventive ways to "touch" our customers. Twitter seems to be a great way to do this. What are your thoughts?
Friday, December 26, 2008
How do you reach us?
You can visit us on the web for a complete description of services and contact information. Our web page is: www.dxdumpsters.com
You can reach us via phone between the hours of 06:00 a.m. cst and 5:00 p.m. @ 602-252-4300 or toll free @ 800-386-7787
Or via email @ rwilson@dumpstr.com
You can reach us via phone between the hours of 06:00 a.m. cst and 5:00 p.m. @ 602-252-4300 or toll free @ 800-386-7787
Or via email @ rwilson@dumpstr.com
What can't I put into the dumpster???
What can I put in the Dumpster?
You can place almost anything in our dumpster with the exception of the list below. The following items require special handling and may not be accepted at the landfill, or may be exempt by State law.
-Absolutely no liquids
-Solvents such as anti-freeze
-Tires, lead batteries
-Paint that is not dry
-Explosives
-Ammunition
-Chemicals
-Fertilizers
-Appliances with Freon or CFC's-Stumps-Trees/limbs greater than 4" diameter or 2 feet long.
You can place almost anything in our dumpster with the exception of the list below. The following items require special handling and may not be accepted at the landfill, or may be exempt by State law.
-Absolutely no liquids
-Solvents such as anti-freeze
-Tires, lead batteries
-Paint that is not dry
-Explosives
-Ammunition
-Chemicals
-Fertilizers
-Appliances with Freon or CFC's-Stumps-Trees/limbs greater than 4" diameter or 2 feet long.
What size do I need?
What size dumpster will I need?
10-cu. yd. is usually sufficient for those smaller clean up projects around the house that may be too much to place at your curb for your weekly hauler or just your garage, basement or attic. It may be just fine for a smaller home clean up, as well.
20-cu. yd. is a good, all around dumpster that fits well for a number of projects such as new construction, smaller demolition projects, a bigger estate clean up, or a really, really big house that hasn't been cleaned up in years.
30-cu. yd. is typically used for new home construction and larger projects home clean up projects that may have a lot of furniture or appliances involved. Also used for tearing down of porticos, small garages, decks, etc.
40-cu. yd. for construction jobs only
10-cu. yd. is usually sufficient for those smaller clean up projects around the house that may be too much to place at your curb for your weekly hauler or just your garage, basement or attic. It may be just fine for a smaller home clean up, as well.
20-cu. yd. is a good, all around dumpster that fits well for a number of projects such as new construction, smaller demolition projects, a bigger estate clean up, or a really, really big house that hasn't been cleaned up in years.
30-cu. yd. is typically used for new home construction and larger projects home clean up projects that may have a lot of furniture or appliances involved. Also used for tearing down of porticos, small garages, decks, etc.
40-cu. yd. for construction jobs only
What does it cost?
Pricing is a factor of total time investment (figured on a round trip basis from the landfill to the jobsite and back to the landfill), landfill costs (figured on a tonnage basis….we utilize many different transfer stations and landfills), and equipment (figured on the type and size of dumpster container and the length of time it is required to stay on the jobsite). It is necessary, with all these different variables, to call the office for pricing for your specific job. We therefore consider the waste material from your job, the job location, and the duration of the job.
What Comes After, What Comes Next.....
What comes after...What comes next?
This is not a trick sentence. It is a process of thought that mandates an entire series of considerations before any action is undertaken. Since the beginning of our service, we have strategically innovated around three core concepts. Time, safety, and budget are basic parameters necessary for job success. During the past ten years, we have consistently demonstrated to clients, from the smallest to some of the largest state projects that we deliver exactly what we promise. The overwhelming benefits is shown in the trust our clients place in us daily to help them bring jobs in on time,with an unblemished safety record, and on budget!
This is not a trick sentence. It is a process of thought that mandates an entire series of considerations before any action is undertaken. Since the beginning of our service, we have strategically innovated around three core concepts. Time, safety, and budget are basic parameters necessary for job success. During the past ten years, we have consistently demonstrated to clients, from the smallest to some of the largest state projects that we deliver exactly what we promise. The overwhelming benefits is shown in the trust our clients place in us daily to help them bring jobs in on time,with an unblemished safety record, and on budget!
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